Bath

The drive to Bath from London takes just over two hours. While most of that time is spent on the uninteresting motorway, once you turn off, the road to Bath offers sweeping countryside views around every turn. Crumbling stone walls in farms, hills patterned with grassy green patchwork and little towns that are merely more than a few houses thrown together. This area fulfils those typical imaginings most foreigners have of the beautiful rolling English countryside.



The town itself is also something special. Sandstone coloured historic terraces line tight streets, rather congested with traffic on a Saturday morning. We found a long term car park close to the town centre and sights that was reasonably priced. Then it was time to walk around, enjoy the shops and the sights. Unfortunately, not the weather. But one gets used to that after they have been in England a while.



One of the main reasons people come to Bath is to see the Roman Baths. They are very historic… unfortunately, entry is expensive and we were skint so we didn’t go in. We did take a peek for free by going in to the Pump Room area. There is also Bath Abbey, the Jane Austen Museum (anything with a picture of Colin Firth as Mr Darcy in its logo has to be pretty good!), as well as lots and lots of shops and green spaces. There is also an indoor market hall with some cool shops, the river Avon, as well as a historic theatre. One of the great things about Bath is that all the sights are really well signposted, and you can easily walk between them without the need for a map.



One of the prettiest attractions is Royal Crescent, a curved set of terraced houses overlooking lovely gardens and the countryside. The Circus is also very impressive architecture.



After we had walked around Bath, we decided to take a drive up one of the hills where we were treated to a vista of the town. We also stumbled upon an old estate which had great views over the surrounding countryside.

Brighton

Gay capital of England? Alternative lifestyle? Beach? Yep... Brighton is too cool for school. But it doesn’t shove it’s coolness in your face. There is a kind of laid back knowingness amongst the locals that their town is hip, and on the weekday that I visited, there weren’t even really many tourists running around with cameras to reassure them of that. Art is casually displayed along the seaside boardwalk. The main street is not all glitz and glamour; it’s lived in. Brighton knows it can be a bit messy around the edges and the tourists will still come. And they must be coming, because construction work is happening all over the place.



Enough with the trying to personify a place in order to make one’s self sound suitably hip. What is there to see? Well, the seaside is an obvious attraction. A far cry from the golden sand of Sydney’s surf beaches, Brighton beach is very stoney. There’s even an artificial sandpit so the kids can still build sandcastles rather than just hurl large stones at one another. But I’m yet to find a beach that is not beautiful in it’s own right, and the beach at Brighton is nice, even when the water is only reflecting grey storm clouds rather than a clear blue sky. There are shops all along the beach, with a wide range of bars, eateries, art galleries, sea shell shops and amusements for children. You can grab some fish and chips for lunch and kick back on the beach… just watch out for the seagulls, small children and stones.



The Brighton Pier is really famous, and is great entertainment for kids… and kids at heart. There is an arcade with lots of coin pusher machines (I put 2 pounds worth of pence pieces through!), as well as carnival rides, carnival food and of course, carnival atmosphere. There were rides for small children, through to a rather scary 100m tall spinning thing that looked quite thrilling.



Brighton is a great place for dining, with lots of reasonably priced eateries around the main town centre. One of the great features of the place is the little lanes filled with little shops selling alternative clothing, jewelry, food stuffs and bric-a-brac.

It was nice on the day I visited with few crowds, but I imagine on the weekends, and during the summer holidays, it would be pretty frenzied and busy. While I was not there at night, Brighton’s vibrant nightlife is well known and there are many pubs around the main beach area. It only takes an hour and fifteen minutes on the train to get to Brighton from London’s Victoria station.

SNAPSHOT: One of the recreationists at Hampton Court Palace.

Hampton Court Palace

Lovely gardens, history and a maze… who could ask for anything more? Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but a day spent at Hampton Court Palace is certainly enjoyable. Just a short trip out of London (catch a National Rail train from Waterloo or Wimbledon to Hampton Court, the Palace is right near the station), the Palace is easily accessible, and ideal for a day trip to escape the city.

Visiting in Spring is ideal, as the flowers in the extensive gardens are blooming. Set on the banks of the Thames, walking around the palace gardens is very pleasant. You can enjoy the landscaped loveliness of the King Privy Garden, wander around the well tamed grass and trees, sit by one of the fountains, or see the Great Vine, which holds the title in the Guiness Book of Records for being the biggest in the world. There are also fields of daffodils and many a park bench to sit and contemplate life and the world and what to have for dinner. You can also go for a dash around the historic hedge maze, that comes complete with kooky noises coming from little speakers hidden in the hedges. It wasn’t too difficult to navigate, but did bring back a bit of the child within. One small child approached us as asked with such lovely manners “do you know where the exit is?”… I felt rather sorry that I couldn’t help!



Inside the palace, your entry fee will get you a guided tour if you meet at the starting point at the right time. Your tour guide may even be dressed in costume from those ye olde days. Our guide had on half a dead animal and a dress that was doing something to her cleavage that no modern woman would tolerate. You can also get an audio tour. There is a lot to see inside, from the Tudor Kitchens to the Queen’s State Apartments to Henry VIII’s State Apartments. There is a lot of art on display in the buildings and you can spend a lot of time wandering around.



One feature that is brand new at the Palace is re-enactments of historic happenings. We were there on the first day of this new initiative and were led on a goose chase around the Palace as some of the ladies of the court tried to find out the latest goss as to why Catherine Howard (one of that lad Henry VIII’s wives… not the first Catherine though, the other one) had been placed under arrest and had not been crowned queen as of yet. Quite fun… some of the talk was a bit bawdy for the kids though, but it probably would have gone straight over their heads.




Want more info about the palace? Find out about opening hours, admission costs, history and all that jazz by clicking here.