Day Trip to England
A DAY TRIP to England?! Pretty cool, right? I never in my life thought that is something I’d say. Well, our 2022 adventures opened up all kinds of new opportunities for us.
Trip date: September 2022
While in Wales for a week, we hopped in the car and made our way over to Bath, while stopping at a couple of quaint places along the way. And let me tell you, those little stops were some of the cutest places we have ever been! This day trip gave us just a little tease before our one week trip the following month (October).
Missed our Wales blog post? Check it out HERE: Exploring Cardiff and the Beauty of Wales
Bradford on Avon
Bradford on Avon is the definition of a quaint, charming, riverside town. When we arrived, I really felt like we didn’t need to see anything else today- this was it! Why leave such a cute place?
The flower-filled streets had plenty of shops, eateries, and tea rooms to choose from.
Greg had already picked out a couple of tea spots before arriving, but ultimately we decided on The Bolthole. This was a lovely place! Greg’s tea was served in a ceramic polka dot teacup. I had coffee and we shared a delicious caramel cake. A great start to the day!
Bradford-on-Avon is a place you could easily spend a relaxing day or two. We were only there for a little over an hour, just as a caffeine stop before continuing along our road trip. We did stop at a thrift shop though and I bought a sweater for just 6 pounds. I didn’t do much shopping abroad, so this was a fun little find!
Avoncliff
We followed a tiny single lane road to find this spot. It might just be the smallest place we have ever visited. I called it a small village; Greg said “it is not even a village; just a spot to wet your whistle and stay the night.” But either way, this was another spot I didn’t want to leave!
We parked in a small lot, walked across the bridge, and found ourselves at the one pub in the ‘village,’ The Cross Guns. It was a cloudy day with just pops of sun here and there. We sat along the riverbank and enjoyed the crisp air while sipping on some local drinks. It really was so relaxing!
England makes lots of ciders… LOTS. While I don’t drink beer, I was excited about the array of options I now had. I couldn’t decide, so I ordered 1/2 pints of two local ciders: Thatchers and Ashton Press.
This is where we had our first English narrowboat sighting (not in Wales).
Bath
Bath was bigger, busier, and more touristy than anticipated. It was much different than the quaint spots we had just visited. We preferred the smaller, less-known stops. Bath could be a good home base though while you explore other areas of England- you could even take a day trip to Wales from here!
Bath is known for its’ Georgian architecture. The perfect display of this is the townhomes of the Royal Circus and Royal Crescent. This was our primary goal to see while in Bath.
Fun fact: All of the buildings in Bath are made of the same stone, bath stone.
On the way back to the car, we explored a local area full of vintage shops and small pubs. It reminded us of a strip back in Kentucky… Bardstown Road… except for bigger and older buildings.
Now it was Greg’s turn to get himself a secondhand purchase- a shirt also only 6 pounds. Most of these thrift shops will call their items ‘previously loved.’ I like that!
While Bath was not our favorite city in England, we absolutely adored our other stops! More England adventures to be posted in a future blog. But for now, which stop do you think you’d enjoy best? Comment below!
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