General Chat

Hello
I am coming to England from Western Australia to complete my family (surname Chipper) history which I have been researching for approx 40 years.
I arrive on 25 May 2014 and have accommodation booked for one night, so far. It can be extended if necessary.
The areas I'm interested in are London, Somerset and Bristol family history centres so if you know of good B&Bs near these centres or within easy commuting distance, I would appreciate knowing of them.
I will be in England for approx three months so I can research the records not transcribed electronically.
Thanks for any help you can give or for any tips you have that will make my trip easier and/or more productive.
Cheers
Kim Chipper

Hello Kim

I have no idea of B&Bs in those areas.........but welcome to the chat board.

:-) :-)

Not the cheapest time for B&Bs. Bucket and Spade season.

Bit of a long shot but some of the universities let out rooms in halls to holiday companies. It might be worth an ask around the unis.

LDS Family History Centres are a good place to find older records and the staff are very helpful. You can find he addresses here (just put in the location of where you are going to stay):-

https://familysearch.org/locations/centerlocator

Kath. x

Have you tried looking for self catering short let apartments Kim?

One thing I would say, you come from a very large country and ours is a small place but it still takes quite some travelling to get from place to place.

Many years ago, a close friend (from Oz) decided to hire a car and in one day visit from London - Gloucestershire records office and 2 other places on that side of the UK, because the actual mileage to her did not seem that much she genuinely believed she could do it all in one day. We we made it to the records office and then had to come home.

And even at the end of the day she could still not fathom how she had not been able to do all in one day as it was not to her big disances. She certainly did not expect it to take nearly 1 hour just to pick up the car and make it out of London!

Bless her,

Hope you have a great time in the UK.

I would also recommend contacting the local Tourist Offices to see if they have any brochures for B&B etc.

Google Airbnb.co.uk - it is a list of bed and breakfast places, and homes where people rent out one room and supply breakfast.

Travel Lodge, Premier Inn and Best Western are hotel chains which can be reasonably priced. As they are intended for travellers by car, most (but not all!) are near major roads or motorways.

If you want 'proper' hotels, try lastminute.com as a portal. Trivago.co.uk and Expedia are also good comparison sites. You may find that a hotel is cheaper than a bed and breakfast, especially if they have a mutlinight offer. Trip Advisor will often have recent reviews by visitors although you may have to bear in mind that a person who has written a negative one may have had 'issues'.

I suppose it depends what part of Somerset, some of it could be done comfortably from a hotel on the outskirts of Bristol. I am assuming you would hire a car. But South Somerset would be more easily covered at Taunton record office so a hotel there would be useful.

Have you checked that the places you want to visit are actually open? You should be able to check online and possibly see what records they hold too.

eg. One place of interest to me(not one you list) is closed at the moment for relocation.

Sometimes fiche-readers etc. are in limited supply, so you may need to book a reader when you want to visit.

Gwyn

seek out.

Premier Inns they offer good value for money and are based all over UK.even in the centre of London.

Have a look at this website: www.visitengland.com it will give you all types of places to stay.

I also reiterate everything DazedConfused wrote. I remember having to explain to an Aussie, not just how long it takes to get anywhere, but the driving is very different.

Have a wonderful trip and I hope you are successful in your research and as well as going to the Record Offices look at local studies centres ( often in main county libraries) and the county family History Societies where you can often do your research.

ALSO CHECK OPENING TIMES FOR RECORDS OFFICES .
A LOT HAVE HAD HOURS CUT AND CLOSED DAYS.

GOOD LUCK,

SORRY GWYN REPEATED YOUR REPLY,

Hi Kim, I am in Somerset on the North East coast of Exmoor, lots of lovely B and Bs round here.

Where are you heading ?

M.

Of the chains, we always preferred Holiday Inns.

As far as I can remember, we liked the breakfasts.

Thankyou to all the people who have replied. I appreciate the advice and tips.
Maybe someone could tell me how to reply to an individual post as I can't seem to find a way to do so.
Cheers
Kim

Click on the person's name/board name. This will open a board where you can write your message to the individual concerned.

In Boardspeak, this is usually called a PM (Personal Message).

Thanks Andysmum
I gather from looking around that you have to reply almost immediately to get the reply on this thread.

Kim. Although its best to stay on line as long as possible after you've posted, as you've said you're in Australia we all understand the time difference. You need to refresh the page (F5) to see new posts.

Unless you want to give private/confidential information, there is no need to send individual PMs. Telling Maryanna where you're visiting isn't confidential but if she where to send you details of B&Bs in Somerset, she'd be more likely to give those off board.

+++DetEcTive+++
Thanks for the info. I'm learning fast! :-)