At first, their story sounded fairly standard. “My best friend and I are graduating from college,” Beth Hicken wrote. “We’re spending the summer working to pay for a backpacking trip through Europe.”
But Beth and her friend, Sara Murdock, had a summer job unlike most others: They were fighting wildfires for the Forest Service.
The two 24-year-olds, who live in a small town in Idaho that’s actually called Small, planned on traveling in the fall, when they knew the airfare would be relatively cheap.
“We’ll have to face the real world when we return,” said Beth, who plans on becoming a social worker, while Sara is heading towards a career as a fire ecologist.
They had their minds set on England, but hoped to see as many places as possible—Scotland, Ireland, perhaps even Italy. “My only experience out of the States was four hours in Niagara Falls,” said Beth, “which I don’t think really counts.”
Sara’s one venture overseas was a three-week school trip last year to London and Paris.
“I just want to go back,” said Sara, waxing enthusiastically about the sights and the countryside. “And I want Beth to go because it’s so exciting and so different.”
Money was their biggest concern. “The funds are looking slim,” said Beth. They had a budget of around $2,000 per person, not including the plane tickets.
“We’re planning on staying in hostels and would be willing to camp—anything to save a few bucks if that means we could travel to another country. We are trying to go for at least four weeks, but we’re going to stay until the money runs out.”
Beth and Sara are flying into London, and we recommended two hotels in town right off the bat: the official HI City of London hostel, near St Paul’s Cathedral ($37 [£20] per person), and The Generator, an 800-bed independent hostel near the British Museum ($23 [£12.50] per person).
Hostels aren’t the only option, however. B&Bs are everywhere in the U.K., including big cities such as London, where a double can cost as little as $40 [£22]. Rooms in private homes can be rented for as little as $30 for two people (local tourist offices usually keep lists).
Another possibility is CouchSurfing.com, an online network where travelers crash on sofas (or sometimes spare beds) for free in strangers’ homes and apartments. It’s not for everyone, but the women seemed game. “I think we’d be willing to give that a try,” said Beth.
“I’d love to see a play in London,” said Beth. “How far ahead do you have to get the tickets?” Penny-pinchers buy their seats at the very last minute, when they are discounted by up to 50 percent at the official TKTS booth on Leicester Square. This doesn’t work for people who have their hearts set on a particular show, because there’s no telling what will be sold out. On the day we checked, the hit A Few Good Men ($41 [£22.50]), Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night ($27 [£14.75]), and the perennial Phantom of the Opera ($70 [£38.13]) were a few of the shows available.
London is perhaps the best city in the world for free museums and sights. A section of visitlondon.com lists all the spots with free admission, including The British Museum, the National Gallery, and the Royal Observatory. Plenty of activities are free, too: attending sessions of Parliament in Westminster; slipping into the church of St-Martin-in-the-Fields to hear a classical concert; hanging around Hyde Park’s Speaker’s Corner on a Sunday to listen to anyone with a gripe, anecdote, or political point harangue the crowds.
“I loved shopping in London,” said Sara. “There’s nothing like it anywhere—especially not in Idaho!”
Harrods makes for better sightseeing than it does bargains, so we sent Beth and Sara to inspect the city’s outdoor markets. The most famous is the Saturday antiques extravaganza around Portobello Road. For knick-knacks and oddball souvenirs, better bets may be the clothing market on Petticoat Lane (daily except Saturday, though Sunday’s the best), and the half-dozen loosely connected flea markets known as Camden Markets (daily).
Also worth a look is the trendier Spitalfields, which handles a bit of everything: food (Wednesday), books and records (first and third Wednesday of each month), antiques (Thursday), fashion and art (Friday), and all of the above (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday).
Surprise!
BritRail was kind enough to set Beth and Sara up with Flexipasses good for eight days of first-class travel on the train over a two-month period within England, Wales, and Scotland (britrail.com). The passes, valued at $435 each for travelers under age 26, are really the best gift possible for two friends who want to see as much as possible.
After London, Sara and Beth will use rail passes to explore England and Scotland—our gift to them (see “Surprise!)
On long-haul journeys within Europe, however, flying is the least expensive option thanks to Europe’s no-frills airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet.
“Oh, I’ve heard of those,” said Beth. “But I’ve also heard that they say that it’s $40, but then charge $100 in taxes. Is that what it’s really like?”
While taxes and airport fees do add to the cost of any flight, within Europe it’s usually a reasonable $10 to $30. Ryanair even routinely sells the actual tickets for mere pennies, meaning the taxes are really all you pay. None of the flights we suggested on Ryanair will bust their budgets: Edinburgh to Dublin for $28 [£14.97], Dublin to Rome for $48 [€38.28], and Pisa back to London for $28 [€22.58]. The only complication is that low-cost carriers such as Ryanair have limited baggage restrictions and charge steep rates for excess luggage, so we warned the women to read the fine print and pack light.
Using BritRail passes, Sara and Beth will head to Bath, a genteel city of Georgian architecture built atop a Roman spa where they can indulge in their shared obsession. “We’re both big Jane Austen fans,” admits Beth. “It’s sappy but true.”
