Our two-week road trip through England found us going from Manchester to the Peak District to Cambridge to Canterbury to Dover to West Bay to Stonehenge to Bath to The Cotswolds to Kenilworth to Oxford to Windsor and finally back into London.
We explored historic sites, looked in awe at soaring vistas, visited many many pubs, watched a real football game, drove the most gorgeous and romantic roads, looked at sheep, went for high-tea, partook of a traditional Sunday roast supper, walked where some of our favourite (and not so favourite) characters in books, tv, music, film and history have trod as well. And we enjoyed every bloody minute of it!
Embracing the gloom of The Peak District
After a weekend in Manchester, we picked up a car and started our road trip journey through Great Britain. Our first stop was Cambridge but we decided to take the extra-scenic route through the Peak District.
It was craggy af …but also stunning af.
The colours reminded me of the highlands of Scotland with England’s brisk spring weather keeping it extra dark and broody for us.
Meandering through the park also helped Chuck (and me, kinda) adjust to driving on the opposite side of the road, which was super tricky. Chuck figured it out no prob. Me, I still have no clue what direction I’m going half the time.
After meandering here-and-there in the park for a bit, I turned on “Avoid Highways” on Google Maps and we began a scenic journey into Cambridge. (I highly recommend doing that if you want to find a scenic route on a road trip).
Being scholarly-ish in Cambridge
This quintessentially British city was our first overnight stop on the road. In this historic university city, with schools that date back to the 1200s, we focused on learning as much as we could about it.
We participated in a Trivia night at the Cambridge Tap. Strolled down Senate House Passage to get to Rose Crescent to peruse through the book store, souvenir shops and boutiques. We walked up Trinity Street and King’s Parade to see Newton’s tree, Trinity College’s great gate, King’s College Chapel and The Corpus Clock.
We then went on a punting boat (because you have to) down the River Cam and caught glimpses of the Bridge of Sighs and the Mathematical Bridge while the mallards, swans and herons kept us company. Our eccentric guide/punter was an informative hoot too.
We then explored David Attenborough’s Museum of Zoology and the Museum of Anthropology. Both were quite good and not overly large or time-consuming. The zoology one has a bunch of interesting goodies. And you gotta love admission-free museums!
We ended our day watching football matches at the Grain & Hop pub as a large group were participating in “Casual Chess Night” to one side of us, while on the other side a group of students were playing pool and shuffleboard. Gotta love a college town!
(I also should mention how insane the daffodils were throughout our journey. The entire country was a sunny yellow spring delight.)
Swept away — almost — in Dover
The White Cliffs of Dover was where we caught colds. Stupid beautiful cliffs.
I mean, it was a truly beautiful spot to stop and the chalk cliffs are stunning to look upon, but we froze our asses off there! The winds were insane. And sooo cold. We didn’t last long, but the chill took forever to get rid of. Then we both got sick. But, as you can clearly see, I was also having a glorious hair day. lol
Was it worth the visit? I dunno? Maybe in summer? I felt like I was going to be flung from the cliffs the wind was so powerful.
We weren’t there for more than an hour before getting back on the road and settling in to Canterbury, our stop for the night.
Charmed in Canterbury
Canterbury, you charming little minx. We stayed there for one night, so we only had time to visit its famous Cathedral, but the town is quaint, bustling and cute as a button. If I knew how adorable it was going to be we would have stayed another day.
The cathedral was impressive in both beauty and tumultuous history. Chuck especially loved the place and felt a deep connection to it spiritually. As we were there until closing, we were treated to some lyrical hymns as choir practice was just commencing.
After the cathedral, we strolled down St. Peter’s Street passing by The Friars and Kings Bridge to Westgate Gardens beside the River Stour, which houses a 200 year old Plane tree that has the most massive trunk.
Feeling the ice-age along the Jurassic Coast
The southern coast of England is lush and stunning and also blustery and COLD! At least in the springtime. Those winds coming off the English Channel were something else.
But we had to check out this area as one of our favourite shows, Broadchurch, was filmed there. And one of the reasons we loved it was because its scenery was so beautiful. Like a crime show wrapped up in a tourism ad.
So we decided to visit West Bay where they filmed the show. And it did not disappoint. The scenery all around, whether it was on the coast or in-land, was a delight. And once we reached our destination for the night, The George, we were utterly charmed. Our hotel was an old pub on the main floor with rooms above.
As soon as we walked into our room we smiled. It was so inviting …and warm! There was an old-school four poster bed and a small seating nook in front of a bay window. They had an assortment of teas and homemade cookies out for us and we immediately dug in.
Again, we were only in the area for one night and since it was so chilly out we decided to stay in and enjoy the cozy room and eat at the delicious pub down the stairs.
