In many ways, this roughly week-long trip focusing on Southern England could be considered a repeat from our month-long 2014 trip where the final days of the trip focused on Southern England (going as far as Land’s End on that first trip).
However, this time around, we made sure to visit the significant waterfalls in both Devon and Cornwall counties that we didn’t know about before (we only hit Becky Falls on that first trip).
Indeed, often times in our experiences, we can’t foresee or know everything there is to see and do on one trip, and that’s why we have redux trips like this (though we’d like to minimize them since it’s getting harder and harder to travel these days).
Anyways, here’s our humble sampling of what we were able to accomplish during our week or so here…
Trip Map
This map and its markings were produced by this app.
Trip Highlights
London Westminster – this is the famous part of London along the River Thames that includes the London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Parliament Square, Westminster Bridge, and the Palace of Westminster among others. It’s pretty much the iconic part of the city centre of London, and it’s practically obligatory to come here, get some snaps, and soak in the ambience.
Tower of London – this fortress right next to the River Thames contains various exhibits within its complex such as the Crown Jewels, the tower itself, and even the walls or battlements yielding the aforementioned views of the river and the Tower Bridge. Like with the first visit 10 years prior, this visit was just as informative and atmospheric, but now our daughter was old enough to understand what was going on.
Harry Potter Tour at Warner Bros. Studio – this limited time tour really surprised me with how extensive and thorough it was. Even though I’m not into Harry Potter, I could totally appreciate the call backs to what was in the movies as well as how much time you could spend here. Our daughter got all the references, and I even opened my mind to watch at least the first movie and part of the second movie after this experience. Indeed, this tour was that impactful, and I highly recommend doing it even if you’re not a fan!
Camden Lock – this artsy and hip district is known as a place where our favourite artists (e.g. Taylor Swift, Wolf Alice, Amy Winehouse, etc.) get their inspiration and perhaps hang out. We missed this experience on our first visit to London, but we made sure to check this place out this time around. I wished we had more time to really soak in the ambience here, but at least our daughter got her Taylor Swift fix while I went to the Hawley Arms and saw some Wolf Alice relics there. So yeah, it was that kind of place to do your hero worship and still get that atmosphere along the way.
Oxford – on this go around of Southern England, we spend a couple nights at this historic university town, upon which I’d imagine all the colleges and universities in the US try to emulate in terms of charm, heritage, and prestige. But this (along with perhaps Cambridge) still remain the standard we can just feel our brainpower increase just by exploring this town as well as going on one of their student-run walking tours.
St Audries Bay Waterfall – this was one of those waterfalls that drops right onto a tidal beach on the Bristol Channel that made us wonder how on earth did we miss it when we first came to Britain in 2014? Well, we made sure not to miss it on this go around, and the timing of our visit for low tide was just right as we left the chaos of London and Oxford for something more laid back in this part of Somerset.
Dunster Castle – this was actually an accidental visit when we were driving from St Audries Bay towards Ilfracombe, and then we stumbled upon this place and decided to mix things up a bit and go for a visit. What we got was a nice, furnished estate with views of the Bristol Channel as well as a charming town where we got to chat it up with some of the locals. We definitely lingered much longer than we expected, but sometimes the best moments of a trip are the ones that aren’t planned!
Ilfracombe – this town was our base for exploring both Devon and Cornwall Counties. Even though it sat tucked on the northwestern corner of South West England, it suited us as a base as there was plenty to see and do in the town itself even if we were on the road a lot. Of course, the biggest draws of the town in my mind was the coastline and the views of it, but there were other things like an evocative pregnant statue.
Spekes’ Mill Mouth Waterfall – this coastal waterfall is probably about as scenic as they come because the hike to get to it involves a constant dose of coastal views from the tops of sea cliffs with caves and beaches just waiting to be explored. Of course, the waterfall itself is no slouch as it actually has multiple drops, including a couple that can only be accessed from the beach at low tide. Oh, and did I forget to mention that there’s also a natural arch that you can get close to off the north side of Hartland Quay?
St Nectan’s Waterfall – this waterfall sitting within the lush St Nectan’s Glen near Tintagel actually featured a natural bridge over part of its drop on the River Trevillet. While the waterfall was cool and refreshing, the walk within the glen was also atmospheric, and even the scenic views on the more open alternate exit path was a nice getaway from the crowds.
Tintagel Castle – although there has been a bit of controversy concerning the steep price of visiting the ruins of this castle atop the Tintagel Head, I did manage to make a solo visit and experience all that the castle grounds had to offer. Such rewards included sea views, relics and ruins, a King Arthur Gallos statue, and even a couple of high bridges along with a waterfall dropping right into a beach cove at low tide. While the cost may be a bit on the steep side, you can’t deny the eye candy that Nature gives you when doing this excursion.
