Give me your UK/Ireland travel tips and resources

September 5, 2023 6:08 AM

Partner and I are planning a vacation to the UK and Ireland next April/May and these are destinations I've never once considered or researched. I could use some resources, websites, trip itinerary ideas - anything you've got to help me!

I am the "planner" of the two of us (we are both in our mid-40s), a role which I thoroughly enjoy. He chose the destination, as this trip is a gift for him finishing his degree. Relevant details about us: we live in New Orleans; I am a pretty seasoned traveler but typically pick destinations based on wine/food or biology; he loves scotch and whiskey, good food (he is a retired chef), and all sports.

So, I'm starting my research and planning and don't know where to start at all other than googling "UK Ireland vacation". We are thinking 10 - 14 days and want to visit England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. He has requested some scotch/whiskey tastings (including Jameson) and a Premier League match; I want a Michelin-star dinner, a stop in Wrexham, and a visit to something natural.

I would love to hear about any good online resources that I can dive into to help me plan this trip such as must-see lists, sample itineraries, or trusted travel guides. I'm also happy to take any specific tips from the hive mind about places to go/eat, best way to get around, or anything else we should know.

posted by tryniti to Travel & Transportation around Castlewellan, Northern Ireland (17 answers total)

I lived in Scotland for 3/4 of a year, and some of the sites I liked were:
Edradour Distillery (https://www.edradour.com/), Scotland's smallest distillery (it's closed to the public rn, but worth looking into for next year)
Edinburgh (the castle, the Royal Mile, the Scott Monument, Arthur's Seat) - there's a hop-on, hop-off bus in many cities in the UK, so great for just exploring
Doune Castle (https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/doune-castle-p254201)
Glasgow (where I lived) is an interesting city, but not super touristy, and the Counting House at George Square is kind of a neat pub (https://www.whatsonglasgow.co.uk/listings/the-counting-house-glasgow/)
posted by eekernohan at 6:21 AM on September 5, 2023

I visited Dublin for a week in late 2017 and took the train north to Belfast one day to see the peace walls via Black Cab Tour, which I highly recommend. If you're into libraries, the Long Room at the Trinity College Library is a beautiful must-see.

The Go City Dublin Pass may be worth looking into for you; it includes distilleries and the Guinness storehouse.

In London, I always recommend a meal at the Tate Modern, which has spectacular views of the city.

Congrats on your partner finishing his degree. Hope you have a great time!
posted by wicked_sassy at 6:42 AM on September 5, 2023

I live in Dublin, and am from the UK originally.

Dublin - I would do a food tour! There's a few to choose for but I'd go for the most expensive you can find as they tend to be best and visit a couple of Michelin starred restaurants as well as visits to either the Jameson distillery and/or the Guinness storehouse. Whilst the Irish are not known particularly for their cuisine, what the Irish have is fabulous ingredients - wonderful dairy, great veg, etc. If you can fit it in whilst you're here, the Viking Splash Tour is the best quick tourist jaunt around the city. NB You will need to book the food tour and the viking splash ahead of time! If you like museums, the Kilmainham gaol gets rave reviews and there's a fair few other museums that can be worth visiting in Dublin. If you want a bit of countryside, I'd either go to Howth a short train ride away, to Bray also a short train ride away or a jaunt up the Wicklow mountains (bring a heavy-duty coat, you will get rained on!)

The Premier League season (and in fact all football at all levels which will include Wrexham) mostly comes to an end in early May - so you might want to plan around this if you want to see a Premier league or Wrexham football game. There's other sports you might consider too - Rugby and cricket will both be being played at that time of year.

You should have plenty of choice of something natural - just depends on what you're after - mountain walking - Scottish Highlands, Cumbria, Snowdonia, Kerry, Connemara are all good choices ; Classic English countryside: Cotswolds, Quantock hills, South Downs ; Yorkshire Dales ;
I think you should definitely do London but maybe go to a couple of things like Covent Garden market which you'll love if you're foodies (hell, go to the theatre whilst you're there as well).
posted by BigCalm at 7:31 AM on September 5, 2023

If you can, camogie and/or hurling match in Ireland is completely worth going to for a new experience.

