First Time Visitor in August | Page 3 | Vital Football

First Time Visitor in August

Wlatic said:
From New York you could fly into Manchester and then depending on the time you get in stay around the airport or Deansgate area (in manchester). Deansgate has plenty of decent places to eat and have a drink, not a bad base for branching out.

Personally I wouldn't recommend doing more than 2 days in London (drive, stay on out skirts probably Watford Holiday Inn) and get the "tube" there and back for the two days.

Make sure you set off North and take in places like Chester, The Lakes and Hadriens wall (its not much but then you've seen it!). Just over the border in Scotland you'll find stuff like Castle Douglas, Caerlaverock Castle, Raven Stone Castle etc. You'll probably also have loads of fun just driving through little English and Scottish villages, we all take for granted, and stopping for a pint in nice looking pubs.

While in the north Lancaster has some good and short canal barge trips.

For hotels generally Holiday Inn, Travelodge, Premier Inn, Comfort Inn are gonna be decent (as long as they are newer hotels! check the pictures)

Ibis, EasyHotel, HotelF1 are generally clean, but really cheap and basic. You can use them in a pinch, but may or may not have a good experience.

If I was doing this I'd be doing a few nights in Manchester, few in London, night in Chester and then getting hotels inbetween other places you plan on going.

Wigan Premier Inns aren't bad if your not that picky. Inside Wigan trying to get to Riks and Orange House after the game would be an experience for you (not sure if they are open) especially if you can get hold of the karaoke manchine in orange house and put on some songs to sing along to (Joy Division, Gala etc).

I'm not sure what NYC is like currently, but some one here are very much over estimating how bad Wigan is compared to some of the bigger US/Canadian cities like Seattle, San Fran, Vancouver. You'll likely not see people shooting up, doing the old meth walking zombie dance or shitting in the streets, although Wigan can be a bit of a ghost down its still worth going checking out the center, menses park (rub the toe), Haigh Hall. I dont think there are any pubs on Wigan Pier now, but its worth going checking it out, even if its not much. Make sure you goto the Springfield pub in Springfield and have a pint where many people did before the short walk to the old ground (You can even park at the DW, walk over the canal bridge, under train bridge to do that its about 10-15 mins walk). If Haydock races are on while you are there it'd be worth going. Horse racing in UK is much less depressing than in the USA, but less grand.




I'd disagree on that, Southport is probably the type of place most Americans would love to go. We dont see it as impressive, they might like, especially the Victorian Pier which was built before they even had their civil war!.
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Fair point about us not realising how old stuff is in the UK

But then you miss out stuff like Avebury, Bath, Cotswolds the like (yes I know there are more Georgian buildings in Liverpool than in Bath)
 
Wlatic said:
From New York you could fly into Manchester and then depending on the time you get in stay around the airport or Deansgate area (in manchester). Deansgate has plenty of decent places to eat and have a drink, not a bad base for branching out.

Personally I wouldn't recommend doing more than 2 days in London (drive, stay on out skirts probably Watford Holiday Inn) and get the "tube" there and back for the two days.

Make sure you set off North and take in places like Chester, The Lakes and Hadriens wall (its not much but then you've seen it!). Just over the border in Scotland you'll find stuff like Castle Douglas, Caerlaverock Castle, Raven Stone Castle etc. You'll probably also have loads of fun just driving through little English and Scottish villages, we all take for granted, and stopping for a pint in nice looking pubs.

While in the north Lancaster has some good and short canal barge trips.

For hotels generally Holiday Inn, Travelodge, Premier Inn, Comfort Inn are gonna be decent (as long as they are newer hotels! check the pictures)

Ibis, EasyHotel, HotelF1 are generally clean, but really cheap and basic. You can use them in a pinch, but may or may not have a good experience.

If I was doing this I'd be doing a few nights in Manchester, few in London, night in Chester and then getting hotels inbetween other places you plan on going.

Wigan Premier Inns aren't bad if your not that picky. Inside Wigan trying to get to Riks and Orange House after the game would be an experience for you (not sure if they are open) especially if you can get hold of the karaoke manchine in orange house and put on some songs to sing along to (Joy Division, Gala etc).

