UK Travel Planning: Best Tips, Train Myths, and Must-See Destinations [200 Episodes Special]

We celebrate 200 episodes by sharing the practical UK travel planning tips that save you time, money, and stress, plus the misconceptions that trip up first-time visitors. We also share the places that still surprise us and what we’re building next to help you plan a UK trip that feels doable and memorable. 

• grouping London attractions to cut wasted travel time 
• using supermarket meal deals to keep costs down 
• booking must do attractions in advance without overplanning everything 
• planning UK train routes early and comparing ticket and pass options 
• clearing up train myths around tickets “selling out” and paid seat reservations 
• building realistic itineraries with transfer time, rest breaks, and weather backup plans 
• getting beyond London with day trips to see more of the UK 
• destinations that surprised us most including Scottish islands and the Settle Carlisle line 
• British food myths plus what to try and why a food tour helps early on 
• what’s coming next including “before you visit” guides and London monthly events episodes 
• how to use our websites, YouTube channel, Facebook groups, freebies, and consults

 📝 Show Notes - Episode 200

🎟️ Sponsored by Walks Tours & Devour Tours. Explore London with expert guides, from sightseeing to food tours.

👉 Book London sightseeing tours with Walks
👉 Book London food tours with Devour

Transcript

Welcome And Sponsor Thanks

SPEAKER_01 0:00

200 episodes. Today Doug and I are celebrating by sharing the best of UK travel planning, the tips, the resources, and the advice that will make your UK trip unforgettable.

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast. Your host is the founder of the UK travel planning website, Tracy Collins. Each week, Tracy shares destination guides, travel tips and itinerary ideas, as well as interviews with a variety of guests who share their knowledge and experience of UK travel to help you plan your perfect UK vacation. Join us as we explore the UK from cosmopolitan cities to quaint villages, from historic castles to beautiful islands, from the picturesque countryside to seaside towns.

Celebrating Episode 200 Milestone

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Before we get started, we'd like to thank our sponsor, Walks and Devour Tours. If you're planning a trip to London, you'll already know the challenge. There's a lot you want to do and only a limited amount of time to fit it all in. That's where the right tour makes all the difference because you want experiences that are the best use of your time with more access, less waiting, and a deeper sense of the city. That's why we recommend Walks and Devour Tours. They offer walk-in tours and food tours designed to make your time count, often with early or after hours entry. You'll also be with exceptional local guides who add the stories and context so you leave with a richer understanding of what you're seeing and a trip that feels genuinely memorable. If you're visiting London as a couple with family or you simply prefer a more intimate experience, walks and devour tours also offer private tour options. To learn more, you'll find the link in the show notes. Now let's get into this week's episode. Hi everybody, and welcome to this special edition this week of the UK Travel Planning Podcast. Because yes, it's episode 200. I feel like Ryan, Ryan's our editor. I'm gonna ask Ryan at this point, Ryan, can you put some kind of like da da da da du music to go with that announcement? Because it's so exciting. So, yes, it is our 200th episode. I can't believe I have been chatting away for 200 episodes, Doug.

SPEAKER_03 2:04

Just 200.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

Yes, just 200. Actually, I'm nearly on 100 on the Global Travel Planner Podcast as well. So I'm doing well. Anyway, if you are joining us for the first time this week, welcome to the UK Travel Plan Podcast. I'm your host, Tracy Collins, and this week I'm once again joined by me, Doug Collins. So, um, yeah, so we are here to help you plan the best UK trip that you can imagine. That's what we want to do. We have tons of resources, including the podcast. We've got websites uktravelplanning.com and londontravelplanning.com. We've got YouTube channel UK Travel Planning, which Doug is where Doug shares lots of train videos. Doug is our UK train travel expert, aren't you, Doug?

SPEAKER_03 2:48

Yeah, I am indeed.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

Yeah. Um plenty of experience.

SPEAKER_03 2:51

I've been everywhere, literally in the UK on by train.

Listener Tips From Facebook Group

SPEAKER_01 2:54

By train, absolutely. So um as you can hear, both Doug and I are British. Um, I'm from the northeast of uh of England. Doug is from the Midlands. Um I am so yeah, we love to help people plan their trip to the UK. So I'm guessing that's what you're here for. And um hopefully this episode would is going to be useful to you. We're gonna go through some of the the best tips that we have shared, over 200 episodes, bit of a kind of um a chat through um things that we've had, feedback we've had, but also sharing lots of tips. So do stick around for this episode, please. Um, and um there's a huge back catalogue of other 199 episodes as well for you to enjoy. That's right. Um yeah, but um, yeah, we also have a Facebook, we've got a few Facebook groups as well. So if you I'll put a link to our Facebook Facebook groups if you're not in there already, so you can pop over and join those as well. Um so we're gonna go through a few kind of um questions, just gonna well topics I would say that we're gonna kind of chat through. Um, first one though is I did ask in the Facebook group when I mentioned it for some peep feedback about um what what the best tips were that people um have got from the podcast. And we got loads and loads of responses, so thanks very much to everybody who he responded in the Facebook group. Um, do you want to know what some of those are, Doug? Should we share them?

SPEAKER_03 4:15

Yeah, go for it.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Okay. So um the what the most common response was actually listen to the podcast. So that was a great one. That the best tip people had was um that been told to listen to the podcast because it was so useful. So thank you guys for that. So some of the the the tips that came up were grouping things together in London. We kind of, you know, we talk about so you're not wasting your time kind of going from one part of London to another because it takes your time, but to look at the things that you want to do and group them together. Um, other people talked about meal deals because obviously visiting the UK is pretty expensive. Um, so you can get meal deals from um supermarkets. So basically, meal deals are where you get a sandwich or a salad, a pack of crisps or a piece of fruit and a drink for a set price. Um I'm actually hoping to start doing putting some on Instagram, so UK travel plan on Instagram, showing people on a daily basis the the different type of meal deals that I've been buying because there are so many amazing choices. Um really spoiled for that. We really, really are sports, they're really good. Um other person mentioned about booking main attractions in advance because you don't want to, if there's something you really, really want to do, don't leave it to the last minute. Because often people will say, Oh, do I have to plan things down to the last minute, like like to the nth degree? No, you don't necessarily have to plan everything to the nth degree if you don't want to, but if there's something essential you want to see, we would definitely say that you should book it. Um, train one came through, Doug, planning trains ahead of time. That was mentioned.

