‘What interesting things could you possibly see in the UK?’
When people decide to go travelling, it’s usually to Europe and beyond. We will eventually travel to Europe but for both of us, our first thought when we decided to travel was to tour the UK. Admittedly, the main places we both wanted to see were Scotland and Wales. At the time of writing we have already spent most of the summer in Wales, Scotland will be next year now.
(Update 2021; we managed a visit back to Wales when lockdown first lifted. Read about it here. We also managed a 3 week tour of Scotland before the second lockdown – see the vlogs here).
Jon has been camping in Scotland a few times in his early 20’s and his family used to holiday in Wales regularly. From those early holidays, he was eager to explore both places further. In contrast, my Welsh travels up until this year consist of Cardiff once and a handful of visits to Pembrokeshire. My Scottish adventures read even less with two trips to Fort William to watch the mountain biking world cup. I was in awe of the beautiful scenery I had seen on those trips. I too was eager to see what else Scotland and Wales had to offer.
It’s all on our doorstep
That said, we also knew that England would be beautiful and we were looking forward to getting to see more of our home country. Over the years, our holidays began to be less about using all of our annual leave on a sunny getaway somewhere. It became more about long weekends in the country and mini breaks attending motorsport events. That way we got to see snippets of England and we liked what we saw.
Some of what we have seen already has blown us away. The dramatic landscapes of the Welsh coastline and the rolling expanse of English countryside has been nothing short of breathtaking. I think it has also made us appreciate the little things as well.
It’s not just about seeing big landmarks and flashy attractions. It could be something as simple as a walk through some woodlands, not knowing where it leads. Then finding a cute, traditional pub or historic monument at the end.
It’s all in the past
That was another big reason we wanted to tour the UK, for its rich history. We are both very interested in castles, ruins, old stately homes and industrial buildings. We love understanding the part they have all played in the evolution of society. It’s fascinating to think that there are ruins and even complete buildings that are over 500 years old still standing, giving us an insight in to the past.
I, in particular, am obsessed with the Tudor period. I’m not sure why because it was actually a gruesome time to be alive but I have been captivated by it since school. Getting to visit *actual* Tudor buildings has been a highlight for me for sure.
We have documented all of our travels on our Instagram account. Make sure to go and check it out if you too are interested in Historic places of interest for some great day trip ideas!
Why didn’t we do this sooner?
The realisation that it’s all been sat here for us to explore makes me wonder why we didn’t go and see these places sooner! I guess you get in to the cycle of work/bills/living for the weekends. In some ways you then become limited as to how you spend your free time without realising.
For Example, The South Coast (where we are from) is jam packed with key buildings from English history including Portchester Castle and Netley Abbey. Not to mention the huge maritime history we have here with Gosport and the Portsmouth dockyard (where the remains of the infamous Mary Rose are on display) and I’ve been once, maybe twice.
It’s all here for the viewing so when you are next planning a trip, do consider what might be on your doorstep.
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