In September 2024 we took our family back to England for a month-long road trip. This was the first time we'd been home in seven years. It was a real nostalgia trip for us, and a chance to show our kids where we grew up and share our childhood memories. Come with us...
And so we had reached our last full day in England. With a heavy heart we left Devon and drove through Somerset into Wiltshire. We had one big-ticket item left to see - and that was Stonehenge. In case you haven't heard of Stonehenge, it's the king of all stone...
The weather didn't cooperate with us on our first full day in Teignmouth. Heavy rain and wind were expected by the afternoon so we made an early start and headed out to Dartmoor before the worst of it arrived. I'm a sucker for a good moody moor, as you might remember...
It was a long but straightforward drive down the motorway from Warwickshire into Devon, stopping only at the Gloucester Services. If you aren't familiar with motorway services in the UK, you don't know what you're missing. They are rest stops which are more like...
We left York early the next morning to begin our journey back down south. After a couple of comfort stops we arrived in Warwickshire. Side note - the motorway services in the UK are brilliant. They have toilets, cafes, shops and are frequently dotted along the...
Our next stop was York, and what an amazing city it is. I'm not a big city person (see my thoughts on London here) but I absolutely loved it. The city centre is compact with history everywhere you look and world class attractions like Jorvik, York Minster and the City...
The day we left the Yorkshire Dales we decided to take the scenic route through the North York Moors National Park. Oh how I loved it here! The weather was inclement with heavy rain and mist so visibility wasn't great but I really felt that this added to the allure...
We left Bamburgh the next morning. After a quick stop in Newcastle for some lunch we made our way into the Yorkshire Dales. We would be staying in the village of Askrigg for 3 nights, in a little stone cottage with a fireplace and a cosy feel. Askrigg is a...
For the next few days we would be staying in Bamburgh and exploring this quiet pocket of Northumberland. The village of Bamburgh is a small settlement which services tourists with a few pubs and tea rooms. The most notable part of the town is the massive medieval...
We left Langley Castle wishing we could have stayed for longer, but we had even more castles in the beautiful county of Northumberland to explore. The weather was picture-perfect with blue skies and not a cloud to be seen, most unusual for England. On leaving Langley...
We left the Lake District the next morning, driving over the stunning Kirkstone Pass to Ullswater. This was a beautiful drive with epic mountain scenery, but the roads were very narrow. Typical of rural England. We made a quick stop at Aira Force waterfall which is a...
We left Chatsworth and kept driving north towards the Lake District. We had a blue sky day and the countryside looked glorious in the sunshine. In no time at all we had arrived in Blackpool. In case you're not familiar with Blackpool, it's a seaside resort town on the...
It was a relief to extricate ourselves from the busy built-up sprawl of the West Midlands and finally get out into the rolling hills of the English countryside. We drove north, enjoying the views over the Peak District countryside and making good time. We pulled into...
From the nostalgia of Welwyn Garden City it was straight into more nostalgia in the West Midlands. We made an early start and with a hop, skip and a jump we were on the M1 motorway heading north towards Birmingham. Birmingham is a very large conurbation of endless...
From Harry Potter world we drove around the M25 to Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire. This was my hometown, where I was born and lived for 30 years so lots of memories here. We had a couple of days in the area seeing family and friends as well as my old favourite...
We left London the next morning - me relieved and Rich sad to go - and got in a taxi to take us to Gatwick airport to pick up our rental car. This was a long and unpleasant journey through rush hour traffic but we finally made it. Gatwick is a long and arduous journey...
Our last day in London was another busy one. Starting with one of my favourite buildings in the city - the Natural History Museum. Built in 1873, the architecture of this building is mesmerisingly beautiful. Natural History Museum Gone are the days of just strolling...
After a jam-packed first day in London it was time for a jam-packed second day in London. We were up and out early again and made a beeline for Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. The kids were not as impressed with Big Ben as I had thought given how excited they had been...
In September 2024 we left Australia and went on a month long trip back home to England with a quick stop in Italy on the way home. This was the first time I had been to England in seven years and boy was I missing the place! Here is the full trip report. We arrived in...