SPEAKER_03 5:43

That was a yeah, yeah, important tip train journeys ahead of time, plan your itinerary ahead of time. Yeah, um, look all train ticket options and pass options, so that's always um a popular outcome that people have come up with. Yeah, um, also not train related was saving money on um like national trust and English heritage, things like that. So instead of paying individual entry fees, you're paying for membership.

SPEAKER_02 6:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:12

So if you like looking at castles and things like that, or national trust homes, you can save some money for that one.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:18

And and also day tours can save you money.

Common UK Train Questions Answered

SPEAKER_01 6:22

Yeah, so that they're all things, and also very just I love this one. This came back for from the Facebook route was to um our tip to go and see the crown jewels when you get to the Tower of London. Go, go, go early in the morning, go when it opens, go and see the crown jewels because the lines can get really long. And we I've been there and I've seen the line, the queue just go on and on and on and on and on. And I know other people some people said, Oh, well, we went and we're really lucky and there was no queue, but it's like I don't I wouldn't gamble on it because you never know. Um, yeah, so those were that was some of the feedback that we got from the Facebook group. So thank you very much uh for giving that those feedback. As I say, I'll put links in because we have got a UK Facebook group, a London Facebook group, and a train travel Facebook group. So we have indeed uh plenty of options there, right? Okay, let's go on to some of the topics. So um, first topic I thought we'd cover was the question we get asked the most. So that bear in mind this is based on 200 episodes of the podcast, but also obviously itinerary consults, the Facebook groups, um, emails, and lots of other ways that people get in touch with us. Um, do you want to start about trains, darling? Because I know you get asked a lot about trains. Obviously, is that your specialism?

SPEAKER_03 7:33

That that's right. Some of the most common questions are, and I've got to be honest, I haven't got a crystal ball, so sometimes not having enough information makes this a little bit tricky. But quote, what is the best train ticket to? Well, I don't know where you're going. That's makes it a bit trickier when when you're traveling.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Need a bit more information, yes.

SPEAKER_03 7:55

I need a little bit more information, and then what line do I take? Well, if you go from here to there, you probably only got the choice of one or two lines. It's that misconceptional misunderstanding of how the train system works in the UK, the fundamental setup. Uh, because I get the impression that some uh some visitors to the UK believe that individual train operators have their own lines to run trains on, yes, which is obviously not the case. So they're common questions that come up repeatedly or variations of that same question. Uh, but quite often, yes, I need a crystal ball because I you know there's not enough information for me to answer.

SPEAKER_01 8:39

Yeah, you get asked about train train tickets selling out as well, though. That comes up a lot.

SPEAKER_03 8:44

Yeah, that's that that's another one. Do the train tickets sell out? Well, no, they will just keep selling more and more train tickets as a rule. Uh it it some of the questions and some of the statements uh what we get or I get is based on their experience of train travel in a different country. So the assumption is that it carries over to the UK. No. The UK in a lot of ways is quite traditional and sort of that the way it works is set set in stone from many years ago, because it was the first place, the first country that started with the railways, and I think there's some sort of the way it runs and is how it's set up hasn't changed much in the 150 years, or 250 years could be because that was the anniversary, wasn't it, last year? Um so it's that old thing, you don't know what you don't know, and I think s some people's um assumptions as regards the UK train system needs explaining, needs clarifying. So that's things that come up most often in regards to tickets, passes, do the sell out and the train lines themselves.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Yeah, and absolutely I know about talking about train trains selling out, they don't sell out, but you might not get a seat, so book a seat, a reserve seat, um that would be my tip.

SPEAKER_03 11:04

Yeah, reserve a seat. Which is which is also free. That's another point actually you just raised there. Yeah, is the assumption that uh same as you do in Europe is that you will be paying for a seat reservation. In the UK, I will make this perfectly clear, they are free.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:21

If you make it at a staffed train station.

Biggest UK Itinerary Planning Mistakes

SPEAKER_01 11:24

So those are the questions we get asked about trains. I was thinking about generally the kind of questions we get asked, and I think it's it's quite often about uh it's about roots, I think, about how to get from A to B or can I fit these things in? Um or uh yeah, is this doable? I think that's more often we get asked, is this doable? Is this achievable? Um, would this itinerary work? Um, and that's often, I mean, we do a lot on the video consults where people have put the itinerary together and then we that send them to us because uh and you know I'm aware, like everybody is that there's a lot of AI stuff out there, and you can put your itinerary together with AI, but a lot of it is completely wrong, and it is not based on any kind of I don't know where it comes from, some of it it's like what that's not right. Um, so we're we're able to check that through, and I think that's quite often, I think that's when we get the itinerary reviews to do the video review, it's about that just checking it and making sure it's what can work based on yeah, is it realistic based on our kind of extensive experience? And I will say again, you know, um I am nearly uh 60. I hate to say that. Um, and and Doug, you're not too far off either. So we've got quite a lot of years of experience in in travelling around the UK over an extensive kind of period of time as well. So that's right.

SPEAKER_03 12:44

You know, we've we've we've worked with the railways for many years, so I mean I know how it works.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

Yeah, done a lot being being just about everywhere. Um, so we know just it's based on a huge amount of experience as Brits, um, you know, with that background. So um, yeah, so we can we kind of know if it is doable or not doable, or you know, what the situation is, um, so we do that. Um, which I kind of think takes us on to topic two, which is the the the biggest mistake we see um travelers make when they're when they're planning their trip. Um, and I I know you know what I'm gonna say to this one. Um go on. It's gonna just trying to do too much.

