A couple of short breaks

[Robmarriott]

I've got some annual leave left to use so I've booked three long weekends before the end of the year, but currently have no plans.

I'd like to get away somewhere for at least one of those three and a lot of people have suggested York.

My question is, is there enough for a single guy who doesn't drink to do in York (or any city) for 2/3 days?

If not York, then where should I go?

[blue_haddock]

Personally i'd be hopping on a plane to Barcelona or Lisbon rathe than staying in the uk

[badgerade]

York is really nice - lots of nice places to eat, old stuff to see etc. Depends what you're interested in though?

Only thing I'd be slightly wary about towards the end of the year is anywhere with Christmas markets (unless of course you're into buying tat and being surrounded by way too many people),

[havoc]

What do YOU like? What will give you a "yeah, that was a really nice weekend" thought afterwards?

- Do you like driving on empty roads? Even in st weather?
- Do you like being by the coast? Or on the beach? Again, even in st weather?
- Do you enjoy the bustle of a city or the quiet of a village/town?
- Do you enjoy good food?
- Do you enjoy going for walks, or prefer chilling by a fire in a country pub?


I went away for a long weekend in the summer - went to Exmoor, got up really early, went for a drive, went for a jog, got myself washed and sorted then headed to one beach or another and just chilled for half the day, then found somewhere to go for a walk, or vice-versa. Did that for 2 days, then one day headed to Lime Regis to go fossil hunting on the beach. Because that worked for me - driving, being by the sea, being out in the quiet of nature and then doing something I enjoyed.

[Robmarriott]

blue_haddock said:

Personally i'd be hopping on a plane to Barcelona or Lisbon rathe than staying in the uk

I spent 11 days in Europe this year and can’t face any more time struggling to communicate. I know it’d be a better place to be but I can’t handle any more time not speaking the language just yet.

[MattyD803]

havoc said:

What do YOU like? What will give you a "yeah, that was a really nice weekend" thought afterwards?

- Do you like driving on empty roads? Even in st weather?
- Do you like being by the coast? Or on the beach? Again, even in st weather?
- Do you enjoy the bustle of a city or the quiet of a village/town?
- Do you enjoy good food?
- Do you enjoy going for walks, or prefer chilling by a fire in a country pub?


I went away for a long weekend in the summer - went to Exmoor, got up really early, went for a drive, went for a jog, got myself washed and sorted then headed to one beach or another and just chilled for half the day, then found somewhere to go for a walk, or vice-versa. Did that for 2 days, then one day headed to Lime Regis to go fossil hunting on the beach. Because that worked for me - driving, being by the sea, being out in the quiet of nature and then doing something I enjoyed.

Great advice...the key here is finding what YOU really want/enjoy doing, not what someone else thinks or suggests you ought to do.

Me personally, if I was single and heading out and about, I wouldn't be going into York or indeed any other city for that matter - I'd be getting away from it all. Big hike, wild swim, embracing the great outdoors in some shape or form and chilling out. But everyone is different of course.

[Robmarriott]

badgerade said:

York is really nice - lots of nice places to eat, old stuff to see etc. Depends what you're interested in though?

Only thing I'd be slightly wary about towards the end of the year is anywhere with Christmas markets (unless of course you're into buying tat and being surrounded by way too many people),

Yeah Christmas markets do concern me a bit. Two of the weekends are in November and the other is in December so I definitely need to check that.

[Robmarriott]

MattyD803 said:

havoc said:

What do YOU like? What will give you a "yeah, that was a really nice weekend" thought afterwards?

- Do you like driving on empty roads? Even in st weather?
- Do you like being by the coast? Or on the beach? Again, even in st weather?
- Do you enjoy the bustle of a city or the quiet of a village/town?
- Do you enjoy good food?
- Do you enjoy going for walks, or prefer chilling by a fire in a country pub?


I went away for a long weekend in the summer - went to Exmoor, got up really early, went for a drive, went for a jog, got myself washed and sorted then headed to one beach or another and just chilled for half the day, then found somewhere to go for a walk, or vice-versa. Did that for 2 days, then one day headed to Lime Regis to go fossil hunting on the beach. Because that worked for me - driving, being by the sea, being out in the quiet of nature and then doing something I enjoyed.

Great advice...the key here is finding what YOU really want/enjoy doing, not what someone else thinks or suggests you ought to do.

Me personally, if I was single and heading out and about, I wouldn't be going into York or indeed any other city for that matter - I'd be getting away from it all. Big hike, wild swim, embracing the great outdoors in some shape or form and chilling out. But everyone is different of course.

I like all of the above but I also hate being miles away from everywhere with nothing to do if I get bored. The biggest thing I've struggled with on past holidays is that the evenings are long and boring. Being miles away from the nearest town is fine but it makes it way more difficult to just nip out and grab some food.

The thing is, I've got 12 days in total including the weekends. I can do a city break and if I hate it, I could do something different for another weekend.

[Slow.Patrol]

We went to Edinburgh this year for the first time ever.

It was brilliant. So much to do, we need to go back as we couldn't do it all in three whole days. Easy to get about - buy a pass for the tram.

Highly recommend is the Surgeon's Museum (pickled stuff) and the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Edinburgh is a city with a small town feel.

