Not all our holidays are to super exotic destinations. United Kingdom is a fairly routine destination for both of us as my sister and Chris’ brother have been living there for a while. I try to visit at least once a year whereas Chris avoids the UK like the plague. Many of you who know him have heard him rant about Visas…I have heard it too many times and as a result the subject is banned in our household (along with religion, world population and New Zealand!)
This time, however, there was a purpose to our UK trip; one of our veterinary colleagues who I met on my very first day of work in Hong Kong was getting married. We travelled to her home town of Lyme Regis to be present for this special occasion and afterwards travelled to see our family in London. Maybe not the most exciting of destinations BUT I have realised that every place we go, even if we have been before, can be made into an adventure. I am always happy as long as we are seeing or experiencing new things. Something as simple as a new restaurant or a new viewpoint can make a lasting memory. As always, a trip is what you make of it. Chris is usually too blinded by the ‘visa- rage’ to see the bigger picture before a trip but ultimately he always eats his words and agrees, in the end, that the trip was a success and he enjoyed himself.
So…our UK trip…just to touch on the highlights (won’t bore you with the family stuff)…
Firstly, we made our way to Lyme Regis. We arrived during Lyme’s RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) week, so the town was buzzing, very festive, and full of people. Lyme is a quaint little seaside town that claims to be the ‘The Pearl of Dorset’. It is situated along the Jurassic Coast and is famous for its numerous fossil discoveries. It offers beaches, food, and stunning views. We stayed at Mariners Hotel. Not the closest to the beach but the walk is not that long. It is up a hill though, which can be a little crazy when it is super hot (which it was at the beginning of August). The hotel was good and our room large and airy BUT for £155 I am sure we could have gotten something a little better situated. We were in town for a wedding though and so we stayed where it was convenient for this function.
We didn’t have time to explore the town in depth, but we did enjoy a few of their restaurants and pubs. Swim Restaurant: food and beer was good, they have lots of space so it is great for groups, and we also had a fab meal at Harbour Inn which allowed us a prime spot to watch the fireworks display. The fireworks were nowhere near as fancy as Hong Kong but a pretty good effort for a small seaside town.
We had nice ice creams from the little stalls along the promenade, Cornish pasties from the bakeries, and good fish and chips from Herbies – the fish portion was massive and enough for both of us to share. There are many watering holes around town but we loved the Nag’s Head which was very conveniently situated next door to the Mariners Hotel. We had a lovely walk along the promenade and onto the Cobb Harbour wall which protects the town from storms. The views are beautiful. They have a pebble as well as a sandy beach and both are very busy in peak season. The water was freezing, but being the water baby he is, Chris braved it and had a dip. Lyme is known for its fossils and some of the shops have very interesting items on display (and some for sale) and is definitely worth a look.
Overall, we were pretty impressed with our time there. It was great fun being with friends celebrating a wedding, but also gave us a glimpse of what England is like in summer and at the coast. On our way back to London we managed a glimpse of Stonehenge and Chris managed to snap a fleeting pic; it was very cool to see something so iconic completely out of the blue alongside a road.
We travelled into the centre of London only once on this trip. Arriving at London Bridge station, we meandered on foot along the streets of London aiming for a Thai inspired barbecue restaurant on Brewers Street in Soho called KILN. We were due to meet up with some old friends here. The route we took from London Bridge bypassed some of the major London attractions including Buckingham Palace during the Changing of the Guards. A gazillion people were there to watch so we had to do some serious crowd weaving, but it was fun to see.
We cut across St. James Park and saw the Palace at one end and the London Eye at the other. The open spaces in London surprise me every time. Living in Hong Kong our public spaces are not very user friendly and often you will see a ‘do not walk on the grass sign’ (if there is any grass at all!) Walking through St. James Park, seeing people walking their pets, playing sport, sunning themselves, eating lunch, just makes me very sad that Chris hates the UK and that it is unlikely to be home anytime soon!
We then headed over to Piccadilly Circus, saw the buskers earning their keep, and had a quick look up Regent Street. The architecture is so grand and the contrast with the new and old always excites me. We made it to our final destination: KILN. This was fantastic and we both would highly recommend it. Our mate, Roberto, works there as the in-house butcher. We had a fantastic meal and tried pretty much everything on the menu.
Later in the day we met up with a university friend and had a stroll along the Thames as the sun was going down. We stopped across the way from St. Pauls Cathedral for a pint and to watch the sunset; it was quite breath-taking and it drives back how London can seriously show off on a great summer’s day.
So not too many new things but lots of family and friends time which is essential…maintaining friendships is one of the keys to happiness!
Practical travel info
SIM card:
- We purchased a SIM card for £20 from a vending machine at the airport. This gave us 10.5 GB and 30 min free talk time.
- This was the first time I have done this despite visiting every year. It makes life so much easier and saved us loads of cash on a GPS for the hire car as we just used Google maps.
Rental car:
- We hired through Budget as this was by FAR the cheapest of the options.
- We hired a B class and got a Hyundai i20 which was more than sufficient for our needs – fitted our 2 large travel bags as well as our 2 carry-on pieces plus 2 passengers. It is also a nice little car to drive.
- As it was the first time driving in England, I was a little nervous but the roads are great, sign posts are numerous and with Google maps we were set.
- One thing was the speed limit! There are not so many signs telling you how fast you can travel but the rule is it’s 70mph on the highway unless otherwise stated.
- You get charged a surcharge to hire from an airport and an additional surcharge to return to a different address, so if you are able to avoid doing this then you can save a ton of money. Also, if you go over the 30 min grace period you automatically get charged an extra day so return the car at the same time you pick it up.
- Make sure you discuss all these little things before taking the car as getting hold of them over a weekend was downright near impossible. Would also advise taking a quick video or photos of scratches just in case they claim you damaged the vehicle.
- We did not opt for the other extras but full insurance is something to always consider when hiring if you’re not confident with your driving. Our regular travel insurance is pretty comprehensive and does cover excess to a point and Chris is a man who likes to takes a risk so we didn’t add on. Luckily my expert driving skills got us around safely!
Using the Underground:
- Travelling in London is easy but sometimes expensive – this was the first time we used Apple pay using a Hong Kong credit card and using my UK Barclays card as a pay wave touch and go. We did this to compare prices and cost- they worked out exactly the same with both being capped at £11.60.
- Nice to know there are other options other than the Oyster card.
What I forgot/ wish I had brought:
- An umbrella. How I did this, I do not know. It is London…it always rains.
- Cardigan. Again, it is London – summer is erratic at best.
