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Visiting Southern England In June - Would Love To Meet Up
beagley - 27/4/26 at 12:25 AM

I'm asking for the generosity of you lot to see if any of you would be willing to meet up with me around the Oxford/London area June 19-24. We have a rental car, but a majority of our stay is around Oxford/London. I would happily treat you to a few pints at a local brewery or a distillery tour for your inconvenience. Gin and whiskey are my jam

This is our first trip to England, and the first thing that crossed my mind was to see if I could meet up with any of you builders. Does that mean I have a problem?... anyway...

I would love to opportunity to meet up with any of you all and hear about your build and see it in action first-hand and pay you in beer, liquor,. or whatever your drink of choice may be.

Also, any tips you have regarding Bath, Oxford, and the Cotswolds area would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to you all!

Beags

Slater - 27/4/26 at 09:34 AM

Hi there Beags

I'm not able to meet up, but I'd recommend a visit to the Bombay Sapphire Gin Distillery, which is near Andover, on the River Test, very scenic with fascinating history. They do a full tour and you can do a cocktail mixing class too.

Bomb ay Sapphire Distillery

[Edited on 27-4-26 by Slater]

gremlin1234 - 27/4/26 at 09:54 AM

first tip, avoid driving in London, (or Oxford!)

for London Gin tasting, I believe 'The Viaduct Tavern, EC1' (holborn) would be a good place to start, and I think some 'London guides' do 'official Gin tours'
but pubs in the City usually have quite restricted hours. (for instance many stay closed on Sundays)

you have to move over to the touristy bits (the west end ) for nightlife after 9pm.

nick205 - 27/4/26 at 10:32 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Slater
Hi there Beags

I'm not able to meet up, but I'd recommend a visit to the Bombay Sapphire Gin Distillery, which is near Andover, on the River Test, very scenic with fascinating history. They do a full tour and you can do a cocktail mixing class too.

Bomb ay Sapphire Distillery

[Edited on 27-4-26 by Slater]



Can echo Slater's Bombay Saphire recommendation.

SWMBO's been there on a work trip and loved it (as did all her colleagues).

beagley - 27/4/26 at 10:39 AM

Thanks for the tips!

I’ve heard horror stories about the traffic in London.

We have a bit of a road trip planned hitting the Jurassic Coast, Bath, Oxford, and finally London. I figured once we are in London for the final leg, we could return the car to save some $$$ and use public transport for the remainder. Is there a better way to do a rental than from the airport?

gremlin1234 - 27/4/26 at 11:37 AM

quote:
Originally posted by beagley
I’ve heard horror stories about the traffic in London.


parking in London is even worse!

London black cabs are seen to be expensive, but they take you to the door, and realistically will save you ages when you are tired & don't know where you are going. especially with family group / luggage etc

but for days out in london use the train/tube, its fast into central london, but also take busses, and sit upstairs at the front and watch the world go past...

I live on the north edge of London, and; If you wish to visit some real local pubs in an 800 year old market town, Chipping (High) Barnet. I would welcome you,

(no current car, but can chat kit (and other) cars and local history for ages)

[Edited on 27/4/26 by gremlin1234]

Ugg10 - 27/4/26 at 06:27 PM

If you are doing Jurassic Coast the you could do Beaulieu Car Museum and Bombay Sapphire in a day, they are about an hour a part. Stop in Winchester, lovely old town with lots to see including a military museum and a the Hospital of St Cross Alms house (11th Century).

Winchester is also on the way from Jurassic Coast to Oxford so a good stop off point.

Do be sure to give yourself travel time, this is the UK not the US where you can travel hundreds of miles in a day.

Enjoy.

Theshed - 28/4/26 at 09:58 PM

You do not need to drive in London the public transport is really easy. No need to rely on taxis or uber. Public transport runs all night but the tube (Metro) is limited after midnight. You do not need a ticket you can use a credit card. Daily fares are capped at a reasonable maximum. The tube is easy to navigate. Contrary to rumour if you need help most Londoners will point you in the right direction. Exceptions may apply if you are wearing a MAGA hat..... For most of central London you can walk. Check out the riverboats. Some are part of the transport network and part of the daily capped fare. You can start at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich and travel all the way up the river. history all the way and no walking.

