Great BritainBest ways to improve this book: Please consider warning travelers that Edinburgh is difficult to get around, despite most attractions being centered along the Royal Mile. Especially now that Prince Street is torn up due to construction, we found that getting from one place to the next took much longer than anticipated. Great town, but difficult to cover in only a few days. Matt L. in Arlington, VA USA 10/21/2009 Just used the 'London 2009' book for a trip and it was very useful I stayed with a friend, so did not need to use the hotel recommendations. One tip I might add would be to add some additional language about how often the Tube is down on the weekends and how disruptive it can be. I was there over two different weekends and significant portions of the Tube were down each weekend making travel very difficult. My friend who has lived there for three years says that this is more common than not. They tend to take care of most of their maintenance on the weekends so as to limit disruption to workers. This can cause major problems for weekend travel. Otherwise, I agree that the Tube is a great way to get around London. One thing you may want to mention as something to see for those interested is an English Premier League soccer game. I am not a big soccer fan, but going to a game is quite a cultural experience. The games can be tough to get into, but it is worth it to see if you can get in. The book was great and it provided great information for my trip. Thanks a lot! Eric in Falls Church, VA USA 10/04/2009 More descriptions of some of dishes offered at the restaurants. Nancy in Columbus, OH USA 09/13/2009 We have used your books for Ireland, Norway and Denmark, Italy and England, Scotland and Wales and we love them, because we can book everything on line, and we have a very clear picture of what we will find. We also love the hints on how to avoid the crowds and the lines, so just keep doing what you're doing. Jan and Greg Wieboldt in Ormond Beach, FL USA 09/12/2009 No way- it was fantastic. It was our bible during our trip. It was so helpful. We carried it with us daily and used it all the time. THANK YOU. It made our trip so much more efficient and productive. Can't wait to plan our next trip with your help. Pam Davis in Chicago, Il USA 08/08/2009 let people know that the older sections of cities like London are fairly compact and if you are active and enjoy walking you can get around a lot on foot and see things you might miss if you were getting around on a bus or taxi. I am not talking about guided or self guided walks but rather getting around on foot and finding and seeing things you would not otherwise see. John Manuel in Golden, BC Canada 06/21/2009 Add the following B&B in Bath: Cheriton House Kendra K in Denver, CO USA 06/06/2009 We spent two weeks just in England and would have liked more info where we were. Used Lonely Planet to supplement. Bev Terry in Shelby Township, MI USA 06/03/2009 Downloadable mp3 walking tours of the venues, given by the Blue Badge guides you liaise with when you visit. Sometimes it's not practical to find a walking tour to join. Ethan Solomita in San Francisco, CA USA 05/30/2009 Cardiff is a good place to base yourself for seeing many sites in south Wales. Providing some info on accomodations and restaurants there would be useful to readers. We actually found some really nice restaurants there that were far better than typical in Wales. Adele Buttolph in Enterprise, OR USA 05/15/2009 You have a separate guide book for Ireland, and one for England. Why don't you have one for Scotland by itself? We travel to Scotland every other year but we do not want a book that has England, Scotland and Ireland in it - just Scotland. I've heard others say the same thing - help us out here! Debbie S. Clark in Simpsonville, SC USA 03/06/2009 I know that you recommend renting a car, but I think that recommendation could be reinforced. We didn’t rent a car in England and Wales and thought it would be too expensive for just the two of us. We did rent a car in Scotland, because I had been there before and knew we wouldn’t be able to see what we wanted to see in the Highlands without it.
We absolutely wish we had rented a car in England and Wales as well. If a person wants to see the countryside and doesn’t have much time they need to rent a car. The man at the tourist info station in Chipping-Norton told us that you had to have a car in the Cotswolds, and the owner at a B&B in Pembroke told us you had to have a car in Wales. It would have been great to travel up the Welsh coast, and we assumed public transport would have taken that route. Getting from Oxford to our hotel in Shipton was a disaster each day. We spent a whole day traveling to Pembroke to see St. David’s Cathedral to find out it was still a two hour bus ride away. We needed to leave the next morning for northern Wales, and so we didn’t get to see it. Fortunately a British couple, who had a car, were staying at our B&B and drove us to see some sights before we had to leave.
We had no idea it was going to be so hard to get around England and Wales. And now I think that renting a car could actually be cheaper than public transport. Even if it cost more it is well worth the freedom and stress it saves.
