Autumn in the UK
After visiting Greece, we also went for a roadtrip in the UK. We visited in Autumn, which was really nice with all the different colours. Definitely a bit colder than other places in Europe, but still a great time to visit.
Edinburgh #
Edinburgh is the most visited city in the UK after London, and it’s easy to see why. The city has really unique neo-classical architecture, and it’s a very nice place to walk around. Just make sure to book in advance: accommodation was more expensive than any other city we’ve been to.
Scottish Highlands #
After Edinburgh, we headed to the highlands. It’s a place that is really dense with different vistas and you don’t have to travel far to see a completely different landscape.
We made lots of stops along the way, but there were a few places that stood out:
- Perth Museum: A very good small museum, with interesting displays including the Stone of Scone, and a cloak made from kākāpō feathers.
- Fairy Pools: Easy walk along a series of waterfalls and pools in the mountains. You can even go for a swim if you’re brave.
- Pollock Country Park: While you’ll probably see the Highland Coos on the road, this is a great place to see them up close.
We didn’t make it to the Quiraing as we ran out of time, but I’ve heard it’s worth visiting if you’re on the Isle of Skye.
Lake District & York #
Having grown up in a different lakes district, the Lake District in the UK did feel a little familiar. However, it is still very pretty, and there’s many more little towns and places to stop off in comparison to NZ. The hotel we stayed at was right on Lake Windermere, and was honestly stunning.
York was also neat to visit. It’s a very well preserved medieval city, and you can walk along the old city walls. I also really recommend visiting the National Railway Museum there. It’s newly renovated and has a huge selection of different trains and railway paraphernalia, even including a 0 Series Shinkansen.
Wales #
We also spent some time in the north west and south coasts of Wales. Lots of castles and mountains, but also lots of rain. I really liked the Conwy Castle as it felt very quintessential sitting across from a river, complete with suspension bridge. The town of Conwy nearby is also very cool, and still has medieval town walls intact.
Bristol & Bath #
Bristol seemed fine. It seems like it would be a nice enough place to live, but it’s not a super interesting travel destination. Bath is a good day trip and quite a pretty town, but probably more enjoyable if you’re interested in Roman history.
Oxford #
Oxford has got to be most the most photogenic city in the UK. The town is dominated by the university and the beautiful buildings that make up the campus. My highlight was visiting the Oxford University Museum of Natural History & Pitt Rivers Museum (just out the back). Walking inside feels like being transported back to the Victorian era, and the displays really invoke a sense of discovery.
If you have more than a few days in London, I would definitely do a day trip to Oxford as the journey is only around an hour each way.
London #
After driving around for two weeks, we dropped the car off in London. I had visited around 10 years ago, so it was a bit surprising to see how much the place hasn’t changed. While it’s a city that does a great job at combining the traditional & modern, it seemed like there were relatively few new additions, especially when compared to other cities such as New York, Singapore, or Sydney.
However, the new Elizabeth Line is great. They should really build another new one.
Driving in the UK #
Despite having invented trains and having great rail coverage, traveling by rail in the UK is ridiculously expensive. A car is much cheaper: it cost about £400 to rent a car for two weeks, including the one way fee from Edinburgh to London. We didn’t encounter any toll roads on our trip.
We only ending up taking one train in the UK: the Southern from London to Gatwick Airport. For a 30 minute trip, it was TWENTY ONE GREAT BRITISH POUNDS per person.
So yeah, I would recommend hiring a car. It’s easy enough to drive in UK, and other people are generally considerate drivers. Only real things to worry about are some of the narrow lanes, road markings that haven’t been repainted in forever, and their enormous signalised roundabouts.
etc #
Payments: I tried to pay by cash at a restaurant and got asked by the waiter if I was a drug dealer. Despite this, you will still need some cash if you want to do any laundry. Not a single laundromat took card payment.
Laundry: It was also surprisingly difficult to find places to do laundry. None of the hotels we stayed at had laundry rooms or laundry service, and laundromats (laundrettes) were few and far between. It’s honestly a bit weird. Do people not need to wash heavy blankets, or get items dry cleaned?
Food: Eating out is quite expensive and not very exciting. Part of this is because there’s 20% VAT on cooked food (e.g a toasted sandwich will always cost at least 20% more than a fresh one). It’s odd government policy that makes groceries artificially cheap and probably doesn’t help restaurants & cafes very much.
Electricity: A few weird things in the UK. Every bathroom having shaver sockets with a different socket and voltage feels like a relic. Our rental car was also a plug in hybrid, but public EV charging was more expensive than buying petrol. I thought that the street lamps with integrated EV chargers were cool though.
Language: English is spoken in most of the UK, but even as a native English speaker I struggled in York.
Where should you go? #
While we enjoyed our trip to the UK, there’s many other destinations in Europe I would prioritise first. The UK is one of the most expensive countries in Europe, especially when it comes to accommodation and eating out, but many museums and other attractions are free. I personally didn’t find the most of the cities too interesting, but the countryside is nice. The landscape can be a little similar to NZ, but the many villages and castles makes it quite unique.
I feel like London is one of those cities that you have to visit at least once. There is so much to see and it’s culturally very important, but I also don’t think it is particularly representative of the rest of the UK. If you do have a couple of days, I would recommend driving around the Scottish Highlands. It has probably the highest density of beautiful landscapes in the country, and is quite varied with the many lochs, isles, and mountain ranges.
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