According to my personal tastes and whims… a top 5 of weekend breaks in England by Abigail King.
1) Elegance and Architecture in Bath
Around 2000 years ago, the Romans cottoned on to the idea that natural spring water at 46 °C would make a great healing bath. Today, columns surround those steaming waters followed by an elegant city with graceful architecture that takes in the sweeping curves of the Royal Crescent and Circus.
2) Bright Lights, Big City – London
The City of London is actually a tiny area, nicknamed the Square Mile, where fortunes are made (and more recently lost.) You can touch real gold bars in the Bank of London and then feed the pigeons, Mary Poppins style, on the steps outside St Paul’s Cathedral.
From “The City” it’s a short tube ride to the Palace of Westminster, with Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye. Yes, these places are tourist hotspots but they’re also the living, breathing heart of the country and you’ve every chance of seeing today’s leading politicians or freedom protestors as you have a lost tourist with a camera and a fanny pack. (NB – Americans – Fanny means something completely different in the UK. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.)
3) The Eden Project
Beneath giant cellophane bubbles in the Cornish countryside, you can visit a plant lab, Mediterranean olive grove and tropical rainforest all within a single day. After that, tuck into a tasty Cornish pasty, a pastry parcel of peppered meat and sliced veg.
4) Brighton Rocks
The seaside city of Brighton was a firm favorite with Queen Victoria and it inspired Graham Greene to write one of literature’s bestsellers. Today, between kitsch pink candy, pebbles and an amusement arcade on a pier, Brighton is a fresh, tolerant and cosmopolitan city waiting to show you a good time.
5) The Peak District
Stay away from the cities this time, with treks, cycling and horse riding in the Peak District. These wild outdoor ridges give a breath of fresh air and – as is often the case in England – a dose of history as well. Between the homemade fudge and painted rooftops, the Dambusters crews trained here before their iconic raids in WWII (incidentally, shortly to become a new Hollywood film. We watch and wait.)
Photo Credits: Bath – Denise&David, London – travelcwb, The Eden Project – travelcwb, Brighton – by Xgkkp, The Peak District – travelcwb
More on this Guest Blogger
Hi, I’m Abi from Inside the Travel Lab and Cheap Weekend Breaks. I love to travel and I’m a firm believer in traveling the world by packing your suitcase and heading off into the great unknown.
However, I also believe that travel and a career can still go together, either by arranging unpaid leave or by exploring the world one weekend at a time with Cheap Weekend Breaks.
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