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[Raja]

2 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

Not sure why you need someone like Monbiot to tell you the Tories are shit. 
 

But then I guess if you cite him a source of informational authority then.. well.. not sure what to say about that..

I try not to engage with you as I find your posts in general to be completely vacous across a range of topics, but considering that a 'citation' is pretty weird.

 

[Heartofice]

1 minute ago, Spockydog said:

So you make as part of your rewilding project a compensation scheme for farmers. This shit ain't difficult. 

Haha, fucking hell.

So the plan is to reintroduce wolves to kill deer, that nobody can even conceive of a better way to kill.. because.. guns don’t exist.. so we need wolves 

and it doesn’t matter that it would cause numerous problems for already struggling farmers because.. well they can just hire a bunch more shepherds, and when that doesn’t work either, as it’s been proven not to in other countries, well the government can just compensate them.

So we’ve created all these issues, everyone is out of pocket, but hey at least we.. ‘check notes’ have wolves in the country again.

Genius. Pure genius.

[Heartofice]

2 minutes ago, Raja said:

I try not to engage with you as I find your posts in general to be completely vacous across a range of topics, but considering that a 'citation' is pretty weird.

 

You seemed to think it was noteworthy what Monbiot thought about the Tories for some reason. That says a lot. 

[Raja]

1 minute ago, Heartofice said:

You seemed to think it was noteworthy what Monbiot thought about the Tories for some reason. That says a lot. 

You can think what you want to think

[Spockydog]

 

[Raja]

I think I asked this before months ago but I've got family visiting the uk the first time and most of our time will be in London and I know the city well enough to show them around but we are looking for 3-4 days outside the city in a more rural/ country location ( which I have no idea about)

It'll be in October so a couple of months, we're thinking - requirements are mostly just to be close to/ in nature/ countryside

1. scotland? - requirements are mostly be close to/ in nature where we can spend 3-4 days. Not looking for really long hikes or anything like that as my mother is 60!

2. Lake district or peak district? I know nothing about these places

We *could* rent a car if needed but wondering if people had some suggestions

[Spockydog]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

I think I asked this before months ago but I've got family visiting the uk the first time and most of our time will be in London and I know the city well enough to show them around but we are looking for 3-4 days outside the city in a more rural/ country location ( which I have no idea about)

It'll be in October so a couple of months, we're thinking - requirements are mostly just to be close to/ in nature/ countryside

1. scotland? - requirements are mostly be close to/ in nature where we can spend 3-4 days. Not looking for really long hikes or anything like that as my mother is 60!

2. Lake district or peak district? I know nothing about these places

We *could* rent a car if needed but wondering if people had some suggestions

You're going to need a hire car. Public transport services outside of the cities are like everything else in this country. Gutted and threadbare.

The Lake District is lovely, but other than walking about, wondering at the scenery, there isn't all that much to do.

The New Forest is nice, as are the Cotswolds. Lots of chocolate box villages, busy markets, pretty scenery.

Edinburgh is beautiful, as is the surrounding countryside. It's pretty hilly, so that should be considered.

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by Spockydog

[HexMachina]

2 hours ago, Raja said:

I think I asked this before months ago but I've got family visiting the uk the first time and most of our time will be in London and I know the city well enough to show them around but we are looking for 3-4 days outside the city in a more rural/ country location ( which I have no idea about)

It'll be in October so a couple of months, we're thinking - requirements are mostly just to be close to/ in nature/ countryside

1. scotland? - requirements are mostly be close to/ in nature where we can spend 3-4 days. Not looking for really long hikes or anything like that as my mother is 60!

2. Lake district or peak district? I know nothing about these places

We *could* rent a car if needed but wondering if people had some suggestions

I'd suggest Scotland over the Lakes, though I'd also recommend renting a car. As Spocky said if you go outside of the cities and find somewhere rural and cosy, which is admittedly my preferred holiday, you're usually a fair distance from anything but a local shop with the essential groceries. And of course, a pub. I personally liked Loch Lomond, which had lots of lovely, not too strenuous walks with beautiful scenery and plenty of places which give you a cosy feeling of isolation. Also enjoyed Pitlochry which is further North closer to the highlands (I think....testing my memory and geography skills here). Pretty rural too so again I'd recommend renting a car.

Eta: For somewhere more Southern and Coastal Cornwall is always nice. Plenty of small fishing villages that offer a nice escape from a busier lifestyle and the coast there is beautiful. From memory I think the beaches on the West coast were nicer, but that could just be the luck of where I visited

With the Lakes, also very lovely but in my opinion much more of a concentrated tourist trap so less enjoyable. The walking there is probably also less suited to your parents age range but then I'm less familiar with the Lakes so I'm sure there would be something for them

Edited August 16, 2023 by HelenaExMachina

[polishgenius]

3 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

 

With the Lakes, also very lovely but in my opinion much more of a concentrated tourist trap so less enjoyable.

 

While true, to be fair probably less so in October. 

There definitely is some less-strenuous stuff there too - it's why they became so touristy in the first place, after all. I don't know the area nearly well enough to recommend anything specific (especially since when I did go, 20 years ago, hiking was the aim) but the areas around the lakes themselves are lovely. Ullswater is super-pretty, albeit with the occasional interruption from an RAF jet doing low-flying training. 

