Expert: Michael - 3/29/2011

Question
I intend arriving at Heathrow Airport on 05/05/2011 on a holiday to return on 20/05/2011.
You are my last hope, as I wish this time go beyond London  by train. Journey to commence from Heathrow Airport.
All my attempts to obtain information about B&B within walking distance of railway stations commencing off London towards North to Scotland, then back to Wales to Ireland, then back to south of Wales, South of England and to Heathrow Airport.I am sorry that you may not find time to attend to my request, can you please suggest a way I can have an idea of my travel before landing.
I am 65 years old Australian citizen and will be travelling alone.
Thank you mate
Janakan Srikhanta
As a volunteer you are doing a wonderful service
Good luck to you mate

Janakan Srikhanta

Answer
Hello Janakan,
Thanks for your email.
Your query is quite an involved one, and I'm afraid I'll only be able to give you some initial pointers for planning further. However, hopefully that will help you get started on your plans.

Firstly, if you haven't already, I strongly recommend the BritRail website. BritRail is the organisation which offers tickets for the British Railways that cover routes of your choosing for holidays and similar journeys. Do take a look at wwww.britrail.com

With regards to finding places to stay, I'm afraid it will very much depend on which towns and cities you intend to visit. In the UK, although there are national tourism websites, most tourist information is managed locally by the counties. This means that you can almost always find excellent local information about things like hotels and B&Bs near stations, but also means that if you're planning a journey in several stages as you are then you will need to speak with various tourist boards.

The best starting point for such contacts is a site like Britain Express which lists the contact details, including email addresses, for all local Tourist Information Centres. This way you can contact offices in the towns you intend to visit and speak with locals who know the area. The website is here:
http://www.britainexpress.com/TIC/index.htm

I hope that this information is helpful to you in your planning.
Regards
Michael