A UK bucket list

Ah the green and pleasant land. I hold my hands up and say I take living in the UK for granted. When I'm looking for trips away, it's the last place I look. But when I actually sit and think about it, the UK might be rainy but it's pretty stunning! The four countries are blessed with incredible history, greenery and landmarks. It's about time I started exploring properly!

1. Cheddar Gorge
The limestone gorge in Somerset reminds me of a a landscape from Middle Earth in Lord Of The Rings! I feel so lucky to have such stunning landscapes right on my doorstep in the UK. It's almost 400ft deep and a staggering three miles long - it started forming a mind blowing million years ago during the last Ice Age. Apart from Glastonbury, Somerset isn't a part of the world I'm too familiar with and I'd love to take a camping trip nearby. It really is nature at it's finest!

2. Giant's Causeway
I love a good folk tale and this one has to be one of my favourites. According to the legend, Irish giant Fionn Mac Cumhaill was challenged to a fight by a Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted and built a causeway across the north channel so they could meet. Fionn panics when he realises Benandonner's size and gets his wife to disguise him as a baby in a cradle. When Benandonner sees the size of the 'baby' he reckons his father must be a giant among giants. So he flees back to Scotland, destroying the causeway on his way to his home. My boyfriend's family doesn't live too far away in Ireland so I'm hoping we can squeeze in a trip if we go over to visit next year.

3. Arthur's Seat
I've only spent the day in Edinburgh and only managed to see the castle. I'd love to go back and climb the highest peak in the city's Holyrood Park. The views from the dormant volcano look absolutely incredible. It's also home to 2000 year old preserved fort and a 15th century medieval chapel. But if I'm honest I just really want to soak up that view.

4. Stonehenge
I've seen this bizarre arrangement of rocks a few times from the car but I've never gotten up close and personal before. No one really knows why these rocks were displayed in such a way but there are many theories out there. But many believe that it is a prehistoric temple aligned with the movements of the sun. One of things I'm most proud of as a Brit is our vast incredible history over our four countries - Stonehenge is a prime example of this.

5. Lake District
The Lake District is one place I've heard many people go ga-ga over. The sheer beauty of the national park has people going gooey-eyed. There are many market towns within the region and it seems like such a beautiful part of the United Kingdom. I'd love to pop on a pair of walking boots, grab a map and just explore until my hearts content, breathing in the fresh air. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the beauty of nature to feel like everything will be alright.

6. Isle of Skye
Seals. Seals are the sole reason why I'm so desperate to visit the Isle of Skye. I wouldn't mind seeing the dolphins either. Or the dinosaur fossils. At 50 miles long, it's the largest island of the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. The isle is full of castles, quaint villages and lots of walking trails. The ultimate outdoor holiday eh?

7. Highlands
There seems to be a running theme of Scotland in this list. Full of gorgeous stretches of coastlines, impressive mountains, overwhelming glens and stunning islands, it's got something for everyone. I've actually got a friend who moved up to a little village so really I have no excuse not to visit. My boyfriend went earlier in the year and the pictures looked amazing. Although he didn't manage to find the Loch Ness monster. Can't win them all!

8. Norfolk Broads
For years I've been meaning to hire a canal boat and travel down the broads stopping at the quaint pubs along the way for a cider and roast dinner. The rivers and lakes run through the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. It's an area of the country that's not too far from my house so it's a crime I haven't been sooner.

What's on your UK bucket list? It seems like I need to plan a road trip around Scotland!

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Oxford City Guide

Christchurch College
If you're a Harry Potter fan, no trip is complete without a wander around this college's grounds. The building is absolutely beautiful! You'll certainly recognise some things! It's a £4.50 entrance fee and you can stroll around to your hearts content.

The Randolph
Like I mentioned in my pervious post, my boyfriend surprised me with afternoon tea. The Randolph is a gorgeous old-fashioned five star hotel in the heart of the city. It's very charming! It's a lovely place to go if you're celebrating a special occasion. We opted for the yummy full afternoon tea which consisted of a selection of sandwiches, fruit scones with clotted cream and jam alongside afternoon pastries. The bakewell tart was my favourite!

Malmasion Oxford
I love a quirky place to rest my head and this hotel ticked all the boxes. It's set in a converted prison in a medieval castle. It's so luxurious and definitely somewhere to book if you fancy a little treat. I won't say too much as I'm going to write a separate post on it later this week.

The Vaults and Garden Cafe
I found this on Trip Adviser when I was researching some places to stop for breakfast. It's set in the Church by All Souls College, not too far from the high street. You join a canteen style queue as you place your order on what homemade food you'd like to sample - get your partner to grab a table as it gets very busy! We opted for the full breakfast which consisted of organic eggs, air-cured bacon, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms and giant butter beans in a tomato sauce. It was pricey at £7.95 but it tasted delicious. Sometimes it's worth splashing out!

St Johns College
Lily mentioned this was her favourite college so we set off to hunt it down. This college was free to enter and it has gorgeous grounds. If it was a little warmer, we would have spent a lot longer exploring.  It's so cool to think that people actually study and live here and the incredible history that the walls could talk about.

Cafe Loco Oxford
This was a recommendation from Hannah - when she mentioned it was Alice In Wonderland themed I was sold. It's again quite pricy - sense a theme? - but the portions were a good size. It's a great place to go for lunch after you've visited Christchurch. It offers table service which is great after you've been on your feet all day. I opted for a tasty pesto, mozzarella and roasted vegetable panini to help refuel before we headed off home. Make sure you get a cake from the takeaway section!

 

The University Church of St Mary the Virgin
I'm a sucker for a good view so I was very excited when I found out you could climb up the church tower for £4. After quite a lot of huffing and puffing, we finally reached the top and were rewarded with some stunning views. It was such a bright day and we could see for miles. It was well worth the dollar and provided some gorgeous pictures. Try not to lean on the wall as my boyfriend got pooped up on the cooing pigeons nesting there!

Oxford University Museum of Natural History
After spending a small fortune, we decided to venture to the museum after reading it was free. It's not too big but you can still whittle around an hour in there taking in all in. They had a good selection of dinosaurs - always a winner in my book - and some cool stuffed animals. There's a cafe upstairs too if you fancy some cake! It's set in a beautiful building.

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A weekend in Oxford

Last weekend I was whisked away to Oxford as a special birthday treat from my boyfriend. We spent the weekend milling around the city and wandering in and out of the beautiful colleges. The boyfriend got serious brownie points for booking a surprise afternoon tea in a swanky hotel and for requesting a room upgrade. I'm still dreaming about the divine roll top bath! It was just the relaxation we needed to recharge our batteries - we always seem to go at 100mph most days. In fact we ended up in bed at 9.30pm after a cheeky Byron with a bottle of Kooperburg and American Pie on telly. Rock and roll indeed!

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