Nathan Willard in Medford, OR USA 01/10/2009 Great guide book and very accurate. I will use a Rick Steeves guide book the next time I travel. It is one of the best I have ever used. However, having one book called "England" and one called "Great Britain" was confusing. I bought the Great Britain book not realizing that there was more information on the south coast in the England book. Isabelle Jankovic in Calgary, AB Canada 10/13/2008 Broaden listings of Edinburgh accomodations beyond Dalkeith Road B&Bs and expensive downtown hotels. Wanting to be within some kind of walking distance, we stayed at The Victorian Townhouse (theVictorianTownhouse.co.uk) in the west end of New Town. It is comfortable and beautifully run by its owner, Aileen. While not a short walk from the center and its sights, it is level and not strenuous. Ron in DeWitt, MI USA 10/10/2008 Great publication. Recommend it to anyone. Robyn Zicker in Forest Hill, MD USA 10/10/2008 Include Brighton, two nights and one full day needed. The Royal Pavillion is very interesting, the Brighton Pier is a fun (especially for children) amusement park built on the pier, and shoppers must go to The Lanes area. Many excellent restaurants, we enjoyed La Capannina, and the Madeira Harvestor. Many patios (pubs, cafes and restaurants) and excellent people watching. Day trips to Tunbridge Wells, Bodiam Castle, Hastings, and for railway buffs, the Romney, Hyde & Dymchurch railway.
Also for railway buffs, the Great Central Railway in Loughorough is a must stop. Excellent pub The Tudor House Inn, despite initial hesitation based on decor, it has the best food in England! Try the tiramisu ice cream...who knew?!
Otherwise, it is perfect. I particularly like the smaller size and weight compared to the competition. [Editor's Note: We include Brighton in our Rick Steves' England book, as well as several other destinations in England that do not make the Great Britain book.] Pat Best in Kingston, ON Canada 10/04/2008 Thank you so much for expanding the 2008 book to include more of Scotland. tom & Karen Rauls in Gilbert, AZ USA 09/14/2008 This is a very well organized and thorough book. I would however, like to see more about Wales. We spent the bulk of our time there and stayed at the BEST B&B we ever stayed at in Mumbles. W also loved North Wales and the scenery, the hospitality and the peoplewere the best anywhere. Catherine McNabb in Port Townsend, WA USA 09/13/2008 I would suggest adding some random sights in a section called "Random Sights." There are a few places I would have driven right past if I did not already know about them. A couple of these places are the Wedgewood Factory, and other potteries, in Stoke-on-Trent, and Balmoral Castle in Scotland. I know they are not on the advised tour, but they are not too far off the beaten path either.
Also, Inverness has many great B&Bs across the river from the castle. The book only recommends those in a specific area. There is no reason to limit readers so much. The area I stayed was upper middle class and full of B&Bs. Mark Walker in Turlock, CA USA 08/30/2008 Include information on Canterbury, one of our favorite places of our trip [Editor's Note: We include a chapter on Canterbury in our Rick Steves' England guidebook. It is not in our Great Britain book as each of our books covers only the best 22 days in a country or region, in terms of what the average North American tourist would want to see on their first trip. So while Canterbury makes the cut as one of the top 22 days in England, it does not make the top 22 when considering all of Britain: England, Wales, and Scotland. ] Joan Anderson in Federal Way, WA USA 08/25/2008 Book just on Scotland Susan in Seattle, WA USA 07/26/2008 No suggestions. Thanks for making the paper thinner so the book is thinner. Bonnie in Tigard, or USA 07/11/2008 Please bind the book so that individual pages and sections can be removed without tearing but rather pull out neatly; e.g. Lonely Planet guide books work like that. To save weight and for ease of daily use I never take an entire guidebook with me; I carry with me only the sections I will need for the whole trip and then each day take only the relevant section with me. Theodore Jones in San Francisco, CA USA 06/30/2008 I love Rick's shows and books and am very pleased. Occasionally, it seemed information was not always consistent (e.g., some restaurants had price ranges, others not). Elizabeth in Minneapolis, MN USA 05/19/2008 The 2008 GB Guidebook was extremely useful, however the Cartref House, Ebury St., London, were we stayed was not listed and we found it delightful! Clean accommodations, good breakfasts, and a pleasant and helpful host. On another note, I'd love to see more info on Internet cafes and wifi hotspots in future issues.... Charles Matthews in Nashua, NH USA 05/13/2008 I highly recommend speaking to Alan Price [of Celtic Horizons tour co.] and adding more text about "henges." The inter-connections of each of the henges and their possible uses is a terrific narrative that many visitors will simply never get. It's not a long story, so it would be a great way to bring certain sites together narratively. Teresa Reveley in London, UK 03/23/2008 Expand the areas to visit, don't assume everyone just wants to do your 3week circuit. Include 'off beat' museums and more scenic areas. Brenda in village of Gwernymynydd, Wales 11/01/2007 We just returned yesterday from 10 days in south Wales and the Cotswolds. Most of the prices in the Great Britain 2007 book are about 10% too low. Plus, the exchange rate is so bad that you really need to plan to spend a lot more than you would imagine from reading the book. S. Scruggs in Longmont, CO USA 10/18/2007 I was very disappointed at the short shrift given to Scotland. I think it deserves an entire book, as many entire parts of the country are not included in your book. Maureen O'Brien in