I disagree with the suggestion that you need tourist zones after 9pm. London is a 24 hour city. You can drink, dance, whore, gamble and eat around the clock.

So for Gin and a bit of entertainment check out God's Own Junk Yard in Walthamstow with adjacent distillery.

All airports are well served by Trains - especially Heathrow. Use the Elizabeth line into town from there. Hiring a car at the airport is no bad thing.

beagley - 28/4/26 at 10:35 PM

Thanks for all the tips! You've been very helpful.

@Theshed - No MAGAs on this trip, that's for sure. Frankly, I'm embarrassed that we (the US) elected our current administration.

@Gremlin - I may hit you up over U2U for more info about your local pubs as well as meeting up. Would love to meet anyone face to face.

@Ugg - Good call on the auto museum, I will definitely be checking into that.

I'm travelling with my in-laws, so are there any good whiskey distilleries?

gremlin1234 - 29/4/26 at 08:22 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Theshed
I disagree with the suggestion that you need tourist zones after 9pm. London is a 24 hour city. You can drink, dance, whore, gamble and eat around the clock.

I mean the City of London, the financial part.
yes the rest is thriving all hours.

gremlin1234 - 29/4/26 at 09:55 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Theshed
You do not need a ticket you can use a credit card. Daily fares are capped at a reasonable maximum.
but each traveller has to have a card of their own.

Slater - 29/4/26 at 10:07 AM

Hi Beags
You'll need to learn the correct spelling... Whisky is from Scotland/Japan/Canada and Whiskey is from USA/Ireland.

Anyway, you'll need to visit Scotland (or Ireland) to do a Whisky tour, bit of long way from South Coast of England, approx 400-500 miles.

gremlin1234 - 29/4/26 at 11:48 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Slater
Hi Beags
You'll need to learn the correct spelling... Whisky is from Scotland/Japan/Canada and Whiskey is from USA/Ireland.

Anyway, you'll need to visit Scotland (or Ireland) to do a Whisky tour, bit of long way from South Coast of England, approx 400-500 miles.


agreed, Scotland, Ireland, for whisky/whiskey

BUT London GIN is very real

beagley - 29/4/26 at 12:00 PM

Thanks again for the tips on whisky. I guess I'll have to stick to gin then

English, in all it's various forms, is such a weird language. For instance, I know what a tyre is thanks to this site, but then why isn't fire spelled the same way? "Light the fyres and kick the tyres" looks way more British.

Anyway, any other must hit suggestions for the Weymouth, Bath, and Cardiff areas besides those already mentioned? I'm honestly looking forward to just getting out into the countryside and enjoying some beautiful scenery and being somewhere new for a time.

Again, I appreciate all your tips.

nick205 - 29/4/26 at 01:07 PM

Visiting / exploring new places is always good.

As a Brit with a wife from the US (north New York state) (but grew up in England) my oberservations visiting over there was just the space / low population density compared to England.

IMHO we're pretty tightly packed in in England.

Rod Ends - 29/4/26 at 06:16 PM

Locost racing at Snetterton, Norfolk 20th & 21st June?

https://750mc.co.uk/formulae/locost-championship/

beagley - 29/4/26 at 06:46 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Rod Ends
Locost racing at Snetterton, Norfolk 20th & 21st June?

https://750mc.co.uk/formulae/locost-championship/


You're killing me smalls!! That would be fantastic, but I think it's too much extra for this trip. Man, I should have asked you all long before I did. I may have convinced SWMBO that Cambridge is the better stop than Oxford and I could have slipped over to Snetterton. :p

Schrodinger - 30/4/26 at 08:18 AM

there is also the English Whisky Distillery at Roudham near Thetford if you were to go over to Snetterton.

JoelP - 7/5/26 at 07:52 AM

Tangent - anyone had anything nice from the English whisky distillery? I saw them at a whisky festival and the only one I tried was rough as sandpaper.

Ugg10 - 8/5/26 at 07:22 AM

@joelp

Over lockdown I did an online tasting event for English whiskey/whiskys. Stand out ones for me were the Dartmoor Dustillery Sherry cask but this is quite expensive, I also like some of the Cotswold distillery offerings and recently had a bottle of the Penderyn Potwood which was nice. My taste is generally Speyside (therefore non peated) sherry cask as I like those fruit/christmas cake/caramel flavours.