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Where do people from Forest Hill go o...

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Michael
Joined 04-03-2005
Posted on Friday, 09 February, 2007 - 01:55 pm:   

This was a topic that Robwinton tried to start on the other side of SE23 forum but it did not really fit.

So where would people recommend to go on holiday?
And what are your favourite places to visit when outside of SE23?
Michael
Joined 04-03-2005
Posted on Friday, 09 February, 2007 - 01:55 pm:   

Personally I would recommend Scotland in the summer (if you can find which week they are having summer). The islands, mountains, and lakes are gorgeous. You have to go north of Fort William for the best scenery and I particularly like the Isle of Skye.

For a city break I would recommend Amsterdam. The people are really friendly, there is little traffic except on the canals, and the architecture is quite impressive. Lots of god museums and only a short flight away. There is plenty to do that has nothing to do with the red light district or smoking cannabis.

This year we are thinking of going to Dominica (not Dominican Republic) for our honeymoon and I would be interested to know if anybody on the forum has been there.
Robwinton
Joined 07-06-2006
Posted on Friday, 09 February, 2007 - 03:31 pm:   

never been to Dominica, sorry, but maybe you could also become the SE23 travel editor (on top of everything else) and send us a report and some pictures

:-)

My favourites have always been Italy (particularly the North around the lakes) and anywhere that makes wine!!

I travel to Rioja a lot at the moment and I would highly recommend that to anyone thinking of Spain but looking for something other than Costa del Sol.

City break? Not since my daughter was born, but had a great weekend in Venice a few years ago - but pretty expensive
Simon
Joined 18-07-2005
Posted on Friday, 09 February, 2007 - 04:36 pm:   

Had a great holiday last year on the Croatian island of Lopud. It's a tiny place about 45mins by ferry from Dubrovnik. No cars on the island and it's very peaceful. Nothing to do but relax. Wine isn't up to much but fresh fish makes up for it!
Robwinton
Joined 07-06-2006
Posted on Friday, 09 February, 2007 - 04:57 pm:   

Fresh fish with no wine!? Aaaaaargh! Stuff of nightmares
Roz
Joined 17-03-2005
Posted on Friday, 09 February, 2007 - 05:39 pm:   

Don't get me started on holidays as I won't stop!

The best, relaxing, entertaining, and hassle free holiday I've had was in the Bay of Naples area, ie based in Sorrento ( not that wonderful in itself but served a purpose as a base) with day trips to Naples, Vesuvius, Pompeii/Herculaneum, the Amalfi Coast by boat, also day trips to Capri and Ischia. Ischia has a host of thermal baths which are wonderful to relax in. Capri is stunning with great walks and scenery. The other good thing was that is was fairly cheap to fly to Naples on bargain flights, reasonable hotels, and cheap to eat and get out and about ie £2 for a 1 hour boat trip to Amalfi. Best time to go is either late spring or early September. So, lots of great food and wine, walks, fresh air, swimming opportunties, geology and culture. The Italians were good fun too; our bus was ' kidnapped' half way up Vesuvius where we were all held hostage for an hour 'encouraging' us to buy overpriced food drink and tourist tat from the drivers' uncle's shop. A few people got irate but its essentially what Italy is all about- keeping it in the family!

Two years ago my partner and I went to Iceland for 10 days under our own steam ie not on a package holiday. It was fantastic but expensive. Great scenery , geology and fresh air. Food pretty awful unfortunately- despite being the healthiest population in the world their diet seemed to be awful. Drink- best to buy it at duty free on the way in as otherwise £8 a bottle
for beer. The scenery ie waterfalls, midnight whale watching, volcanoes and glaciers were fantastic as were the many public thermal baths around with healing properties. Suggest you seek out a reasonably priced package tour with trips thrown in as otherwise can be extortionate.

Other 'gems' were trips to South America with Journey Latin America, such as Peru/Bolivia/Brazil, Argentina and Chile. All a few years ago but unforgettable. Argentina and Chile are significantly cheaper now than they were due to the financial crash, and as they rely on the USD its an even better time to go.

