My room at the Britannia Hotel in Manchester was excellent. It was £39 per night and after spending three nights in a hostel sharing a room with others it was great having my own bathroom and privacy. I went to sleep as soon as I checked in on Sunday night.

I still had not booked hotels for Glasgow (where I was traveling to Tuesday morning) and Birmingham (where I was staying Monday, October 5). I saw in my room that the Britannia had a hotel in Birmingham and when the room was only £28 for the night I booked the single immediately. Hotels in Glasgow were more expensive so I decided I would book a hostel for Tuesday night – especially since I was not planning to spend much time in the room. I booked a room at the Euro Hostel for £18.