What would be the best time of the year to visit the beautiful UK to avoid the tourists (like me, from Calif.)

Answer 1

The British summer is a fairly short affair and by CA standards isn't that much of a summer. The weather is at it's best in July and August and this coincides with the peak tourist season.

The school summer holiday in the UK is from mid to late July through to early September and this is when a lot of families are on holiday or go to the tourist attractions.

Public holidays are also very busy and these fall on the Friday before Easter, the Monday after Easter, the first and last Mondays in May and the last Monday in August. All the bank holidays for this year and the next few years are on this site... http://www.dti.gov.uk/employment/bank-public-holidays/index.html

Some popular tourist attractions are busy all the time, places such as Alton Towers (amusement park) or the London Eye (big wheel), they just got busier at peak times. There are other places off the beaten track that never get busy including places in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

The biggest nightmare at busy times is the traffic. The UK has appauling transport at the best of times and long traffic jams are a regular feature of public holidays and summer weekends.

You could visit outside the summer season and avoid the worst of the tourists but the consequence would be more chance of rain and colder temperatures.

These are the official tourist sites for each of the countries in the UK. I've included Ireland as well, although not part of the UK it's a beautiful country and well worth a visit if you get a chance (short ferrry sailing from Scotland, Wales or England).

http://www.visitscotland.com/
http://www.enjoyengland.com/
http://www.visitwales.com/
http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/
http://www.discoverireland.com/gb/

Answer 2

I guess UK is always thronged by tourists.. :) a bit less in winter though. So do you want to wait until winter to visit? Its beautiful here in summer. Its worth coming here in summer . Probably you might want to go to areas like the lake district in north west England which is breathtakingly beautiful. You will get to see the best of England's scenic beauty and also avoid too many tourists.