first trip to England any recommendations ?

[Rienzphotoz]

Hi, Im going on my first trip to England in just over a month and i want to take photos of castles and buildings so i'm taking my 5D mark iii and as far as lenses go I'm thinking i will take my 24-70L ii and 70-200 Lis ii but i want to get a wider lens, so I'm thinking i might go the 17mm tse.

Does anyone  have any recommendations on this lens?

How do you plan on sightseeing in UK? I mean are you going to use Big Bus tours / Coaches etc? ... when I went to UK, I mostly used the Big Bus (hop-on hop off bus service that takes you around the "must see" places in big cities like London, Edinburgh, etc) and I used all day coaches in Scotland to see places like the Highlands, Lochness,  etc.
Anyway, if you are doing something similar, you will soon realise that carrying more than one lens is going to be a major pain in the a55 ... you are better off with 24-105 f/4 L IS or your existing 24-70L II.
But if you plan to do sightseeing at your leisure (with plenty of time) than you will have enough time to change lenses and get the shot you want. But if you are on a short visit you must know that there is a LOT of walking to do in UK, especailly in London and every additional lens you carry with you is going to add to your misery of having to carry it with you all day long .. I had carried my 24-105, 70-200 IS II and the 16-35 L II ... it was hell lugging them around all day long ... after 3 days of carrying those lenses, I ended up taking only 24-105 (mounted on my 7D) for the remainder of the trip. 

[AdamJ]

I am English, I was born in England, I am not British, though I come from the UK and have a UK passport.

But your UK passport says you're a "British Citizen", as does mine. 

[TommyLee]

in London
go see the greenwich location ...on a boat trip...
Harrison clock etc.. day trip.. I like the thames river trips...

and the british museum 2 days?....if you like that stuff
I forget ...but I believe no tripods no flashes.. just fast lenses

I did like the TOWER trip also...

and I am not usually a tourist ...not usually

maybe one good DRIVE thru the countryside... if that is a handy thing to do...like a friend with a car...
Marlow and surrounding countryside was nice...

St James Park...giant park next to where the big hats change the guard ...you know where people try to distract the soldier at attention

I spend 2 days sitting on the benches there in St James playing my guitar...not busking...
just watching the vastness of it... people....need good weather...
walk along the river both sides...  all near the 'eye' wheel

Edinbourough was fun at Tattoo time.. 
but Scotland is a big $$ and time addition... I went because of work...

I would have a city lens W I D E ....and museum lens FAST and maybe I.S. ...
possible long lens... less important

an expensive place for sure
I thought the English were quite nice and I felt welcomed always...
if it works ....an overnight to Paris ($$) ..under the channel (chunnel) is great..fast train
I believe you can make a day trip...but that is too short to SEE stuff...
Paris and musuems takes at least 2 days min to know you were somewhere and stopped to look

I enjoyed ONCE up on top of a double decker bus in London with a camera...and just to see a long loop around the tourist spots.. so you can see things and relax... westminster ..all that
again near the park ...buckingham etc...

I send you some good luck ..for good weather.. for all that

it has been a while ...so ask someone about the photo rules

travel safe.....

TOM

[robbymack]

Forget the entire southern half of the island, it's full of Brits, rather focus on the northern half...I'm biased 

[Brymills]

Watch out ! They drive at the wrong side of the road !

No, We drive on the correct side of the road.... 

If you look around the castles outlined by johnb, then you also have the Brecon Beacons for some superb landscape photos as well.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/picture/2013/feb/20/eyewitness-brecon-beacons

I wish I'd taken this!

[gary]

As you will be in England and presumably close to London then for Castles I would recommend Arundel Castle in West Sussex which you can get to by train and/or Leeds Castle which which contrary to its name is nowhere near Leeds. Leeds Castle is located in Kent and best visited by car. Both these are still lived in, exceptional to photograph and have great historic significance.
Three places that are in walking distance of each other.  As someone mentioned the plague you could visit the Church in Wardour street London W1 where they buried the remains from the plague hence the fact that the grounds sit six feet above the surrounding buildings or the Mall where you can check out Nelsons Fleet or at least hand carved bronze copies which sit at the top of the lamp posts. Nelson is not far away and overlooks the fleet. Finally any one of the Inns of Court, Middle/Inner Temple's on the south side of Fleet Street, Lincoln's Inn behind the High Court off Fleet Street. You will find amazing buildings including the Temple Church and if you can persuade your way into Middle Temple Hall you may see part of Nelsons falgship used in constructing the hall.
While you are there make sure to get 'Timeout' magazine.

