The last few years have been some of my most-travelled, and this summer was going to be a big one travel-wise as it was my last long summer before I started working full-time. My plans of festivals in Portugal, backpacking through South America, and partying in Malta quickly came to a halt however with the coronavirus pandemic, and instead I was left to discover the UK.
Despite living in the UK my whole life, I only really started exploring parts outside of London since starting university. When I was a child my parents took us to Cornwall, Oxford, Durdle Door, Brighton and Cambridge, and I went on a couple of school trips to Wales and other parts of the UK, but for the most part I hadn't really seen much of it. Throughout university, I had road trips to Leeds, Durham, York and Newcastle, visited Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, and discovered many places I'd never been to, including Canterbury, Bath, and Stonehenge; but still, there was a lot more to see.
With international travel restrictions in place, the Summer of 2020 provided the perfect opportunity to visit new places in England. On the day that pubs opened (4th July), I went to Windsor to visit some mates and was shocked at how pretty and quaint the town was. I found that it was similar to how I'd imagined Canterbury to be (although I had been underwhelmed by Canterbury in reality). We went to the Spoons (The King and Castle), which has a lovely beer garden and I'd strongly recommend.
I also went on a couple of weekends away, including Cornwall with my family, Brighton with mates, and a trip up north to see a mate. Cornwall was lovely, and we managed to pack a lot into a short amount of time, including St Ives beach, Heston village, Lizard Point, and Lands End. I'd particularly recommend St Ives and Lizard Point, alongside a Cornish pasty and scones, of course. Brighton was a lot of fun, and we managed to get an airbnb right by the beach, but in true British fashion it did rain on our last day.
Although I went up north quite a lot throughout uni, I'd never visited Liverpool or Manchester and was very keen to see them as I love big cities. I was supposed to be seeing my mate in Manchester and exploring a few bars, however the day before I went Manchester was put under a local lockdown, so instead I spent the day in Liverpool and just spent a couple of hours in the evening in Manchester (which also meant free parking). Both cities were very different to how I'd imagined, but I was shocked by how much I liked Liverpool in particular. There was so much to see, including St Luke's Bombed Out Church, Chinatown, and the Beatles Statue. Nonetheless, what I really loved was all the artwork across the city and the sunset was stunning. I also noticed that the girls were dressed very nicely in Liverpool and oddly the kids/teens liked to jump in the docks a lot.
Manchester was unexpected too, with a mixture of old buildings alongside very modern ones. The bars looked so nice, and towards the city centre it reminded me a bit of London. I'd love to go back post-lockdown and properly experience it, however since that wasn't possible, I went instead to Lytham with a mate (after driving through Blackpool and realising there wasn't much to do). I'd never heard of Lytham beforehand but this town was very pretty and I loved Olive Tree Brasserie! There were some cool sand dunes too but we didn't have time to see it all.
Within the south, I managed to go to the seaside with mates a few times, and although I wouldn't particularly recommend Margate or Dover, I really enjoyed the south coast (in particular the Sandbanks and Boscombe region) for a proper beach day.
Anyone who knows me will be well-aware of my love for London; specifically the fact that there are always new things to do and places to try, and this summer allowed me to do just that. I found my new favourite roast in London at Prince of Wales in Kennington, went on several hikes on Box Hill, tried several new bars, including Pergola Paddington, Lost in Brixton, and Bussey Building, and checked 'Go to a Drive-In Movie' off my bucket list! Some new places that I'd strongly recommend are Where The Pancakes Are in London Bridge, and Scarlett Green in Soho, both of which served incredible brunches.
Granted, throughout this British summer there have been several rainy days (alongside heatwaves), however I truly believe that the UK is underrated, and that is coming from someone who would never willingly choose to spend my holidays in the UK. Admittedly, I did manage to sneak off to a few European countries too, but this summer taught me that in the UK there's plenty to do, from exploring new cities and towns, to beach days or hikes, and the temperamental weather just makes you appreciate the sun more when its there!
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