My name's Charlotte and I have a passion for travelling and documenting my adventures through writing and photography. Having lived in several countries and visited 30, I've seen a lot of the world, but still have much more left to explore! Here on this blog, I do full recaps of all my trips - big and small - and write about a range of travel-related topics. Hope you enjoy and find plenty of travel inspiration!
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Sunday, 13 September 2020
The Lake District: Days One and Two
Thursday, 3 September 2020
Travel Tips: My Ten Favourite Castles and Palaces!
I'm in the middle of an unexpectedly quiet week at work, so I've decided to use some of my extra time to write a new Travel Tips article. It seems like an especially good idea given that it will be a little while before my next blog post, because I'm actually going to be away for most of next week, travelling for the first time since March!
Okay, so I have done plenty of travelling around my local area over the last few months, but nothing longer than day trips. I'm quite excited to get to finally start packing a bag again, which is something I'd never thought I'd say during my years at university and the Year Abroad!
Today I've chosen to write about my favourite castles and palaces, a subject I am slightly obsessed with. My interest in them is perhaps a bit odd, given that I'm actually very strongly anti-monarchy and anti-aristocracy. However, I love everything to do with Disney and fairytales, and I find that visiting castles and palaces is one of the best forms of escapism, making you feel like you've stepped into a book or movie.
I've been lucky enough to visit many castles over the years, and some have really stuck in my mind. Others not so much! (I think many British kids have been through the disappointment of being taken to a "castle" by their parents, only to find a small pile of stones on a hill!) But I've managed to make a list of just ten of the ones that are most memorable for me. In no particular order, here they are...
Castillo Wullf, Viña del Mar, Chile
Read more here and here!
Casa Rosada, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Read more here and here!
Bled Castle, Slovenia
Bratislava Castle, Slovakia
Read more here!
Belvedere Palace, Vienna, Austria
Read more here!
Vaduz Castle, Liechtenstein
Read more here!
Château de Dieppe, France
Read more here!
Wawel Castle, Kraków, Poland
Read more here!
Castelo de São Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal
Read more here!
Cardiff Castle, Wales, UK
Read more here and here!
Sunday, 30 August 2020
Neigh Bridge Lake
This week we managed to squeeze in a quick outing to Neigh Bridge Lake, a beautiful nearby lake. I wrote a tiny bit about it in my post about the Cotswold Water Park, but I'd only ever taken one photo of it previously, using my old Nokia! Today I had the chance to take some better quality pictures, and they came out pretty well because the weather today was actually quite sunny. Though to be fair, I think the lake looks very nice in all types of weather and every season of the year. I'd like to go back again in the autumn, when the leaves are all different colours.
We used to go to Neigh Bridge all the time when I was younger, but it had been quite a while since the previous time I went there, because a few years ago a £1 parking charge was implemented, so it's now no longer free to visit, which is a bit of a shame.
But it was great to finally go back again and see all the old places I remember from years ago. Not much has been changed in the park, except for the fact that some parts have been fenced off. Another thing that differed from my previous visits was the fact that there were no birds on the lake. That was a little disappointing, as I always loved seeing all the swans, ducks and moorhens there!
However, it was still a very scenic and peaceful place to walk around.
There seemed to be a little treasure hunt going on round the park, as there were several painted pebbles hidden in various places. Pictures on the stones included animals, power rangers and, er, poop emojis!
Next to the lake, you can find another body of water: the River Thames! Its source can be found fairly close to Neigh Bridge, near the village of Kemble. Round here, the river is quite small, and obviously it gets a lot bigger as it travels towards London. In the winter it's very deep, but in the summer it's nearly completely dry. I used to stand in the "river" in the summer when I was younger, but the part I used to stand in has been fenced off now!
I really enjoyed our trip to Neigh Bridge and will definitely go back soon.
Although I have a real love for the ocean, I also really like lakes like this one. I find walking around them very relaxing and great for my mental health. Back when I was living in Nottingham, I used to regularly walk around the lakes at Highfields Park and Wollaton Park, which I think helped me get through my degree to some extent!
This outing was actually kind of a replacement for a couple of "bigger" trips I'd had planned. We were meant to be going to a country garden with rescue animals this Thursday and to London next Thursday, but for various reasons, both of those trips were cancelled. I was slightly disappointed about the London trip, because I absolutely love going there, but the good news is that I'll definitely be going in October.
The other good news is that in a week's time, my parents and I will be going on a proper holiday! We'll be seeing some more lakes, as we're going to be visiting the Lake District in the north of England. I've never been there before and I've heard it's a beautiful part of the world, so it should be an exciting trip!
Monday, 24 August 2020
Bristol: Part One
Yesterday was my first trip to a city since the start of lockdown!
It was quite exciting to go to Bristol after five months of only visiting towns, villages and countryside areas. I've been there many times before, as it's the nearest big city, and I have family there. But I'd never gone and properly seen the sights up until now, even though it's a place with many attractions.
Bristol isn't known for being a beautiful city like Bath or Oxford, but it's certainly a very interesting city with a long history. Sadly, it is known for its links to the slave trade. However, now it's a very diverse and progressive place, and it was recently in the news for the historic moment when anti-racism protesters pushed the statue of a slave trader into the harbour, during the Black Lives Matter protests.
Bristol is also renown for its green credentials, having been consistently voted as the most sustainable city in Britain and among the most environmentally friendly in Europe.
And of course, it's famous for its street art, being the home of the mysterious Banksy as well as many other artists.
Bristol covers a very big area, and it's pretty much impossible to see all its sights in just one visit. So I plan to go back soon, hopefully during my boyfriend's visit to England, and explore more then. For this reason, I've called this post "Bristol: Part One", like I've done with my London posts.
The main attraction my parents and I visited yesterday was Christmas Steps, a quaint, historic street. I guess it's kind of the Bristolian equivalent of The Shambles street in York, but a lot less crowded! It must look really nice at night in the winter, when the fairy lights are lit up.
Near to Christmas Steps, we found Foster's Almshouses and the Chapel of the Three Kings of Cologne. A lot of the building was covered with scaffolding, but it was still a very nice place to look at.
We all needed to get some shopping done, so afterwards we went to Cabot Circus, a very big and modern shopping mall that was opened in 2008. It reminded me a lot of the Parque Arauco mall in the Las Condes area of Santiago.
Both yesterday and on other occasions when we've been driving around Bristol , I've seen some interesting places from the car, such as the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge...
...and the SS Great Britain.