Have a great trip     

[GuyF]

Edinbourough was fun at Tattoo time.. 

Is that anywhere near Edinburgh? (score extra points with the locals if you pronounce it "Ed-in-burr-uh") 

[rs]

Also worth considering places like Stonehenge, and for scenery, the lake district or Scotland are great. On the castle front, also consider Windsor Castle and Warwick Castle - although you'll end up with loads of tourists in the shots. Stratford on Avon (Shakespeare's birth place), just around the corner from Warwick Castle is full of interesting old buildings.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=windsor+castle&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=PywqUdPzF-OL0AWNzoH4Bw&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=2560&bih=1377

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=warwick+castle&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=VCwqUd-1PMeb0QXbi4CICg&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=2560&bih=1377

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=stratford+on+avon&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=GCwqUcG6C8bIhAe7_4DYBQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=2560&bih=1377

A wide angle such as the 17 TS-E you mentioned would be great for some of these locations.

[Alex]

Ovoid North Devon at all cost.. Its cold, wet and windy 364 1/2 days of the year...

[AlanF]

Ovoid North Devon at all cost.. Its cold, wet and windy 364 1/2 days of the year...

Devon is not egg shaped.

[AdamJ]

With regards travel and declaring nationality, well the accepted norm is UK, so neither British nor English!

The accepted norm when declaring nationality is British.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/

[AlanF]

With regards travel and declaring nationality, well the accepted norm is UK, so neither British nor English!

The accepted norm when declaring nationality is British.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/

True about citizenship, but when entering "Nationality" on filling out forms for entering the USA you should write "United Kingdom" (not British and not abbreviated to UK).

[AlanF]

I thought the English were quite nice

First learn the language: if the intonation is one way (stress on the quite), it means not very nice, and the other (stress on the nice) it means very nice. And, I hope your name is not Randy when introducing yourself.

[AlanF]

If you are born in England (part of Great Britain) doesn't that also make you British? Wasn't it called the British Empire and not the English Empire? I watched the video...informative and entertaining.

I am a British subject, as are all who are born in the UK,

A "subject" is someone who is under the dominion of a monarch and has no rights. A citizen, on the other hand, does have rights. A British citizen has the right of abode in the UK, but not all British subjects do. Until 1949, nearly everyone with a close connection to the United Kingdom was called a British subject. And all citizens of Commonwealth countries were British subjects until January 1983. Since that date, very few categories of people have qualified as British subjects - see http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/othernationality/britishsubjects/

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Hi, Im going on my first trip to England in just over a month and i want to take photos of castles and buildings so i'm taking my 5D mark iii and as far as lenses go I'm thinking i will take my 24-70L ii and 70-200 Lis ii but i want to get a wider lens, so I'm thinking i might go the 17mm tse.

Does anyone  have any recommendations on this lens?

I assume that you have a agenda setup.  Use google earth to look at each castle / tourist city you are visiting, and plan out the best locations for photos and what lens you will or might use.
 
While a TS-E lens is really nice for serious photography, if you are at the really crowded places, its likely that a tripod will be banned, so research that as well.  There is a amazing amount of information on the Internet.
 
One uncrowded castle I stayed in was in Peebles, Scotland.  We took a bouncy old bus 22 miles through the beautiful countryside to the small town of Peebles, and the castle Venlaw, which sits on a hill above the town.  We had a room in the turret overlooking the town.  No crowds at all.  There was transportation down to the town, but we walked thru the woods down the hillside to the town, which had lots of interesting shops.  We then took the bus to Edinburough and took a bus tour of the city as well as walked around spending lots of $$ on woolen blankets, sweaters, etc.
 
After walking until my feet were sore, it was nice to sit back on the train and enjoy the country we passed thru until our next destination.  Although I had been to London a few times, and been out to the country to visit suppliers for our company, when my wife and I planned a vacation, we had a local lady who was from England setup the tour, hotels, etc.  I did the air travel through my company, so we got business class for the price of cattle car seats in the back.
 
I like London, there are years worth of fantastic things to see, but I also fondly remember the small country places and the people where we were not crowded and could take our time.  Try to see both the big attractions as well as some that are off the beaten trail.