SPEAKER_03 13:23

Um yeah, well, but you know, we're all guilty of that to a degree at times because your enthusiasm runs away with you.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

I know, and I honestly I know I also will try to fit too much into an itinerary, but and that the you know, yeah, it is that enthusiasm, but it's just I think it it can be it you just can get carried away too much, and you just end up rushing between places and not actually experiencing anything. Um and also we do have times where it's just not realistic and not doable what you'd like to do, and it's you know, um a list of 50 things to do in London over two days is just not going to be achievable. Um you're just not gonna be able to do it.

SPEAKER_03 14:06

Um I mean, but we do we do know that everybody's travel expectation is different. Yeah, and some people want more of a uh you know an in-depth look at uh a location, others that they are more than happy for a walk past or drive past, just have a look at somewhere, you know. And we understand that, don't we? I mean, when we do the consults, we know we we try and get as much information as we can from people as to what their expectation is for their travels.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

I think it's I think it's still the trying to probably trying to do a lot and not necessarily um including your travel time or parking time or getting to and from a train station time into your itinerary. I think that's probably you know, it's trying to fit in far too many things in a day, um, which may look like it's workable on paper, but actually when you start adding in kind of those transfer times or trying to get parking can be really difficult, then that that can be, you know, uh an error that we see happen uh quite quite often. Um, and then also like not giving yourself some time for some flexibility or spontaneity, or when the weather, great British weather can kind of step in. So sometimes it's good to have a kind of plan, plan A and a plan B just in case.

SPEAKER_03 15:28

Well, it's the practical things as well, isn't it? Things like the actual travel time, the busyness, you know, food breaks and comfort breaks. You know, it all takes time, and you know, depending on where you're staying, your accommodation is, you know, you've got to build in that factor. Say talking about London is getting in and out if you're staying further out. So it's that realistic look at the itinerary as opposed to the wish list.

SPEAKER_01 15:56

Yeah, and not giving yourself any kind of downtime or because it's tiring. It's you know, it is tiring. It is tiring. Um, I've noticed that my stamina is not as good as it was over the last few years. It's definitely decreased the amount of stuff that I can manage in a day before I've just had enough and I'm like, right, that's it. I'm out of here. I've done I've done as much as I can manage today. Um, and I think it's that so there's other things I would say is not preparing before you go in terms of physically, because it's demanding the amount of walking that you may need to do, or planning if you have accessibility needs so that you can put in those brakes um or how you're gonna get around because it is tiring. So that's another that's one thing I I would say as well that needs to be considered. Um, and I'm gonna throw one, I'm gonna kind of ta change tangent a little bit, but also it's uh just planning to come and visit London and missing out the rest of the the you know, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, because there's so much to see. Um, I understand London is a big draw. Um, but and if you do if you want yeah, if you want to base yourself in London, yeah, definitely spend time in London, but do some day trips out. Do don't please please please please please and I beg for this please don't just stay in London, go and do at least at least one or two day trips out because um you'll see a completely different aspect uh to the country if you do that.

SPEAKER_03 17:17

I think also what uh a mistake that comes up is not always evident at the initial stages, and that's working uh on travelling to your abilities, whether it's a mobility, whether whether it's um uh stamina or well just your expectations, is you've got to keep it realistic to actually what you are physically able to cope with because you don't want to be ruining your whole holiday vac vacation within the first few days because you're exhausted, so it's keeping that sense of uh reality, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

It's being realistic, and to be honest, I I think it you know, I've I've seen that this trip that I um uh my stamina is not as uh what it was, so I'm kind of like, oh, that's not good. But I but also being realistic about you know, like I I I've got a lot of stuff on, but I have given myself some flexibility. I really, really, really want to, by the point this episode's come out, I'd like to have gone to Hampton Court to go and see the tulips because the tulips are fantastic in April, but I'm really struggling to fit it in without knowing that I'm gonna have an exhausting day.

SPEAKER_03 18:29

So if you haven't I like what you're saying there, you're saying that basically you need to do some training before you go on holiday.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Yes, yes, just to be able to because I probably didn't do enough um just walking, making so just doing some extra steps every day just to give myself a little bit more of the stamina. So I'm kind of suffering a little bit from that. So that's probably a mistake that I made actually not not preparing as well as I thought I had, um, because I've been sitting on on my bottom doing a lot of podcasting and and um and uh work uh work on the website. So yeah, probably I need to be doing that a little bit more. But I think it's just been aware of that that you know it it can take a lot out of you, so it's just prepare yourself for that. I know you said about the um you've already talked about the the UK rail system that often people have a bit of misconceptions with that as well.

SPEAKER_03 19:19

Yeah, I I I think a bit of homework or talk to me or the Facebook groups is just to get an understanding as a bit as to how it's set it's set up. I mean, I know we have um uh uh ebook, a guide to UK train travel, which you know the feedback that's proves valuable um addition to a lot of people's travel plans because it's all laid out there, how the system sets up and how you know what sort of types of tickets or or passes are available. And but that sort of homework, if you like, does reap its rewards at the end because you're not uh totally, totally um unaware of how things work because the London um terminal train stations, well the underground and the mainland train stations, termless stations, they are very busy places, and if you arrive totally cold without any knowledge at all, it can be quite over overwhelming.

SPEAKER_01 20:16

Yeah, definitely, definitely. I agree with that. So I think it's probably not preparing enough, is is kind of what we're saying with that one. So it's kind of preparing yourself, being realistic about what you can achieve, um, you know, looking at your plans and figuring out what are your must-do things that you want to do, and then planning around that, and just giving yourself a bit of a bit of leeway, a bit of downtime so that you can, you know, enjoy your trip and and getting outside of London.

SPEAKER_03 20:41

And that's true. Uh one other broad point I'll I'll I'll just add on there as well, and I I know this will resonate with you, Tracy, is the fact that we talk to people who have already talked to lots and lots of people, they've looked on so many different resources, and these are not our words, people come back and say they're more confused now than they were before. They've not talked to the right people, and that has come out how many times? I mean, you can answer that, I don't know. But yeah, yeah, quite so many times.

