i've got a few flights coming up and i'm finally thinking about trying an airport lounge instead of just sitting around the terminal.

what's actually the best airport lounge access option in the uk? i'm mainly after somewhere quieter to sit, decent food and drinks, and somewhere to charge my phone.

i don't really care about the fancy stuff. just want to know what people here actually use and whether it's worth paying for.

My friend and I are traveling from the US and will be splitting up the week of Feb 13 - 20th between London and Edinburgh. Just wondering what should we expect for weather and what to pack. We live in New England so we're not too concerned about the cold. I'm mainly worried about rain. Any activity suggestions would be greatly appreciated as well :) TIA

Hi! We're travelling with our toddler doing a short stopover in London on our way back to NYC. We'll be there Dec 29 - Dec 31 (with our return flight being around 8am on Dec 31). I'm thinking realistically we stay either at the Hilton at Hatton Cross (near LHR) or somewhere in Paddington to make use of the Heathrow Express. The latter isn't yielding any good options unfortunately due to the time of the year so will likely be at the Hilton. We're aiming to hit up the usual tourist spots (like Big Ben, London Eye, etc.) during daytime on Dec 30 and then resting up before flight early next morning.

Does this seem like a sane plan? Does anyone have better recommendations for places to stay?

Hello all! I am going to be doing a solo visit to Scotland for the first time the first week of November! (Oct 31- Nov 7) I don’t really mind the thought of cooler and more rainy weather with less people. And I’m very excited to be in a new country for Halloween. I have around 6 full days and plan as of now is spending the first 3 days in Edinburgh.

For the remainder of my trip I am torn between staying in Inverness or head towards Glasgow and Glencoe, exploring around either of those cities. I am big on castles and castle ruins as well as hiking. I plan to take a guided day trip once to see get a glimpse of Isle of Skye (Old Man of Storr, The Quiraing, Eilean Donan Castle) as I will be relying on public transportation only so doing these by bus seems to be a bit of a challenge from the research I’ve done. Open to any and all suggestions!

What are some of the things I should prioritize to do or see? Any tips or suggestions for solo traveling, public transit, and trying to get a hike done not relying on a guide. I want to see the full spectrum of city exploration and highland Scottish culture!

Hey everyone,

My partner and I need to take a week off around mid-October but we're honestly a bit stuck on where to go in the UK.

Right now, Scotland is our top contender since neither of us has ever been. The main appeal for us is splitting the week up and doing 3 days in Edinburgh as a city break and then getting a car for a mini road trip into the Highlands for the rest. We really don’t want a trip where we spend 5 hours a day behind the wheel and end up more exhausted than when we left.

The main thing holding us back though is the weather, we know it can be a bit of gamble in October and we’re a bit worried about shorter daylight.

If you had a week in mid-October, would you still go for Scotland if you’d never been (and just pack good waterproofs) or is there somewhere else in the UK you’d pick instead for a cozy week away?

What is the best way to use the Railcard savings to get in the Elizabeth Line? It seems you can link the Railcard to an Osyter card. Is there a simple way? Like can I buy tickets at a machine and just scan the Railcard, or is the oyster card the only way?

I am trying to figure this out. Can I bring in medications that are Over-The-Counter in Canada, but controlled in the UK. I would only be bringing enough for my 10 day trip. 2 examples I am thinking:
Robax Platinum (Robaxin in UK)
Pepcid AC (famotidine)

I’m going to be flying into the UK in a couple of days. I’ll be bringing a 3 month supply of about 10 different medications. Do I need to declare these? I know i need to print the prescription but I just want to make sure I don’t need anything else. Thanks!!

Hey everyone,

My husband and I are planning a trip to Scotland next June with our two kids (they'll be 1 and 4 by then). We have about 3 weeks, possibly stretching to 4.

So far we've only decided that we're going. No fixed itinerary yet, since we wanted to gather recommendations from locals and experienced Scotland travelers first.

A bit about us:

- Passionate, experienced hikers - kids usually come along in a hiking carrier, so we're happy to do longer or steeper hikes, as long as the trail is carrier-friendly (no scrambling or exposed sections)
- Traveling with a 1- and 4-year-old, so we need a good balance of adventure and kid-friendly logistics

What we'd love input on:

- Must-see regions/areas for a 3-4 week trip (first-timers to Scotland)
- Carrier-friendly hiking trails with a bit of a challenge. Bonus points for great views/scenery
- Best home base(s). Should we do a road trip or settle in 2-3 spots?
- Tips for traveling with young kids (weather gear, ferries to islands, etc.)
- Anything you'd consider an absolute must-do that tourists often miss

Any advice, itinerary ideas, or "wish someone had told me this" tips are hugely appreciated!