But we did make sure to spend at least a few minutes walking to the beach and getting our Broadchurch fill, even if it was a bit gloomy.
A short, but sweet and cozy stay. And when I looked upon those West Bay cliffs I swear I could hear David Tennant yelling “MILLAH” at Olivia Coleman over the whipping winds.
Strolling in circles at Stonehenge
“Stonehenge! Where the demons dwell. Where the banshees live and they do live well
Stonehenge! Where a man’s a man
And the children dance to the Pipes of Pan.”
Ok, so maybe Spinal Tap and their tiny Stonehenge replicas (old person referencing classic movie here) are not quite accurate, and you don’t see children dance to the Pipes of Pan at the actual Stonehenge, but the place is still grand nonetheless. 😉
Years ago, my aunty visited this place (when you could walk within the stones) and she said it made her eerily uncomfortable for some reason. I did not have that feeling. Mostly, I was awed by how people moved those giant rocks 5,000 years ago when they didn’t have any machinery.
I was also struck — as I often am at sites this old —that much of it is still standing. People have been fighting on, and for, this particular island for centuries and centuries and it’s still standing. That came to mind quite often on our journey.
Stonehenge was more impressive than I thought it would be. Originally, I was more, “well, we’re in the area, we should go, right?” But once you get to the rocks, they really do impress.
That’s about all I can say to wax poetic about big-ass rocks.
Basking under pink trees and sipping on hot teas in Bath
Bath, where I had tea with Mr. Darcy. Specifically, the BBC Colin Firth version (this is a very important detail because iykyk)…via a large photo…on the wall. If that’s as close as I’ll get to one of my favourite literary characters, I’ll take it.
We visited this pretty little city on a weekend, with, what seemed to be, every single British woman in the UK! That place is “hen party” central. (Hen party = bachelorette party) The whole place was inundated with LARGE groups of ladies — mostly in pink — everywhere you turned. I even saw a goth hen party at one point (minimal pink, maximum black eyeliner) and a bride-to-be walking an inflated balloon hen. Ok.
Maybe it’s the two for one happy hour cocktails they serve pretty much everywhere we went in Bath that beckons all those ladies.
In our weekend stay, Chuck went off to a pub to watch a football match, while I visited the charming Jane Austen Centre to have high tea with Mr. Darcy. Afterwards, we met back up to go take an *actual bath* in Bath by visiting Thermae Bath Spa. The place had saunas and steam rooms and lots of spots to enjoy some heat. Even their glorious rooftop pool was heated enough to keep the chilly breeze at bay. And give us a chance to see the city from up high. It was a great way to spend a weekend.
Cobblestones, castles and comfort food in The Cotswolds
“Cots” are sheep enclosures. “Wolds” are gentle hills. And you get an insane amount of both when you visit the area. It’s soooo pretty. The towns are all close to each other, many with unique names (Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water, Upper Slaughter, Stratford-upon-Avon) and the route connecting them all is called the Romantic Road for good reason.
You definitely feel like you’re in a different era of time there. The only thing out of place are the vehicles instead of carriages. But you could clearly see how these towns would be bustling with horses and officers and ladies and gents long ago. I certainly felt like I was in a scene from an Austen novel or one of those historical romance books I loved to read so much when I was a teen.
We were both getting over colds when we were there so we imbibed enough tea to fill the Thames. We also savoured lots of comfort food (including a traditional Sunday roast supper with gigantic Yorkshire puddings) and felt right at home in our cozy room at The Bell in Stow-on-the-Wold. All that warmth and nourishment did wonders to our health.
We then spent two full days there driving that Romantic Road and going off route to visit a couple other spots like Stratford-Upon-Avon to see Shakespeare’s home and his wife, Anne Hathaway’s cottage.
We also visited Kenilworth Castle, a medieval fortress and Elizabethan garden that’s now in ruins since the English Civil War in the 1600s. It was founded during the Norman conquest of England in the 1120s as a formidable fortress then later transformed into a palace by Robert Dudley to impress his love Queen Elizabeth I. She dropped by, stayed awhile, but still didn’t marry the man. Dudley, duuuuuude. That’s rough.
It was fascinating to go through the ruins and garden and see and learn about all the iterations this almost-a-thousand-year-old fortress has gone through.
A morning nosh in Oxford
Honestly, we just stopped in for breakfast, which was stellar. We didn’t do anything else in Oxford, but it still counts as a stop. lol
“Sorry, we’re closed” in Windsor
Windsor was our last stop before getting back in to London and traveling home to Winnipeg. Everything was closed, so we just walked around for an hour, snapped a few pics, left. Still counts as a stop!
After all of the above, we only scratched the surface of the English countryside. But it was epic to us nonetheless. ♥️
Wonderful story and pics. As if I was there with you. Loved it.
Thank you for that lovely comment, Diana! ♥️