We had quite the adventures in a campervan for 10 days traveling through England, Scotland, and Wales. We made a big loop from London traveling counterclockwise. Things we learned:
- 5 people in a minivan with a rooftop tent is a lot
- it’s freezing cold in the Scottish highlands in October (and really all over the UK is damn cold)
- traveling via campervan is the most freeing way to travel
- gas is expensive in the UK
- one night in a warm bed with a home cooked meal from family friends makes a huge difference
- we had an unbelievable time with good friends and have quite a few stories that won’t be forgotten
London
Driving in London is chaos, especially when you’re in a campervan, sitting on the right side of the car, and driving on the left side of the road – all for the first time.
Xscape in Yorkshire
We stumbled on a crazy adventure center / mall in Yorkshire that had inside: indoor snow skiing slopes, indoor sky diving, 3D golf, mini golf, rock climbing, ropes courses, and tons of shopping, food, and bars. It was really cool to see and explore. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get any TV’s to put on the rugby match we were desperately trying to find as England was playing soccer at the time.. and apparently people watch “football” religiously here.
Newcastle Upon Tyne
The Scotland vs. Samoa game we went to about 1 hour south of the Scotland border was incredible. The Scottish national anthem was thunderously loud with drunk Scotts in kilts belting it out. Scotland came out victorious in a back and forth 3-point, high scoring match. Newcastle turned into quite a party after that! It is a cheap college town with lots of barely clothed college girls (in the freezing weather even) mixed with thousands of hammered Scotland fans celebrating. Quite fun, but it’s a weird party scene in Newcastle in general.
Edinburgh
I’ve been to Edinburgh before, but it is still one of my absolute favorite cities after being back this time. The castle is incredible, Arthur’s seat is a tall hill and cliff overlooking town with beautiful views, the people are very friendly, and there is one pub for each 6 locals… Lots of fun! We got comfortable in Edinburgh and everyone really enjoyed it for a couple days. Amanda and I celebrated our 1 month anniversary one night over haggis, Guinness, Speyside scotch, fish and chips, and a lamb chop… great night!
Inverness
Inverness is the capital of The Highlands in Scotland. It is also extraordinarily cold in October for camping. The lows were in the mid to high 30’s in a lot of Scotland. We made a trip to a local outdoor goods shop for wool socks and hand warmers. No one was too impressed by Inverness as a city, but it’s a good jumping off point in the Highlands.
We went to the Culloden Battlefield just outside of town, which was very interesting. It’s the last battle of the Jacobite uprising in 1746. That is the last bloody attempt by Scotland to be independent from England basically and they got crushed.
Loch Ness
How could we not go to Loch Ness with Amanda’s nickname being “Ness”?!? It is a really pretty, long, skinny lake. There is a cheesy, but overall interesting visitor center and the work done to attempt to find Nessy is incredible. They have scavenged every drop of that lake looking for a prehistoric beast or some other monster and nothing has shown up…
Sam and I also jumped in the lake. It’s very cold. Our short hunt for the monster also wasn’t newsworthy…
Glencoe
Glencoe is the #1 must go place in the Scottish Highlands we saw. It’s gorgeous. There is a ton of hiking and the scenery is unique. Steep mountains, few trees but lots of green shrubs, and some cool rivers, lakes and waterfalls. We went on a really nice hike here with a stunning waterfall we climbed out to.
We also had a minor mishap on our way down to Fort William (where we stayed while exploring Glencoe)… Amanda found something scenic, so I tried to pull off on the shoulder for her to take a photo and, well, the shoulder resembled a swamp a little too much for our old, weighed-down 2-wheel drive van. An extremely friendly Scott quickly stopped and pulled us out :)
Glasgow
The highlight of Glasgow for me was getting a tour of the Clyde Space facilities. They are a cool, cutting-edge small satellite company based there. Other than that… Glasgow is very industrial and new. It’s the opposite of charming Edinburgh.
Penrith
We stopped in this little town for lunch and loved it! 15 thousand friendly English people call it home and it’s a really nice small town. Plus, there is a really good baked potato stand downtown.
Manchester
Manchester is cool! It’s huge. The area we explored most was trendy and reminded us of SoMa in SF. Hipsters on macbooks in cafes having a grand old time. We fit in.
We stayed at the Clement’s house (Our friend Steff’s parents and Sam’s family friend). They were INSANELY hospitable and friendly. We got a huge homemade BBQ feast from Pat with traditional English desserts from Paulette. A warm bed, shower, and feast were definitely necessary at this point in the trip! We hope to be as adventurous and as good of hosts as the Clements when we grow up one day.
Cardiff
We stayed in Cardiff for two nights and saw the quarterfinal match between Ireland and Argentina. It was a lively game that saw Argentina move on and proving they are the better team. Ireland put up a good fight for most of the game and the almost entirely Irish fans in the stadium left their hearts in that stadium. It was rowdy, and they were very disappointed. Our seats were two rows back from the field. Seeing the athleticism, skill, and size of the players at that level was cool.
Cardiff in Wales does rugby right. The entire town was shut down and in celebration mode for the RWC. It’s a gorgeous city with a beautiful Millennium stadium at the center of it.
Bristol
Bristol is across the bay from Cardiff and is in England. It’s a pretty town with colorful buildings and an amazing suspension bridge build in the 1860’s.
Bath
Bath has huge Roman influence. The Romans ruled the UK from about 50 to 500 AD and the architecture in Bath is definitely Roman. It does not at all feel like you’re in the UK there. We had an enjoyable drive through town and peek at the Roman Baths.
Stonehenge
We saw Stonehenge on the way back to London two days ago. It’s incredible. Way bigger than any of us imagined! Stonehenge was created from about 8000 BC to 3200 BC. Not only are the big stones (up to 24 meters tall!) resting upright and on top of each other, there is a lot of detail. They have joints built into the stone to keep them in place, they are polished and carved and even are shaped slightly wider at the top so when viewed from the ground looking up the stones appear the same width all the way up. That’s a lot of detail and heavy lifting for that time period. Wild.
London
That takes us full circle back to London. Amanda and I are starting to like London more and more! The city is huge and full of so much to do and so much history. It is the center of the world in my opinion.
I’m writing this in Cambridge now, which is a nifty college town just north of London that will probably get it’s own post in a few days!
