The best times to visit the United Kingdom
By Tully Luxury Travel | 10-24-2022 |
Tis true, this part of the world practically invented luxury living. And with several hundred years of practice, it is obvious how well England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can rise to the occasion time and time again.
To the manor born or just visiting, you will see more, learn more and enjoy everything more when you choose the best time to travel to England – the right time of the year for you, we mean, as the different months bring a varied agenda of things to do. In general, as with most places, the shoulder seasons will bring smaller crowds and fewer families. And while it’s never too hot in the U.K., July and August are definitely the warmest months, yet also the busiest of the year.
As London is the most-visited city in the world, you need to match the depth of your patience with the time of the year. It’s fun to hook your holiday to a hobby or special interest, too, be it the London Marathon in April or October, London Oyster Week (normally at the end of April) or the Chelsea Flower Show each May. Britain is an international influence on popular music, with the Glastonbury music festival drawing the crowds at the end of June.
Heading to the football pitch? Britain’s sporting calendar is chock-full of iconic and momentous championships: rugby tournaments in late winter, university boat racing in the spring, Liverpool’s Grand National steeplechase in April, the FA Cup Final in May, the Royal Ascot in June, Wimbledon tennis in July, test cricket throughout the summer– you name it, there’s a date set aside for it, even the World Snooker Championships.
August is a busy month wherever you visit within the U.K. The multicultural Notting Hill Carnival gears up for a weekend in late August. Edinburgh’s famous Fringe Festival completely takes over the whole town for the entire month of August – but my, what a party.
London Fashion Week headlines September and the London Film Festival dims the lights in October. The English literary festivals, of which there are many, take place mostly in the autumn, with top authors taking the stages not just in London, but also in Henley, Cliveden, Cornwall, Birmingham and Cheltenham.
Come December, the whole of the U.K. is just so infinitely pretty during the holiday season, so tasteful and quaint. All that centuries-old architecture dresses up so well with even the simplest string of lights.
Christmas markets will stun even the most jaded Scrooge. Holiday celebrations hit practically every corner of Britain, with the most revered marketplaces lighting up the skies in Winchester within the shadow of the cathedral (this is one of the best in the world), in the Edinburgh Princes Street Gardens, in Bath surrounding Bath Abbey, and spread across 10 different sites in Manchester. Nottingham, Birmingham and Glasgow are also on the top 10 lists, proffering gifts and crafts, decorations and candles, toys and jewellery, food and wine.
But when you get right down to it, the absolute best time to go to England? That’s right – whenever you jolly well want.