Long vacation in England

[Texas Proud]

Car tax - under 1549cc £125/year ($200), over 1600cc $205/year ($328)
However, we are not buying a car for this stay, just using public transport and we'll hire a car only when we need to on special occaisions.

Hey.... looks like an opportunity to buy a car with a 1550 to 1599cc and pay nothing


But I bet yours is a typo....

 

[nun]

Oh yes, I love mushy peas

I also love peas pudding - hot, cold or in the pan 3 days old.

We have a great butcher here just 10 minute walk away who does lovely peas pudding and also fantastic pies and cold cut meats. So, I've already had steak & kidney pie and mushy peas, plus sandwhiches made with ham and peas pudding

Alan, you have to go to Petches in Great Ayton for the pork pies and black pudding. The pudding is really good and instead of being the usual sausage it comes in big square blocks. Go early to get the best choice. The chippy just a few doors down is good too.

 

[rescueme]

black pudding.

Another "delight" of DW. Where do you crazy people dream this stuff up?

Hey, and I enjoy steak tartare (with a bottle of Cote de Rhone), so I'm not "immune" to strange foods.

 

[Alan]

OK, you're on my ignore list (just kidding)....

I'd better not mention how much I love haggis. When we lived in Scotland our local fish & chip shop sold them deep fried in batter, and the canteen at work had sliced, pan fried, haggis available for breakfast every day.

 

[Alan]

Hey.... looks like an opportunity to buy a car with a 1550 to 1599cc and pay nothing


But I bet yours is a typo....

oops - that was a typo, the higher tax kicks in at >1549. 1600cc was a very common engine size so the cut off was set to catch those.

Alan, you have to go to Petches in Great Ayton for the pork pies and black pudding. The pudding is really good and instead of being the usual sausage it comes in big square blocks. Go early to get the best choice. The chippy just a few doors down is good too.

Good tips, I'll let you know what we do. Next couple of days look like rain so it won't be for a few days yet.

 

[nun]

FYI

D Petch Butchers - Great Ayton

http://www.flickr.com/photos/suttonarms/5459353269/

 

[Alan]

FYI

D Petch Butchers - Great Ayton

Petches of Great Ayton black pudding with pear chutney and port reduction | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Thanks for the links. as it happens, our closest butcher here gets all his pies from Petch in Great Ayton, so I don't have far to go to sample those pork pies you mentioned.

 

[REWahoo]

What, no bangers & mash or bubble & squeak?

 

[rescueme]

I'd better not mention how much I love haggis.

So do I, with a pint of St. James's best (Guiness Stoudt)

Sorry, still hate the peas (mushy or otherwise)...

 

[Alan]

What, no bangers & mash or bubble & squeak?

Definitely. DW made bubble & squeak the other day, and we had fantastic bangers from the local butchers - apple & pork, and chives and pork. He has another couple of varieties that we have yet to have. We also had another English favorite from that butcher, a lamb shank that had been marinated in mint sauce and was superb on Sunday, roasted and served with veggies and Yorkshire puddings.

OMG, it is the Wednesday weigh-in tomorrow. I just hope all this walking is burning off all this food.

 

[Moemg]

Allan , If you run into Hugh Grant could you mention to him that technically I am still available and he can ring me anytime ?

 

[Alan]

Allan , If you run into Hugh Grant could you mention to him that technically I am still available and he can ring me anytime ?

If I run across him, I'll be sure to tell him. You can PM me with your phone number to pass on

 

[Moemg]

If I run across him, I'll be sure to tell him. You can PM me with your phone number to pass on

No need he already has it !

 

[Dreamer]

I am enjoying reading about your adventures and looking at the beautiful photos. Thanks for posting the prices too. I would love to do something like this some day. I am so in the mood to travel. It is snowing here.

 

[Alan]

I am enjoying reading about your adventures and looking at the beautiful photos. Thanks for posting the prices too. I would love to do something like this some day. I am so in the mood to travel. It is snowing here.

Thanks for the feedback.

By coincidence we received our Council Tax bill today, which is what pays for all the local services, libraries, schools etc.

It is £1,564 / year ($2,502) and I've just set up monthly payments for the 7 months we'll be here.

The weather yesterday was overcast and windy so we stayed put apart from a 90 minute circular walk I made into the town to pick up some shopping. This morning was showery and overcast so we decided to stay close, and walk into town for a pub meal - Fish, chips and mushy peas for me, chicken curry for DW, 2-fer-1 special, cost £8 ($12.80).

