Isle of Portland

 

Did you know that just 3hours from London, still within the UK, you end up on an isle which feels you are somewhere that looks like a Mediterranean?? I didn't know either until I saw what Portland Isle had to offer. I was reminded multiple times during my day trip around the island of Malta and Croatia and I am not saying that lightly! I took a train from London to Weymouth followed by a bus to he Isle. The bus ticket was £7 for a day pass and made good use of it. It is also easy to walkaround the island as the buses are not as frequent. The coastal paths are sunning!

Here's what I fitted on my day trip, bearing in mind that I did unique attractions:

- Tout Quarry Nature Reserve and Sculpture Park. This is an active quarry of the famous Portland stone which is used in building quite a few iconic monuments such as St Paul’s Cathedral. It is one of 2 quarries in the world to get his special stone. The other quarry is also in Portland so a very resourceful island. The speciality with this quarry is that it also doubles as a sculpture park where you can find lots of sculpture dotted around the park. It was very fun and a good innovative way to explore the park! It is totally free to visit!

 

- Pirate graveyard, Rufus Castle and Church Ope cove – If you are doing one thing on the island, do this especially if the weather is gorgeous!! Church Ope Cove is a little secluded beach with crystal clear water that reminded me so much of swimming in the beautiful waters of Malta! In order to get to the beach, you will come across the ruins of Rufus Castle, which you can’t visit but can view from the viewpoint. Then, you will need to go down the stairs. If you are interested, half down the stairs, on the left, there’s some stairs that will lead you to the pirate’s graveyard but there are no pirates buried there! You can see the ruins of the church which the graveyard belongs to. It is a very small graveyard but if you are curious about who is buried there, like I am, then it’s a nice little stop before you resume you walk down the stairs to the beach! I loved swimming in the water. I have never seen such clear waters in the UK like this! There’s a couple of walking trails you can do around the area! This beach was not crowded at all and it had toilets too! It will be a beach that I will keep coming back in the summer month! It was stunning!

- Portland Bill Lighthouse and Pulpit Rock – The main attraction of the isle if the Lighthouse which is set amidst unreal views of the sea. You can go on a guided tour up the lighthouse and it also a small museum by the entrance which explored the maritime history of the area. Beside the lighthouse is the Pulpit Rock which is a unique rock formation.

Other attractions are the Portland Castle, D-day museum and the Prison museum.

 It has been one of the most stunning places I have visited in the UK and still can’t believe such unreal places are in this country!  A little gem that nobody knows about and it reminded me why I love expanding my travels to places in corners and nooks of any countries.

Andorra

 Have you ever thought of fitting a whole country in 2days? Andorra, nestled in the Pyrenees, Spain and France is this tiny landlocked country which is full of surprise. Apart from being nature haven for hikers and bikers, Andorra is home to; tax-free shopping; the longest Alpine coaster as part of  the outdoor park Naturland; the largest thermal spa complex in Europe, Caldea; the second largest Tibetan bridge in the world, Pont Tibeta. Andorra is popular in winter due to its key stations.

To get to Andorra, I took a coach from Barcelona. There are no public transport except from buses. The currency is euros. They speak Catalan, Spanish and French so a right mix! Andorra la Vella is the capital city which has a charming old town and can be easily explored in half a day with its shopping streets, Pont de Paris and the Dali sculpture, La Noblesse. There's also he big Central Park by the river.

So what have I done while I was in Andorra? I obviously had to go to the Tibetan bridge. I booked tickets through their main website https://www.ponttibetacanillo.com/en/. There are a number of combination tickets but I just wanted to visit the Bridge. I took a bus (L3 but you can also take L4) from the capital city, Andorra la Vella where the bus ticket was just under 2euros. Bear in mind that only cash payment is allowed on the buses. the ride is 20mins.You will bee dropped in the town of Canillo where you will need to the free shuttle bus to the entrance closest to the bridge. It is a 10-15minutes walk to the bridge. The bridge is looooooooooooooooooong but the views are so nice. The entrance and exit are the same so you will need to walk across the bridge  twice. It was a big scary because of the height and it as slightly swinging but I loved the experience! I really enjoyed it and I wouldn't miss it at all! 

I then wanted to do a walk and picked Vall d'Incles as it is known as the most beautiful valley in the country and god, it was stunning! It had a number of hiking trails and so you can have so much fun! There's also plenty of waterfalls and I went to see Cascada de Moles which is by the road. I picked this as I was short on time!

