Find a guesthouse (b&b) in UK/England

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< Up	Travel / Accommodation / B and B
Find bed and breakfast or guesthouse accommodation in the UK


Sections:	Introduction
	Booking
	Links

Related pages:	Hotel
	Self-catering
	Hostel
	Student room
	Campsite

INTRODUCTION

Bed and breakfast accommodation is usually run as a small business by a family. As the name implies, the service provides a room in which to sleep and breakfast the following morning. Breakfast is usually a choice between a traditional cooked breakfast (eg: sausages, fried egg or scrambled egg, cooked tomato, baked beans, fried bread, plus toast with butter and jam or marmalade, and tea or coffee) or a "continental breakfast" (eg: cereal with milk, yoghurt, bread and cheese/ham, plus coffee or tea).

Not all places are centrally located, so remember to ask about the best way to get there, especially if you are relying on public transport.

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BOOKING

B&B - in town or country

B&B is sometimes available in a farm house

In Welsh, B&B is called "GaB"

You can find a list of B&Bs in the place you are visiting from the national tourist agency websites:
Visit Britain: http://www.visitbritain.com/VB3-en/productsearch/accommodation/accomsearch.aspx
England: http://www.enjoyengland.com/book/accommodation
Wales: http://www.visitwales.co.uk/62061/50.00.html
Scotland: http://www.visitscotland.com/library/bedandbreakfast
Northern Ireland: http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/accomfinder.aspx
Online booking is often not possible - you normally need to contact the accommodation directly to confirm that it has available rooms.

Most B&Bs advertise through the local Tourist Information Centre (you often have to pay a fee when you make a booking using the centre).
You can find the tourist information centre using these links:
England: http://www1.enjoyengland.com/visitengland/search/tics
Wales: http://www.visitwales.co.uk/6436/10.02.html
Northern Ireland: http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/info_TICs.aspx
Scotland: telephone +44 (0) 1506 832 121

Some places have joined a B&B agency, such as the ones listed here:
http://www.visitbritain.com/VB3-en/accommodation/bandbagencies
Often an agency will insist on certain quality standards before allowing a B&B to join it.

There are some websites which accept paid-for listings from B&B accommodation in the UK.
One of the largest is Smoothhound: http://www.smoothhound.co.uk

Organisations which provide ratings for B&Bs are the AA (a motoring organisation), the RAC (a motoring organisation) and VisitBritain (a tourist organisation). Note that the B&Bs have to pay to be rated and not all of them consider this worthwhile. If a B&B is not rated it does not mean that it is bad.

There are also a number of books which you can buy which contain lists of suggested places to stay, for example:

British Bed and Breakfast
Publisher: Alastair Sawday Publishing
Date: September 2005

AA the Bed and Breakfast Guide
Publisher: AA Publishing
Date: September 2005

LINKS

Other types of short-term accommodation in the UK or Europe: Travel/Accommodation
Finding long-stay accommodation in the UK: Life/Accommodation

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