Guidebook Updates for ‘Rick Steves Great Britain’

For books printed before September 2024, the following may apply:

• Most visitors from outside the UK and Ireland are now required to register for an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) before arriving in the UK. Travelers need to submit an online application ahead of their trip and pay a fee of about $20 (£16). Applications must be completed for every traveler, regardless of age, and a fee is required each applicant. Once approved, you'll be notified that the authorization is electronically linked to your passport. It's smart to apply at least a month ahead of your visit. Note that you'll need to register to enter the "landside" area of any UK airport from outside the UK, even if you're only there to change flights. For more information, and to apply, see the UK government's ETA page. You may find it easiest to apply via the UK ETA app.
• Visitors to the UK are no longer able to get a VAT (value-added tax) refund on purchases made in UK shops, and tax-free sales at airports, Eurostar train stations, and in ports have been discontinued. In Great Britain, overseas visitors can still buy items tax-free at stores that offer this service, provided that the items are sent directly to an overseas address outside the UK. (Visitors to Northern Ireland may shop tax-free if the items are sent directly to an address outside the UK and the EU.) The UK's rules around tax-free shopping may evolve further as the UK continues to adjust to the fallout from Brexit.
• Jurys Inn has rebranded as Leonardo Hotels.
• The phone number for English Heritage is now +44 3703 331 182.
• The Loch Fyne restaurant chain has closed.

• All tourist information offices ("iCentres") in Scotland will close permanently by the end of 2025. Check Visit Scotland for a continually updated map of offices that remain open.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may also apply:

• The Historic Scotland app has up-to-date prices and hours for almost 80 sights in Scotland; users can even buy tickets from within the app.
• The RingGo parking app lets you pay for street parking on your phone. It works in cities including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, St. Andrews, and others.
• The Canadian consulate in Edinburgh has a new phone number: +44 3305 001 224.
• The Loch Fyne restaurant chain has closed.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may apply:

• Guided tours of Bath Abbey are now included with admission (except on Sundays, when no tours run).
• The Assembly Rooms are closed until 2026 while restoration projects are underway, though rooms may occasionally open for rotating exhibits.
• Bath Parade Guides has a new phone number: +44 1225 337 111.
• Martini Restaurant and Eight Restaurant have closed.
• The former Dower House Restaurant at the Royal Crescent Hotel is now Montagu's Mews.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may apply:

• The Wren Library at Trinity College has reopened.
• Trinity College's courts (including the Great Court) are now only accessible with a tour.

For books printed before February 2024, the following may also apply:

• Trinity Lane has re-opened.

For books printed before October 2024, the following may apply:

• Both bridges over the River Severn (between Bath and Cardiff or Tintern Abbey) are now toll-free.

• Acacia B&B, in Moreton-in-Marsh, has closed upon the retirement of its lovely owners.
• Go Costwolds minibus tours has new contact information: +44 1789 224 492; [email protected]. A new tour, Secret Cotswolds, takes visitors to sights beyond overtouristed locations such as Bibury and Bourton-on-the-Water.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may also apply:

• Diamond Buses has ceased operations.
• Cotswolds Guided Tours now only runs private minibus tours, and they have a new email address: [email protected].
• Lion Tours is not currently offering a Cotswold tour.
• Stanway House accepts only cash.
• We no longer recommend Hope Private Hire car service in Stow.
• The Old Mill Museum in Lower Slaughter has closed.
• Black Cat Community Café in Northleach has closed, at least for the foreseeable future.
• Manor House Hotel in Moreton-in-Marsh has a new email address: [email protected].
• The Bell Inn in Moreton-in-Marsh has a new email address: [email protected].
• Yellow Brick Bistro in Moreton-in-Marsh is now Sakura Bistro.
• Charlotte's Pantry in Moreton-in-Marsh is now a Huffkins.
• In Moreton-in-Marsh, the Co-Op grocery store has taken over Budgens, and there's no longer a small Co-Op grocery on High Street.

• The Edinburgh tourist information office has closed permanently.
• The former "Queen's Gallery" at the Palace of Holyroodhouse is now called the King's Gallery. Admission is £11, which includes a multimedia guide. There is no longer a combo-ticket for the palace and gallery.
• The Stone of Scone is no longer housed in Edinburgh Castle. (It's now in the Perth Museum.)

