I always had a love affair with traveling and exploring new places. Whether it’s Kerala or Kufri in India, or Singapore, or business trip to Chicago, its always been an amazing experience to travel to places not seen before.
In mid-2018, we packed our bags for a family vacation to the United Kingdom. With its amazing architecture, world-class museums, several historical sites, and other unique experiences, what’s not to love in the UK? We researched, planned and visited few places in the country and the neighborhood.
Day 1 – Landed in the city of the Big Ben, London
The first day in the UK was full of excitement and places like The National Art Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Street were on our list to visit. Along with these, local places around were a real treasure on the first day. The artwork, the architecture, and the atmosphere were a treat to explore.
Founded in 1824, The National Gallery is an art museum in Central London housing a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. Learn more about the history and interesting facts about the National Art Gallery on the official website.
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Trafalgar Square is named after Britain’s victory in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
The best way to get around London is the Tube or the Underground. The city bus is another great way to see the sights while going from one place to another in the city. Buy an Oyster card which you can use on both trains and buses.
Day 2 – Another beautiful day in the City of London
Day 1 was super exciting, and that made me wake up early on day 2 of my trip to get ready for another fun-filled day. On my list, there were some prominent places to visit, like, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, and the London Bridge.
Construction of the London Eye took around one and a half years to complete. There are 32 oval-shaped capsules, numbered 1 to 33, with no capsule number 13 due to superstitious reasons. It stands tall on the banks of river Thames. Explore more and book your tickets here, The London Eye.
The Tower Bridge crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London, has become an iconic symbol of London. Tower Bridge is one of five London bridges owned and maintained by the Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation.
Day 3 – A day well spent in Windsor, Windsor Castle
Windsor is a small town in southeast England, just west of London on the River Thames. It’s home to the Windsor Castle, the residence of the British Royal Family. Explore the Castle, the Chapels and the Windsor Great Park. Take a train from Paddington Station and reach the Windsor in less than 40 minutes. Discover and book your visit here.
Day 4 – Off to Brighton’s pebbled beach
Another day tour from London, hop onto a train from St Pancras International and reach Brighton in a couple of hours. Reach there and have fun on the beach for a while with some fish & chips and beer. You can take a walking tour around the beach and can explore Brighton’s beauty more.
Day 5 – A Road trip to Scotland
We spent almost the entire day traveling from London to Edinburgh, but that was mesmerizing. The beauty along with the untiring driving experience was amazing with almost no fuss on the road. You may find few road closures and traffic snarls but those will not bother for a long.
After reaching Edinburgh, we checked-in our stay that we booked via Airbnb and the apartment was good and comfortable. We didn’t face any issues during the 2-day stay.
Day 6 – A stroll in the City of Edinburgh
There are several exclusive places to visit in Edinburgh- Edinburgh Castle, The Royal Yacht Britannia, The Scotch Whiskey Experience (a must for enthusiasts) and The Royal Mile. Hop on a local double-decker bus and enjoy the city ride.
Day 7 – Back to London with a twist
While driving back to London, we ditched the highway and took an off-route to explore the beauty of Scotland villages. Also, being an enthusiast, the visit to the Glenkinchie Whiskey brewery was an awesome experience…Cheers !!!
Day 8 – A relaxed day in London
Another relaxed day in London marked our visit to the world-famous Madam Tussaud Museum, The Buckingham Palace and the Hyde Park marked our eighth day in the UK.
Day 9 – Punting Cambridge
We wanted either Oxford or Cambridge visit as part of our UK trip, and we chose Cambridge. We took a train from King’s Cross station and reached Cambridge within an hour.
There are a lot of famous colleges to visit in Cambridge including the King’s College and Trinity College. Take the punting tour and the punter will tell you the history around different colleges in and around Cambridge.
The Trinity College is famous for its long list of Nobel laureates. Don’t forget to visit the library and explore Newton’s and Ramanujan’s work.
Day 10 – Back to London
This was the day I was waiting for, a visit to the Lord’s Cricket Ground where every cricket lover wants to be once in his lifetime. Don’t forget to buy some memorabilia for yourself.
Explore the British Museum, in the Bloomsbury area of London, United Kingdom, is a public institution dedicated to human history, art and culture. Its permanent collection of some eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence, having been widely sourced during the era of the British Empire.
Day 11 – The Roman Baths
The Roman Baths are well-preserved hot baths in the city of Bath, Somerset, England. A temple was constructed on the site between 60-70CE in the first few decades of Roman Britain. Its presence led to the development of the small Roman urban settlement known as Aquae Sulis around the site.
Trains are the best way to travel across the UK and neighboring places. You can book train tickets from Paddington Station for the Roman Baths which will take just over an hour to reach the destination.
Don’t forget to try different cuisines and wines, you’ll get a good choice and options for meals everywhere….and do try the Yale Beer.
The travel experience to the United Kingdom and Scotland was fabulous with top-notch hospitality. I would love to visit this place again in my lifetime and will try to explore more which I couldn’t in those couple of weeks. I’ll come up with my travel experience to another gem of a place next time, till then hasta la vista.