Places That Surprised Us Most

SPEAKER_01 21:13

It's very easy to get overwhelmed. Um, so we have got actually an itinerary planner challenge. I'd I'd have a look on the website, like subscribe to what we've got. We've got some you could do the challenge if you if you subscribe to our email list, you'll get um access to that. Um, and you can try out the that just works you through. And we've done that with video and there's a little work booklet just to try and make it less overwhelming as well with what you do. And obviously, we've got quite a few podcasts which will help with that. So I think it's um it's just preparing yourself, but figuring out how what resources you're gonna use to do that. So, obviously, we're gonna say obviously all UK travel planning stuff, it's all there. We're trying to give you everything that you need to plan your trip. Um, yeah, and just doing just doing that little bit of research and then preparing yourself for the type of trip that you want. Because at the end of the day, it's not my trip, it's not Doug's trip, this is your trip. You know what you want, you know what you want to see, you know what you're able to do and what you're able to fit in. Um, but still, if you're you know, we can still have you, you know, if it's if it's unrealistic, and we've we've we've done lots of consults and we've done video reviews where I've said actually that's not gonna work. It's it's you know, even if you're a a super marathon runner, you're still gonna be able to not be able to do those 50 things in London in two days, it's just not possible.

SPEAKER_03 22:28

So it's also budget as well. Yeah, you know, it's not just about time and um you know ability, it's actually the you know, you're working within a budget, particularly in these times, and you want to get them the you know the best for you for your money when you're traveling. So we could we help with that as well and sort of help you prioritize and get the most out of it.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

Yeah, absolutely, definitely. Now let's move on to topic three, um, which is the Destination that surprised us the most. Now, obviously, um Doug and I have done a huge um huge amount of travelling around the UK, and if it's a place that I haven't been to, Doug's been to, and vice versa.

SPEAKER_03 23:07

Um, but well, if the train goes there, I've been.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

I know. Um, so I I I guess the destination that surprised me the most, and I'm kind of thinking in recent years and recent travel that I've done, um, is just how much I well, I've always loved Scotland. There's no the I make no secret of that. I just love Scotland. Um, but I absolutely love the Scottish Islands. Now I love Sky. I'm not gonna say I don't love Sky, but Sky is is just over-touristed now. There's just everybody wants to go to Sky, and it's it's become crazy popular. And there are other amazing islands to visit. So Doug and I visited the Orkney Islands a few years ago. I can't wait to go back. Absolutely cannot wait to go back. I loved the Orkney Islands. Um, and I was actually lucky enough a couple of years ago. Um, Doug doesn't like boats, so he didn't do this trip over, but I went over to Mull. Um I like Bows.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

Yeah, well Bows don't like me.

SPEAKER_01 24:02

Yes, that's true. Um, I went over to Mull and the island of Iona and Stepha, and um it it just left such a huge um impression on me that um actually by the time this episode has come out I will have been on this trip. But I have planned. Doug's not coming with me, so I know he's very sad about this, but um, I'm actually gonna have been to the islands of Lewis and Harris, and I'll be going back to Mole and Iona. Um actually I'm being with with a friend of mine on Lewis and Harris. We're going up, we're doing a driving trip up there, but then after that, I'm spending five days on Mole and Iona on my own um exploring those islands. And I think I actually surprised myself just how much um I absolutely love those islands. Um Iona is funny, it's kind of there's something about Ionas that stayed in my soul, I have to say, since I was there, and I'm very much looking forward to exploring Iona. There is gonna be a podcast all about that uh that trip coming out at the end of May, so listen out for that. Um so I I think that surprised me the most, but I know you're gonna talk about trains, aren't you, Doug?

SPEAKER_03 25:11

I I am gonna talk about trains, uh unusually, but I want to mention one particular line, train line, and this is the Settle Carlisle line. Now, anybody who's travelled extensively around the UK by train will know the Settle Carlisle. It is the most beautiful, most scenic line, I think, in England. When travellers to the UK want to do travel through Wales, the scenic railways and the preservation lines and Scotland, the West Highland line, and the Highland Main Line, they know pretty much what they're going to expect. They've you because there's plenty out there, plenty of information regarding all of those. But the Settle Carlisle, I'm not particularly a big fan of the term hidden gem, but I really think the subtle Carlisle is a hidden gem train line because it's a wow line because people have few preconceived ideas to what to expect. Go through the Yorkshire Dales and into Cumbria. But afterwards, the feedback is always and we're for the first time, it's wow. This line is absolutely fantastic, it is marvellous. Where's one of our listeners? This is aimed at you because you you're one of those people. You went up there walking as well, you stopped off, and you went to the various different parts of the uh the line, and it is just one of those mo one of those lines, one of those um extra special lines in the UK, which is you know, people say which side of the train is best to sit on. It doesn't matter, it's beautiful both sides. It's like the West Highland line, it doesn't matter, it's beautiful both sides of the train. So, yes, I I would say that that is one line that does amaze people, and it's always a shock because they're just not sure what to expect. So, and it's one of my favourites as well.

UK Travel Myths Food And Trains

SPEAKER_01 27:09

I have to say, I I just I love the fact that you know, after many dec decades of UK travel, whether that's by train or just just travel at destinations, is that there there are still places that just surprise and delight us. Um you know, and um I'm not gonna I'm I will mention it again because I mention it just about every episode, but what what in London um I was very knowledgeable about quite a lot of the museums because I've been visiting since I was a child, but I'd never been to the Victorian Isle but the VA um museum until a few years ago, and now as you'll probably know if you're a regular listener, um it it's it's my favourite museum anywhere in the world, and I'm quite happy to spend hours in the VA exploring it because I love it so much. Um so I think I think Doug and I are privileged. I have to say that that because we have the UK travel planning and and that's what we do, and that we we are able to um I guess indulge indulge our love of the UK by going and exploring it. Um and so we can share or just delight and share uh love of the UK uh with you guys. And um, yeah, I I I'm looking forward to the next place that I visit in the UK that that surprises and delights me, and then we can share it with with you guys on the on the podcast. Definitely right now, topic four, because we wrote some topic ideas down for this episode. Well, that was the next one was kind of myths about UK travel. So um things that we we again I guess it's things that people kind of bring up, and I'm gonna mention, I'm gonna talk first with this one because um it's about food, and I love food, and I like British food. Um, is that British food is bland and it's all brown and it's tasteless. Um, I'm gonna challenge that because actually, British food is not. There's so much regional variety, there's so much tasty, amazing food. There's some wonderful experiences to have. You've got to have a Sunday roast. Again, I'm gonna do I'm gonna do a whole podcast episode talking about the Sunday roast and just the tradition of it, where to get the best ones, what you should try, um, and some tips about Sunday roasts. Um, the other one, afternoon tea, absolutely adore afternoon tea. Both Doug and I love we both love our afternoon teas, don't we?