I'm not sure what NYC is like currently, but some one here are very much over estimating how bad Wigan is compared to some of the bigger US/Canadian cities like Seattle, San Fran, Vancouver. You'll likely not see people shooting up, doing the old meth walking zombie dance or shitting in the streets, although Wigan can be a bit of a ghost down its still worth going checking out the center, menses park (rub the toe), Haigh Hall. I dont think there are any pubs on Wigan Pier now, but its worth going checking it out, even if its not much. Make sure you goto the Springfield pub in Springfield and have a pint where many people did before the short walk to the old ground (You can even park at the DW, walk over the canal bridge, under train bridge to do that its about 10-15 mins walk). If Haydock races are on while you are there it'd be worth going. Horse racing in UK is much less depressing than in the USA, but less grand.




I'd disagree on that, Southport is probably the type of place most Americans would love to go. We dont see it as impressive, they might like, especially the Victorian Pier which was built before they even had their civil war!.
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Agree with some of the above but I highly recommend staying in the city centres when travelling from experience. This allow for the full experience of the city and not having to negotiate commuting on crowded public transport during rush hour and who knows the train strikes might still be on. The cost of travelling and inconvenience far exceed the savings on cheaper surburb hotel prices. Travelodge Waterloo is a decent hotel - right by the River Thames and London Eye.
ps Premier Inn Wigan Centre is a decent hotel for a night - convenient for the stadium and the highly recommended Wigan Central Real Ale and Cider bar. Check out reviews.
 
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Depending on what you are interested in there is probably a decent days worth or tourist stuff in both Liverpool and Manchester. And other bits spotted around the north west in Wigan, St Helens, Chester Blackpool and I'm sure a few other places have various things to do (parks, museums, zoo, safari park, fair ground, etc,). So there is a decent amount in the north west.

I recommend Chester Zoo as a particulary good day out especially if you've got kids.

There's also a lot of really nice places in North Wales that are worth considering. Which aren't that far a drive.
 
Zeb2 said:
KDZ …..’Sent ellins’ ???…..I know it’s your home town but ….😳
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We've not got much but World of Glass and Transport museum plus some nice parks.

Also got Knowsley Safari Park close by.

You certainly wouldn't book a week here but some stuff worth a to pop in and visit if your looking for tourists stuff in North West.
 
It made for the perfect ending to our trip.

Everyone at the club I met was fantastic. David, Jonny, Mal, Tom, Jay Whittle, Platty, Doc, Gregor, everyone else at the Academy. Superb.

Paul Kendrick and Ash Houghton allowed my dad and I to join the postmatch press conference and meet Leam afterwards. He's such a gentleman.

Enough memories for a lifetime from this past week, and we didn't even win a match!

moonay said:
I presume this is you NYC ... absolutely brilliant. What a club, what a manager,

Hope you had a belting time.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1558565653027717120
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NYC_LATICS said:
It made for the perfect ending to our trip.

Everyone at the club I met was fantastic. David, Jonny, Mal, Tom, Jay Whittle, Platty, Doc, Gregor, everyone else at the Academy. Superb.

Paul Kendrick and Ash Houghton allowed my dad and I to join the postmatch press conference and meet Leam afterwards. He's such a gentleman.

Enough memories for a lifetime from this past week, and we didn't even win a match!
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Sounds like a great day for you and your dad and well done to the club as well!
 
NYC_LATICS said:
It made for the perfect ending to our trip.

Everyone at the club I met was fantastic. David, Jonny, Mal, Tom, Jay Whittle, Platty, Doc, Gregor, everyone else at the Academy. Superb.

Paul Kendrick and Ash Houghton allowed my dad and I to join the postmatch press conference and meet Leam afterwards. He's such a gentleman.

Enough memories for a lifetime from this past week, and we didn't even win a match!
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Really pleased you enjoyed your trip, so what is your honest opinion of Wigan and Wiganers, good and bad
 
ZAKKY said:
Really pleased you enjoyed your trip, so what is your honest opinion of Wigan and Wiganers, good and bad
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Our experience was 99% great.