Andorra is such a beautiful country and so green which I needed as well as the fresh air! It is a country that you can easily visit during your French or Spanish travels. A tiny country but so fill of heart!

Eynsford

 A very short day trip from London is this cute little village in Kent called Eynsford. This is a village but it had very many attractions. A 15minutes walk from the station is my first stop called Lullingstone Roman Villa. This site is managed by English Heritage and is free entry even for non-members. The old ruins cannot be viewed closely due to maintenance work but you can view it from the upstairs gallery. The site is a typical Roman villa and did farming! You can watch a short video relating to the history of the site and upstairs you get to see some artefacts of  what has been excavated from the site. This was a quick visit but perfect for any history geeks as the mosaic tiles were well preserved.

10minutes walk from the Roman Villa is Lullingstone Castle and Gardens. It has an try price of  £10 for the gardens and the grounds. The actual mansion is lived in so you can only visit on events days. The grounds are beautiful with a lake, with the River Darent flowing through the it. The walk around the grounds takes 15minutes. The gardens is called the World Garden and features plants and flowers from around the world. It was a nice garden to explore with an Orchid garden, a cacti garden and other unique features! The Lullingstone Castle and Gardens was a nice and restful stop!

I then walked to Eynsford village centre which took me directly to the iconic bridge with the river flowing through it. The best thing was to walk through the river.  The walk was very picturesque too taking you through some beautiful fields! 

On the other side of the village, is Eynsford castle ruins which is free to visit. It is well documented as to what used to stand in each corner of the castle!

The whole trip took me half a day and really enjoyed it!

Whitstable

 A very easy and nice day trip from London will be Whitstable. Such a cute little town by the sea.So here what I did:

-  Tankerton Beach - pebbly beach with lots of colourful beach huts

-Whitstable Castle and Gardens - this is not a castle and not a manor. It is completely free to visit and there are comprehensive guided tours which takes about 30-45min. The gardens was small but very beautiful. It has also a play area.

- Whitstable museum - this is a small museum which also doubles as a gallery. It has a small entry fee but if you want to know the history of the area, then highly recommend it

-  Whitstable Oyster Trading Company - Whitstable is famous for its oysters and you can tour an actual oyster farm via https://whitstableoystertours.co.uk/. These need to be booked in advance!

I really enjoyed the high street with its quirky shops! 

Madeira

 I don't know if this blog will do justice to this beautiful island which I will like to call 'Heaven on Earth' and I don't say that lightly. The island is what you'll think it before humans came! So green, full of waterfalls and unbelievable views! This was my first solo trip and this island was perfect for those who love nature, hiking and adventure! I had spent 5 days  and stayed in Funchal for its entirety as it was easier to stay in the capital when you don't have your own transport. I will highly recommend to hire a car, if you can drive! However, driving in Madeira seriously involves guts! The roads are steep and narrow. If you drive in Madeira, you can drive anywhere in the world. public transport is unreliable and only well connected within the Funchal area. Hence the best way to explore the island, if you don't have a car, is to do it through tours. Here's what I had been up to on this beautiful island:

- Booking with Joao on this one day adventure was the best way to explore the island while hiking (https://www.airbnb.co.uk/experiences/3911233?location=Madeira%2C%20Portugal&currentTab=experience_tab&federatedSearchId=39545ca7-5b2a-4417-b016-480f66666659&sectionId=31e105b2-1eb5-4307-aca7-c3a7c495d6e8) You will never regret this experience! From sunrise, you will see and walk through stunning sights. He will surprise you and doesn't have a fixed itinary. He will feel your energy and take you to places that  are unique, isolated and free of crowds! I didn't want the day to end!!! You can't miss it if you are on the island! This is not your usual guided tour! This is an adventure!

