Britain: What to Know Before You Visit the UK

Hey there fellow travelers, are you thinking about heading to England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland? Well no matter where you go in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland there are some basics facts and advice you should have to get the most out of your vacation to the United Kingdom. We talk about transportation, food, accommodation, and more for your English vacation, Scottish vacation, Welsh vacation, or Northern Ireland vacation, or just your British vacation.
Filmed in London, UK
Copyright Mark Wolters 2021

#travelbritain #unitedkingdom #visitUK

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[perfectchaosone]

Opening with "The UK is more than just London" has won a lot of respect from me, It's nice that people do realise this and want to share it.

[tex]

Me, a brit watching this to see what people from other countries have to know 🤔

[Joe-ggnq]

He's right York is great. Lots of Viking history in particular.

[pjschmid]

One important thing to keep in mind for Americans planning to rent a car in the UK is that most rentals are going to be manual transmissions unless you request otherwise. Since you’re already going to be driving on the left side of the road on the right side of the car you really don’t want to have to fumble around with trying to shift with your left hand even if you were an experienced manual transmission driver. I highly recommend you request an automatic transmission it will cost more but it’ll be well worth it.

[mattmcc]

Watching this as someone who has lived in a few different parts of the UK - this guy actually knows his stuff. He is making a lot of references that I would only expect a local to know.

[krackenkiller]

UK resident here: Pretty much spot on opinion. Would probably highlight a little more promentantly the pub Sunday Roast (particularly lamb in Wales), and the curry houses especially in the bigger cities.

[DigitalNomadOnFIRE]

lol DO NOT rent a car in London though, totally unnecessary. Get busses and the tube.

[barrysteven]

You can easily spot Brits from visitors in London at the pedestrian crossings. Foreigners wait patiently for the green light, locals check if it's 'safe' to cross and just go even if the light's still on red. There are no laws in Britain about crossing the road in towns. No such thing as 'jay walking'.

[karenomahoney]

London is undoubtedly expensive but one thing to note, there are dozens of amazing museums and they are all free.

[discogareth]

Weird seeing those older photos of Big Ben, it’s been covered in scaffolding and covered up for a couple of years now being renovated. Can’t wait until it’s finally finished.

[Booklover-coffeelover]

I left my heart in England, I can't wait to go back 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[waziotter]

I’m from Northern Ireland and have lived in London for 20+ years. I’ve also lived in Scotland. If you want to get away from the usual tourist destinations but still see the best of the UK, this is my top ten…
London:
1. Brick Lane - the Indian/Bangladeshi food hub on London. The best curries in the city. You can also book experiences where you work in the kitchen to make your own dinner.
2. If you are here in the cricket season (April to September) try to go to a county game. The world’s best players will be on show. It is usually easy to get tickets for games. Both the Oval and Lords are great venues. If you get good weather it is a fantastic day or night out.
Elsewhere in England
3. The South Downs: what everyone thinks of when they think of English countryside. Rolling hills. Picture perfect villages. 500 year old pubs. There are too many highlights to mention but to pick 3 villages off the top of my head, try Alfriston, Ditchling or Southease.
4. An old fashioned seaside break in a traditional resort town. The big ones are Brighton, Blackpool and a couple of others. My favourites are Lyme Regis, Southend & Scarborough.
5. Manchester. Seriously.
Scotland
6. Orkney. It’s a total pain to get to (tiny plane from one of the big cities or ferry from the North Coast of Scotland) but 100% worth the effort. Full to the brim of ancient history (we are talking 6000 year old villages) and the best diving in Britain. Amazing walks and wildlife too. Plus the food is much better than you’d expect - the seafood and lamb are astounding. Like a lot of the Scottish Islands it is more like visiting Scandinavia than the rest of mainland Britain.
7. Glencoe. You won’t believe somewhere that beautiful is only 90 minutes from Glasgow.
8. Pitlochry. Close your eyes and think of a Scottish village straight out of Brigadoon. That’s Pitlochry.
Northern Ireland.
I’m taking the Game of Thrones stuff as read. Although don’t bother with the dark hedges. It has been totally destroyed by tourism to the extent that some of the trees have fallen down. I’ve also got issues with the “bombs and bullets” tourism in Belfast & Derry. I grew up in Belfast. I and everyone I know were affected by the terrorism of the 70s, 80s & 90s. It doesn’t sit right that people are now making money out of rubber-necking tourists.
9. Portrush & Portstewart. There 2 resort towns are about 5 miles apart. They are where NI goes to enjoy itself. Barry’s Amusements in Portrush is an institution . Generations of kids - myself included - have been underwhelmed by the ghost train and thrown up on Northern Ireland’s only roller coaster.
10. The coast road from Larne to Castlerock. One of the most spectacular drives in the world, although not for the faint hearted. Stop off at Glenariff Forest Park and do the 5 mile waterfall walk. It is beautiful.

[robdavies]

The Lake District & Northumberland are my favourites. The north often gets overlooked but is probably England’s best gems.
Wales - I find north Wales is my favourite area, especially around Conwy and Anglesey.
I’ve also just come back from Inverness, the main city of the Highlands. Amazing scenery!

[calcifer]

You are making me excited about my own country! I’m glad you have enjoyed it here, and I hope you continue to do so.

[mishapurser]

I've lived in York for a few years. It never gets old.
I fell in love with the city when I was a student here and decided to live here permanently.

[chrisstuart]

Mark, I’m very sorry you had to see that accident. I hope you are okay. ❤️

[ljrigsbee]

I think intercity travel in the UK is best done by train, especially with 1 or 2 people. Normally you can book train tickets 6 weeks or so in advance, and you can find good deals if you are flexible. I went from London to York round trip for under £30 by traveling on specific trains. A car might be useful for exploring the Yorkshire Dales or the Highlands in Scotland, but it’s harder to appreciate the scenery when you have to pay attention to the road. Hotels in larger cities probably won’t have parking either, especially towards the city center. (B&B’s further out generally do, though)

[janejohnstone]

Always take winter clothes...with you...even in July..dont underestimate the cold weather...it comes at any time...also narrow roads...otherwise very pretty...and historical....😊

[janemycock]

Mark you must visit the Peak District! I'm a farmer in the Peak District National Park, in the Derbyshire Dales (1 hour south of York) we have so much to see. Chatsworth house, Calke Abbey, Lyme Park, Mam Tor and Winnats Pass in Castleton, in the Hope Valley. Haddon Hall in Bakewell (yes, the home of the pudding!) Tissington Hall, Dove Dale stepping stones... There's endless quintessentially English country villages to see ☺️

[globaltreats]

If you want good coffee in Britain, DO NOT go to starbucks or costa. We have plenty of great independent coffee shops here.