New to the UK - Adventures in England: Part One

Spread the love

Today is Sunday, and I’ve just decided that this is going to be the day to share the happenings of trips we’ve taken. Feel free to follow along!

A little background:

During my senior year of high school, my friend Maddie and I started planning a semi-Jane Austen-themed trip to England. It was mostly just a fun thing to do when we would hang out – we didn’t really believe it would happen! Upon receiving the necessary mom approval and encouragement however, we dove in and planned every detail.

So without further ado, Adventures in England, part one:

After taking two separate flights into London Heathrow, my mom and I met up with Maddie and her mom at the Generator Hostel in London. Being that it was my first time in a hostel, it was a new experience. All I knew is that they were the hip and cool place for young travelers to stay, and obviously I wanted to be in that crowd. I’ll remind you we were with our moms and fresh out of high school though, so….we didn’t exactly fit in. No matter: we had a private room anyways, so there was no danger of interacting with any “real” travelers.

This is what £154.80, about $203, for a private 4-person hostel room in London will get you:

Teeny, cramped spaces and colorful, geometric wall patterns. I adjusted my expectations for the rest of the trip and all was well.

We didn’t spend much time at the hostel, as we were only there for a night to regroup and see some sights before moving on, but the atmosphere was very dynamic and bustling! There was a nice eating area with wifi and a small cafe, a chill bar and entertainment area for hostel events, and people in and out and between the two at all times. I would go back!

On our way to a bar for an awkwardly-timed dinner courtesy of jet-lag, I was confronted with the phenomena that has shown itself in every trip I have since taken: every piece of merchandise you pass while exploring a new place seems automatically cooler/chic-er/and sleeker and much more worthy of buying simply because it’s in another country. You’ll be happy to know I resisted buying a bro-tank with a bike on it from a street seller. I had some soup for dinner, then we took a walk to King’s Cross Station. The classic London train station featured in the epic Harry Potter series.

We bummed around London for a bit – hopping on and off the classic red, city buses – and returned to the hostel for some nice shut-eye.

The next morning, we packed up our bags and headed to the train station for our train to Stoke-on-Trent. Never heard of Stoke-on-Trent? We hadn’t either, and the locals there were confused as well. The workers a local cafe eyeing us as we stared at the menu and chattered in our probably obnoxious American accents: “Where are you from?” “The US; Minnesota” “What are you doing in Stoke-on-Trent?” “Picking up our rental car!” “Oh, okay.” I guess it’s not the peak tourist area. But if you’re in the market for a wedding dress they’ve got a nice one for cheap!

*Small disclaimer: According to the pictures on Google Maps, Stoke-on-Trent actually has some pretty beautiful areas. We just didn’t see them!

This is also where I first learned that a chocolate milk shake in England is not a glass of frothy ice cream, no matter how many times and places you order it hoping it will be. It’s just chocolate milk. But chocolate milk is always good, so no complaints.

At the car rental agency, we were informed that they had given away our automatic car to another couple since our train had arrived late, leaving us with a manual. So, on top of driving on the opposite side of the road on the opposite side of the car, Maddie’s mom, the self-designated UK driver, was going to have to drive a stick-shift. Luckily, the agency got another British couple to take pity on us and give us their automatic. Back in business! Except for the concerning motor noise the car was making. Turns out the emergency brake was on.

We turned on our GPS, changed the voice to a male Irish accent, named him Sean, and hit the road! A short-ish, anxiety-provoking 26 minute ride brought us to the entrance of a sheep farm where we stayed for the next 4 nights. And that is where I will end for the week. Tune in next Sunday to see what we did in the beautiful area of Derbyshire!