For nature, Glendalough in Wicklow, Ireland is wonderful

And in general, I highly recommend B&Bs. My husband was completely against them when I booked our Ireland trip. I had to book a hotel for our last night, and he was so sad. Its such a great experience. Lots of reviews exist for them too.
posted by Ftsqg at 7:56 AM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

Not far from me in super rural mid-Wales is one of the best restaurants in the UK: two Michelin star Ynyshir (2022 best in the UK per National Restaurant Awards). And you probably need to book around now to get a table in spring 2024. Ynyshir the hotel is also a beautiful place to stay, located on a nature reserve, and close to Snowdonia and to the coast for beach and/or hiking.
posted by Rhedyn at 7:56 AM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

Mostly addressing the gastronomical travel part of this ask:

In Northern Ireland the 'Giant's Causeway' is a popular scenic destination, usually combined with a visit to the whiskey distillery at Bushmills.

In Ireland, if you're driving the West coast (the Wild Atlantic Way, no less) and you're anywhere near Galway (a beautiful small city with a vibrant cultural scene) or county Clare then I recommend a visit to Moran's Oyster Cottage, a lovely country pub by a weir that serves oysters and Guinness, a perfect combination. The limestone coast around Doolin known as The Burren is fascinating and unique, and you'll see and can visit the islands of Inishmore and Inisheer from there – recently seen on the big screen in the Banshees of Inisherin, tip. Westport in county Mayo, directly to the north of county Clare, is famous for its mussels [also for the production of botox, but that's another story], it's very small but has a lot packed in to it. Westport sits on the edge of Clew Bay, a delightful estuary that's dotted with small egg-shaped islands, the tops of glacial drumlins, and overlooked by Croagh Patrick (aka 'the Reek'), a fine mountain which many faithful or penitent Catholics attempt to climb in pilgrimage on the last Sunday in July each year.

If you're heading to Scotland, Aberdeen has a lot to recommend it – it's an easy trip to Speyside, the river valley responsible for numerous internationally recognised distilleries of single malt whisky. The river Spey is nearer to the city of Inverness, granted, but there are other reasons for visiting Aberdeen. The Caingorms national park is on Aberdeen's doorstep, a beautiful wildness of very ancient granite. The city of Aberdeen is known for its distinctive granite architecture, and although its more recent wealth comes from the exploitation of North Sea Oil, the city has a lot of historical charm and importance, particularly around the university. Gastronomically, it's proximal to Arbroath, home of the Abroath Smokie, a variety of smoked fish with a uniquely protected geographical status. Being on the East of the country, Aberdeen receives much less rainfall on average compared with, e.g. Glasgow / the West, a consideration worth taking seriously if you have only a short amount of time in Scotland.
posted by Joeruckus at 7:57 AM on September 5, 2023

There's a few school/public holidays in April/May, so some places might be busier or more expensive on those dates:
29 Mar - 14 Apr: school holidays
Last week of May: school holidays
29 Mar, 1 Apr, 6 May, 27 May: public holidays
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:09 AM on September 5, 2023

As a partial itinerary, if you are driving or using public transport you can head to North Wales from wherever you are in England (slow cheap connections from Birmingham, faster ones from London/Crewe/Chester). Wrexham is connected to the train line crossing North Wales, and not far from the A55 which is the fast coastal road. The A55 and the train will eventually take you to the port of Holyhead, on Anglesey, from where you can put yourselves or selves+car onto a ferry to Dublin. Rail+sail fares are available for foot passengers, but watch out for rail disruption (strikes, engineering works) which is sadly quite common at the moment.
posted by altolinguistic at 8:24 AM on September 5, 2023

Michelin starred restaurants are probably going to be the hardest things to plan for. Off the top of my head I can only think of a few of the very well known ones - e.g. Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck at Bray, the Manoir aux Quat'Saisons (near to Oxford), and (in my home town, Cambridge) Midsummer House. Either of the latter would combine with a visit to one of the universities.

