England Trip | Not Quite Southern

Hubby and I planned a trip to England a while back to celebrate this year’s birthdays and anniversary BIG. Hubby is not a huge fan of travel, especially in airplanes that hop the pond, but he knew that the trip would be an exceptional gift to me. I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man!

I tried to pick out only one picture for each stop for you to see. Our itinerary went like this:

Day 1: Oxford (pick up a rental car, explore town, climb the cathedral, and eat amazing Mediterranean food)

Day 2: Blenheim Palace (Churchill’s ancestral home), ice cream at Bourton-on-the-Water, a tour of the Bourton’s model village, dinner in Broadway, airBnB in Chipping Campden

The model village from the Father Brown series in Bourton

Credit for this pic goes to hubby. We walked through town the evening we arrived and, oh, how the sun makes Cotwolds limestone glow!

Day 3: Explore Chipping Campden and walk to Broad Campden, explore Stow-on-the-Wold, Lower Slaughter (with a hike to Higher Slaughter), Northleach, have dinner at Michael’s (Cyperian) in Chipping Campden

The Hobbit Door on the north side of Stow-on-the-Wold’s St. Edward’s church

Northleach’s Church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Day 4: Beatrix Potter van tour in the Lake District (Ambleside, Tarn Hows, and Keswick)

Beatrix Potter’s house that was really her creative escape (top), her garden (right), and her real home nearby (bottom), complete with woolly sheep in the pasture

Tarn Hows, a beautiful, enormous estate that Beatrix Potter bought to preserve

Day 5: Keswick with a hike to the Catbells (the entire length of Derwent Water), and a ferry ride back to Keswick!

We might have bit off more than we could chew on this unseasonably warm day, and this was just a “moderate” climb! At this point, we were about halfway done with our little hike.

Some sheep greeted us on the trail at the base of the fells that led to a blessed respite and some food at a nearby fancy hotel–Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa. We stunk so we ate outside with the other hikers on the veranda.

Peaceful golden hour by Derwent Water in Keswick

Day 6: Aira Force Waterfall, drive to Ambleside, get buzzed by RAF fighter jet (wish I had a picture, but that happened FAST!), on to Grasmere for art and ice cream, drive “The Struggle” to Thirlmere, and have a picnic dinner by the Derwent Water in Keswick

These are not the only falls on the trail. We hiked a circular route, stopping to admire enormous trees, tons more falls, butterflies, and views of Ullswater through the foliage.

Thirlmere, complete with fighter jets swooping through the valley

Day 7: Drive through to Yorkshire Dales to Askrigg (home of the original James Herriot series All Creatures Great and Small), Aysgarth to see the River Ure falls, and on to York to explore the historic town and walk the walls, explore York Minster from top (275 stairs up) to bottom (crypt), and do a Rick Steve’s walking tour.

Day 8: London-(get rid of the rental and do a happy dance) eat at our new fav place, Ceru, and then walk to Kensington Gardens

The view from our hotel room in South Kensington. I waited a long time for Daniel to return from dropping off the rental at Paddington Station. During that time, I watched people coming and going like crazy from the tiny Venezuelan Custard shop across the street.

Just an every-corner type of place in South Kensington!

Kensington Park with the palace in the background

Day 9: London-Covent Garden Market shopping, visits to Neal’s Yard and (briefly) the British Museum, tea at Peggy Porschen’s Belgravia location, exploration of Belgravia and Chelsea on our way back to the hotel, picnic at Princess Diana’s memorial fountain in Hyde Park, and a quick peak into the Victoria & Albert Museum, which was open late that night

Covent Garden Market is full of great shops and food, but so are the many surrounding streets. The Tin Tin store had the biggest crowd though it was one of the smallest stores!

I’ve followed Peggy Porschen for years on IG. Hubby made afternoon tea there a priority.

Princess Di’s Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park

Day 10: London-Portobello Market, Little Venice, Camden Market, dinner again at Ceru

Portobello Market is so much fun! After shopping a few hours in the hot, crowded market streets, we walked to Little Venice, a peaceful little spot in the heart of London.

After a light lunch of avocado toast and eggs, we took the tube to Camden Market, where a mass of humanity had gathered for live music, cheap eats, and tons of shopping!

My fitbit recorded that I’d walked about 86 miles over those 10 days, and we climbed every church tower and city wall that was open. Though the weather forecast predicted highs in the 60s and 70s with rain, the day we arrived in England was the beginning of a heat wave and a cessation of the daily rain.

This post took me hours to create as I sorted through the hundreds of pictures I took, trying to give you just an overview of our trip.

I hope to do a blog post on each day so that I can include more pictures and memories. The trip has provided me with inspiration to paint, and I plan to dedicate time this winter to creating some colorful canvases!

Share this:

2 Comments