For books printed before September 2024, the following may also apply:

• A handy new tram runs from the airport all the way to the port at Leith, with stops in downtown Edinburgh and the West End, plus at the Royal Yacht Britannia.
• Buses to the B&B neighborhood south of the city center no longer stop on North Bridge but do stop in front of the Marks & Spencer near Waverly Station. (From the station, cross the street and head left to find two bus stops in front of the store.)
• Advance timed-entry tickets for Edinburgh Castle are now required, not simply recommended. Book online as far ahead as possible.
• There is no longer a secondary entrance to see the Crown Jewels at Edinburgh Castle (and the Disney-esque "Honours of Scotland" exhibit is gone, too).
• The Scottish National Gallery has reopened, with 12 new galleries, after a years-long renovation.
• Tours of the Scottish Parliament Building generally run Mon–Sat throughout the day, and are best booked ahead.
• The Fringe Festival's Half-Price Hut building has "retired"; half-price offers are now available at the Fringe box office.
• The Museum of Childhood has reopened.
• The Princes Street Gardens Dancers have ceased performances for the foreseeable future.
• The Taste of Scotland at Prestonfield House is no longer putting on its kitschy folk show.
• The Saboteur restaurant has closed.
• Hanedan restaurant has closed.
• Apiary restaurant is closing, to be replaced by an eatery called "Wine Hive," which may only offer snacks, not full meals.

This older update still pertains to our Royal Mile audio tour:

• Gladstone's Land can only be visited by booking a one-hour tour. Travelers can book ahead to ensure a spot in person or by phone (+44 131 226 5856).

For books printed before September 2024, the following may apply:

• Bus #AD122, which connects the Roman sights of the Hadrian's Wall area (and several of our recommended accommodations), now runs daily year-round.
• Durham bus #40A now starts at Framwellgate Waterside (instead of Freemans Place), and bypasses the bus station on its way to Durham Cathedral.
• The "Robin Hood tree" at Sycamore Gap has been cut down by vandals.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may apply:

• Mackintosh at the Willow tearoom discourages pop-in visits (enjoy it by booking a meal or guided tour there).
• The Lighthouse (Charles Rennie Mackintosh's first public commission) remains closed to visitors for the foreseeable future.
• The Good Spirits Company now offers tasting events in their shop (book online well in advance — these can sell out weeks ahead).
• Brasserie at Òran Mór is now Fonn Mór.
• Baffo restaurant (near the Kelvingrove Museum) has closed.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may apply:

• Glastonbury Abbey is open until 17:00 in March and October. Also, the free tours given by costumed guides aren't always offered on an hourly basis (check posted schedule in person).
• Glastonbury's tourist information office has a new phone number: +44 1458 333 144.
• The Glastonbury Tor shuttle bus only takes cash.
• The Old Farmhouse in Wells has closed.
• First Bus Company's phone number is +44 345 646 0707.
• Wells' Cathedral Café is now Loft Café.

For books printed before October 2024, the following may apply:

• The Rose Street Foundry has reopened.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may also apply:

• Working Sheepdogs now charges £15 for demos (cash only), generally offered several times a day May–Oct (including Saturdays), but it's still important to contact them ahead of your visit to confirm the schedule. The farm has new contact info (+44 7888 314 412, [email protected]) and signage for finding it: Once you've continued through Kincraig on the B-9152, watch on the right for a brown Working Sheepdogs sign; from the access road look for signs reading Welcome to Working Sheepdogs—Leault Farm.
• SoBar has closed.
• The correct URL for the website of Gellions Bar is www.gellions.com (not .co.uk).
• The correct email address for Heathmount Hotel is [email protected] (some editions of our guidebooks are missing the M).

• Calcutts Guest House is closing in summer 2025.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may also apply:

• The Museum of the Gorge has reopened following renovation.

• The Beatrix Potter Gallery has permanently closed. You can still view some of Potter's original art at Hill Top Farm.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may also apply:

• Dove Cottage at Wordsworth Grasmere is open Tue–Sat 10:00–17:00; Oct–March until 16:00, closed Sun–Mon year-round.
• The former Darkroom Café in Keswick is now called Elm, with a new menu; it's closed Tue–Wed.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may apply:

• Tours of Lennon and McCartney's childhood homes now run daily March–Nov, four times per day.
• Phil Hughes is no longer running minibus tours.
• The Tate Liverpool is no longer closed on Mondays.
• A Waterfront Transformation Project may require temporary closures of the Tate Liverpool, the Maritime Museum, and the Slavery Museum.
• Cuthbert's Bakehouse is now open significantly longer hours (and their phone is now +44 151 706 0894).

