If adventure will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad. ~ Northanger Abbey
Why England?
Because it’s where my stories were born.
Yes, almost half of me is English. I carry within my veins the stories of my ancestors who lived here.
But more than that, this is the setting of the stories that shaped me.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve imagined this place. The windswept cliffs, the wildflower meadows, the mossy woods, the tea poured from a ceramic pot.
It all felt familiar long before I ever arrived.
There’s a moment in Somebody Feed Phil where he’s in London and says that being there feels like stepping into the comfort of childhood stories. That’s exactly it. England didn’t feel new to me. It felt remembered.
Sir Ian McKellen (aka Gandalf) put it this way: “We love the theater because so many of us are not theatrical in our lives. And the most famous Englishman who ever lived wrote plays. Not a king. Not a politician. Not an athlete. Not a saint. Our national hero is an actor.
Of course, everyone loves storytelling. It’s a very, very basic need. But the Brits have caught on to it, perhaps more than most. We’ve been at it a long time.”
I spent a year preparing for this trip. Not just logistically, but personally. Without realizing it, I started becoming the version of myself who would take it.
- I took more baths
- I filled my home with flowers
- I returned to fiction
- I moved my body again
The trip didn’t just begin when I boarded the plane. It began in all the quiet ways I started living differently beforehand.
Mapping My Trip
There is so much beauty to see in this country. It was very difficult narrowing down my destinations, but in the end, I chose to spend my time mostly on the south coast and in some places my favorite authors lived.
- London
- Hampshire
- Jurassic Coast/Dorset
- South Devon
- West Cornwall
- Back to South Devon
- Cotswolds, Blenheim Palace, Oxford
- Bath and Bristol
Travel Tips
Saving this here for myself for when I go back…
Tips for when I am renting a car rather than taking public transportation:
1) Get a National Trust membership. Or a Royal Oak membership.
The National Trust preserves hundreds of historical homes and lands in the UK. Akin to US national parks, you can pay an entrance fee at each place you visit OR you can purchase an annual membership and get into each property for “free”. As an added bonus, the National Trust also runs car parks (parking lots) in many popular areas. If you’re a member, you get to park in them for free.
Rather than purchase a National Trust membership, I opted to purchase a Royal Oak membership. Royal Oak is the American partner of the National Trust. Perks: Membership costs a hair less, they send you your card and parking pass ahead of time, and most importantly: they send you the current National Trust Handbook (updated annually), which details each property. This was so much fun to peruse during the months before my trip!
2) Before your trip, save locations you’re interested in on google maps. There are two ways you can do this:
a. Within Google Maps itself, once you’ve typed in or clicked on a location, hit “Save” and add to any list that you create.
b. Google My Maps. There are many tutorials online if you go this route. This way allows you a plethora of options to build your own map (and for a map geek like me, it’s really fun).
3) Download an offline google map of the area you need before your trip. This way, you can still get live navigation even when you don’t have cell service.
4) When you put your destination into google maps, add “car park” to it. I quickly learned that you cannot assume parking is readily available wherever you are headed, so it’s best to see ahead of time where the car park is and what your options are in case there are more than one. For example: Lantic Bay.
On the right: If you type in "Lantic Bay car park" you'll be routed here instead.
5) Use OS Maps if you’ll be walking a lot. And I hope you are. Because that is where pure bliss is found. 🙂 Here’s the incredible thing about England. There are public footpaths everywhere. Right through people’s property! It felt weird at first since I wasn’t used to it. You’re just asked to shut any gates behind you because of livestock. But it’s incredible!! Walking these paths was my favorite activity on this trip. There is also Open Access land where you are not restricted to paths.
Back to the maps…The Ordnance Survey (OS) is Great Britain’s national mapping agency. You can buy local OS maps wherever you are (many stores carry them).
Alternatively, you can download two OS apps: “OS Maps: Hiking & Bike Trails” (the map) and “OS Locate” (the GPS). This is what I did. These apps work in tandem and pinpoint your exact location on the map.
I’m the red triangle. The dotted lines are footpaths.
Now that that’s out of the way, join me over the next several posts as I seek my adventure abroad.