The Tour That Was
By: Sankara Narayanan
Tags: Travel, Tour, Backpacking, United Kingdom, Explore

There is an Asian proverb that reads,

Better to see something once, than to hear about it a thousand times

There is no better quote that captures the experience of an Indian who has been listening to how Britishers ruled over India all through his school history classes. Add fandom moments to series like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Kingsmen and other individual movies based on United Kingdom’s past, present and future; then you slowly start realising that they still have been ruling over your life.

This is not an article about politics or the rich British history, but a mere follow up to my previous article on The Tour That Wasn’t, but this time capturing my actual travel experiences across United Kingdom. Who knows, it might one day help me spin my very own version of, “Years ago, when I was backpacking across Western Europe, I was just outside Barcelona, hiking in the foothills of mount Tibidabo…”

Disclaimer: Most of the places visited are arranged by tourist companies like Don’t Be a Tourist, Busy Bus and Irish Tour Tickets. I have no association with any of them, but a humble traveler who had a positive experience with their service.

How it all began…

If you’re a Leeds Beckett University student or any other university student in that area for that matter. There are high chances that you have come across Don’t be a Tourist. My first travel experience in UK started with their organisation and it was a pretty sweet deal that covered places like York, Liverpool, North Yorkshire, Lake District one day trips and a three day trip to Edinburgh at a bulk discounted price.

When you’re new to the land and you get such an awesome offer to explore all the places without the hassle of figuring out individual itineraries, finding people to travel with and ensuring everything goes as per plan on the day of the trip, then it is definitely a must take deal I would say.

York Uncovered

Imagine yourself in the land of Vikings (not the History TV series, but in one of their settlements in UK). This small city in Northern England, houses one of the largest cathedrals in United Kingdom along with an abbey near the museum. Apart from the famous York Minster, the city is also the ground for Clifford’s Tower, a small castle in the city that has a beautiful view of the city.

The city is also famous for its walk on the walls that one must not miss on a normal day. Some of the other fine elements of the city are much appreciated when you get to hear the story from one of their Vikings Walk.

York Uncovered

Liverpool Live

One phrase to describe the whole of Liverpool tour would be “Come together, right now”. Apart from the football team that won the Premier League after a lifetime, Liverpool is also famous as the origin place of The Beatles. Right from the Penny Lane to the pedestrian crossing where they happened to cross the road once, you see The Beatles mania everywhere here.

Not just the fandom moments, the city is also famous for its view points and sight seeing places like the Liverpool Cathedral with a view from the top of the tower, The Albert Dock which is a fantastic photo spot with a miniature London Eye sorta giant wheel, different museums spread across the city, and of course the view from the radio city tower is a must experience.

You also have Another Place (I swear that’s the name of the place) which is hardly an hour drive from Liverpool, famous for its statues in the beach for no good reason.

Liverpool Live

North Yorkshire Trip

From the birth place of Count Dracula to the famous Hogwarts Express in the Goathland Railway station. This trip is one of the best if you’re a fan of fiction.

You have stories that is spread across the area on how author conceptualised the infamous vampire from his hotel view across the Whitby Abbey. There are also folklores around how the entire Yorkshire moors were formed by Wade the giant.

The coastal lines of Whitby is something you cannot have enough of, especially the walk along Whalebone arch, Captain Hook statue, 199 steps, cruise near the Whitby Sands, Harbour lighthouse with a takeaway of the famous fish and chips.

Whitby and Goathland

Lake District

If you ask me what’s one of the most beautiful places you would recommend inside England, then hands down it would be Lake District. This natural beauty is famous for some of the tallest peaks and deepest lakes in the Great Britain.

If you’re ever here, don’t miss the chance of going on a cruise in the Windermere Lake and also see the view from the nearby Orrest Head viewpoint. If you’re visiting the place in Winter, be sure to have an extra pair of gloves, so that you don’t freeze your hands on the way up.

And if you are ready to take the game one step ahead, then you’re always welcome to explore Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England.

Lake District

Edinburgh Uncovered

This was the first cross country tour on road, and Scotland made the entire trip totally worth it. Whether you’re into shopping in the city or someone who loves nature and can go on long walks, the city offers some of the best memories for travelers of both the kinds.