For nature, depends a lot if you want to just see it or get out into the wilds. The most spectacular scenery is probably in Scotland - driving through Glen Coe is impressive and there are some incredible (and very challenging) walks around there. Personally I love the Lake District which still has plenty of rugged walks but slightly less daunting - visit Wasdale or Ennerdale for remote lakes and hills. If you want something less challenging, a walk / boat around Derwentwater from Keswick is a great option.
posted by crocomancer at 1:02 PM on September 5, 2023

The Lake District is good for natural beauty and high-end eating, with a few starred restaurants spread out among the outstanding beauty.

I'd head through mid-Wales to Wrecsam, take in the football at Man City, Man United or Liverpool at Anfield, eat well in one of Gary Usher's Elite Bistros sites (while not starred, we're fans, also in Manchester you might eat at Erst or Climat) and head into the Yorkdhire Moors and on to the Lake District.
posted by k3ninho at 1:42 PM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

So timely - I'm sitting in the airport on my way home from a holiday in Ireland right now! We did 3 days in Dublin, Cork and Galway, then back to Dublin to fly home. We did 100% public transportation - between the trains, buses and taxis, it was very easy to get around, no need to rent a car. For taxis, download an app called FreeNow and you can call a ride, similar to Uber or Lyft.

Galway was our favorite stop of the three, Dublin was great, Cork was nice but not a must-see. Some of the trip highlights were a vintage tea tour of Dublin on a double Decker bus, a day tour out of Galway to Inisheer and the Cliffs of Moher, and seeking out lots of amazing music in local pubs, especially in Galway. One note about the Long Room at Trinity College library, they are just starting major renovations that will last for the next few years, so most of the shelves are currently bare, and the room may be closed entirely by spring. Overall it was a great trip, enjoy!
posted by platinum at 2:20 PM on September 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

Covent Garden market which you'll love if you're foodies

Covent Garden is more for trinkets than food. The stalls in both parts of the market are worth a browse for souvenirs and gifts (especially during the antiques market on a Monday).

For food, you want Borough Market. Go around lunchtime on a weekday-- it's extremely crowded on weekends. They have a cider bar and a wine stall that does tastings.
posted by Pallas Athena at 6:08 PM on September 5, 2023

Some great suggestions above. The British Isles are not so big - but remember that getting from one place to another can still take a while - so, especially if you are planning to get to England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales within your 10-14 days - beware of overloading your itinerary. Any itinerary for a connoisseur of the water of life who is visiting both Scotland and Ireland should be aware that it is "whisky" or "scotch" in Scotland and "whiskey" in Ireland.

Edinburgh has some pretty good places to eat, I would say that whoever compiled that list knows what they are talking about.
posted by rongorongo at 11:38 PM on September 5, 2023

My only advice is to take the Caledonian Sleeper between London and Scotland, the further north, the better it is delightful and comfy as all hell.
posted by dame at 2:10 PM on September 6, 2023

Have a look at Wales. Wales never seems to get the recognition and hype that Scotland and Ireland receive from overseas visitors. South Wales is particularly beautiful.
posted by EllaEm at 3:10 PM on September 6, 2023

Consider Waterford, at the southeast corner of Ireland. Yes, there is the Waterford Crystal factory, though the tours are rushed until you get to the expensive gift shop where you can spend all the time you like!

The best thing (especially for a retired chef) might be the restaurant at Waterford Castle. You (in your taxi) will be ferried to the island where the castle sits. For overall ambience and memory-making, it's hard to beat.
posted by John Borrowman at 8:32 AM on September 7, 2023

If you are going to the Jameson distillery, you'll be in Midleton. There's a highly regarded restaurant called Sage that's pretty good. You would get there via Cork, and we have Ichigo, which is Michelin starred and worth the spend. But we also have Miyazaki, which is so great.

Oh, and we have a good art museum (the Crawford Gallery) and a Butter Museum!
posted by DarlingBri at 5:29 AM on November 1, 2023