[Anastie]

York I know reasonably well having spent most weekends there for 6 years.

Plenty of great pubs and places to eat. Accommodation not the cheapest like any city it depends on budget. Other advantage to York is you can hop on the train and do another city for a day if bored.

The Christmas markets start in November 14th so prices for accommodation may be higher but the market was ok (only went once)

Depends what your expectations and budget are

[Truckosaurus]

Slow.Patrol said:

We went to Edinburgh this year for the first time ever. ...

Indeed. I did a solo long weekend in Edinburgh earlier this year - flying up from Heathrow took no time at all.

Plenty to see, several museums, the castle, plenty of good food and drink, went to the theatre one evening.

And that's not leaving the city centre, I'm sure there's a load of other things to see in the suburbs.

Another option if you want more sunshine is Malta, there's no language barrier, and compact enough to do loads of different things in a short time.

[Robmarriott]

I’ve thought about Malta. I want to go to Hal Far raceway at some point but I think the drag racing season over there is finished for the year.

[Martin_MUC]

Valencia, interesting old town, easy to get around plus a beach and not as crowded as Barcelona.

[shirt]

Robmarriott said:

I spent 11 days in Europe this year and can’t face any more time struggling to communicate. I know it’d be a better place to be but I can’t handle any more time not speaking the language just yet.

I realise posts like this one aren’t helpful, but really, 11 days out of the year in a foreign country is ‘too much’ ? In what way?

I spent a big chunk of last year in Rotterdam, great city to kill time in very different from Amsterdam in feel. Loads to do in the south of the country, language is not an issue you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t speak perfect English.

If it were me going solo I’d be looking for a sporting event for at least one of the trips, do any of the dates coincide with the f1?

Do you ski? That’s another trip sorted.

Stockholm and Copenhagen also decent winter weekend breaks where English is widely spoken.

[GreatGranny]

TBF any holiday destination in Spain/Canaries you will be communicating in English all of the time either to English speaking people living or working over there or Spanish people who speak very good English.
Personally I would go combine some leave and go for a week in the sun.

[s2kjock]

Indeed. I go to Lisbon on holiday twice a year now, and although I do my best to try and speak Portuguese almost everyone you will deal with speaks English. Spend 30 minutes learning the usual please, thank you, where are the toilets etc and you're sorted. Easy to fly to, straight onto Metro into city centre. Doddle. Great city to walk around and plenty to do. Only PITA is passport control queues.

[Robmarriott]

shirt said:

Robmarriott said:

I spent 11 days in Europe this year and can’t face any more time struggling to communicate. I know it’d be a better place to be but I can’t handle any more time not speaking the language just yet.

I realise posts like this one aren’t helpful, but really, 11 days out of the year in a foreign country is ‘too much’ ? In what way?

I spent a big chunk of last year in Rotterdam, great city to kill time in very different from Amsterdam in feel. Loads to do in the south of the country, language is not an issue you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t speak perfect English.

If it were me going solo I’d be looking for a sporting event for at least one of the trips, do any of the dates coincide with the f1?

Do you ski? That’s another trip sorted.

Stockholm and Copenhagen also decent winter weekend breaks where English is widely spoken.

In reply to the bold bit - Yep. I was mentally exhausted from trying to muddle my way through every interaction. It may have been a consequence of the route I took but being able to communicate in English was the exception rather than the rule.

I went through France, Belgium, (Holland but didn’t stop), Germany, Austria, northern Italy (which was by far the worse), Switzerland and back via Germany, Belgium and France again.

I’m borderline confident in French but have absolutely no ability to speak German or Italian. I absolutely hate being the typical “hullo mate, d’you speak English?” guy. Expecting people to speak another language to me because I’m on holiday doesn’t sit right.

So although I enjoyed being in the places, it wasn’t easy for me to do and I don’t want to do it again so soon.

Re the rest - used to snowboard but now I’m fatter and very unfit so haven’t for several years. Not sure I’d fancy that alone either.

Having said all of the above, I think if there was an event on which I wanted to attend, I’d be way more comfortable being somewhere. I’ll have a look at some European motorsport and see if anything is on which would twist my arm.

[havoc]

s2kjock said:

Only PITA is passport control queues.

This.

Went through Faro back in the summer and lost something like 75 minutes (with 2 young-ish kids! ) on the way back just queuing for passport control because we're no longer Schengen, then had to skip the planned breakfast and rush for the gate.

Think the Portugese were using it to make a point...assuming the point was "go somewhere else on holiday"!

[AndyAudi]

Belfast is pretty good, it’s fairly cheap and no issues with language or money. There are markets & a decent food scene too. Open top bus tours give quite a bit of insight & you can find bars to sit In With traditional music you can enjoy. Titanic museum too

Edinburgh a good shout last time I was there I filled a night with a comedy evening - doesn’t have to be fringe season (https://www.thecomedyattic.co.uk/future-shows)

If you’re not a drinker head out for a nice meal with a notebook & if you’re drinking water they might assume you’re a food critic 😂

Someone mentioned skiing - adult evening lesson at a snow dome somewhere to see if you like it?

[miniman]

York is nice, all depends what you enjoy really. I could spend a full day at the railway museum but that’s not everyone’s idea of fun

Have you been to Bath? Beautiful city with lots to see.