We stayed at the Premier Inn next to the Town Centre which ended up being perfectly suitable.

We spent a lot of time walking around the Town Centre itself at all hours of the day and evening. Never had a single issue. Had Galloways twice. Greggs once. Bought some toys for my son from Wigan Market. Coming from NYC nothing seemed too rough for us.

Every person we encountered was kind and helpful. Not a single negative interaction.

The only downside of Wigan was that on the days we took day trips (Wed - Fri) we'd get back to Wigan late and would try to have a late (sit down) dinner. Really struggled to find places that still had their kitchen open after 9 pm - and this was on a Friday. I know I'm spoiled for options coming from NYC and understand why restaurants/pubs stop serving food early, but it made for a little extra work on our end - especially when we showed up at restaurants that were closed when Google said they'd be open for a few more hours.

All very trivial matters at the end of the day.

Nonetheless, we still had some great food in town as I documented on my Twitter.
 
NYC_LATICS said:
Our experience was 99% great.

We stayed at the Premier Inn next to the Town Centre which ended up being perfectly suitable.

We spent a lot of time walking around the Town Centre itself at all hours of the day and evening. Never had a single issue. Had Galloways twice. Greggs once. Bought some toys for my son from Wigan Market. Coming from NYC nothing seemed too rough for us.

Every person we encountered was kind and helpful. Not a single negative interaction.

The only downside of Wigan was that on the days we took day trips (Wed - Fri) we'd get back to Wigan late and would try to have a late (sit down) dinner. Really struggled to find places that still had their kitchen open after 9 pm - and this was on a Friday. I know I'm spoiled for options coming from NYC and understand why restaurants/pubs stop serving food early, but it made for a little extra work on our end - especially when we showed up at restaurants that were closed when Google said they'd be open for a few more hours.

All very trivial matters at the end of the day.

Nonetheless, we still had some great food in town as I documented on my Twitter.
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Glad you enjoyed your trip and great to see the club gave you a warm welcome.
 
NYC_LATICS said:
Our experience was 99% great.

We stayed at the Premier Inn next to the Town Centre which ended up being perfectly suitable.

We spent a lot of time walking around the Town Centre itself at all hours of the day and evening. Never had a single issue. Had Galloways twice. Greggs once. Bought some toys for my son from Wigan Market. Coming from NYC nothing seemed too rough for us.

Every person we encountered was kind and helpful. Not a single negative interaction.

The only downside of Wigan was that on the days we took day trips (Wed - Fri) we'd get back to Wigan late and would try to have a late (sit down) dinner. Really struggled to find places that still had their kitchen open after 9 pm - and this was on a Friday. I know I'm spoiled for options coming from NYC and understand why restaurants/pubs stop serving food early, but it made for a little extra work on our end - especially when we showed up at restaurants that were closed when Google said they'd be open for a few more hours.

All very trivial matters at the end of the day.

Nonetheless, we still had some great food in town as I documented on my Twitter.
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Glad you had a good time mate. First time reading this thread. Surprised people didn't recommend places like the Lakes or York, which I know are favourites for visitors.

If you ever travel again and can plan in advance where you want to go which would keep costs down, wigan is lucky to be on some really good train lines, allowing you to be in London or Edinburgh in 2 hours, aswell as the obvious closer ones like Liverpool and Manchester much quicker. All well worth a visit.

As people have said wigan town centre, like many smaller english town centre's, has unfortunately suffered from high rent, online shopping etc which has inevitably led to shop closures.

The people in general are real working class, salt of the earth types though, which I am glad matched your experience.
 
And Llandudno is worth a visit....and if you can avoid the sex mad sheep its a bonus. Bring yer wellies just in case.
 
Did you enjoy your tucker? Chunky steak is usually my attire from Galloway's. Which bakery did you prefer - Galloway's or Gregg's?
 
Glad you had a good time pal, followed your story on twitter. It's a shame you didn't see a win but looks like you enjoyed yourself regardless. Hope you get a chance to do it again.
 
Glad you had a lovely trip and enjoyed the town, locals, game, etc!

Been to Wigan more times than I have this year :grinning:
 
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