The pub is only 10 minutes from the house and we stayed there about an hour, watching the first half of the Man Utd soccer match. When we came out it had brightened up so we decided to walk out towards Wilton Village along a small country road which was possibly a common route for one of my ancestors in the 1740's. He lived here in Guisborough and married a girl from Wilton Village.

In the end we walked for about 2.5 hours and most of it was in short sleeves, coat and sweater tied around our waists. There were plenty of pheasants to be seen in the fields and many small birds in the hedgerows.

 

[janeeyre]

Alan,

Since I first read "Jane Eyre" years and years and years ago, I have been fascinated with the tragic Bronte family. Visiting the Bronte Parsonage and Haworth is on my bucket list but my DH and I have never had much luck traveling abroad. We have been lost in France, pickpocketed in Italy on day one losing everything, etc. So, we gave up hope of ever exploring the obscure Yorshire moors. But your thread has given me a gleamer of hope that maybe we can try again. I know that you may not be close to the Bronte area but can you please answer a few questions:

1. We would like to stay one month so: do you recommend renting a home or staying in a hotel?

2. Is Haworth a good home base for the area or should we try another area?

3. We love to bike and hike but we may need to be near transportation to explore other areas. Or should we rent a car?

4. I guess we fly into Manchester? Then we could rent a car or take a train. What do you recommend?

Thanks for your time and your inspiring post. BTW, --look at my username

 

[Alan]

Alan,

Since I first read "Jane Eyre" years and years and years ago, I have been fascinated with the tragic Bronte family. Visiting the Bronte Parsonage and Haworth is on my bucket list but my DH and I have never had much luck traveling abroad. We have been lost in France, pickpocketed in Italy on day one losing everything, etc. So, we gave up hope of ever exploring the obscure Yorshire moors. But your thread has given me a gleamer of hope that maybe we can try again. I know that you may not be close to the Bronte area but can you please answer a few questions:

1. We would like to stay one month so: do you recommend renting a home or staying in a hotel?

2. Is Haworth a good home base for the area or should we try another area?

3. We love to bike and hike but we may need to be near transportation to explore other areas. Or should we rent a car?

4. I guess we fly into Manchester? Then we could rent a car or take a train. What do you recommend?

Thanks for your time and your inspiring post. BTW, --look at my username

May I call you Jane or would you prefer Miss Eyre

Thanks for your comments and your interest and I hope that you have much better luck in your future travels. What you have experienced so far sounds ghastly.

What we would do is rent a house or cottage in a place that has good public transportation. For Yorkshire I particularly like York. I've been there many times and last year we spent a fantastic 2 weeks. York is a walled, cathedral city with lots to do and is extremely well served by rail and coach to the surrounding countryside. You can rent a car if you like for trips into the countryside, including Haworth, which is about a 90 minute drive, but I would very much expect that there were Bronte Country bus tours that went from York.

DW does all our travel arrangements and research, and has had lots of success with VRBO, and with Rightmove , but there several others. Try Googling House rental England, and you'll places to rent in Yorkshire such as Holiday Homes in Yorkshire

Manchester is a good place to fly to, and you can jump onto a train direct to York right at the airport.

There are good websites for planning your train and bus travel such as Travel Line and The Train line.

If you are going to rent a cottage or house in the Haworth area then you'd definitely need a car I think.

 

[Alan]

On renting cars in England.

We've found it costs ~£170 - £200 /week ($270 - $320) where we are. We save a chunk of money by using our Amex Card which covers us for collision damage. 3rd party coverage is included in the price by law - if you have an accident the liability costs of the other driver is covered.

We rented for the first week we were here and we'll rent whenever we want a car, for example when our kids come over and we want to take them around to maximize the time they have here.

 

[Alan]

Unbelievable weather

Fantastic weather again this past couple of days with more of the same forecast. If we get anything like this weather in the summer we'll be more than pleased. We were told today that this has been the driest March
in 50 years.

We've been walking and hiking almost every day, and this morning we took the bus to Whitby and wandered around there for 3 hours. The buses are extremely good value, very clean and very efficient. The trip to Whitby, ~25 miles, took about 40 mins each way. The same bus continues on down to Scarborough, about 40 miles from here. A "day ticket" cost £6.50 ($10.40) and that allows you to get on and off as often as you want during the day. While on the cliffs at Whitby we saw the cliff top path to Robin Hood's Bay 6.5 miles away, so another day we'll do that and catch the bus back using the same "day ticket". We've now done the "hike to somewhere and catch the bus back" thing several times now, and it works well.