In this country, we love Suffolk (Walberswick and Southwold), Dorset ( Corfe Castle area) for short breaks; further afield we've had wonderful holidays in the Outer Hebrides and have driven from end to end, ie Stornoway to Eriskay through Harris and the Uists. Don't worry too much about the weather as you can literally have all four seasons in one day so you adapt your activities to suit.

You could do worse than try the north of Ireland where I come from- the North Antrim Coast/Giants Causeway/Rathlin Island, and on to Derry and the north Donegal Coast- all beautiful and weather mostly good in late May to June.
Robwinton
Joined 07-06-2006
Posted on Friday, 09 February, 2007 - 05:39 pm:   

Actually, we're off to Cornwall relatively soon. Any recommendations out there?
Roz
Joined 17-03-2005
Posted on Friday, 09 February, 2007 - 05:50 pm:   

Cornwall- we spent a great few days a few years ago staying in a farmhouse near the Eden Project and visited that and nearby Fowey where theres a large Daphne de Maurier tourist scene. Then went to the north (Padstow etc) which was OK but a little overrated and too popular for our liking. The best place for us was St Ives with a lovely beach, Tate St Ives, and the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture museum. Can also recommend Mevagissey ( a short drive from the Eden Project) with a great harbour and fish and chips. The Lost Gardens of Heligan were also close by. We did go to Lands End but only to experience its alleged awfulness; not recommended- its also a long drive from anywhere decent. Onto St Michaels Mount but missed the tide so had to admire it from the land. Travel wise, we went by train to Plymouth and hired a car for the week; you can apparently put a car on a train from Paddington but this is only a summer service and runs Saturdays only.
Robwinton
Joined 07-06-2006
Posted on Friday, 09 February, 2007 - 05:56 pm:   

excellent, thanks

I need to transport all the stuff for my two year old, so need to drive. Was definitely planning on the Eden Project, but good to know more about places nearby.
Forester
Joined 04-02-2006
Posted on Saturday, 10 February, 2007 - 10:47 am:   

I'm going to Cape Town in a few weeks. Anyone been and have suggestions for places to see/stay?
Michael
Joined 04-03-2005
Posted on Saturday, 10 February, 2007 - 05:49 pm:   

While in Cape Town I would recommend the obvious things: Robin Island and Table Mountain. If you like wine, drive out to Franschhoek, which is a beautiful area with lots of vineyards and some very good restaurants (although we didn't try any). You should also travel down to Cape Point via Boulder Bay where you can see penguins.
Sherwood
Joined 30-03-2005
Posted on Monday, 12 February, 2007 - 12:00 pm:   

I go to Birmingham because there are more miles of canal there than in Venice.
Johnc
Joined 09-01-2007
Posted on Monday, 12 February, 2007 - 02:51 pm:   

As a single man and being a non driver I tend to spend most of my disposable income on holidays and to lesser (in terms of expense) and wine. I tend to go on a lot of tours more often than not long haul. In the past 10 years or so i've been to the following in (mainly) chronological order

Egypt
China
Cuba
Syria
Jordan
Tunisia
Bulgaria
Romania
Cyprus
Peru
Australia
Burma
India
Turkey
South Africa
Greece
New Zealand
Kenya
Poland
Vietnam
Laos
Cambodia

Never been on a holiday I haven't enjoyed
Andy
Joined 23-02-2005
Posted on Monday, 12 February, 2007 - 03:04 pm:   

Had a cracking long weekend in the Languedoc recently. Cheap flight to Carcassonne and cheap car hire. Driving throuch the mountains down to Perpignan (which was shut as it being a sunday) was quite magical. not recommended for vegetarians but the wine was marvellous.
Bosco
Joined 16-07-2004
Posted on Monday, 12 February, 2007 - 04:03 pm:   

Would thoroughly endorse Roz' recommendation for the Antrim coast and Donegal (never been to Derry so can't comment). Galway is also a great little city and well worth a visit.