But like Spocky says, it depends what the brief is, coz it pretty much is just 'walk about' or nothing. If that's the idea, cool. If you want some historic visiting spots or whatever, I'd recommend somewhere else. 

 

 

Couple potential recommendations:

 

Wales. You'd definitely need a car for this, but if you based yourself in or near Caernafon, you've got a lovely old town, plus you're in striking distance of Yr Wydffa aka Snowdon, where you can score the peak via railway instead of hiking. But it is very touristy and it would maybe need more effort to actually get to the country parts than you're aiming for. 

Hastings: also in a town, but Hastings is in easy reach of some very nice clifftop/seaside walks, plus can take a train a couple of stops inland for Battle, where you have the Abbey on the site of, well, the battle. Has the potential added benefit that you wouldn't need a car. But if part of the attraction is 'far away from London', it might be too close.

 

 

[Prue]

If you don't want to hire a car, you could go to Edinburgh and start a mini bus tour from there. There are several companies offering guided tours, also more than one day trips. 

e.g.

Highlands Tours from Edinburgh | Highland Experience Tours

Can't remember if I booked a trip with them or another company, but the day trips from Edinburgh were good and I was glad that I didn't have to do the driving myself. If you and your relatives e.g. aren't used to driving on the left side of the road, or on narrow country roads, you might want to enjoy the scenery and speak with your relatives instead of stressing about how to drive to your next destination safely, too.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

On 8/13/2023 at 5:36 PM, Spockydog said:

Drinking isn’t a problem. The problem is water vapour or aerosol water droplets getting into the lugs through inhalation, so showering could be a concern.

yeah, it’s fucked up that none of those guys were tested. 

[BigFatCoward]

Inflation below 7% hurrah.  Still expecting interest rates to rise further, at least with utilities, food etc the % impact on most people is broadly the same, with interest rates its so arbitrary depending on when your current deal ends. 

[Raja]

Thank you everyone for responses so far

Not sure my sister is going to like the fact that I'm going to make her drive over here, though she does drive in New Zealand so it should be fine ( I haven't converted my licence yet, which is a shame because I do love driving)

The brief very much is nature-y places with places to visit around the area. In my mind we would have been somewhere rural-ish with trails to walk or historic places to see around it. Thank you for the link @Prue

[A wilding]

I would suggest not going too far from London. It is, for example, a 5 - 6 hour drive to the Lakes, a big ask for a 3-4 day trip with a single driver who has never driven in the UK before (though Keswick is an excellent place to visit for a gentle Lakes holiday). So perhaps the Cotswolds via Oxford? Bath is worth seeing also. If they want bigger hills, then the Wye valley is worth a look and is only 2 hours down the M4.

[Raja]

Yeah, it's why I'm not keen to get a car ( It's not going to help my sister's anxiety) 

I'm going to get so much grief for not converting my licence.

They are keen on Scotland so I might see what we could potentially do.

[Which Tyler]

20 minutes ago, A wilding said:

I would suggest not going too far from London. It is, for example, a 5 - 6 hour drive to the Lakes, a big ask for a 3-4 day trip with a single driver who has never driven in the UK before (though Keswick is an excellent place to visit for a gentle Lakes holiday). So perhaps the Cotswolds via Oxford? Bath is worth seeing also. If they want bigger hills, then the Wye valley is worth a look and is only 2 hours down the M4.

I can't disagree with that. For me, a reluctant driver means keeping down travel time. Given that, I'd agree that the Cotswolds are the obvious, and I'd bring the New Forest in as well.
New forest is technically doable by train as well (well, technically, so are the Cotswolds, but that's even more "technically"). New Forest also has some fantastic bike trails, if renting bikes seems more reasonable.

Prue's suggestion of train/plane to Edinburgh, and then bus tours has a lot going for it as well.

Beyond that advice, I'd say that everyone has their own favourite parts of the country, and pretty much every part of the country has plenty to recommend it, depending on personal preference.

Edited August 16, 2023 by Which Tyler

[polishgenius]

Remember that debate about whether Captain Tom's family are grifters.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-66515278

Yeah

[Raja]

Reminder, there have been no Junior Doctor strikes in Scotland. Wheras in England we've been striking for 6 months & are currently being reballoted so we can keep striking.

[Derfel Cadarn]

32 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

Remember that debate about whether Captain Tom's family are grifters.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-66515278

Yeah

Now, that money was just resting in her account.

[Conflicting Thought]

On 8/13/2023 at 12:48 PM, Heartofice said:

Haha, fucking hell.

So the plan is to reintroduce wolves to kill deer, that nobody can even conceive of a better way to kill.. because.. guns don’t exist.. so we need wolves 

and it doesn’t matter that it would cause numerous problems for already struggling farmers because.. well they can just hire a bunch more shepherds, and when that doesn’t work either, as it’s been proven not to in other countries, well the government can just compensate them.

So we’ve created all these issues, everyone is out of pocket, but hey at least we.. ‘check notes’ have wolves in the country again.

Genius. Pure genius.

they hunted the wolves to extinction and now want to reintroduce them?