This was published 7 years ago

Cheap holidays to the UK: British pound falls 27 per cent against the Aussie dollar

By David Whitley

Updated October 12, 2016 — 1.18pm

It is nearly four months since 52 per cent of the UK voted to take the country out of the European Union, despite the remarkable absence of a plan about what comes next. And while politicians have bickered over what Brexit means since then, the pound has shown what it thinks by taking an almighty running dive into the toilet.

And while that might be terrible news for weeping Brits at foreign exchange counters, it's absolutely tremendous news for Australians thinking of a trip to Blighty. As of October 10th, the Aussie dollar was worth £0.61 – up from £0.48 a year ago. That's a 27 per cent increase – and it has a significant effect on the affordability of travel in the UK. For example, here's what the following will cost you…

A pint of beer

Assuming you're drinking something relatively decent rather than dire swill like Carling or Foster's, and you're not in a student pub with four blokes called Wayne fighting outside, a pint will usually cost between £3.50 and £4.50. That's $5.71 to $7.34 now, versus $7.32 to $9.41 a year ago. Your round, Aussies…

'I'll drink to that': Pints are $5.70 in the UK.Credit: iStock

Afternoon tea at the Savoy

A few finger sandwiches, scones, cups of tea and an impeccable air of refinement doesn't cost quite as much as it used to do. The Savoy's afternoon tea will set you back £58.50, which is now just $96 rather than the heart attack-inducing $122.

Pigging out at The Savoy won't break the piggy bank.Credit: iStock

A ride on the London Eye

The half hour trundle on London's most shamelessly expensive big wheel now comes with the added value at being able to point and laugh at impoverished Brexit voters below. It's £21.20 a pop, which means the wallet damage has come down from $44.30 to $34.55 in the space of 12 months.

A London to Edinburgh train ticket

Gouging foreigners for train tickets is a fine British tradition loved even more than gouging British residents for train tickets. The cheapest returns from London to Edinburgh, for example, cost a whopping £135.50. That would have been $284 a year ago, but now it's a less devastating $221. Book two single journeys in advance via National Rail (nationalrail.co.uk), and the price can drop to a more reasonable £71, which is $116, down from $149.

Entry to the Tower of London

Ravens, beefeaters, the Crown Jewels and the babes in the tower – plus myriad other British clichés and dark tales of the past – are served up at the Tower of London. Getting inside isn't exactly cheap, though – the entry fee is a steep £25. That would have been $52.25 last year, but there's change from a yellow note now – it's just $40.75.

A five star weekend in Manchester

The top end hotels in London are still tear-jerkingly expensive unless you live in a Scrooge McDuck-esque tower of money. But a lavish weekend elsewhere in a thrivingly cool British city can be had without leading to penury. A weekend stay at the Lowry hotel (www.thelowryhotel.com), where stars tend to hole up in when in Manchester, costs around £329 for two nights. That's a drop from $688 to $537.

See: Manchester - the cool capital of England's north

Museum entry

A-ha. Here's the trick one. One of the very best things about travel in the UK is that entry to most museums of any interest is free. So you're not saving anything by going on a cultural schlep around the country – that's the one area the UK's always been perfect value on.

The British Museum, London.Credit: iStock

A day trip to Stonehenge

Stonehenge is one of those attractions that regularly appears in the list of the world's most overrated, but that doesn't stop people shelling out to go there. The history and mystery tend to be more impressive than the stones themselves.

So if you're going, then you might as well tag on a trip to something genuinely excellent – and the Roman Baths in Bath fits that description down to a tee. Anderson Tours (www.andersontours.co.uk) puts both together in a one day coach tour from London, which costs £62 per person. That's only $101 now – and would have been $130 last October.

See: The world's most mysterious places

A Premier League football game

Premier League football's popularity has ensured that tickets are both expensive and hard to get hold of. Good luck getting into a Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal game, for example, without handing over a huge sum to scalpers. The trick is to go for one of the lesser teams – and with Hull being UK Capital of Culture in 2017, going to see a Hull City (www.hullcitytigers.com) game can be tied in with an artsy visit.

Cheap seats cost from £18, which would have been $37.60 a year ago, but now comes under the $30 barrier at just $29.35.

A quality curry

If you're looking for the average cost of a decent meal in the UK, then checking out the prices at a good curry house is as good a rule of thumb as any. And the Royal Bengal (royalbengalbirmingham.co.uk) in Birmingham is a very good curry house. There a chicken balti plus peshwari naan and pilau rice costs £11.70. That's $19.07, although it would have been $24.45 a year ago.