Lakewood, CO USA 10/05/2007 I like the "London at a Glance" table (page 70-71 of the 2007 edition), but you should also include the page number so it's easier to find the full site description. It would make it a lot easier to navigate the London section since it's 100+ pages. Joanne in Fong, CA USA 10/04/2007 Several Maps could be made more accurate. Specifically, the map to Stone Henge and Avesbury and the map of Keswick. Alan Leiserson in Nashville, TN USA 09/13/2007 We used the Great Britain 2006 guide book extensively last June and it was a great help and resource. The only time it wasn't was when we wanted to go to Portsmouth to visit Nelson's ship, HMS Victory. There was nothing at all about the area in the book so we used the internet and Britrail for info to get there. It's a wonderful place to go for familiies as well as adults. You can tour the ship and also the Mary Rose which is a current archeological project. There are 3 museums, all of them worth visiting. The train station is right by the Information Center and you can take a boat cruise from there as well around the harbor. Everything is within walking distance of the station and you can take local buses to see the sights in the town, i.e. the Cathedral. There is also a very nice pub/restaurant across from the train station, unfortunately I've forgotten the name of it. At any rate it's very worthwhile checking this area out and including it in your future books. [Editor's Note: We include a chapter on Portsmouth in our Rick Steves' England guidebook. It is not in our Britain book as each of our books covers only the best 22 days in a country or region, in terms of what the average North American tourist would want to see on their first trip. So while Portsmouth makes the cut as one of the top 22 days in England, it does not make the top 22 when considering all of Britain: England, Wales, and Scotland. Yes, we realize Northern Ireland is part of Britain but for convenience, we cover it in our Ireland book.] Ann Martinez in Pasadena, CA USA 09/12/2007 Perhaps this has been addressed in the new beefed-up chapters on Scotland but nowhere in my guidebook or on the ETBD Web site did I find mention of the Rugby World Cup finals in Edinburgh. The huge match between Scotland and New Zealand is Sept. 23 this year, and I had such trouble reserving a room that weekend. One of the hotel owners finally filled me in on the big event. Might be worth mentioning in the holiday or festival listings. (And do let me know if I simply missed it.) [Editor's Note: We're sorry you had difficulty finding a place to stay. Sporting events often fill up European cities with fans and it can be hard for North Americans (including us!) to keep track of all of them. Often the host cities are not yet determined when we are researching our books, usually 9-12 months in advance. Although the Rugby World Cup was primarily in France in 2007, you are correct that two preliminary matches were played in Edinburgh on 9/18/07 and 9/23/07. The best way to find out about busy dates in any town is by asking B&B/hotel staff for advice when you first inquire about reservations, maybe even before you reserve your airfare. They should definitely know about upcoming sporting events, concerts, festivals, conventions, etc. that will fill up their rooms in the coming year.] Lauren Osborne Miller in Saint Paul, MN USA 09/12/2007 Just curious why your "Great Britain 2007" book talks about Cambridge, but not Oxford? [Editor's Note: See answer below dated 11/21/2006] John Parker in San Francisco, CA USA 07/31/2007 The book was fine but i often wished the "Great Britain Travel Map" had been a little more detailed especially in London. Joe Myers in SYLVANIA, OH USA 07/10/2007 To make it easier for your readers to be temporary locals, especially in places like London, what would help the most are maps that highlights the exact location of neighborhood business districts, in the same way that your book on Paris highlights that one quintessential Parisian street. When I visited Vancouver, B.C., a couple of years ago, the hotel gave me a map that had all of the neighborhood business districts highlighted in yellow, and that made it possible to target my wanderings, rather than simply relying on luck. I just got back from London, and it was just by luck that I discovered three or four cool neighborhoods just off the beaten path, where I could shop for records and books, or just hang out. And that's what really made my trip a success. When I moved to Portland, Oregon, last year, I found a book called "The Zinester's Guide to Portland," and it's a great little book you might want to check out for the way in which it's written and designed. It crams an incredible amount of information on how to be a local in Portland in a slim little book that can fit in a shirt pocket. A book like that on London would be the ideal solution for most tourists who obviously have just a limited amount of time to explore the city. Peter Apanel in Portland, OR USA 06/15/2007 I think it would be better to have separate guidebooks for people driving versus those taking public transportation, because the relevant information is so different. Peter Apanel in Portland, OR USA 06/13/2007 Books are great! Susan Saric in Orland Park, IL USA 05/16/2007 Update prices, opening times. Consider adding more info on London restaurants - could have used more help there. Also consider adding more info on the pluses/minuses of various parks. Marian in Seattle, WA USA 04/25/2007 Better maps, I'm sorry to say! Heidi Schwartz in Ocean, NJ USA 03/04/2007 Why is Oxford and its university not covered in 'Great Britain' guidebook? I was disappointed that any reference to Oxford was omitted. Please include coverage of Oxford and its university. Everything else is very well done. [Editor's Note: See answer in previous post.] Anne Pringle in Freeland, WA USA 03/01/2007 |