EDIT: This post isn't about me making a mistake and trying to justify it. I acknowledge my mistake but I am trying to talk about the unjust punishment for such a minor mistake! If you are going to attack me, you are just beating a dead horse!

At Stansted airport flying to Spain last week

I was in a rush and forgot I had a water flask in my bag. It had about 2 sips of water in it and I went through Stansted security.

It set off their X-ray and the man said that they have to confiscate it. I asked if I can just drink the 2 sips or empty it and he said no. He explained once it has gone through the machine and there is water in it, there was no turning back. He was even a bit embarrassed and said it was the rules and a lot of people have complained about it. My flask was gone, annoyingly it was quite expensive and a gift. I noticed the table had about 20 flasks on it, surely this is a common mistake.

I have never had this issue before. At Heathrow they just empty your flask and let you go. Why do they confiscate the whole flask at Stansted? At Alicante on the way back I intentionally had a full flask in my bag. Security just emptied it and off I went. Never come across this issue but I think it seems very wasteful to just dispose of someone's flask cause it had water in it.

Hi I’m a newly passed driver and will be driving to Scotland sometime around the 16th of September with my mum and our animals (one small dog and one cat) to relocate since I’m starting university. I’ve driven on the motorways to Brighton and back and to Stansted airport no problem, I feel very comfortable driving on motorways. Planning to take a break every 2hrs or so and make it a 2 day trip where we sleepover somewhere that allows pets.

I’m the only driver in the car but we will be driving up with my partner and his mum who’s driving the luton together to help us out.

I’m here to ask for any advice on how to deal with back and shoulder pain while driving for long periods. What times and days may be better to make the journey. What routes may be easier.
Any seat/back pillows you’d recommend?

Tonbridge to Monifieth, about 8hrs 30min not including stops.

Thanks :)

Hi everyone!
I’m travelling to the UK from Pakistan. I got my visa last month, and according to the travel dates I mentioned in my visa application, I’m supposed to travel around now.
The thing is, I’m quite an introvert 😅 and honestly, I’m gathering the courage to travel alone. I’ve travelled to quite a few countries before, but always with family or friends. This time, I’ll be travelling completely solo, and I don’t know anyone in the UK who can accompany me.
I’m planning to spend around 7 days in total, mainly visiting London and Edinburgh.
I’d really appreciate some advice from people who have travelled solo in the UK:
How would you recommend splitting 7 days between London and Edinburgh?
What are the must-see places that I shouldn’t miss?
Are there any good walking tours, city tours, day trips, or group activities where it’s easy to meet people?
Can you recommend some safe and comfortable places/activities for an introvert to socialize and maybe make a few friends?
Any tips for someone visiting the UK alone for the first time?
I’m not really into pubs/clubbing, so I’d prefer walking tours, sightseeing, cafes, hostels/social activities, group tours, or other relaxed ways of meeting people.
Would really appreciate any itinerary suggestions or personal experiences. Thanks! 🙌

Hey everyone! I’m planning a trip to **London in November for about two weeks** and would love some recommendations for other places I could visit while I’m there.

I’m looking for destinations that are **easy and relatively affordable to reach from London by train or plane**. I’m open to anywhere in the UK or elsewhere in Europe, whether it’s a well-known destination or a hidden gem.

Ideally, I’d like somewhere that works well for a **day trip or 1–3 night stay**, since London will be my main base.

Open to smaller or bigger towns as well!

Would love to hear your recommendations and why you’d choose them. Thank you! 🙌🏽

Hello!

I’m an A-Level Geography student, based in the West Midlands, conducting research for my NEA into how tourist perceptions differ from local perceptions of Criccieth and Portmeirion, and the effect tourism has on the local identity and quality of life of these locations.

I’m looking for responses from anyone who has visited either Criccieth or Portmeirion, including residents, visitors/tourists and local business owners/workers.

The questionnaire takes only a few minutes to complete, and all responses are anonymous. Your experiences and opinions would be hugely appreciated and will be used solely for my school research. Also, I'd be happy to share results/my conclusion with anyone who participates.

Thank you very much to anyone who takes the time to participate! :)

The link is below:

https://forms.gle/MgQNmNZgndazfH3B9

I am looking for recommendations of roads and places (villages/towns/venues) from Central London to between 90-120 minutes out.

The only key consideration is that the drive should be fun/scenic, i.e no motorways or boring roads for the majority of the trip. Doesn't need anything major at the destination, even a good pub or village is fine.

