The United Kingdom

May 2018

London, Bath, Bristol, Windsor, & Brighton

Tower Bridge

Grab a cup of tea and some biscuits for this post, because Tom is taking over the blog to give all the insider recommendations for a London trip. He showed me all around London and we hit a few other stops in Southern England to include Bath, Bristol, Windsor, and Brighton. There is so much food to eat, sights to see, and history to be learned! Grab your passports and get ready for your next trip across the pond!

Check out our other pages for our FULL itinerary & highlight video!

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London

Best Eats

Aperol Spritz, a pint, and some crisps - Lido at Hyde Park

• British Indian curry

• Cornish pasty

• 99 - ice cream & twirl bar

• Gregg's - sausage roll

• Fish & chips

• Aperol Spritz

• Gin & Tonic

• The Old Thameside Inn

• Anchor Bankside

• Lido at Hyde Park

Must do, Must see

- London City Pass:

• St Paul's Cathedral - do the full tour, take the stairs all the way up to the roof top for stunning views of the city. Stop at the whisper deck and the golden deck along the way.

• Tower Bridge

• London Eye

• Tower of London - take the free tour with the Beefeaters! Definitely worth checking out the crown jewels here despite the long cue (line)

• The Shard - def recommend having a drink at the bar near the top, great views

- Trafalgar Square - good picnic spot

- Walk through the Admiralty Arch and down the Mall towards Buckingham Palace

- Buckingham Palace - changing of the guard

- St James park - grab a 99 and enjoy the beautiful swans

- Big Ben clock tower & Parliament - currently under construction when we went, look up project deadline dates here

- Westminster Abbey

- 10 Downing Street - Prime Minister's house

- Rent bikes and pedal around Hyde park - check out Princess Diana Memorial Fountain

- Natural Science Museum

- Stadium tour - go visit your favorite English Premier League football (soccer) team. We recommend Stamford Bridge! Go Chelsea FC!!

- Olympic Village

- Hamley Toy Store

- Harrods Department Store - very large, posh, and expansive version of JC Penney/Macy's. - Fun to go in, walk around, sample some food, pretend to be rich

- Piccadilly Circle - the Time Square of London

- Lee Valley White Water Center - outside the M25 city ring road however if you have time, we totally recommend this! It is the old white water rafting course from the Olympics that they have opened to the public for river rafting and surfing. We went with a family friend and did the body boarding/surfing. You get wetsuits which help a lot with the cold water. Such a fun experience!

Tips and Tricks

• Transportation: we walked most places our first day so Katie could see the city, then she got to learn how to ride the London Underground! Uber was recently removed from London, but Lyft is still present. The water taxi is another good option for travel, views, and a way to learn about the city. Honestly, your best bet for transportation is the Underground!

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Bath/Bristol

Best Eats

• Cornish Bakehouse

• The Mall in Bristol

• The White Lion

Must do, Must see

- Bath Abbey

- Tour the Roman Baths

- Walk around SouthGate and down Stall Street

- Free city walking tour - meet between Bath Abbey and Roman Baths

- Pulteney Bridge

- River Avon waterfall - from Les Miserable

- The Circus - historical row homes in a circular pattern with grassy courtyard

- The Cliffton Suspension Bridge

- The Cliffton Observatory - Tom remembered some hidden slides worn into stone over time. See if you can find them too!

- Stonehenge

Tips and Tricks

• We took a rental car from London to Bath for a day trip. Once there, we parked and walked around the entire time.

• On our drive to bath, we stopped to tour Stonehenge. Very surreal to see in person! Wonderful opportunity to learn more about this fascinating land mark.

• We also took a trip over to Bristol which is where Tom was born! We went to a few parks that he remembered from his childhood which had great memories

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Windsor

Best Eats

• Browns Windsor - sit upstairs outside and enjoy the views of the river

• West Cornwall Pasty Company

Must do, Must see

- Walk down Peascod Street towards the castle entrance

- Windsor Castle Tour

- St George's Castle - location of Megan & Harry's wedding

- Alexandra Park

- Eaton College

Tips and Tricks

• Small town, we were able to walk everywhere here!

• Windsor Castle is the largest inhabited castle in the world and a functioning royal home to Queen Elizabeth II

• St. Georges Chapel hosted the Royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018 (just a few days after our visit!)

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Brighton

Best Eats

• Ohso Social Beach Bar & Restaurant

• Lots of other bars and restaurants along the beach

• Grab another 99 for a walk along the pier

Must do, Must see

- The pier & beach

- The Lanes for shopping - lots of narrow winding paths with market-like shops

Tips and Tricks

• Brighton makes for a great day trip from London for a little beach time. We visited a cousin who was studying at the University of Brighton! The beach is rocky, but still enjoyable to walk along and lay out on for some sunshine. Lots of places for food, drinks, and shopping along the beach. The city is known to be young and artsy; there was even a music festival going on when we were there! Look in advance to see if there will be any events you can add to your itinerary. 

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Well, now you've go the ins & outs of London & southern England from a local! We hope you guys enjoy it as much as we do. Cheers!

XOXO, Tom & Katie "The Wandering Olivers"

Last Updated: 05/12/2020