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>>2903026
Hello anon. I live near Oxford. Do you have any questions about the town specifically?

Regarding your questions. There's a lot to see in the UK. I considering its history, the country is a little underwhelming compared to mainland Europe, but its still got plenty of attractions. I suppose the main advantage is that a lot of museums are free, though most things outside of that cost more than they should. What TV shows have you seen? A lot of mid-sized towns tend to be neglected so physically only look more run down than the older TV programs they were seen in with a splash of investment on their city-centres to trick you into thinking otherwise. Demographically every town and city in the UK has a noticeable presence of minorities and this extends to Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Channel Islands etc. Speaking of Oxford, you'll notice a particular presence of Americans and East Asians in the town per result of the uni. In most towns however its more a blend of South Asians, decreasing amounts of Eastern Europeans and rapidly increasing Africans. Though you complain about graffiti a Grafitti tunnel in south bank London you can walk through for free and its quite pleasant to see some of the art, more than you'd think.

Reading the last part, griffiti in the UK is nowhere near as present compared to the continent, you see it more around train tracks. But not really on churches and things. Though many churches are near-derelict if not so, most aren't ruined. Oxford's are lovely, in fact. Not a church but see one of the free quads you can walk around.

>>2903026
>Im really big into film photography and I like to take photos of places Ive seen in shows and try to recreate the shot
if it's places like that you want to see then they are generally well cared for so it'll be fine. most of those places are either privately owned or looked after by either national trust or english heritage (national charities that look after old buildings, countryside etc). chances are you've seen a lot of them in films or telly shows
examples:
lacock - yes funny name - preserved village that is used in lots of period dramas, jane austen and all that. managed by national trust. as a photographer you would probably be interested in lacock abbey as it is basically where film photography was invented. also it's in the harry potter films - under 90 mins drive from oxford
highclere castle - aka downton abbey - privately owned by rich aristos - under an hour drive from oxford
also if you are in oxford you are basically already in a giant filming location, the whole city was basically the set for the inspector morse series, also the colleges have been used in countless films and shows
there are loads of websites and books listing filming locations and so on

>>2903033
Checked. I grew up watching Last of the Summer Wine, Inspecter Lewis, Inspector Lynley, Mr Bean, and a bunch of sitcoms that dont really show anything offset

The two things Im interested in visiting any country really is pre WW2 architecture and countryside/rural living. Particularly architecture with life, ruins are cool but for taking photos old buildings that have some sign of human use are the most interesting. Not so interested in mueseums for the most part

I definitely want to visit the town Last of the Summer Wine was filmed in, some of the historical sights from Roman/pre roman days, Bath, Hadrians wall, stonehenge etc

I refuse to step foot anywhere in London other than the airport. Absolutely not interested

If you have any particular must see sites in Oxford Id welcome a recomendation, I dont really know anything about the city as far as whats there and the history, and Im not shy of visiting the over done typical tourist things at least once

I am looking forward to seeing whats real and whats not, Ive seen so many instagram reels of the UK that make it look like actual hell on earth so my opinion at the moment is a bit skewed

>>2903035
Im actually rewatching morse and lewis right now and trying to see if theres any scenes I want to visit in particular. I totally forgot about downton abbey and harry potter thank you for those suggestions definitely add that to the list

Also why is there a 300 dollar tax to fly into the UK? My flight is literally 300 dollars cheaper if I land in dublin and then to heathrow

>>2903045
>I definitely want to visit the town Last of the Summer Wine was filmed in
holmfirth. it's a bit of a trek from oxford though, it's up north somewhere in yorkshire
bit of an odd choice if you're a youngster, the main visitors you'll see there are pensioners on coach trips
you'll have to bring your own bathtub to roll down the hill though
>pre WW2 architecture and countryside/rural living
we've got plenty of both. look up books by simon jenkins e.g. england's thousand best churches, england's thousand best houses, you'll find plenty of stuff that fits the bill

>>2903051
>why is it cheaper to visit a smaller less interesting place in a completely different country
do behave anon

>>2903055
The tax on long distance flights is more than the cost of an additional flight after landing somewhere else????????????
what was the UKs plan here?