SPEAKER_03 29:23

Um we're definitely uh I'm also gonna mention regional um food as well. I mean, I'm not just uh you know, Wales and Scotland, but Cornwall got your own food. Yes, you know, the northeast of England got the owner, Yorkshire. The the specific foods per area, and it's I'm not gonna give anything away because I mean I can mention Cornish cotted cream. I mean, it's just fantastic. Cornish pasties, you know, yeah, and now it's Welsh cake as well. Oh, don't get me started. But uh, but it is it's that embracing that there's some beautiful food out there. There's no doubt about it.

SPEAKER_01 29:59

Uh yeah, absolutely. Fish and chips, uh Sunday roast. I mean, I we both love haggis, nips, and tatties when we go to Scotland.

SPEAKER_03 30:07

We certainly do. A decent Cornish pasty. I mean where do you Scotch egg?

SPEAKER_01 30:12

Oh my goodness, Scotch Egg. Scotch egg. So my tip for this is honestly, come with an open mind to British food because I think you may be pleasantly surprised.

SPEAKER_03 30:21

Um I think so.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

Because we have some fabulous, fabulous dishes. Now, my tip for this, absolutely, is if you're going to be in London, do a Devour food tour. And I'm not just saying that because I I love Devour, I really do, and I work with her, but I just because it is also such a fantastic introduction to some of the best foods. I've just done the ultimate um London food tour at Borough Market with Davao at the weekend, and it was fantastic, thoroughly enjoyed it. I've also done the Taste Tales and Traditional Alex, pub food tour, and history tour of London as well with DeVaur, which is fantastic. Um, and you get to try pork pie, you get to try Scotch Egg, you get to try some drinks, just and you also learn about the history of some of these pubs that have been around hundreds and hundreds of years.

SPEAKER_03 31:07

Just go to say that. It's not just about the food and gym themselves, it's the history behind them, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 31:11

Yeah, absolutely fantastic. So you learn about the history, you try the foods um and drinks, you just you learn a lot as you're walking around. Um, and also I would do that at the very beginning of your tour as well, if you can, because you're gonna find out what sort of foods to try and the best places to get it from. And if you do that pubs tour, honestly you'll be going back to some of those pubs for sure, um, for a for a few drinks. So that's my thing, is I think the myth about UK, about visiting the UK, is that you're not gonna get any decent food that is just wrong because you are gonna get some delicious food. I'll let you go now.

SPEAKER_03 31:43

Totally agree with you. Well, I'm talking about some of the myths as regarding train travel in the UK. One thing that comes up so many times in the train group uh is the trains are always on strike in the UK. I chose my words there with care because that's one that comes out. I'm gonna be really pedantic and saying, sorry to tell you, but trains do not go on strike, it's just some of the people that work on them. And that is not all the time, yes. Unfortunately, yes, there seems to be a constant uh or nearly constant threat of strike action or work to rule somewhere along the line, no pun intended. But vast majority of the days trains are running. Yes, it has its issues, yes, it's not always perfect, but you know what? I love train travel, and I know so many other people that love train travel, you know, whatever it throws at you, you're gonna have majority of them are gonna be good days. You also have days that aren't particularly great, but you know, embrace it, go with it, you know, make the most of it. Uh, so that's one about the trains. Also, I've already mentioned we get told that uh seat reservations you have to pay for and trains sell out. I have to shatter both of those myths. Trains do not sell out, they will continue to sell tickets, even if it means you're having to stand up and no seat because you're not buying a seat. You're buying a ticket for that train.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

You're buying room on the train, but not necessarily somebody sit down.

SPEAKER_03 33:18

If if you look it, if you look it, yeah. Um seat reservations, and I've said this before, they are free in the UK. And one that amuses me, uh, this came up actually a week or so ago when somebody said to me, Well, train travel at weekends in the UK is very quiet, isn't it? Nobody travels.

SPEAKER_01 33:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 33:37

I went, Um, no, that is not true. Train travel at the weekend is very busy, exceptionally busy. Uh, a lot of people travel by train for leisure in the UK.

Best Tips For London Scotland Money

SPEAKER_01 33:51

Absolutely. But also, it's yeah, I'm gonna say it's worth checking if you've got any plans because I've just been into London this um last few days, and um there is often uh works on the line on a weekend. So, for example, for myself, the district line was wasn't working this last weekend because of engineering work. So um I just had plan, yeah. Plan, yeah, part of it and all of it, but plan uh bus. So we just got by by bus or planning an alternative route.

SPEAKER_03 34:19

That is that is the thing, you know. When particularly train travel is it's usually coordinated to a degree, and the fact that there is another route possibility, and if there isn't, uh with trains they tend to put on a replacement bus service or coach service. In London, when you're talking transport for London services, they do usually coordinate it, that there is generally a means to get somewhere, whether it's bus or train or Elizabeth Line, which is not part of TFL, but they do coordinate travel pretty well. And if all else fails and you've got doubts about whether your plans actually work, ask me or ask one of our moderators in the group. We've got good good knowledge, and we'll be able to help you out.

SPEAKER_01 35:07

Brilliant. Okay, so topic five uh is um I was kind of hoping to get the best tips from 200 episodes now. If you listen to the podcast weekly, you'll know that if I have a guest on, the question I always ask them is what's your number one tip um to share with somebody visiting a particular area or visiting the UK for the first time. So obviously there are lots of tips. I've probably got nearly 200 tips. Um, and there's lots of fantastic um tips in there, and probably at some point I will try and collate them all, but I didn't have time, unfortunately, because I'm in the UK at the minute, so doing a lot of travel myself. So didn't have time to go through all 200 episodes and get the best tips. But I just thought we would mention some of our top tips, I think, that that we kind of come up with um when we're when we're helping people plan their trips to the UK. So I'm I'm gonna start with uh London. I think we've written a few down, so I don't know if Doug now probably share going through these. Um for London is again don't overplan. Um do book the things that you want to see, though, um, because some things may sell out, um, and don't underestimate the time that you need to visit every attraction. I do not pay to go in the Tower of London and spend 10 minutes in the Tower of London, for example.