For the land that has Unicorn as its national animal and gave birth to some of the best hunts like Big Foot, you are bound to have higher expectations. And Scotland doesn’t let you down. As you go on your daily tour, you might end up listening to some of the best tales of the land like Brave Heart, ghost walks, bar hopping stories, how J.K.Rowling found her inspiration in the graves among many others.

The city hosts one of the most beautiful castles in the United Kingdom and you also get to visit the Holyrood palace if the Queen is not there during that time. Calton Hill, Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat are must visit for people who love view points.

Edinburgh Uncovered

London

Now that almost all the trips by Don’t be a Tourist was done, it was time for us to start making our own itineraries and try to travel on a budget. If you’re in Leeds, then you can always go to London in a short approximately 4.5 hour road trip to London at a mere expense of £8 by coach.

One of the best things that we did being Indians at heart is compare and contrast our stay options across hostels available in and around the places we wanted to visit. Here’s a small secret, always check the same accommodation prices in your Indian counterparts like Makemytrip, Cleartrip among others and we ended up at a £70 discount when we paid via Indian booking sites.

Another lesson we learnt is that if you’re planning a trip to London, it is always better to book your visit to the Sky Garden in advance, so that you get to have a spectacular view to the entire city for free. The other options to this is taking a London Pass and you get to cover major attractions such as the view from The Shard included in the pass.

For people visiting abroad for the first time, a stop at Madam Tussaud’s is almost mandatory and if you buy a combo pack along with London Eye and Big Bus tour, then you’re done for the entire tour, as you get to enjoy a free cruise inside the city with your Big Bus tour pass.

A stroll along the Queen’s Walk will take you to some of the best places along the Thames, including Shakespeare’s Globe theater, London Bridge and the actual Tower Bridge (which we always assumed was the London Bridge in our kindergarten rhymes).

London, being the capital, you always find that the rates are higher than normal. But, you’ll try start appreciating the value of Tesco’s meal deal when you’re in the city. :)

London

Wales

It was almost the end of the term and there were still two countries left in your visa that you are yet to explore? What would you do when you’re on a budget?

This is where all the companies that offer one day tour for major sight seeing locations come in handy. One such brilliant offer was from Busy Bus who had curated splendid locations in Northern Wales as a part of one day tour from Liverpool.

I can keep writing about the best places on Northern Wales, but if a picture can speak a thousand words, then what can a collage do?

Northern Wales

Belfast

One of the best things about this entire Belfast trip is that both Northern Wales and Northern Ireland was planned as a two day trip. That’s two countries in two days. Where does one sleep you may ask. That’s where planning the trip with Liverpool in mind helps.

There are overnight ferries that go from Liverpool to Belfast which are as good as any star hotel that you might plan on staying. The best part is, a night ferry costs just £10 extra compared to a day ferry, which is cheaper than hostel prices in Belfast.

So, what can one see in one day? Well, if you are a fan of Game of Thrones, then a one day trip to major locations across Northern Ireland is your thing. I might recommend you to take this trip even if you’re not, because the locations they take you are totally worth it. Apart from GoT highlights, they also ensure you get to visit the famous Giant’s Causeway as a part of the trip, which is a cherry on top for anyone.

If you catch the ferry back to Liverpool the same night, then you could’ve completed the entire cross country tour in two days and just under £100.

Northern Ireland

What Else?

When you have seen almost everything you could possibly explore under your budget, but saved up a little extra to really take the leap this time, what would you ideally spend on?

That was the thought that reminded me that there is something I always wanted to do, and this is the best chances to really experiment it. Paulo Coehlo had once said,

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

Such was this experience, especially when the weather wasn’t really on my side when I began each of these trips, but somehow Wales, Belfast and even Lancaster weather cleared right when I reached the place.

Again to quote, something from Paulo Coelho,

“Travel is never a matter of money but of courage”

Without much further ado, I leave you to the last piece of my journey.

UK from the top

When I began the year 2019, I started with what’s your story this year? Never did I imagine that, I would end up making some really good memories that would add on to my epic journey (or should I say journey towards epic?).

Like always, there’s always a TED talk for everything and I wanted to leave you with this.

So, where are you going travel this year?