Ireland in good weather is truly stunning (although I admit, being Irish, I am biased). Weather is usually pretty good in early September too.
Sherwood
Joined 30-03-2005
Posted on Tuesday, 13 February, 2007 - 01:51 pm:   

Port Isaac in Cornwall (where Doc Martin is filmed) is recommended by many people. My aunt rents out her cottage in a small Cornish village through English Country Cottages (I think).
Applespider
Joined 26-02-2006
Posted on Tuesday, 13 February, 2007 - 08:15 pm:   

Would thoroughly recommend Elba, just off the Italian cost. Aside from Napoleon's mansion during his exile, it's a beautiful island with lovely quiet beaches, hiking, nature trails and diving. They make some rather nice wines there too.

Relatively easy to get to - fly from Gatwick to Pisa, hire a car and drive an hour to Piombino to catch the ferry across.

And it was surprisingly good value - late May last year, the flights were around £80 (BA) and we stayed in a small boutique hotel (half board with good Italian cooking made to order) for around £40 a night per person with a view across the sea.
Brian
Joined 18-04-2005
Posted on Monday, 19 February, 2007 - 09:11 am:   

Try Penge
Natives friendly, some even speak English although not many correctly.
Charming unspoilt location
Michael
Joined 04-03-2005
Posted on Monday, 19 February, 2007 - 11:12 pm:   

Had a lovely weekend in Washington on the way back from Ohio. Washington in February gets to a balmy two degrees Celcius.

Two decent museums to visit in Washington are National Museum of the American Indian and the National Air and Space Museum. The two major art gallaries are a bit of a disappointment. If you want to see modern art, stay in South London (Tate Modern), if you want to see European art stay in Europe, and if you want to see American go to New York.

Apart from that I can't really say much about a city that was covered in snow and ice, other than it is very impressive when you see a frozen river wider than the Thames.

Roz, I think it is very difficult to tour the White House these days and I am told that you don't really get to see the exciting parts.
Tersie
Joined 04-02-2007
Posted on Tuesday, 06 March, 2007 - 07:25 am:   

I have just come back from a trip to the blackmountains in wales, it was fab. We did a days whitewater rafting and there are lots of other activities to do - horse riding, canoeing, clay pigeon shooting, pretty much any activity you can think of which is perfect for a bunch of friends or couples. There is a lodge affiliated with the activity centre which is very comfortable and only £30 pp B&B. www.blackmountain.co.uk Highly recommended!
Cessj
Joined 06-02-2007
Posted on Monday, 12 March, 2007 - 07:06 pm:   

The Caribbean - wins hands down! I'm off to Barbados in a couple of weeks...can't wait. Fabulous clear, blue waters, long streches of white and pink beaches, golden sunsets, watersports...lots of tourists head for the south coast or the more upmarket west coast, but there are some graet beaches along the much wilder east coast, and relatively few tourists.
Cuba is also a favourite, despite its faded grandeur...very cheap...and then there's also St. Lucia, Antigua etc. etc.

In Europe, I like Andalucia...we have a holiday home in a lovely little village not too far from Malaga, away from the beaches, but still in close driving distance if we fancy a spot of beach-life...anyone interested can always check out our website at selectspain.com/casamorena
or just email me for details. Discounts to se23 people!
Thomas
Joined 14-03-2007
Posted on Friday, 23 March, 2007 - 03:27 pm:   

If you're ever in Western Australia, you may want to go to the Forest Hill vineyard:
http://www.foresthillwines.com.au/index.htm

I was in the area a few weeks ago (and did visit rather a lot of vineyards) but sadly only found out about it when it was too late!

Its a cool climate region, and well regarded, if that's any help.
Johnc
Joined 09-01-2007
Posted on Friday, 23 March, 2007 - 06:47 pm:   

I have actually tasted Forest Hill wine. It was several years ago, but if I remember they do a pretty mean white