A Brit in the City (& Country)

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Day 1 - The (attempted) start of my journey

June 13th 2015
Despite being born and bred in the North East of England, I hadn’t spent much time travelling. After finishing uni in May with no work lined up until October, I found myself with a whole summer to fill. While the idea of boarding a flight with an open-ended ticket was tempting, I decided to start off my travelling adventures a little closer to home - by roadtripping around Britain.

With a very vague itinerary sketched out, I packed up my Ford KA and prepared to hit the A1 - but my 13 year old car had other ideas. I hadn’t made it to the end of my street when the engine started making a painfully worrying sound - and after barely making it to the local garage, they confirmed my not-so-trusty ride had given up. I knew I’d be needing a new car soon enough but this gave me the final push - if I was going to be driving the length and breadth of Britain, I needed a reliable ride.



Day 5 - The actual start of my journey

June 17th 2015
Having waited for my new car to receive all the relevant checks, I picked up my Citroen C1 on Wednesday morning, repacked all of my roadtripping essentials and set off again! I’d planned a few stops on my route - but as I was already four days behind starting my adventure, I was keen to cover as much of the motorway in as few days as possible. Traffic was relatively quiet for the first part of my trip, having missed the morning rush - and I’d been in the car for just under two hours before I made my first pitstop in York. It was almost lunch time and I was keen to explore the city and find something delicious to eat. I had planned to hit the motorway again after lunch, but I’d contacted some uni friends who invited me to stay the night.

Day 6 - Arriving in London

June 18th 2015
After a hearty breakfast in a quaint little cafe near my friend’s flat, I said my goodbyes and headed off - determined to reach London in good time. I’d packed plenty of snacks so decided to avoid rest stops, with an aim to reach the city within four hours. The drive was actually quite enjoyable; armed with my road trip playlist and bag of boiled sweets, I arrived in London around 2:30pm - and then things got interesting. I’d booked two nights in a hotel close to the centre, but once I arrived in the city, the one-way system of roads had me driving around in circles - and my Sat Nav did nothing to ease my rage. After what felt like hours, but was more like 40 minutes, I pulled up at the hotel - determined to park up the car and use my legs for my remaining time in London!



Day 7 - Lost in the city

June 19th 2015
If I thought navigating through the capital would be easy on foot, I was wrong! On my first full day in the city, I walked for miles in search of theatre tickets, only to discover they’re sold in Leicester Square...right by my hotel. The beauty of getting lost in London is there’s always something new to discover. So after a walk by Big Ben, a croissant in Camden Market and a near miss with a black cab, I finished my Friday immersed in the West End’s Les Miserable.

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