01_748714 ffirs.qxp 1/24/06 9:49 PM Page iii England FOR DUMmIES‰ s 3RD EDITION by Donald Olson 02_748714 ftoc.qxp 1/24/06 8:37 PM Page x 01_748714 ffirs.qxp 1/24/06 9:49 PM Page i Plan your trip with For Dummies Covering the most popular destinations in North America and Europe, For Dummies travel guides are the ultimate user-friendly trip planners. Available wherever books are sold or go to www.dummies.com And book it with ߜ Book airfare, hotels and packages our online partner, ߜ Find the hottest deals ߜ Get breaking travel news Frommers.com ߜ Enter to win vacations ߜ Share trip photos and stories ߜ And much more Frommers.com,rated the #1 Travel Web Site by PC Magazine 01_748714 ffirs.qxp 1/24/06 9:49 PM Page ii ™ to travel! The fun and easy way U.S.A. 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Go to www.dummies.com or call 1-877-762-2974 to order direct. 01_748714 ffirs.qxp 1/24/06 9:49 PM Page iii England FOR DUMmIES‰ s 3RD EDITION by Donald Olson 01_748714 ffirs.qxp 1/24/06 9:50 PM Page iv England For Dummies®, 3rd Edition Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax 317-572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Frommer’s is a trade- mark or registered trademark of Arthur Frommer. Used under license. All other trademarks are the prop- erty of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. 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For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2005937359 ISBN-13: 978-0-471-74871-7 ISBN-10: 0-471-74871-4 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 3B/RQ/QS/QW/IN 01_748714 ffirs.qxp 1/24/06 9:50 PM Page v About the Author Donald Olson is a novelist, playwright, and travel writer. His newest novel, Confessions of a Pregnant Princess, was published in 2005 under the pen name Swan Adamson. An earlier Swan Adamson novel, My Three Husbands, has been translated into French and published in several European countries. Donald Olson’s novel The Confessions of Aubrey Beardsley, was published in the United Kingdom by Bantam Press, and his play, Beardsley, was produced in London. His travel stories have appeared in the New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Sunset, National Geographic books, and many other publications. England For Dummies, 1st Edition won a 2002 Lowell Thomas Travel Writing Award for best guidebook. His other guidebooks London For Dummies, Best Day Trips from London, Irreverent London, Germany For Dummies, and Frommer’s Vancouver & Victoria are all published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. London is one of Donald’s favorite cities, and England is one of his favorite countries. Dedication This book is dedicated to all those Londoners who showed the world in July 2005 that they are stronger than any terrorists. Author’s Acknowledgments I would like to thank BritRail for helpful assistance while I was researching this new edition of England For Dummies. Thanks also go to Gary Larson and Stephen Brewer. 01_748714 ffirs.qxp 1/24/06 9:50 PM Page vi Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Editorial Composition Services Editors: Naomi Black, Project Coordinator: Jennifer Theriot Christine Ryan, Project Editors; Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers, M. Faunette Johnston, Production Lauren Goddard, Denny Hager, Editor; and Jennifer Moore, Joyce Haughey, Barbara Moore, Development Editor Heather Ryan, Julie Trippetti Copy Editor: Laura Miller Proofreaders: Laura Albert, Cartographer: Andrew Murphy Leeann Harney, TECHBOOKS Senior Photo Editor: Richard Fox Production Services Cover Photos: Front cover: © Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Steve Bidler/eStock Photo; Dorset: Services Shaftesbury: family walking on Gold Hill, thatched cottages beyond Back cover: © Nick Bodle/ Alamy Images; Cumbria: Derwent Water scenic Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 02_748714 ftoc.qxp 1/24/06 8:37 PM Page vii Contents at a Glance Introduction.......................................................1 Part I: Introducing England.................................7 Chapter 1: Discovering the Best of England ..................................9 Chapter 2: Digging Deeper into England ......................................15 Chapter 3: Deciding When and Where to Go ..............................24 Chapter 4: Following an Itinerary: Five Great Options ..............41 Part II: Planning Your Trip to England ...............55 Chapter 5: Managing Your Money ................................................57 Chapter 6: Getting to England........................................................69 Chapter 7: Getting Around England ..............................................77 Chapter 8: Booking Your Accommodations ................................87 Chapter 9: Catering to Special Needs or Interests ......................95 Chapter 10: Taking Care of the Remaining