• Tickets for Big Ben tours are now released several months in advance, on the second Wednesday of every month at 10:00, and usually sell out almost immediately.
• Per new requirements set by the UK government, all passengers on Eurostar trains from (and to) the UK must now enter their passport details online before boarding. Once you've bought a ticket, enter your ticket's reference number at Eurostar's Manage Your Booking page to reach the page for entering your passport info. If you don't have a reference number issued by Eurostar, head to the manual check-in desk at the Eurostar terminal. Given the UK's new procedures for border checks, it's especially important to allow plenty of time for check-in (Eurostar recommends that standard-class passengers departing from London St. Pancras arrive 90 minutes ahead of their departure time; gates close 30 minutes before departure).
• Tours of Shakespeare's Globe depart from the box office every half hour; plan for about a two-hour visit, including a 50-minute guided tour plus self-guided time in the exhibition space (£27, £20 for kids under 16). Half of the tour spots are bookable in advance; the other spots are reserved for same-day sales. Tours generally depart daily at 9:30 or 10:00 during outdoor theater season (April–mid-Oct); last tour generally departs at 12:00 if there's a matinee performance, otherwise around 16:00.
• The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields is now generally open daily 9:00–17:00, but it's smart to check before visiting. Free tours are now offered only on Wednesdays (14:00), and lunchtime concerts are now performed only on Fridays at 13:00.
• Until April 23, 2025, the Amsterdam-to-London Eurostar route, which is usually a direct train, requires a connection via Brussels, where passengers will undergo border formalities before boarding the cross-channel train. (This is to accommodate renovations at Amsterdam Centraal that require closure of the station's international terminal.) The London-to-Amsterdam service, however, remains direct.
• Britt Lonsdale has retired from guiding.
• Cross-Pollinate vacation rentals is no longer in business.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may also apply:

• The Luton DART light rail has opened, connecting the Luton Airport Parkway Station with the airport in about 3 minutes (£4.90, runs every 4–7 minutes). This replaces the shuttle bus that previously connected the Parkway Station to the airport. DART tickets can be purchased on their site; printed tickets for Thameslink or Luton Airport Express trains to/from the airport will also get you through DART ticket barriers (select "Luton Airport" when purchasing your ticket).
• The US Embassy has moved to 33 Nine Elms Lane (Tube: Vauxhall).
• Elizabeth Tower, home to Big Ben, has reopened to visitors.
• Tours of Shakespeare's Globe depart from the box office every half hour; plan for about a two-hour visit, including a 50-minute guided tour plus self-guided time in the exhibition space (£27, £20 for kids 5–15). Half of the tour spots are bookable in advance; the other spots are reserved for same-day sales. First tours generally depart daily at 9:30 or 10:00 during outdoor theater season (April–mid-Oct); last tour generally departs at 12:00 if there's a matinee performance, otherwise around 16:00.
• The Loch Fyne restaurant chain has closed.
• Moti Mahal has closed.

For books printed before February 2024, the following may also apply:

• The Elizabeth transit/railway line is now fully operational, connecting central London (Paddington, Bond, Tottenham Court Road, Farrington and Liverpool Street Tube stations) with outlying neighborhoods to the east and with Heathrow Airport and Reading to the west. Within the city center it's part of the Tube network, and uses the same tickets. It's a faster (and more expensive) option from Heathrow into the city than the Tube (£12.80–14.30 depending on payment method and destination; contactless credit card and Oyster card accepted).
• The National Portrait Gallery has reopened.
• The Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery is closed for renovation until May 2025, and artwork may be moved around while it's underway. Long entry lines, however, remain a problem. To avoid the longest ones, book your visit ahead and enter through the less-crowded Getty entrance. Also, the museum's free one-hour overview tours now leave from the central hall, and are no longer offered every day (usually Tue–Thu at 15:00).
• A portion of The Strand (between the Courtauld Gallery at Waterloo Bridge and King's College at Surrey Street) has been pedestrianized. This change has affected some bus routes, including:
  • Bus #11, which no longer runs between Westminster Abbey and Liverpool Street via Trafalgar Square and St. Paul's; it now goes across the Westminster Bridge and ends at Waterloo.
  • Bus #23, which no longer runs from Marble Arch to Hyde Park Corner, Knightsbridge, High Street Kensington, and on to Hammersmith; it now goes to Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, and Aldwych.
• The British Museum's 1.5-hour tours need to be booked at least two weeks in advance.
• The Victoria and Albert Museum is once again open late (until 22:00) on Fridays.
• The Tower of London's last entry time is now two hours before closing time (which has been pushed back to 17:30).
• The London Eye has resumed selling tickets on-site, but tickets are cheaper online (and even cheaper the farther in advance you book), and its new family ticket that is only available online.
• The Museum of London location near the Barbican has closed. (The Museum of London Docklands remains open.) Its exhibits will be back on display as "The London Museum" in West Smithfield in 2026.
• The opening hours of sights at Buckingham Palace are likely to have changed since your book was printed.
• St. Paul's Cathedral is now usually open Mon–Sat 8:30–16:30 (dome opens at 9:30), except that on Wednesdays the church and dome don't open until 10:00 — but it's still worth checking its calendar for exact hours before your visit. Its Whispering Gallery has reopened.
• In the off-season (Sept–April), evensong at Westminster Abbey is now on Sat at 15:00.
• Hampton Court Palace has new hours.
• Pollock's Toy Museum is closed while it seeks a new permanent home.
• Greenwich's Clocktower Market, now renamed as the "Greenwich Vintage Market," has moved to a spot just opposite the St. Alfege Church and is now held on weekends (Fri–Sun) and bank holidays, 8:00–17:00.
• The vintage market housed in the former Truman Brewery on Brick Lane is now open daily 11:00–18:30 (until 18:00 Sat–Sun).
• Congestion charges for driving in the city center are now levied weekdays 7:00–18:00 and weekends 12:00–18:00; the minimum charge remains £15.
• Recommended driver guide Mike Dickson has retired.
• There is no longer an EasyBus running between Gatwick and the Earl's Court Tube stop.
• 7-day Travelcards are no longer sold as paper passes; they must now be loaded on to Oyster cards.
• The Oyster transit card deposit is now £7 and nonrefundable. Cards purchased before February 23, 2020 (a year later than what's printed in some Rick Steves guidebooks) can still have any amount less than £10 refunded from Tube station ticket machines. Oyster card credits never expire.
• The Emirates Air Line gondola has been rebranded as the IFS Cloud Cable Car.
• Bus #242 no longer runs to Shoreditch or Liverpool Street Station (but bus #26 does).
• St Katharine Pier, a stop near Tower Bridge used by many Thames cruises, is now known as Tower Bridge Quay.
• Fernandez & Wells restaurant has closed.
• Jen Café has closed.
• The NH London Kensington hotel has closed.