SPEAKER_03 36:20

Absolutely true.

SPEAKER_01 36:21

Give yourself a few hours. You're paying to go in these places, so um, you know, don't skip from one to the other. And the other, actually, somebody mentioned to this to me in the Facebook group as well. When I'd said to them, is like, don't just walk past places, go inside. I somebody told me a few years ago that they they were in London and they saw the chair of London. Yes, they saw it from the outside, but they didn't actually go in. And I what what a miss, what a massive miss. Uh, you should go in, you need to go in and find out and learn and have a look around and appreciate it rather than just look because you don't see anything from the outside, really. Um, so that's my same Westminster Abbey. You are seeing history though.

SPEAKER_03 36:57

You are seeing history. But you know it works.

SPEAKER_01 36:59

I don't know. I still yeah, I know what you're gonna say if that works, but I would still say, please, please, please, if you're gonna be in London and I know you want to do a whistle stop tour, and maybe you want to drive past a few things and see a few things from the outside, do go into a few, and the child of London would be the number one I would say to go into.

SPEAKER_03 37:16

I I I do agree with you there, yeah. Maybe have one quality over quantity of several places.

SPEAKER_01 37:23

That's actually a really good tip. I quality over quantity anytime. Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, but that's how we travel. Um, I would prefer to have quality rather than just ticking off lots and lots of different places. We want both. Uh absolutely, yeah, we do. Uh wouldn't it be good? Um, I'm gonna give one for Scotland is don't drive in Edinburgh if you can avoid it.

SPEAKER_03 37:45

Uh and if you I was gonna say, yeah, make sure you try Haggis, that's all for the safer.

SPEAKER_01 37:49

Yeah, well, I agree with that one as well. But um, you know, don't drive in Edinburgh, please. Just you know, if you've got a car, if you are staying you're gonna look for somewhere that's gonna give you parking, because um I I think we've driven in Edinburgh a few times, generally because we've picked a car up in the centre of Edinburgh and went, Oh, this wasn't a very good idea. Um, actually, I'm gonna second that with I say don't drive in Edinburgh. I'd rather drive in Edinburgh than drive in London, which you could not pay me enough money to do at all.

SPEAKER_03 38:15

No, no, that's absolutely absolutely true. Yeah, um, I'm gonna mention one for trains and that's look at all the ticket options and pass options, plan your route and then talk to me or talk to her because A, we can save you time and money.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

Yeah, true.

SPEAKER_03 38:36

To be honest with you, and yeah, it's we'll make the whole experience better for you. Plain and simple.

SPEAKER_01 38:44

It's like you know, as I say, it's it it's best to kind of talk to the experts and ask the uh people whom knows. Oh, most definitely, um, and and it can save you some time or and or money. Um I'm gonna go back to food because of course I'm gonna go back to food. Um yeah, embrace things that are different from what you used to. So, you know, the food may be different. Um culturally, there's things that we do differently. If you listen to a couple of episodes ago, we had a we talked about 12 things that you may be a bit confusing about about the British, so that might be useful. And if you haven't listened to that, to to take a listen to that. Um saving money is another thing that we we talk about quite often. Um so things like meal deals, getting memberships, um, uh, you know, National Trust, English Heritage. I will say that there are we have got an article about all these different um ones, and actually, if you're in the States or in Australia, sometimes it's cheaper to look at something in your own country that will work worldwide that you can use in the UK. Um, the other one, obviously, we're gonna talk about is um considering it, you know, take a day tour out, take a tour so that you can sit back and relax because it's not fun sometimes if if there's one designated driver and they're just doing all the driving and they're not being able to sit back and enjoy. Um, so we work with some amazing, amazing private driver tour guides, and we work with some amazing, amazing family-run um tour companies too, um, which we you know, a lot we've negotiated uh reduce reductions for you. So we've got promo codes to get 5, 10, 15% off some of them. So do check those out. I will link to that in the show notes as well. Um, and uh, we know we we work hard to get those deals, and we make sure that all the companies we work with and people we work with are just fantastic. We love them, they're amazing, and the feedback we get all the time is how great they are.

Most Meaningful Episodes And Why

SPEAKER_03 40:36

There really is. I'm gonna add on to that about tours is the fact that it may sound like a strange thing to say, is but going on a tour can actually save you money. If, for example, you wanted to have a few days around, maybe so use cottswalls as an example, you've got to hire a car, pay for accommodation, and visit half a dozen places. A tour may be the perfect solution because you could do that in a day or two days if you're on a couple of tours, and you'll cover more ground than you would be in hiring a car and paying for accommodation, and you'll do it at a fraction of the cost.

SPEAKER_01 41:11

Well, you're probably gonna pay for accommodation if you're on a tour as well, but at least you're not paying for the petrol and the parking or struggle to get parking. Yeah, and also you learn more. Yeah, yeah. Um, that's right. You learn more as well because you're with a guide who knows the area, so it just make the most of it.

SPEAKER_03 41:25

Yeah. And the speaker is the one that does most of the driving when we're there together, is potentially gives you drivers a day off, like you said.