Trip Advice
Even though this was second go at exploring the South and South West of England, there were still things we learned about our time here that I thought would be worth sharing in this section…
Roads: I was reminded on this return trip to the South West of England that there are lots of what I call “hedge” roads because they were basically narrow roads with constant walls of hedges essentially making blind corners at just about every turn. Moreover, GoogleMaps seems to assume that you can gun it at about 35 miles/hour or greater on these kinds of roads, which is totally nonsensical.
In any case, you’ll want to pay attention to the numbering system of the UK’s road system because A roads are like major bi-directional roads each with dedicated lanes and enough width to comfortably support lorry traffic. Meanwhile, the B roads are typically narrower than the A roads though they generally can support bi-directional traffic with center lines usually present (though not always). Some B roads can be single-lane but usually not for long stretches unless they have more digits to the numbers designating such roads (e.g. B3314 tends to be narrower than say B35).
Finally, roads that don’t have an A or B besides them are a pretty sure bet that they’re essentially single-lane roads (often flanked by tall hedges). Indeed, you’ll want to be very wary if the GPS navigation (e.g. GoogleMaps) wants to take you on such roads in lieu of the wider roads, and it’s probably wise to study the route before following a GPS-induced mistake.
The English System: Ironically, Americans are quite used to the statute units of miles, yards, feet, inches, etc. when it comes to distances. We certainly noticed this while driving, and we really had to be careful not to forget that they don’t really use metric system for speeds and distances (something that might get you in trouble with a speeding fine). Fortunately, we didn’t have to do too much conversion on the fly (unlike in Ireland, where Northern Ireland doesn’t go by the metric system).
Travel Itinerary
Day 28: Transit from Lisbon to London
Overnight: Zedwell Piccadilly Circus (London, England, United Kingdom)
This was the end of a long travel day where we left the Azores, then connected in Lisbon Airport before finally arriving in London Heathrow. At that point, we then took mass transit to get all the way to the Piccadilly Circus District, where we explored a bit of Chinatown before finally calling it a night.
Day 29: Full Day Exploring London
Overnight: Zedwell Piccadilly Circus (London, England, United Kingdom)
This was a busy day where we explored the Westminster District in the morning, then we went over to the Royal British Museum before enjoying some ethnic foods at the 7 Dials Market. The afternoon was spent visiting the Tower of London before returning to Chinatown again.
Day 30: Full Day Exploring London’s Suburbs
Overnight: Zedwell Piccadilly Circus (London, England, United Kingdom)
On this day, we explored the Royal British Library looking for the Magna Carta except its exhibit was closed. Then, we went over to the train station looking for Harry Potter stuff like Platform 2 3/4 as well as doing the Warner Bros. Studios tour of the Harry Potter movies itself. That took the better part of the day, and then we capped off the day by exploring Camden Locks and its happening scene.
Day 31: Drive from London to Oxford
Overnight: Bath Place Hotel Limited (Oxford, England, United Kingdom)
On this day, we returned to London Heathrow Airport to pick up the rental car, and then we called an audible and decided to spend the better part of the day doing a few rides at Thorpe Park. The original plan was to spending time visiting Blenheim Palace, but I guess we wanted a change of pace from even the historical sites. Eventually, we arrived in the late afternoon in Oxford to have a dinner and do a little bit of light exploring on our own.
Day 32: Full Day in Oxford
Overnight: Bath Place Hotel Limited (Oxford, England, United Kingdom)
This was a full day of exploring the town of Oxford, where we did a guided tour run by a student that had graduated not long ago, and then we had some time on our own to explore things missed like the old school bookstore, the historical Turf Tavern (right next door to our accommodation), and The Covered Market for some food.
Day 33: Drive from Oxford to Ilfracombe
Overnight: Carlton Hotel (Ilfracombe, England, United Kingdom)
This was a busy day where we drove to St Audries Bay Waterfall before making a spontaneous visit to the Dunster Castle and its village. Then, we ultimately made our way to Ilfracombe, where I did a little solo exploring of the town.
Day 34: Spekes’ Mill Mouth Waterfall and Lydford Gorge
Overnight: Carlton Hotel (Ilfracombe, England, United Kingdom)
On this day, we started off by driving to the Hartland Quay to explore the Spekes’ Mill Mouth Waterfall. Then, we went to Lydford Gorge to check out the Whitelady Waterfall. Finally, we returned to Ilfracombe to end off this day.
Day 35: St Nectan’s Waterfall and Tintagel Castle
Overnight: Carlton Hotel (Ilfracombe, England, United Kingdom)
On this day, we started off by driving to the St Nectan’s Glen to explore the St Nectan’s Waterfall, and then we did some tea time in Bossiney before spending the better part of the afternoon exploring Tintagel Castle. Then, we made the long drive back to Ilfracombe.
Day 36: Drive from Ilfracombe to London Heathrow Airport
This was a travel day, where we drove from Ilfracombe all the way back to the London Heathrow Airport. From there, we returned the rental car, and then flew to Dublin to begin the last part of our epic Summer 2024 trip.
Trip Reports
Waterfalls included in this itinerary
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