Places I've Been To
Hello,
and welcome along to the first post in my month of UK-themed posts. (This is
also my 100th post on this page!)
To
kick off this series, I have decided to talk about some of the places in the UK
that I have lived or visited during my life, and I want to give my thoughts on
each of them.
LONDON
Of
course, the one place I have to mention when discussing the topic of UK travel
is the nation’s capital, and one of the most famous cities in the world – London.
I
did in fact live in London (or the Greater London area, at least) for some time
as a child. Some people criticise major cities as too noisy to live in. I always
laugh at this, because I lived in a rural area on the outskirts of Heathrow
airport. Yes, near to one of the busiest airports in Europe. And yet, it was
one of the most serene, peaceful places I have ever lived. Even though I left
thirteen years ago, I would move back there at some time in the future if
circumstances and finances allowed it to happen.
In
addition to living there, I have also visited London several times and seen
some amazing parts of this world-class city. These have included, among other
things:
·
The London
Dungeons
·
Seeing
a play at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
·
London
Zoo
·
Trafalgar
Square
·
Hyde
Park
Honestly,
if you ever get the chance to visit this city, I highly recommend you take it. It
truly is a wonderful place full of history. Just remember two things. 1. It is
enormous, so don’t expect to see everything in one trip and 2. Be prepared to
spend a lot of money, because everything is so expensive.
BIRMINGHAM
Without
a doubt, my favourite out of all of the places I have lived is the UK’s second
city – Birmingham. I’ll admit that it does not have the best of reputations for
whatever reasons, but I absolutely adore this city, and am proud to have called
it home over the last four years.
Birmingham
has been revived brilliantly over the last few years thanks to the amount of
money which has been invested in the city, and this has produced some truly
stunning world-class buildings to be proud of, including the Bullring shopping
centre, the state-of-the-art library, and of course, the now stunning New
Street station/Grand Central development. These have all helped make Birmingham
an even better place to live and work, and this city can now truly claim to be
the UK’s second city. I absolutely love living here, and every time I return, I
always feel a sense of coming home.
A
modern city which is now getting the good reputation it deserves, I love
Birmingham more than any of the other places I have ever lived, and if you go
there, you will understand why.
STONEHENGE
Sadly,
I was only a small child when I visited Stonehenge, so my memories of it are
very vague, but having seen the photos and from what I have learnt about this ancient
monument over the years, I know that it is one of the most fascinating ancient
sites in the world. It intrigues me that somehow, without any modern machinery,
its builders managed to quarry those stones, drag them onto site, and construct
the arches. Not only that, but they made the stones circle line up in such a
way that at both the summer and winter solstices (the longest and shortest days
of the year) the sun shines through the arches perfectly. It is such a mystery
that we still haven’t figured out the answers even after thousands of years.
I
wish so much that I could remember going there because the mystery behind the
henge has always fascinated me. It is definitely on my list of places I would
like to go in the future (more on that to come in a future post).
CARDIGAN
BAY, WEST WALES
In
2006, my family and I had a holiday in the West of Wales in a place known as
Cardigan Bay. It was such a serene and beautiful place to go, and even though
it was March and was freezing cold, it made me appreciate just what a beautiful
corner of the UK that Wales is. It was also my first time seeing seals in the
wild. Yes, seals!
I
would definitely recommend going to rural Wales if you ever get the
opportunity. It is so beautiful!
ISLE
OF SKYE
Another
corner of the British Isles I have visited is the Isle of Skye off the West
Coast of Scotland, and I can honestly say it is one of the most beautiful places
I have ever been to.
As
a six-year-old child at the time, it was a fantastic place, with mountains,
creeks and streams, and even waterfalls. I believe it is at this point that I began
to fall in love with Scotland and all things Scottish. The stunning countryside
that was on offer on Skye makes me wonder just how beautiful the rest of
Scotland, and indeed the rest of the UK, might be.
CAMBRIDGE
AND OXFORD
Perhaps
most famous for their universities, the cities of Oxford and Cambridge have a
lot else which can appeal to visitors.
They
are both full of interesting old architecture and are steeped in history. Over the
centuries, they have been home to some of the most well-known scientists,
mathematicians and architects in British history, which I suppose is what gives
it such renown around the world.
BRIGHTON
I
wrote about my trip to Brighton in March last year. You can find that post here
(excuse the poor quality) -> http://stayblogitive.blogspot.com/2015/03/brighton-2015.html
HAMPTON
COURT PALACE
The
last place on this list is a building rather than a location, but in truth the
size of Hampton Court Palace means it probably could be classed as a city in
its own right. It is so huge that when I went, I only managed to see part of
it. Nevertheless, the beauty of this Tudor palace, famous for being owned by
Henry VIII, is unbelievable. It is a mixture of different architectural styles
due to the amount of changes it’s seen over its six hundred years of history,
and to me, it is the most stunning building I have ever seen in my life. If I had
to recommend an old royal palace to visit, this would have to be it. Absolutely
one of the best places I have ever been in my whole life, and I definitely want
to go back in the future to see the bits I didn’t get around to last time.
And
there you have it. I would love to know your thoughts on any of the places
above, if you have visited them. Also, do feel free to recommend any other
places you’ve been to, or link to your blogs about places in the UK. You can do
both by contacting me on my social media (links in the table) or commenting
below and I’ll reply to as many of you as I can.
Hope
you enjoyed this post and are going to enjoy the rest of this month. My next
post will be up on Wednesday so stay tuned for that. Until then, keep active,
keep smiling, and, above all else, keep believing!
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