SPEAKER_01 41:32

Yeah, exactly, giving people a break. Um, yeah, so I think I think the kind of cover, as I say, there's lots of tips shared in the Facebook group as well, so check that out. Um, but if you listen to the episodes regularly, you know that at the end of every episode somebody shares a very useful tip of something they've learned from their own trip over to the UK. Um, right, so topic six, I'm gonna move us on swiftly, is the episode that meant the most to us personally. And now I can't answer this. I genuinely sat down and thought about it. And I love talking to all of you after your trips via trip reports. I just love it because I love the enthusiasm. I love learning about what you enjoyed and what you did. So the trip report episodes are absolute favourites for me, with every single one of you I've talked to for Trip Reports. So thank you for that. Also, the episodes with our partners as well. I love it when I get one of our partners on. Um, you know, you'll listen to those episodes and we we talk to everybody we work with, that's one of the stipulations. We ask them to come on the podcast and share about what it is, um, where it is that they're based, what it is that they do, um, and and so that you can get a flavor for the their enthusiasm and the love for the what they do. Um, so I absolutely love that, and I learned things as well because um, you know, we're talking to experts in particular regions and areas, um, and so that's always an absolute joy to do. Um, so I I just don't have a favorite. I just don't because I love them all. What about you, Doug?

SPEAKER_03 43:04

Well, I'm gonna go back two years. I'm gonna say my favourite was because I've done quite a few train episodes, but this one was about one of my travels. Um, and this was episode 50. I talked about my trip around North Wales. It was, yes, it was all trains, trains and castles, really, but I had the most fantastic time um on the whole trip. The weather was beautiful, which uh for my past visits to Wales, that was unusual. But it I loved every single moment of it. I went on how many different um uh railway preservation lines, the Festiniog, Langothlin, and I also visited Carvan Castle, Beaumaris Castle, Conway Castle. I was in. Oh, I just travelled everywhere, but I didn't drive. I used public transport, and it was just such a magical experience to me. It's the most time I've ever spent consecutively in Wales itself, to be truthful. But I met some wonderful people. One particular special person I met, and I mentioned the name, Wendy, where the place I stayed at, and we have been firm friends since then. We keep in touch, but it was just I learned a lot about the Welsh people, uh, about their views of the English, uh, about their character, and their fierce, fierce national pride. It was just absolutely phenomenal. Uh, not to mention huge amounts of train travel, but the the the the whole passion of the people, it was just such an incredible experience for me, and I I relayed all that on in episode 50. I can remember it like it was yesterday. Uh I kept in touch with people from the different Preservation lines as well. So keep in touch with those as well. But it was one, that's a memorable one, and that's just basically the one that sticks in my mind above all else.

What’s Next For Trains And Podcast

SPEAKER_01 45:08

Well, I will link to that in the show notes, Doug. I mean, how privileged are we not only to be able to do all this travel, but to also share it with people as well to inspire you guys who are listening to this to go and visit these places? So we do, yes, we do a lot of episodes around London because we know that most of you are going to head to London. But we also get to share about our experiences visiting other regions of the UK. So it's been fantastic to talk about actually some of the lesser-known places like St Albans or Durham or Northumberland, places that you may not necessarily, if you're coming from overseas, have at the top of your wish list to visit. So just privilege. Absolutely love it. I I love the fact that we just have built this fantastic, fantastic network and fantastic resource um to share with the UK travel planning uh community. So yeah, thank you for tuning and listening to the podcast because um we I can't wait for do the next 200 episode. Not sure what I'm gonna do them on, but um I will we'll plan as we as we go along. Um but yes, just been it's been a lot of fun, hasn't it?

SPEAKER_03 46:08

It really has, yeah. It's been privileged, as you say.

SPEAKER_01 46:11

So I'm gonna kind of talk about next about um what's coming next on the podcast, because I kind of briefly kind of mentioned um what's kind of what's happening on the podcast and what's happening generally. So I'll talk a little bit. I know Doug, you want to talk a little bit about what's happening in the train industry because that's kind of travel plans, and I'm gonna talk a little bit about what's coming next on the podcast. So we've got a kind of different slant on how we're going into this. Did you want to start with the trains, Doug?

SPEAKER_03 46:36

Yeah, I'll it's a bit of an umbrella one, really umbrella two, because um started last year, but really into effect this year is um GB Railways, Great Britain Railways are basically taking over the rail industry rail industry and putting it back into public ownership. So there's going to be changes regarding ticketing and uh train branding and things like that to make it a bit more user-friendly as regards ticketing. That's the intention that's gonna be taking effect from this year at some point.

SPEAKER_01 47:08

Brilliant. And there's gonna be some new line and stations openings and things going on.

SPEAKER_03 47:12

Yeah, the the continuous uh new stations opened up the recently uh uh around Birmingham some new uh stations opened up on a reopened line. Uh so there's lines opening up all the time. So just gives me an excuse to have to travel on the new new lines and I've got the new stations.

SPEAKER_01 47:30

Absolutely. Well you're gonna enjoy that. Uh yeah, I'm sure you are.

SPEAKER_03 47:33

I'm sharing that on the podcast as well because um yeah, so also on top of that, when when there's new lines opened up, uh new stations, it it gives uh visitors to the UK using the railways more of an opportunity, more flexibility as regards places they can visit, more places of you know, choice of places to stop as well, where previously there was no rail coverage. There's gonna be greater coverage now. But it is a perfect example was North Devon. Yeah, uh there's the line reopened there as well from from Exeter, which gives people opportunity more for train travel into North Devon.

SPEAKER_01 48:10

It is quite exciting because I have to say, like where I lived in the northeast, where I was brought up, they've just actually recently re-opened the train station which which closed in the early 60s. Um so you know, we're seeing more and more. So I think that's that's really gonna be very positive. And I say that'll be will be reflecting a lot of those in in the podcast as well, in kind of your and also on the on the YouTube, you do a lot of stuff on YouTube for train travel. So um with popping on and having a look, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 48:34

One uh one big one that's going to be opened up in the in the foreseeable future is the finishing off of the east-west line, and that'll be a train line in essence from Oxford to Cambridge. The various stages of it already open, but the full uh full line will give great flexibility of that trap train travel um between the university cities.

SPEAKER_01 48:56

Yeah, that's really exciting. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 48:57

That is yeah, that is that is an exciting one.

