In early September, Nate and I ventured overseas on a spontaneous-ish trip to London to accompany a friend who wished to see her favorite actor in a stage production in the West End. Having been twice before and not being ones to waste a trip, we put together a weeklong itinerary that included favorite sites to revisit as well as new adventures to share with our friend.
Sunday – Arrive and Ease In
We knew we were going to need an easy first day after spending several hours on planes and navigating the underground. Fortunately, we were able to check in to our hotel early, and we took the opportunity to rest, refresh, and plan a low-key afternoon and evening.
And we didn’t do much because we were tired. After finding lunch (at a bistro we won’t mention, because we didn’t receive the most courteous of service), we wandered around Hyde Park, rested more at the hotel, then found a pub for dinner where we had a much better experience.
Monday – Day Trip to Glastonbury
At our friend’s suggestion, our first day-trip away from London was to Glastonbury, known for its spiritual significance, connections to Arthurian legends, and more modernly for the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts. On the train from London to Somerset County, we had a pleasant conversation with a friendly local who helped us arrange a taxi from the station to the historic town.
Our primary goal for the visit was to climb the Glastonbury Tor, a large hill topped with the remaining tower of St. Michael’s Church. But first, we stopped in to the George & Pilgrims Bar & Restaurant, where we got a bite to eat and learned we weren’t fans of freshly cooked King Prawns. Then we set off to the edge of town, past the ruins of a monastery, and through cow pastures for the challenging trek up the Tor.
Before hailing a taxi back to the train station for our return to London, we also took a peaceful walk through the beautiful Chalice Well Gardens and explored more downtown. There were plenty of art, jewelry, and new age shops to check out.
Tuesday – Guided Tour to Stonehenge & Bath
For our third full day in the UK, we booked a trip to Stonehenge with Evans Evans Tours. Wanting to maximize our time at the historic site, we originally scheduled the Stonehenge only tour, but because of lack of registrations, they cancelled and asked us to rebook one that also took us to the town of Bath, known for its Roman-built baths.
Our Scottish tour guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and shared a ton of facts as the driver navigated the charter bus through the streets of London and onto the motorways that took us into the countryside. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy, misty day on the Salisbury Plain, so we had to bundle up in our rain jackets before offloading at the Stonehenge Visitor Center where we boarded trams that would deliver us to the famous circle of stones.
As you can see, we made the most of the visit, though, wandering around the site, attempting silly forced-perspective poses, and reading about the history and placement of the ancient stones.
Back on the tour bus, we had an hour drive over to Bath, where it continued to mist and drip on us. We had just enough time to explore a few blocks, find lunch at a gorgeous pub called The Architect, wander around Topping & Company Booksellers located in a former Friends Meeting House, and pick up some chocolates at a store with a fanciful window display.
Overall, we had a great time on the Evans Evans tour, and don’t regret having to rebook to the extended trip. It was another exhausting, but fun day, and we were only half way through our time in the UK. We’ll share the rest of our adventures in an upcoming post soon!
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