Austen lived in Bath for several years, and on Saturdays and Sundays the Jane Austen Centre runs walking tours past Austen’s former homes and the settings in Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. A new hostel in the center of town, St. Christopher’s Inn, should be perfect for their visit.
Rather than focusing exclusively on the cities, as on her school trip, Sara was intent on “getting out into the countryside this time around, to see what the locals are like, and see landscapes.” Beth agreed. “We’re both outdoorsy people, obviously, with our job and everything,” she said. “We were planning on bringing our hiking boots.”
We knew just where they should point those boots: the Lake District of northern England. Britain’s premier walking destination mixes beautiful hills with the occasional ancient Celtic sight or medieval castle. And the next country inn or village pub is never more than a couple hours’ hike away.
Continuing up into Scotland, Beth and Sara will poke around Edinburgh for a few days and then get back into the great outdoors. “You can only take so many castles, so many museums,” said Beth.
Inverness is a good home base for the Scottish Highlands, and the tourist office has all the intel on area hikes. There’s even an official Web site, walking.visitscotland.com, detailing hundreds of treks throughout Scotland. Walks that start in Inverness itself range from the easy trail to Dochgarroch, a 7.5-mile stroll through farm country along the River Ness and Caledonian Canal, to the 73-mile Great Glen Way, an ancient natural fault line skirting several lochs (including Loch Ness) all the way to Fort William. By November, the weather will probably be cold and wet, and the locals will know where conditions are most promising.
Next up is Ireland, where Sara and Beth hoped to meet people, see small villages, and yet again get outside. “Bike rides would be wonderful,” said Beth. “We always ride our bikes around town.”
The parkland called the Burren, in the west coast county of Clare, is a fine place to ride. The Burren Way, a 45-kilometer trail through sheep-dotted fields, winds south from the town of Ballyvaughan, where bikes rent for $16 a day. Nearby Doolin is a crossroads hamlet with a handful of pubs famous and some of the best traditional music in Ireland.
Beth and Sara wanted to see many of the big sights in Rome and Florence, but what really got them excited was when we mentioned the Cinque Terre. The five fishing villages just north of Pisa are connected by narrow goat trails draw thousands of casual hikers in the summer. Autumn should be quieter, not to mention cooler.
The smartest approach is to take an early train to the northernmost of these villages, Monterosso, and hike through vineyards and olive groves. If they time it just right, by sunset they’ll be strolling into the southernmost town, Riomaggiore, home to many cheap rental rooms.
During our first conversation with Beth, it was obvious she was worried about how much she didn’t know. “I just haven’t researched this as much as I should,” she said. There was no need to stress. Backpackers who seem to know everything and plot out every move tend to have a lot less fun than the folks who are clueless yet up for spontaneous adventure.
The most memorable parts of a trip are often the things not planned—stumbling into a village festival, dancing all night at a club thanks to a tip from another traveler, hopping on a boat at sunset with new friends. There’s always another hostel or rental room just down the road, and things will fall into place. That’s why we didn’t lay out a fixed itinerary: This may be the last time they’ll spend a month not knowing exactly what the next week will hold.
The last time we talked, Beth mentioned visiting a friend just south of London, in Sussex. “Hopefully,” she said, “he’ll let us stay, maybe for a couple of days.” A free room and the chance to get off the tourist path and hang with some locals? Sounds like Beth and Sara are figuring out how to backpack like seasoned vets.
Surprise!
BritRail was kind enough to set Beth and Sara up with Flexipasses good for eight days of first-class travel on the train over a two-month period within England, Wales, and Scotland (britrail.com). The passes, valued at $435 each for travelers under age 26, are really the best gift possible for two friends who want to see as much as possible.
SIDEBAR:
Lodging
City of London Hostel
36 Carter Lane, 011-44/207-236-4965, hihostels.com, from $37 [£20] per person
The Generator
Compton Place, London, 011-44/207-388-7666, the-generator.co.uk, from $23 [£12.50] per person
St. Chrisopher’s Inn
9 Green St., Bath, 011-44/207-407-1856, st-christophers.co.uk, from $19 [£10.50] per person
Attractions
Jane Austen Centre
40 Gay Street, Queens Square, Bath, 011-44/1225-443-000, janeausten.co.uk, admission $11 [£5.95], walking tour $8 [£4.50]
tkts kiosk
South side of Leicester Square, London, officiallondontheatre.co.uk/tkts
Burren Bike
The Laundrette, Ballyvaughan, Ireland, 011-353/65-707-7061, burrenbike.com, $16 [€13] per day
Shopping
Camden Markets
London, camdenlock.net/markets.html
Petticoat Lane
London, eastlondonmarkets.com
Portobello Road
London, portobelloroad.co.uk
Spitalfields
London, visitspitalfields.com
RESOURCES
Lake District info
lakedistrictoutdoors.co.uk, golakes.co.uk, lakelandgateway.info
Walking the Scottish Highlands
walking.visitscotland.com
greatglenway.com
Lodging Resources
In the U.K.: visitbritain.com, bedbreak.com
In Ireland: ireland.ie, townandcountry.com
In Italy: bbitalia.it
All over: beyondhotels.net
