Looking to buy one or the other.
The Nikons can be had at microglobe for £234 which is well cheap for these, and the Hawke with ED glass £289 at Clifton cameras. Clifton C' are within driving distance, and probably going down to have a look this weekend, but anyone have experience of these bins, and shop.
toad
Since you may be going to have a look through some this weekend, here are my further ideas. You'll find the Hawke impressive, quite nice to handle with big clear views, maybe good enough to justify £55 more than the Monarch, which is smaller and shorter than I expected. Both are made in China and (IMO) build quality is not yet up to the Japanese, but pretty good nevertheless. The Hawke's cosmetically more 'jazzy' than the Nikon; it's all a matter of taste, but personally I prefer the 'understated' look, whereas some might think the Monarch too plain. Quite apart from optical quality (and you will probably find a favourite quite quickly) ergonomics also play a big part; again, it shouldn't take long for you to decide which feels 'just right'. I've not actually visited Clifton's shop, but only this week I bought from them online a Nikon 80mm spotting scope which was a bargain, was delivered very speedily, and was fully as described, so my only experience of them has been very good. Enjoy your trip, and I hope you find what you're looking for...
Toad,
I've used Microglobe for online ordering and visited the shop. They are not geared up for callers, (more than a little odd), but found them helpful and very efficient all the same. Isn't Sherwoods Photo a bit closer to you than Clifton? I've not been to either.
I've not tried the MkIII, but found strong preferences for ergonomics vs. view when I compared the Hawke to the previous Nikon. Have fun.
David