Resources Consults And Final Thanks

SPEAKER_01 48:59

Yeah, um, and also so we're talking about the podcast. I'm gonna kind of swing away a bit from from talking about train travel because I know you'd do that all day. Um so yeah, so some new series coming to the podcast in the next few months. So I'm gonna be doing a little bit about before you visit, a series of be things to know before you visit, because we often get asked about that. You know, what do I need to know before I visit Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, York, Edinburgh, um, you know, Scottish Islands, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Cornwall, you name it, Lake District. Um, so we're gonna do a whole series on that. So that's gonna be really exciting. Um, in fact, I've just done the the before you visit Edinburgh one, which will be out in a few weeks' time. Um, actually, no step next week. Um, I'm also gonna do some neighbourhood guides focused on London, um, just to talk about the different areas of London because I think there's a little bit of confusion, and also just to give you a little bit more specific examples of you know what to do and see in Westminster and some tips with that. I actually have got guides on the London Travel Plan and uh website all about the different areas, so I'm gonna bring those onto the podcast. Um, and also I have got a um exciting new bonus series that's gonna be starting hopefully in September. That's my aim. Um, and I'm gonna be doing a bonus episode which will come out on a Thursday at um same time, so 10 a.m. Um Greenwich mean time, is uh it's gonna be about what's events and what's happening in London. So it will be a monthly guide to what's coming, what events to look forward to in London, because we know that London is uh is probably where most of you are gonna start off. So we're gonna be doing that. So probably we'll be doing a September, beginning September episode, which will cover November and this in in London. So we're gonna try and do a couple months before um just to tell you about the main events, main things to think about if you're visiting London in that particular month. So that's gonna be a brand new bonus episode. Um, so we'll have the weekly episode as normal on a Tuesday, and then the first Thursday of every month, I'm gonna be doing an episode about what to expect and do and see in London. Not for that month, but for um the actually the probably a month or two afterwards to give you plenty of time to think if you want to add those things into your itinerary and things to know as well that might impact your visit. So that's something I thought I'd do because I know Visit in London is is probably where most of you are going to start off. So I thought that would be a really useful episode to add in, and also what things to think about booking and doing as well. So that's gonna be really exciting. Um, so there will be, yeah, so our four regular monthly episodes or five of that must be uh an extra Tuesday in the month, um, plus the um one Thursday new episode about uh what to look forward to in London. Um but yeah, I think that's that that basically uh wraps up our 200th episode. Can you believe it?

SPEAKER_03 51:49

Wow, that's good. So if you need to know any more information about trains, book a console, we have our QA session, don't we?

SPEAKER_01 51:56

Yes, we do.

SPEAKER_03 51:57

So that's sorted down there. If anybody planning on visiting the UK for the first time, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 52:01

So like we've got a huge amount of resources. Obviously, we've got this podcast now, 200 episodes on the podcast. We have the websites uktravelplanning.com, londondravelplanning.com. So pop over to the website. We've got a YouTube channel with um building our subscribers that's doing really well. So that's uh UK Travel Planning on YouTube. Obviously, we're also on Instagram. Um, so yeah, follow along. There you'll get all those uh resources there. We also have um an email list. So subscribe to our email list, we'll put a link in the show notes, um, and then you can get um now we do have three different lists, so depending on whether you're gonna go to UK generally, London specifically, or train travel, you can have emails specifically for those topics, which will um give you kind of advice and and uh information around each of those. So do take a look on the websites because we do offer um some freebies that you can sign up for um for information. For example, our itinerary planning challenge. We've got a train uh tips guide, 12 things to know before you travel the UK by train, so it's worth um signing up for that. And obviously the Facebook groups, Doug.

SPEAKER_03 53:08

That's right, yeah. We've got a train tips group myself, um, and have some very, very uh able and capable moderators to help out in as well. So between us, we have I think everything covered, rail travel wise.

SPEAKER_01 53:23

Rail travel wise, UK travel wise, London travel-wise. And obviously, we do have consults. You can have a consult with Doug, 30-minute consult with Doug around train travel. We do a video itinerary review. So if you put your itinerary together um and you want us to look over it, we do a video review of that. That's a very, very popular um service that we offer. And then if you want to have some time with us um to go through your itinerary to stop, but to we can help you plan your itinerary, you can um uh we can have a one-to-one, uh you can book an hour session to start with, um, and we can go through everything with you. If you need more, that's fine. You can book extra ones. But um we we haven't we've got some open at the moment, one-to-one slots. But if there's nothing when you look at the calendar, just send us an email and we can see what we can do. We've done that in the past. We said to people um we can we'll try and fit fit in to around that will work for all of us. So so we've got an extensive amount of resources. I think are we just we've we've got everything, everything you could possibly want.

SPEAKER_03 54:20

We have I'll just mention our um ebook as well, uh guide to UK train travel. I mentioned it earlier, but that is extremely popular. Uh, if you're shy and you don't want to talk to us, uh anybody you be traveling by train in the UK and you have a uh you know a little bit of anxiety, a bit of stress over it, have a look at the ebook as well. You'll find it a valuable, valuable uh tool to have with you.

SPEAKER_01 54:45

Absolutely. Well, I say on the on the websites you'll find links to the products and services as well as as long as as well as lots of um articles and useful useful tips. Um but I think until I think that's episode that's a wrap on episode 200. Um I I don't know what the next next hundred will be like. So I'm uh it it goes really quick. I remember doing the hundredth episode. I can't believe we've just done the 200th. Um it's incredible. As I say, I will link to everything in the show notes at uktravelplan.com forward slash episode 200. Um, but otherwise, I don't know, Doug, have you got anything else you want to say before we kind of sign off for this week?

SPEAKER_03 55:21

Um, don't think so. I think uh make sure trains are part of your UK adventure. Oh, I knew you were gonna say you won't, you you won't you won't be sorry.

SPEAKER_01 55:30

Absolutely. Okay, well, I would think that would leave us to say then until next week's episode, which is actually all about Edinburgh. Um, is uh from myself and Doug. Happy UK travel planning! Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of the UK Travel Planning Podcast. As always, show notes can be found at uktravelplanning.com. If you've enjoyed the show, why not leave us feedback via text or a review on your favourite podcast app? We love to hear from you, and you never know, you may receive a shout out in a future episode. But as always, that just leaves me to say until next week, happy UK travel planning.