I spent a little time in southern England while studying abroad in 2007, visiting some of my mom’s family on my own and with my parents. That was my first trip overseas, and when Nathan came to visit for his spring break, it was his, too. Back then, we took a day trip to Bath and Stonehenge, including a very memorable Bangers and Mash with ciders in a pub.
It was fun to revisit Bath, walking by the main sights and the riverside, and doing our best to replicate the pub meal. Instead of Stonehenge, we made our second stop at the Avebury stone circle. This Neolithic site includes the largest stone circle in Britain, with two smaller circles inside it. Nearby Silbury Hill is a manmade mound comparable to the Egyptian pyramids, but with no burial inside. Its significance is unknown.
We spent our week in a flat above a sourdough bakery in the cute little village of Bishop’s Walton. The town had a palace ruin and some country walks that pass by other villages and pubs. One route took us past an adorable herd of highland cows!
We took our best weather forecast day to walk along the seashore with views over to the Isle of Wight, and strolled through a ruined abbey with some amazing preserved tiles.
On another day, we visited Portsmouth, where departures left for that island on a very interesting form of transit - the hovercraft! Portsmouth was also full of British Navy history, good distractions while we sheltered from that day’s downpours.
We chose this area to easily visit my great aunt in Southhampton. She is the widow of my grandma’s brother, and when he was alive, I stayed with them for a weekend and ate lunch at his golf club. She is still a member, and we returned there for lunch this time. Her son, my mom’s cousin, joined us with his partner another morning for a lovely riverside brunch.
On the weekend, we got to have dinner at a relative from my grandpa’s side. I first met her in Barcelona last year, and this time met at her lovely, colorful home in Winchester. Before dinner, Nathan and I got the chance to explore the city including its impressive cathedral, picturesque old town and manicured riverside path. We squeezed in one more walk through idyllic English pasturelands for a view over town.
We spent our last two nights with mom’s cousin again, at his home in Twickenham. He gave us a great insider tour of this London suburb with lots of good food and coffee. We took a long walk along the Thames and through Richmond Park, where we used binoculars to spot wild deer and the London skyline.
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England isn’t known for great food and I have to admit, I’ve had some meals that fit that stereotype. We have also really enjoyed some incredible meals! In the north, I had a lamb stew I am still dreaming about, and we enjoyed the local Cumberland sausages. In Yorkshire, I ate unhealthy quantities of cheese and enjoyed every bite of it. In Wales, we had two top notch fish n’ chip meals, plus stops at a whiskey and gin distillery and a roadside stand of smoked meats, fish and cheeses. In the south, we enjoyed traditional favorites like Cornish pasties and bangers and mash. London and its suburbs served up fresh Mediterranean and spicy curry. Of course, we had to get and make our own English breakfasts.
We had two very posh afternoon teas, full of far too many sweets. After two mountain hikes we polished off two full Sunday Roasts - I surprised myself by finishing an entire lamb shank with all the fixings. We even had Yorkshire pudding as a wrap twice too, filled with traditional roast ingredients in handheld form.
The most memorable meals though, are the humble sandwiches on the side of a trail, sometimes with an unexpected dining companion.