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!