Since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic last year, it's been, at times, difficult, and at other times, impossible to travel abroad. This has meant that many people around the world have been discovering different places around their own countries on their holidays, and this has been especially true here in
the UK.
Speaking from personal experience, over the past year I should have been living in
Santiago with my boyfriend, and exploring different places around
Chile and
Latin America. Instead, I have been living in a small, isolated village in
Wiltshire with my parents, and have only left the country once since the first lockdown came into force. I'm not going to pretend that I'm satisfied with this situation, but I've at least tried to make the best of it. One effective source of escapism for me has been to travel to various places around my local area and beyond, in particular those that are reminiscent of foreign countries.
This has led me to put together a list of some of my favourite UK alternatives to foreign destinations. Some are alternatives to a particular town or city, whereas others are alternatives to entire countries/parts of the world. I hope that it can come in useful for the times when it's not possible to leave the country (though hopefully this never happens again!), or for times when you would simply prefer to have a UK holiday. After all, there are many reasons to travel in our own countries, such as wanting to protect the environment, or not wanting to go through the hassle of border controls and luggage restrictions.
So with that said, here are my British alternatives to ten foreign destinations!
Foreign Destination: China
Image of Beijing by Magda Ehlers from pexels.com
UK Alternative: Chinatown, London
The Chinatown in
London is one of the largest Chinatowns in
Europe, and it really does make you feel like you've been transported to China. Not only are there many colourful lanterns, elaborate gateways, and Chinese statues, but all of the shop names are written in Chinese! It's definitely one of the highlights of a trip to London, and it demonstrates just what an international city it is.
Foreign Destination: Veules-les-Roses, France
Read more about Veules-les-Roses here!
UK Alternative: Bibury
When I spent part of my Year Abroad in
Normandy, I realised just how similar the north of France and the south of England are. Which makes sense really, as they're very close to each other! And when I visited Bibury in
the Cotswolds last summer, I was struck by how similar it was to the village of Veules-les-Roses. Both are situated on rivers, and are full of quaint cottages and pretty flowers. In addition, they both have been described as the prettiest villages in their respective countries!
Foreign Destination: Viña del Mar, Chile
Read more about Viña del Mar here and here!
UK Alternative: Bournemouth
At the height of summer, the beach town of Bournemouth on the south coast of England really does feel a bit like somewhere more exotic. My boyfriend compared it to Viña del Mar (one of the most popular beach towns in Chile) and I can definitely also see the similarity. They both have plenty of palm trees, sandy beaches and pretty gardens.
Image of Amsterdam by Kata Pal from pexels.com
UK Alternative 1: Westbury Court Garden
This has to be one of the most unique destinations I've been to over the last year, as it's the only restored Dutch water garden left in the UK. If you want to see canals, a Dutch pavilion, formal gardens and plenty of tulips, you should definitely visit!
Read more here!
UK Alternative 2: Ashdown House
Ashdown House is another very unique place, as it's a Dutch townhouse located in the English countryside! The house was built in the 17th century and has a very long and detailed history. It's more than worth a visit if you're interested in either history or architecture.
Read more here!
Foreign Destination: North American Lakes
Image of Field, Canada by James Wheeler from pexels.com
UK Alternative: The Cotswold Water Park
The Cotswold Water Park, a small area containing around 180 lakes, is only a short distance from my house, but often makes me think of the lakes of
Canada and the north of the United States. Maybe this is because of the large amount of wooden cabins and New England chalets that you can find on the edges of the lakes. In any case, the area is a great place to enjoy nature, watersports and wildlife spotting.
Foreign Destinations: Italy and Greece
Image of the Pantheon in Rome by Griffin Wooldridge from pexels.com
Image of the Acropolis in Athens by Mohammed Zarovski from pexels.com
UK Alternative 1: Stourhead
The
National Trust property Stourhead is famous for being one of the most beautiful gardens in the country. Its design was heavily influenced by Greek and Roman mythology, and it features several temples and statues of various deities. The highlight has to be the Pantheon (pictured above), which was inspired by the building of the same name in
Rome.
Read more here!
UK Alternative 2: Buscot Park
The Buscot Park National Trust property also takes inspiration from
Italy and
Greece. It has lots of classical architecture, walls painted with frescoes, and even an Italian water garden, making it a very picturesque place to wander around on a summer's day.
Read more here!
Foreign Destination: Japan
Image of Osaka by Bagus Pangestu from pexels.com
UK Alternative: Batsford Arboretum
This arboretum in the Cotswolds is home to the UK's national collection of Japanese cherry blossom (sakura) trees, and is heavily inspired by Japan. Sights to look out for there include the Japanese rest house (pictured above), the statue of the Buddha, and several little red Japanese bridges over streams.
Read more here!
Foreign Destination: Provence, France
Image by David Bartus from pexels.com
UK Alternative: Cotswold Lavender
Unfortunately, the weather was a bit grim when I visited Cotswold Lavender last year, hence the rather grey-looking photo! But it was still a nice experience to walk around the fields and see and smell all of the different types of lavender. It's probably the closest you can get to having a holiday in Provence without leaving
England!
Read more here!
Foreign Destination: The Taj Mahal, India
Image by Sudipta Mondal from pexels.com
UK Alternative 1: Brighton Pavilion
The Brighton Pavilion is the most famous Indian-style building in the UK, and was inspired by palaces such as the Taj Mahal. Although it had scaffolding around it when I visited with my boyfriend Claudio last year, it was still a very majestic sight to see. It's definitely worth getting tickets to enter the palace and see the Chinese-inspired rooms inside. I would also recommend viewing some of the other Indian-style buildings around the city, such as the Brighton Dome and the Western Pavilion.
UK Alternative 2: Sezincote
In fact, the most direct inspiration for the Brighton Pavilion was this palace located in the Cotswolds, which I would say is even more majestic. Not only is the building itself beautiful, but it also has amazing gardens, including the Persian Garden seen in my picture. Sezincote is definitely one of my favourite places I've visited this year, and it almost made me feel like I was really in India.
Read more here!
Foreign Destination: The South of Chile
Read more about the South of Chile here!
UK Alternative: The Lake District
When I visited the Lake District in the north of England last September, I was surprised by how much it reminded me of the south of Chile, where I'd been in 2018. The mountains may not be so high, but at least there actually are mountains (I don't think we have any in the south of England). Plus, there's a range of lakes, waterfalls and forests to explore.
So there you have it: my little world tour that you can take without leaving the UK. (Well, actually, I've just realised that all the destinations are in England, as that's the part of Britain I'm most familiar with, but I'm sure there are some other great foreign alternatives in Scotland and
Wales - Portmeirion in particular looks a lot like Italy, and is somewhere I'd love to go to in the future.)
Of course, there is no real substitute for global travel; personally, I still plan to continue discovering the world once it's possible to do so again. But, it's nice to know that there are some places where you can get a little bit of that feeling of being somewhere else, whilst still being here in England!
Check out the rest of my Travel Tips here!
