Saving money on an extended-stay trip in England

I thought I knew how to squeeze the last penny out of my travel dollar.

After nearly a score of interviews in the last week, I realize I am a rank amateur.

The experts in this week’s Travel section have traveled the globe on a very few dollars a day, and they’re the richer for it. I am humbled in their presence.

Take, for instance, Linda Johnson, a retired teacher in Long Beach. She and some friends spent a couple of months in Cornwall, England, last year — St. Ives, actually (”spectacularly beautiful,” she told me) — and her ideas on getting the most value for your dollar are pure travel genius. Among some of her thoughts:

— Traveling in the off-season has a certain romance, not to mention reduced prices. On their extended stay, they had bad weather, which she admittedly likes. They were there during “the season of English storms. There were lots of nights when the wind howled and whistled, which I thoroughly enjoyed.” The added bonus: There are no crowds and it’s less costly in the off-season.

— They found lots of low- or no-cost activities. The library was a mainstay in their daily lives. Because they were there for a couple of months, they got a library card. Besides the access to books, they could use the Internet for 30 minutes for free. And they also were able to attend author lectures, including one by Patrick Gale, author of “Notes From an Exhibition,” and Ann Kelley, who wrote “The Bower Bird,” winner of Britain’s prestigious Costa Book Award for children’s literature.

They also spent time browsing art galleries, which were free (as long as they refrained from buying, not always easy in arts-intensive St. Ives).

— They joined the Church of England. This may be the most interesting idea I’ve heard. As honorary members, they were allowed to go to church lunches (often soups) and suppers (often pasties, Britain’s meat pies). The donation was generally a couple of pounds. They ate well and got to talk with the local folk.

—They walked everywhere. Johnson called St. Ives a “hiker’s paradise” so walking wasn’t much of a hardship. Best of all, she said, she dropped about 10 pounds and felt great.

— Catharine Hamm, Los Angeles Times Travel editor

[Photo: A summer performance at the Minack Theatre in Cornwall, England, which is a theater carved into the granite cliffs at Porthcurno. Matt Cardy / Getty Images]

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This entry was posted on Friday, October 24, 2008 at 11:53 am by Catharine Hamm and is filed under Deals, Europe, Great Britain, News, Tips & Advice, Winter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.