• The Maelgwn men's choir now holds its weekly rehearsals at Capel-y-Rhos (on Llannerch Road East, in Rhos on Sea, just next to Colwyn Bay) — still on Mondays at 19:30, still free and welcoming to the public.
• Glan Heulog B&B has a new website: www.conwybandb.co.uk.
• Saracens Head in Beddgelert has a new website and email address: www.saracensheadbeddgelert.co.uk, [email protected].

For books printed before October 2024, the following may also apply:

• Caernarfon's tourist information office has closed.
• Adventure Parc Snowdonia (formerly "Surf Snowdonia") has closed in the face of technical difficulties; it's unclear whether it will reopen.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may apply:

• Backpackers Plus hostel has closed.
• The Fish Box and Taco Bay restaurant has closed.

• The town's tourist information office has permanently closed.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may also apply:

• Recommended guide Richard Falconer has expanded his tour options beyond ghost tours and now offers six daily itineraries with themes including history, the Old Course, a town walk…and ghosts.
• The Doll's House restaurant is now The Bothy and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

• Munro Guest House has been sold and is currently closed while its new owners renovate.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may also apply:

• The city has introduced the Stirling City Pass, which includes discounted admission to major attractions including Stirling Castle, the Old Town Jail, and the Wallace Monument.
• Argyll's Lodging remains closed for renovation.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may apply:

• To reach Old Sarum (outside Salisbury), take Salisbury Reds bus #P11 (not #X5 or the Active8 bus).
• Cathedral View B&B in Salisbury has closed.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may apply:

• Tickets to Shakespeare's Birthplace are now for timed entry slots; during peak times book ahead to guarantee your desired entry time.
• Mary Arden's Farm and Hall's Croft are both closed to visitors, and may not reopen.
• The "Full Story" combo ticket for Shakespeare sights has been discontinued. In its place, the Shakespeare's Story combo ticket covers entry to Shakespeare's Birthplace, Anne Hathaway's Cottage, and Shakespeare's New Place.
• Visits to Shakespeare's Schoolroom and Guildhall may soon require a combo-ticket with Shakespeare's Birthplace (joint tickets are available at both sights).
• The Other Place theater no longer offers tours.

• The new Windsor Express bus #703 is the cheapest and easiest way to get from Heathrow Airport to Windsor. The bus, which leaves from Terminal 5 twice an hour, costs £2 each way and takes about 45 minutes.

For books printed before February 2024, the following may also apply:

• Long lines often await visitors inside Windsor Castle at the State Apartments and Queen Mary's Dolls' House. To avoid lines and crowds, we visiting these areas while most everyone else is off watching the castle's Changing of the Guard: at 11:00 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (confirm schedule online). Also, the castle no longer offers 30-minute guided walks around the grounds.
• Bel & The Dragon restaurant has closed.

For books printed before September 2024, the following may apply:

• Sunday afternoon visits to York Minster now require advance booking. (All tickets to the Minster are good for one year, so you may reenter at any time during your York visit.)
• The Yorkshire Museum is now closed Monday year-round.
• The National Railway Museum is now open daily 10:00–17:00 (i.e., it's no longer closed Mon–Tue).
• The Richard III Museum will not reopen.
• Queen Anne's Guest House is now York Guesthouse and has a new email address: [email protected].
• The Abbey Guest House has reopened.
• The correct phone number for the Bishop & the Bison hotel is +44 7415 005 150.