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>>2903045
I've watched approximately none of those shows but the OP image you posted looks like anywhere in UK. Pre-WW2 architecture is everywhere, you don't have to go out of your way for it. Is there any particular architecture you like? Georgian architecture obv. London, Oxford, Bath etc. are famous for, Regency mostly London but Cheltenham is also known for it (check the Montpellier district). Cotswold region has Cotswold stone buildings of course as do many bordering areas. Up north far more red-brick Victorian-style buildings as a rule, generally more decrepit though such can be seen anywhere in the UK in varying proportions.

Regarding Oxford, the centre is probably the best-looking city-centre in the UK as far as old historic buildings go, to say nothing of the significance. Though being one of the only mid-sized cities to have a tourism presence its very crowded on weekends and you'll notice there are way more beggars there than anywhere else but they're benign. Cotswolds are alright, used to live over there but places like Stow-on-Wold and Bourton-on-Water do fill up mid-day. You can get bus routes to there from Oxford (I.e. S1 to Witney then onwards to Burford, etc.). Even if you don't like museums, go to the Ashmolean in Oxford, its free and gargantuan for a mid-sized town. Its really impressive what they have in there! I like walking around Christ Church meadows but not paying to get in. You can walk through the entrance of the Bodleian Libraries without paying the properly enter which is one of my favourite buildings in the UK. Entrance to the actual libraries you need to pre-book. In the same areas as the Bodleian you have the Radcliffe Camera, free Science Museum, more colleges and the Bridge of Sighs. Most colleges in Oxford you can just walk into the entrance and see the quad before the gates so avoid paying. Lincoln's is kinda nice. Magdalen you have to pay but the exterior building is really cool.

Pic is Bibury, not pictured is the tourist swarm

>>2903051
>>2903045
>>2903061
Regarding other things in Oxford to know. Main advantage to the town imo is its location, you can easily get to/ from London, Birmingham, Bristol, Bournemouth etc. from there and I recommend checking train routes, the Great Malvern line I believe has some nice stops. If using GWR check return prices as its often no extra expense to add return on same day. Busses from National Express too expensive, London Tube use app but only use them if you have to (i.e. getting to/ from Oxford late at night when no train). Best coffee is Missing Bean imo, best pizza is Sartorellis, Taylors is sort of like a local bakery chain, they're good for a sandwich and on Toogoodtogo *nudge nudge*. Not tried many a curry but Gloucester Green has a few Indian stalls usually.

Regarding flights. A lot of Americans come to Ireland due to their Irish blood hence it may be due to demand. But I've been to Miami from UK for £120 before so I suspect its just a seasonal thing or where you're flying from. Its worth pointing out that Ryanair, one of the low-cost operators in Europe and probably the biggest operates out of Ireland and flying between Ireland and UK usually costs no more then £20.

>>2903026
Honestly not really a good time to do it, UK's in a drought right now. Everything's far too hot and dry and all the lush greenery we usually have around is browning/dying.

>>2903054
Im in my late 20s which is probably the last generation to ever watch Last of the Summer Wine. If its only pensioners then that makes the experience all the more legit I suppose. Thanks for the book rec Ill give it a look
>>2903072
Itll be the end of September. Ill be in Oxford no matter what for this conference Im going to, thought I might as well take advantage since I dont see myself visiting just to visit. UK is pretty low on the list of places I want to go to so unlikely ill be back anytime soon
>>2903070
Thanks anon. I appreciaite the local tips and food recs. For these ryanair flights, can I take one on the fly, just not booking in advance at all? Or should I book it ahead like a normal flight

