1. London, UK unlike most of the cities in USA is very well connected and public transport is just awesome. For planning trips, I used the Transport for London website. Another tip for people who end up staying near Heathrow hotel, you don't have to pay for the Hotel Hoppa (about 5 pounds) to go to the airport. There are a couple of free buses that go to Heathrow Airport and you can take them to the airport or the nearest train station (Hatton Cross).
2. For traveling using Tube, make sure you buy an Oyster card if you are on a longer trip. Else, take the day pass (about 8 pounds) if you intend to tour Central London for just a day.
3. The long-distance/overground train ticket prices fluctuate a lot. I use thetrainline.com and it's accompanying iPhone app to plan my trip to Durham, Cambridge, etc.
4. A trip to England is incomplete if you don't visit Scotland. Most of the time, the train ticket is almost equal or more than an air-ticket.
5. When planning a trip to Scotland, look up the different tours offered. I ended up taking the Loch Ness, Glencoe & the Highlands tour by Timberbush.
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| View of the Scottish landscape during one of our pit-stops |
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| World's largest Whisky collection - 1 |
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| World's largest Whisky collection - 2 |
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| World's largest Whisky collection - 3 |
7. Use the Traveline Scotland website and iPhone app to plan your trips in and around Edinburgh. Hint: Keep some pounds change (around 1.5 pounds) for the bus fare.
8. The Wi-Fi in most of the hotels were very expensive (about 15 pounds per day). You can opt for a Mi-Fi rental from XCom Global (if you are traveling from USA). The rental rates are very reasonable and allows unlimited internet access. XCom's Mi-Fi service has been recommended by EnGadget and I rented the Mi-Fi for my entire trip. I also rented an extra battery pack and took the insurance as well (Since I rented for a month or so, the rate was around $13.90 per day).
Thanks to Sushant Jeurkar for helping me with the Scotland trip planning. Thanks to Ameya for taking the time and showing me around Central London :)
Posting some random snaps:
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| Durham Cathedral |
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| Random Cherry Blossom @Durham, UK |
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| College @Cambridge |
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| King's College @Cambridge |
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| Westminister Abbey |
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| St Paul's Cathedral @London |
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| London Eye |
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| Big Ben |
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| London Bridge |
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| Piccadilly Circus @London |
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| Lord's Cricket ground |
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| Match in progress @Lord's Cricket ground |
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| Sherlock Holmes Museum |
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| Regents Park - 1 |
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| Regents Park - 2 |
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| Trebuchet @Fort William, Scotland |
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| Scott Monument @Scotland |
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| Scottish Parliament @Scotland |
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| Interesting Chess Whisky set @Whisky tour |
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| Crown Office @Scotland |
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| Church/Cathedral near the Assembly @Scotland |
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| Oldest Whisky :) |
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| Tower of London bridge @London |
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| Guard |
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| One of the Towers of London |
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| Parade at Buckingham Palace |
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| Memorial in front of the Buckingham Palace |
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| Trafalgar Square |