- The below tours were the usual guides tours and best way to see the most popular sights on the island if you are short on time. I booked my tours through Get Your Guide:

•     The East Tour involved the famous Pico Areiro ( you won't have time to do the 'Stairway to Heaven' hike but you will have 30mins to walk around), Laurisilva de Madeira (where you will have time to do one of the Levada walks called PR11 Levada dos Balcões) You will need to pay a small charge but a nice and quite hike through what looks like a jungle! Santana is famous for its thatched house but there isn’t much to do in the area. We did a few viewpoints. We also stopped at the tail of the island Ponta de São Lourenço where the island drastically changed from the other side of the island!
• The West Tour includes Ponta Da Sol which had a nice little church and a nice beach. Porto Muniz was such a cute little town with so much to offer! There was an adventure park where you can zipline across valleys and do giant swing. I loved the Giant Swing – the views were awesome. The town is home to 2 lava pools (the old ones - naturally formed and free with no changing rooms, the new ones – which is man-made, with a small fee but more comfortable). I went to the old ones as I wanted to swim in natural pools amongst the fishes! Wha an experience! Highly recommend it! The views also were outstanding overlooking the Atlantic Ocean! The town also has a fortress and an aquarium to enjoy for everyone. We also went to Seixal beach which is famous for it’s black sand and small but quite a beautiful sight! There were also lots of other viewpoints on the way  which were all stunning!

 

In Funchal, you must do the unique experience of tobaggoning in Monte! Be prepared to queue in heavy season but well worth the wait and the price! The Monte Tropical Gardens were also  beautiful.  I didn’t expect to see flamingos! I don’t know where the time went! In the city centre, you get many museums. I only visited the unique ones such as the sugar museum which is small and free to visit. I also walked through the English neighbourhood which was nice with its church. I would also highly recommend visit the Funchal cathedral with it’s beautiful baroque architecture and design! Palácio de São Lourenço is also free to visit and an important fortress in Madeira! In the old town, you have another fortress Forte de São Tiago which stands out with its yellow colour! I loved the painted murals in the old town too! A perfect place to catch the sunrise or sunset there!

Another perfect place to catch the sunset is the mystical Fanal Forest! It was literally walking on top of the clouds and the trees gives such a fairyland feeling! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and a core memory that I will dearly cherish!

On my last day, I went canyoning in Nun’s Valley and god, what an experience! I have no idea how 3 hours went but the jumping cliffs, abseiling waterfalls, swimming and sliding through waterfalls was the best way to bid farewell to this beautiful island!

The people were great! The food was great! A small island that will steal your heart!!

Walking around Tunbridge Wells

A very easy day trip to do from London is Tunbridge Wells. There's the usual museums but I concentrated on things to do around the area. The first stop was Scotney Castle which is hidden in the High Weald National Landscape. The Castle is surrounded by beautiful land and makes it a beautiful drive!

Scotney Castle is under the National Trust so it is free to visit for members only. It has quite a bit grounds for you to do nice walks. The ground includes  lake, the old castle, gardens and a house (I'll call it a mansion though!). The old castle can be visited by guided tours but you can still visit the outside of it! I loved walking through the grounds with the spring colours in full show! The house was lived until the early 2000s and you can still see the original furniture! As with any National Trust properties, there's a cafe and play area. During school holidays, there's also fun activities for kids with plenty of room to run around!

Another place to visit near Tunbridge Wells is High Rocks which is a nice walk from the city centre (40mins walk). High Rocks is a National Stone Age monument and quite nice with reasonable price. The area seems to be large on the map but can be done easily within 1.5hours. You can go on top of the rocks  with nice wooden bridges connecting the different rocks. The views are also very nice. The rocks were quite an unusual sight so worth a visit!

I really enjoyed exploring the different places and seeing some unusual sights.

Unique things to do in Exeter

 We did  a day out to Exeter to visit some unique spots  in Exeter! We went to Underground Passages which is in the city centre. Exeter is the only city in the UK to have underground passages of this type. Guided tours have taken place here since the 1930s. The prices are reasonable. These passages are quite narrow and you will need to wear a hard hat. There a nice museum explaining the significance of the passages. Before the guided tours, you will be provided a safety briefing and a video about the passages. The tour in total will take 1hour. We really enjoyed the tour which was very informative. There's a fun little bit where you have the optional way of crawling through the smaller tunnels which was so fun as you get to crawl! A must do if you enjoy doing unusual stuff and learn history in a fun way.

Next, we took a 25mins drive to Canonteign falls which is the tallest waterfall in England. Reasonable proceed and you can easily spend hours as it has a lake, woodland walks and quite a few waterfalls (all man-made)! The setting was literally like walking through a rainforest in some places. Alongside the Canonteign Falls, there's also 2 other smaller waterfalls. There's also a nice cafe to quench your thirst after the many walks you do!

We then headed back to Exeter to visit Exeter Cathedral which was beautiful!

A good day out was had by everyone!