>>2903079
Regarding your last reply. If you're a noob at Euro travel quick summary: Ryanair and Wizzair are the go-to cheap flight companies in Europe, Ryanair more biased towards West Europe, Wizzair more East Euro/ Balkan. For getting cheap flights use skyscanner, I usually put where I'm flying from then 'everywhere' on the 'to' field to see if there are any cheap regional airports which can be useful if I don't know a place too well. If Ryanair I usually book direct w/ them since Trip charges £1 commission and Booking CAN give discounts but never really to Ryanair and sometimes charge more. Seems you can fly tomorrow from Knock (west Ireland, basically middle of nowhere), and Shannon (south-west Ireland, a very scenic middle of nowhere) to Liverpool or Manc for sub-£20. If I put the date to next week Monday it seems Dublin-Birmingham £26. You can have a play and figure it out. I personally wouldn't leave it too late, IF YOU BOOK ON THE DAY THEY WILL JACK THE PRICES UP LIKE 10X AND SCAM THE FUCK OUT OF YOU, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED. Generally, airline prices decrease up 'til about a month before the flight then start to pick up again, all airlines use dynamic pricing. Also accommodation in Oxford can be found cheap using the Travelodge/ Premier Inn in Peartree, or the Backpackers hostel near the centre. Just be ready to bus in/out if going to Peartree. Otherwise hotels are fucking expensive in Oxford. Hotels in the UK are generally way more expensive than the continent for worse quality. Premier Inn and Travelodge do seem to be improving of recent though.

>>2903088
Are there any hotel brands to avoid at all costs in the UK?
Lots of basic motels/hotels/ that used to be just good enough for short stays in the US have become something to avoid at all costs because Jeets have taken over and turn them into bedbug hotspots

>>2903093
Funnily enough the answer ties into my point of the hotels being more expensive. Basically our government pays many of the would-be budget hotels money to house asylum seekers, hence the 'worst' hotels are usually the ones known for housing them. Brittania being particularly infamous for this but at the same time being so terrible it'd be better to sleep on the streets than in their hotels anyway. As far as budget hotel chains go, Travelodge and Premier Inn are the best known and really the only 'cheap' hotels, as I've said they also seem to be improving, though this may vary branch-to-branch. Easyjet have branched into hotels recently with their Easyhotels chain but every person I know who's been to one has consistently reported back that they're stuffy and the accommodation rather spartan.

Most cheap hotels you'll see otherwise are cheap bedsit converts which can be dubious but get the job done. Some converts are incredible, I remember one bedroom which had the shower in the room, no partition, right next to the TV. Honestly looking at review scores works, if using Booking anything below an 8 is generally shit. Bedbugs you take your chances, I found the Sleepeasy hostels to be anything but due to this but otherwise never had issues. There are some cheap inns but they're a rarity these days. I stayed in one on the outskirts of Bolton and it felt like a time capsule... actually since the term reminds me, the chain 'Holiday Inn' are consistently pretty good. Leonardo can be good too. The one in Ox is fucking pricey though and again you need to bus it. London has some hilariously cheap hostels, I remember one I stayed in for sub-£10 and all the floors were crooked, walking around inside felt like the intro to Conker.

>>2903056
Is it your first time flying? They always charge you extra for going straight to where you want to go. It's the airline doing this.

>>2903097
No this is a UK thing
>U.K. Air Passenger Duty $137.70
>U.K. Passenger Service Charge $68.60

>>2903026
>the state of those steps
a jewish lawyer would throw himself down on those and scream bloody murder all the way to a million dollar settlement over here

>>2903322
it's not the US

>>2903322
kek funny enough those stairs are actually used in the tv show I had been talking about and is one of the places I really want to visit

>>2903026
Depending how far you want to travel I'd recommend Cornwall, the peak district, the lake district, and west coast Scotland.

>>2903070
>Regarding flights. A lot of Americans come to Ireland due to their Irish blood hence it may be due to demand.
That's not how supply and demand works. Even supposing it did far more digits to into Heathrow because it's a major international hub. The reason Dublin is cheaper is due to lower cost carriers and cheaper airport fees