Fall o8 I was in UK. . . London and the entire lower UK east to west. Stay in the pubs whenever possible, breakfast is included, and the folk are the nicest I came across. Pub food is the most British we found, and there is plenty served.
Food wasn't outrageous as long as you don't keep converting in your head. The Lonely Planet travel books have eateries priced for you as well.
Thanks! I'm going to see if the used book store has any of the Lonely Planet books. I definitely need one along. So, was it easy for you to find accommodation available in the pubs along the way, or did you book ahead?
We only pre booked London (a hotel). . . . from there we went to Wales, Bath, Marlboro, Devon, Cornwall, Dover . . .and more. . . .and all of these places we just found a pub . . . never had a problem. We went at the end of Sept and beginning of Oct. Next time we go we'll only stay in the pubs. . .we loved them.
see the uk on only 1% of your stomach lining a day *g*heliophile_oxonMay 5 2010, 07:36:05 UTC
Most pubs, especially in the slightly more touristy areas (anything scenic plus most of central london, for example) would usually be fine and friendly for a woman alone and tend to do lots of lunch trade (not quite so much in the lads' day, which is why I wonder sometimes at how they find good pub food quite so easily!). I must admit I do feel slightly odd going into a pub on my own - but that's probably me! *g*. The more central/touristy they are, the more anyone-and-everyone they'll be. And of course, there are loads of wonderful (and some not-so-wonderful-but-they-think-they-are) gastro-pubs dotted around the countryside, with fancy menus - but not cheap. The slightly bigger supermarkets (esp. chains like Tescos, Sainsburys etc) usually have a deli counter and sandwiches; smaller or independent supermarkets/grocery shops are less likely to have anything like that. And there are Starbucks and Costa Coffees all over the place, and yes I would say there are a lot of take-aways - but you did mention "somewhat healthy" .... not so sure
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Re: see the uk on only 1% of your stomach lining a day *g*heliophile_oxonMay 5 2010, 07:40:53 UTC
oh and ps - when zoic#1 and her mates go into town, they're most likely to get sandwiches, drinks, yoghurts, fruit etc etc from a supermarket and then picnic it - that often seems to be the cheapest option; fingers crossed for nice weather!
Re: see the uk on only 1% of your stomach lining a day *g*siskiouMay 6 2010, 00:20:43 UTC
I like your subject line! *g*
And thanks for loads of helpful hints! I'll definitely watch out for horrible kebabs! It sounds like I might be feeling awkward in a pub by myself, though I'll probably be armed with reading material/a netbook, but still... I'll see how I feel once there.
Are there a lot of bakeries around, like in Germany, where you can grab a bread roll for breakfast, or a cup of coffee and a pastry in the afternoon? I guess "alot" will depend on where you are, but there are bakeries where you can buy a breadroll/bap/often sandwiches etc and some of them will sell a cup of coffee as well, but not all... There're cafes and so on too, though, including the chains.
And do the grocery stores generally have delis, with salad bars, soup and sandwiches? They're not known as "grocery stores" unless they're very small and specialised these days - and not even then, really. A "grocery store" in the US is a "supermarket" over here - and there are branches everywhere these days. They tend to be on the edge of towns (though not always), but in cities there are "Metro" versions which... hmmn, I think basically the only difference is that they don't have carparks, come to think of it! And yeah, they generally have delis and salad bars and bakery sections too. There are smaller shops too, which are sometimes a
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Thanks for all the input! And the more replies, the better! *g*
So, cafes sound like a pretty good option and it's probably okay to eat some not so healthy food, when I'm getting fresh organic produce etc. for most of the meals! :) As long as it's not McDonald's or something similar, I'm happy! Oh, what's English bread like? More like the softer American kind, or more like the German solid breads? Or can you get both?
Bread over here is not the American kind, in that it's not got that weird sweetish flavour to it - there's generally no sugar in it. But it is the soft kind, as standard, rather than (well, what I think of as) "German solid breads". You can often buy them in supermarkets and delicatessens, though, there's quite alot of choice in the cities in particular, but also towns. And ordinary bakery would probably only sell the soft kind, though.
I think you would be fine finding places to eat, especially if you are in a city or large town (where will you be?).
Generally speaking, it is hard to find a street with shops in it that doesn't have one or more of the following: newsagent (snacks), bakery (they serve hot pasty type things as well as sandwiches and baguettes), coffee shops (which usually sell things like muffins and maybe sandwiches), tea shops (which serve food), restaurants, pubs, supermarkets (which often have cafes), cafes, etc. I'm making this sound more complicated than it is really, sorry *g*. And don't worry about going into a pub alone, unless it's a really quiet pub (where people will probably be friendly, but you might feel uncomfortable).
The places where I'm going are London, Torquay, Totnes, Bristol, York, Windsor, and then a few days in Scotland (not sure where exactly yet), and some day trips to Stonehenge, Wales, here and there in Cornwall...
Ah, hadn't realized that newsagents would have snacks, and I'll see what I think of pubs.
I'm probably thinking more of the American type bars without windows, that I've always found somewhat off-putting. :)
And don't worry about going into a pub alone, unless it's a really quiet pub (where people will probably be friendly, but you might feel uncomfortable). Lol - I'd absolutely be the other way around, more comfortable in a quiet pub, much less so in one that's packed with other people being sociable!
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Food wasn't outrageous as long as you don't keep converting in your head. The Lonely Planet travel books have eateries priced for you as well.
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I'm going to see if the used book store has any of the Lonely Planet books. I definitely need one along.
So, was it easy for you to find accommodation available in the pubs along the way, or did you book ahead?
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And thanks for loads of helpful hints! I'll definitely watch out for horrible kebabs!
It sounds like I might be feeling awkward in a pub by myself, though I'll probably be armed with reading material/a netbook, but still...
I'll see how I feel once there.
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I guess "alot" will depend on where you are, but there are bakeries where you can buy a breadroll/bap/often sandwiches etc and some of them will sell a cup of coffee as well, but not all... There're cafes and so on too, though, including the chains.
And do the grocery stores generally have delis, with salad bars, soup and sandwiches?
They're not known as "grocery stores" unless they're very small and specialised these days - and not even then, really. A "grocery store" in the US is a "supermarket" over here - and there are branches everywhere these days. They tend to be on the edge of towns (though not always), but in cities there are "Metro" versions which... hmmn, I think basically the only difference is that they don't have carparks, come to think of it! And yeah, they generally have delis and salad bars and bakery sections too. There are smaller shops too, which are sometimes a ( ... )
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So, cafes sound like a pretty good option and it's probably okay to eat some not so healthy food, when I'm getting fresh organic produce etc. for most of the meals! :)
As long as it's not McDonald's or something similar, I'm happy!
Oh, what's English bread like? More like the softer American kind, or more like the German solid breads? Or can you get both?
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Generally speaking, it is hard to find a street with shops in it that doesn't have one or more of the following: newsagent (snacks), bakery (they serve hot pasty type things as well as sandwiches and baguettes), coffee shops (which usually sell things like muffins and maybe sandwiches), tea shops (which serve food), restaurants, pubs, supermarkets (which often have cafes), cafes, etc. I'm making this sound more complicated than it is really, sorry *g*. And don't worry about going into a pub alone, unless it's a really quiet pub (where people will probably be friendly, but you might feel uncomfortable).
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Ah, hadn't realized that newsagents would have snacks, and I'll see what I think of pubs.
I'm probably thinking more of the American type bars without windows, that I've always found somewhat off-putting. :)
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Lol - I'd absolutely be the other way around, more comfortable in a quiet pub, much less so in one that's packed with other people being sociable!
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