For example drove to Hampton Court Palace yesterday which was very nice, but the roads down were ok, but driving back we got routed through some really ugly areas. Happy to do long detours as well.

Hello all, traveling in from the states. I already have a small list of things to see and do (mostly bars and pubs). I’m getting some of the touristy things out of the way like Big Ben and such, curious if anyone has any recommendations? For reference me and my travel partner are mid 20’s.

Here are some of the things we already plan on seeing, but would love to add some stuff to this list!

Churchill War Rooms
Sky Garden
Big Ben
Buckingham Palace
The Queens Arms
Dishoom
Sky garden
The Churchill Arms
Gordon’s Wine Bar
The Toucan Bar

(If any of these are not worth it feel free to let me know)

(Also we are staying in Chelsea area for reference)

Thanks in advance

We want to take the kids to London for a night and wondered what the best way to do it would be.

Coaches and trains are a no-go.

So, looking for advice on car parks on the outskirts of London, really. We'd need a car park that would allow us to park for 2 days.

2 options:
Option 1: We book a hotel (with parking) on the outskirts of London and travel into London on the tube.

Option 2: We park on the outskirts of London, travel in on the tube and stay in a hotel within London

What are your suggestions?

Hello everyone. I was wondering if anyone knew of any places or boat trips that are wheelchair accessible. I haven't found anywhere yet, and no boats seem step free. I did try to contact the Pembrokeshire national park but I haven't heard a reply yet.

My mum would love to see the seals (from a distance ofc) but I fear there's no way for her to do so.

Thanks for reading, any advice appreciated x

Hello!

On our visit to London we plan to visit the White Cliffs of Dover by train. We plan going to the visitor center by foot but I read it is a steep walk from the port there. How does it exactly look like? Is it slippery, dangerous? We are in our 30s, we go occasionally hiking to the mountains, but we are not climbers.

Will be travelling to London this month. There’s a tottenham vs aston villa game during my stay, so was wondering if its possible to check the tickets availability before taking the membership. I’m unable to check now as it says i need to have the membership. Can anyone who has a membership help?

My mum and I will be travelling to Bath in a few weeks. We’ll be landing at Heathrow T2 and are planning to take a direct bus from the terminal to Bath. Since we hold Indian passports we need to manually go through customs and immigration, so roughly how much time will it take to clear that and get our checked bags from the carousel. We will be landing at around 2 pm and there are two bus options we are considering…one is at 6pm and the other is at 8 pm from the airport

As a native, I’ve definitely noticed a huge increase in walking tours which seems a good proxy for tourists. Lots in Spanish too.

American visiting Manchester and hoping to do a day trip to the Lake District. Looking at the options, driving seems considerably faster and gives us more flexibility, but I’ve never driven in the UK before and am a little hesitant about driving on the opposite side, roundabouts, narrow roads, etc.

Any Americans/Canadians who’ve driven there? how difficult was the adjustment? Would you recommend renting a car for the day, or is train/bus the better option?

Also open to suggestions for the best way to do the Lake District from Manchester in one day! Thank you.

Hi,

At the end of October I'm travelling to Belfast over land, not flying. For this trip I've got an Interrai pass available.

On day 1, Friday 23rd, I'll travel by Eurostar to the UK and then I've planned to go to Glasgow, isn't fixed.

On Tuesday 27th I'll take ferry to Belfast.

I need to be back in London on Oct 31st (time doesn't matter) as I'll travel back home on Sunday Nov 1st.

So 3 interrail travel days are already in use for travelling to the UK, back to London and from the UK back home.

For the first days [Saturday - Monday] I'm looking for some advice! I read about the nice train journey to Mallaig from Glasgow, taking you over the Harry Potter bridge. But will it be worth spending a night there? Or am I better off just returning back to Glasgow? Is there any other destination that can be reached from Mallaig or is returning back to Glasgow the only option?

Or would I be better off travelling to Perth, Aberdeen or Inverness on my first day?

And yes, I've checked the sleeper but it's very much fully booked to Inverness and Fort William.

Could use some advice on trains to take/destinations.

Will anything be open on a Sunday in such a small village, or is doing this on Saturday preferred?

I am not a hiker, will be travelling alone, don't have a driver's license. I like train travel, also like taking numerous amount of pictures with my DSLR (water reflections are my newest thing), wandering through streets, thrifting a jigsaw puzzle in charity shops, be amazed by the beauty of nature, and generally dislike the taste of alcohol. I have been to Edinburgh before!

just booked a couple days in Brixton. Anything you would recommend? Food/drinks/cafe?
We just want to explore a part of London we haven‘t been yet :)