Fun and Exciting Things to Do in the UK/Ireland over New Years

October 9, 2006 6:04 PM

My boyfriend and I have a week to spend in the U.K. or Ireland at the end of December. Where to go, what to do, where to stay, and how not to accidentally bankrupt ourselves?

He has business in London from Jan 3-5, but we would like to spend December 29-Jan 2nd in the general area. We've both spent time in London, so we'd like to get out of the city for the first part of the trip, and would be happy to go to other parts of the UK (Scotland, Wales, whatever) or even fly to Ireland. However, once we get to where we want to be, we don't want to spend every other day travelling long distances. We're used to trains, staying in hostels and British cuisine, so give us your best 4 or 5 days in Britain or Ireland that you can imagine without worrying about our American sensibilities. We're also happy to go off the beaten path. Obviously we'll be there over New Years, so suggestions for how to celebrate are welcome.

Limitations: we're on a budget. No blowing our underrated U.S. currency in a matter of hours.

Likes: Wandering the outdoors (though, really, freezing on the moors while pretending to be Catherine and Heathcliff, less attractive), places not overcrowded with tourists, historic places or anecdotes we can brag about later, small homey restaurants (love Indian food), cheap wine and beer, long walks, museums, theater, dancing, free or cheap entertainment

Dislikes: Antiquing and quaint little shops won't make us overjoyed, nor will standing in line, being exceptionally fashionable or going somewhere because cool people go there.

posted by xaire to travel & transportation (15 comments total)

A Glasgow or Edinburgh combo should suit. Stay in Glasgow and travel through to Edinburgh for the traditional Hogmanay celebrations. Travel up here is easy and inexpensive, hotels are plentiful and good (just book soon!), great food, culture, music, drinking, partying, shopping etc.

Further north there is Inverness, plenty of Highland homes and cheap B&B's, lots of history, good pubs, traditional music and more of the above New Year partying etc. Easy to get to and probably cheaper than the capital city and it's arch rival.

Just wrap up warm. And bring a hip flask ;)
posted by brautigan at 6:16 PM on October 9, 2006

Northern Scotland has some beautiful outdoors scenery, although you'll be seeing it at its bleakest time of year. Impressive in a stark grandeur sort of way but don't expect purple heather etc. There are lots of nice "Forest Walks" which are enjoyable, easy rambles.

In most towns there will be a Tourist Information center, usually marked with a lowercase "i". These are very helpful, when they're open... they may not be in your time of year.

Kilkenny was our favorite city in Ireland; very medieval feeling, nice castle, great historic pub (Kyteler's Inn), dating back to 1324.
posted by Rubber Soul at 7:14 PM on October 9, 2006

i just returned from a 13 day self-driving tour of ireland.
i would recommend flying into belfast or sligo, renting a car and driving/exploring donegal. beautiful scenery, lovely people, and some really remote wonderful places to explore. giants causeway, the atlantic drive, letterkenny, and donegal town are just a few places to check out.

i went with bed & breakfast vouchers. they worked out perfectly. call around to a few travel agencies and you will end up paying less then $40 per person a night. that time of the year you can probably find a great package deal for a flight and rental car.

have a great trip. email me if you would like the name of the best bed and breakfast we stayed at.
posted by jessica at 7:52 PM on October 9, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

For visitors, Edinburgh is definitely the place to spend Hogmanay. You'll need to get your tickets now though.
posted by bonaldi at 8:08 PM on October 9, 2006

If you're still considering England, I will always recommend Newcastle upon Tyne as a great place to go if you want a totally different experience to London. It's an amazingly fun and beautiful city.

London doesn't really have NYE celebrations, so you'd be right to go elsewhere.
posted by randomination at 2:06 AM on October 10, 2006

I'd 3rd brautigan & bonaldi's suggestion; aside from the "biggest street party in the world" on Hogmanay itself, the new year festival in Edinburgh has expanded with lots of free / cheap stuff on in the days leading up - lots of anecdotes to be gained...

And if you books flights / trains early you should be able to get from London to Edinburgh & back fairly cheaply...
posted by khites at 2:18 AM on October 10, 2006

Book trains early, and commit to a particular time, and you can save something like 80% on the ticket. thetrainline is the site to do it at. Not sure if they deliver to the US but if not drop me an email and we can sort something out.

Whilst Edinburgh at new years is a famous thing to do, it's apparently crowded, you need tickets in advance, and well, it's my idea of hell (packed pubs, drunks on the street, shouting, standing room only both indoors and out). I am not sure what else to recommond for the actual new-years-eve thing as it's one of my least favourite days of the year. Too much forced entertainment and people trying really hard to have fun. Maybe do Edinburgh for the days running up to new years and then go somewhere nearby for the actual day itself? A small town near Edinburgh? Hotels/B&Bs for that period in Ed are going to be booked out and super-expensive, which is another consideration you might want to take into account.