Weather was so nice, DW even went for a paddle in the North Sea.

 

[Alan]

This is for nun who is looking to move to Great Ayton in the future.

Yesterday we walked there from the house via Highcliffe and Captain Cook's Monument. We actually ate a picnic on the top, close to the monument, then walked down and into the town to have a coffee in the "5 Cafe", just round the corner from the Royal Oak Hotel.

 

[nun]

This is for nun who is looking to move to Great Ayton in the future.

Yesterday we walked there from the house via Highcliffe and Captain Cook's Monument. We actually ate a picnic on the top, close to the monument, then walked down and into the town to have a coffee in the "5 Cafe", just round the corner from the Royal Oak Hotel.

I had a pint of Theakston's in the Royal Oak last Nov. I'm also looking at Barnard Castle

 

[Alan]

I had a pint of Theakston's in the Royal Oak last Nov. I'm also looking at Barnard Castle

Great place. We went there with some friends on Tuesday. The river was high. We went for a walk along the river and had lunch at the cafe in the Bowes Museum. DW had haddock chowder and I had an omelette made with Wensleydale cheese and smoked mackerel. Absolutely awesome flavors.

 

[Alan]

Well, the long vacation is coming to an end and it has been great. Already we are planning 2013 and will probably do ~5 months here, but next time rent a holiday home for a month at a time in 3 different locations and stay with relatives in between. (We have relatives scattered across the country from Scotland to Devon).

This coming week we'll be going away to the Vale of Eden for 3 days with some friends, then I have to pick up a hire van on Saturday morning and spend the weekend transporting sofas, chairs, beds, washing machine etc etc. We fly back next week.

Renting the unfurnished house has cost an average of $480/week and that includes all the costs of furniture, council taxes, TV and cable etc.

Total cost of the whole 7 months including rental cars, air fares, food, other travel costs (including a week in Ireland and a week in Madeira) is ~$35k.

For our hiking we carry a hand held GPS which we reset before each trip and log the mileage. We have hiked 625 miles so far and have no idea how far we have walked, but it is a lot. (We have no car here so walk everywhere including shops. - It is 0.75 miles to the town center).tor or

We stayed healthy (so far) and didn't need to visit the doctor or dentist, so I'm pleased to say that I can't report on how easy or difficult it was to get treatment and claim back the costs (Our US insurance covers us here and I have a number to call in case of insurance issues while in the UK)

We have enjoyed entertaining lots of visitors including 3 sets of visitors from the USA, pleased to escape the heat and drought of Texas and Louisiana.

It has been said once or twice before on this site, but I need to say it again - we love being RE'ed

 

[rescueme]

Total cost of the whole 7 months including rental cars, air fares, food, other travel costs (including a week in Ireland and a week in Madeira) is ~$35k.

Sounds good, but how much was the total cost (include your ongoing expenses in the U.S. for the period, while you were away?).

Yes, I'm nosy ...

$35 USD would be $5k/mo, or $60k for a full year (not including ongoing US expenses).

Did that fit in with your budget - IOW was the variance acceptable?

Maybe GB should be added to foreign retirement options (I/DW are game)?

 

[Alan]

Sounds good, but how much was the total cost (include your ongoing expenses in the U.S. for the period, while you were away?).

Yes, I'm nosy ...

$35 USD would be $5k/mo, or $60k for a full year (not including ongoing US expenses).

Did that fit in with your budget - IOW was the variance acceptable?

Maybe GB should be added to foreign retirement options (I/DW are game)?

Good question, and is one of the reasons we did this experiment since our plan B is to retire to the UK if healthcare becomes unaffordable.

During the 7 months we have been here we spent $21k on US expenses, putting us on target for an annual expense of ~$80k excluding taxes.

It proves to us we can easily live in the UK with a very high standard of living. I don't know how much extra income tax we'd pay, but the UK does get a lot of tax revenue from other sources which we have been paying while here - 20% VAT, $8/gal gasoline, local council taxes (equivalent to property taxes), TV licence etc.

Apart from no health care costs at point of service (no bills, all covered by income taxes), seniors (age 65) get free bus passes and we have used the buses and trains extensively while here and found them to be excellent.