Looking at your likes (curry, walks, museums, culture) you could do worse than Yorkshire as a venue. Leeds is a lively city with good museums. Bradford is a bit more rundown, but has the national museum of film and photography which is ace. Both have fantastic curries (large pakistani/bangladeshi population). Historic York is a bit touristy and twee but really worth a visit. All three citys are 1/2 an hour or less from each other by train, and the yorkshire dales (1hr from Leeds) are lovely, as are the pennines (similar). And the beer is considerably cheaper than London or Edinburgh.
posted by handee at 2:44 AM on October 10, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Scotland, in general celabrates new year - Hogmanay - in a much bigger way than England (not sure about comparisons with Ireland or Wales). It is really something worth experiencing. However the nature of the celebrations have traditionally been community based: a ceilidh in a local hotel perhaps and lots of small scale parties in pubs and people's homes. Even in Edinburgh celebrations were relatively small scale until about 15 years ago: everybody would go out onto the streets to wish everybody else happy new year and then go on to house parties.

If you come to Scotland for new year then you have the choice of either following most other tourists - and of course many young Scots - to the street party in Edinburgh or of going somewhere a bit more low key. Edinburgh is probably the safest bet since you have a big choice of activities as well as ready access to some wide open spaces. There are some down sides however: large crowds, saturated accommodation and the potential to blow a considerable amount of money.

Smaller towns in Scotland - such as Comrie, Stonehaven or Kirwall in Orkney all have their own peculiar festivals that may provide a more interesting experience. This site may give you inspiration. Staying in a B&B or small hotel in such a place and getting tickets for local events (in advance of your visit - they often sell out) could be a really good plan.
posted by rongorongo at 3:19 AM on October 10, 2006

Whilst Edinburgh at new years is a famous thing to do, it's apparently crowded, you need tickets in advance, and well, it's my idea of hell.

Agreed it can be, although I would still recommend Edinburgh as it remains the best hogmanay street party in the country and I've heard rumours that, in its current form, it may not last (it's getting too big now).

The Glasgow/Edinburgh split is a good idea as accomodation in the capital will be in short supply and what's left will be highly expensive (as mentioned already).

Glasgow's also the curry capital of the UK (ignore what anyone else says), has wonderful museums, a thriving cultural scene and perfect for walking around.

Personally, I'd go further north towards Inverness or even over to the west coast, maybe Fort William or Skye. I had a wonderful time on the islands a few years ago and, on a clear, crisp winters day it really is beautiful.

Best thing to do is to drop by the VisitScotland website for some ideas and inspiration. There are also plenty of places outwith Glasgow/Edinburgh worth considering. I'll be spending mine (hopefully), up on Shetland then going back for Up Helly Aa!

So yeah, escape London and come north because you'll love it. I might be biased though..
posted by Nugget at 3:20 AM on October 10, 2006

It depends on how you want to spend your New Year. Something quite intimate or partying? Good suggestions here on the latter but if you fancy the former I would suggest somewhere around Tunbridge Wells. It's a really pretty english town with heaps of history and you can be there in under an hour from London Charing Cross. It has plenty or surrounding villages to stay in meaning you could spend New Year in somewhere like a Manor House for a reasonable price and still be 15 minutes away in a car from the town. The only drawback being Tunbridge Wells can be expensive in places but no more so than central Edinburgh or London.
posted by mjlondon at 3:40 AM on October 10, 2006

"Likes: Wandering the outdoors (though, really, freezing on the moors while pretending to be Catherine and Heathcliff, less attractive), places not overcrowded with tourists, historic places or anecdotes we can brag about later, small homey restaurants (love Indian food), cheap wine and beer, long walks, museums, theater, dancing, free or cheap entertainment"

Bristol has everything you're looking for there.
posted by saturnine at 4:14 AM on October 10, 2006

Go to the hill of Tara in Ireland before they build the highway. The visitor's center is closed until May, but you can still walk around and there are toilets in the cafe/shop nearby.
posted by brujita at 4:59 AM on October 10, 2006

The New Year firework display in London is fantastic: a fifteen-minute display centred around the London Eye. Here's some pictures of last year's show.
posted by Hogshead at 9:10 AM on October 10, 2006

I've had my best new years experiences in little places in Cornwall. Polruan is a tiny little place with 2 pubs, both with bands on New years eve, good mix of locals and people down there for the holiday and 24 hour licenses .Champagne on the beach while the locals float out to sea little paper boats containing candles in memory of departed loved ones while the fireworks crack overhead is a pretty good experience.
posted by merocet at 2:08 PM on October 10, 2006

Thanks everyone! We'll discuss, decide, and almost certainly come back with more questions when we choose our itinerary.
posted by xaire at 3:07 PM on October 11, 2006