a-listed travel: england travel guide

Ever since I met Chris, we have spent our visits back to England in or around London. He’s from West Sussex which is a 45 minute drive from London, so we tend to spend our time there or in the city. In May, we went to visit all of our favorite people in the English countryside, and it was so fun to explore parts of the country that I hadn’t been to yet. We started the trip with his grandparents in Northern England, then made our way down to Cheltenham to visit his grandma. We finished the trip with his best friend and his fiancée in a Kent.

We embraced everything there is to love about English culture—visiting castles that Chris grew up playing hide ’n’ seek in, sipping afternoon tea in chic hotels and eating fish & chips by the sea. I’m so glad I got to experience all the things that were Chris’ norm while I was growing up in Tennessee. Here, I’m sharing our England travel guide in the event that you’re ready to expand your horizons outside of London on your next trip over the pond!

Northumberland

Northumberland is situated in the north east of England—about a six hour drive from London—and Chris’ grandparents have the prettiest home with a garden fit for an interior design magazine. The town’s main attractions are beautiful castles dating back to the 1300s (like the one where Harry Potter was filmed (!!), pictured above, and quaint beach towns with delicious fish & chip shops. I love how visiting England always feels like a return to a much simpler life with a focus on family, home-cooked meals, intense card game matches and just enjoying each other’s company. Here are some of our highlights from Northumberland.

Bamburgh Castle Beach | We went in late May, so it was still pretty chilly in Northern England. We layered up, and went for a walk on the beach in front of this beautiful castle. Shout out to Chris’ mom for these great photos of us!

{ My 32 year old big kid playing cricket on the beach }

Alnwick Gardens | As a florals obsessee, I absolutely loved visiting the massive grounds at Alnwick Gardens. We walked through sculptured hedges, water fountains and beautiful flower gardens and, of course, snapped a few photos along the way.

The 99s | You may have heard me talk about this on my Instagram before, but I love the ice cream treat that the Brits call a 99. It’s a simple vanilla ice cream cone with a Cadbury Flake stuck on top. The candy is unlike anything we have in the US—a flaky, milk chocolate stick that is so hard to describe, yet so delicious. We lucked up that there was an ice cream truck selling them at one of the beaches we went to. Total score.

Alnwick Castle | Like I mentioned before, this is the castle where Harry Potter was filmed. I have to admit that we didn’t go in because we had already visited two other castles by this point, but I did change into this dress in the back seat of the car to get this picture. Let’s just say Chris’ dad was pretty amused.

Cheltenham

Next we traveled back south to Cheltenham, which is such a chic little town with great hotels, restaurants and shops. Chris’ grandmother lives here, so we went to tea with her and spent the night at No. 131 Hotel. The hospitality company that owns the hotel actually has a few different hotels and restaurants in the area, and I was so glad to have discovered them ahead of the trip. We were only here for 24 hours, but our favorite places we visited are below.

No. 131 Hotel | I loved the interiors at this hotel so much. I’m also such a bath person, so was very excited to put those Acqua di Parma products to use. The restaurant in the hotel was delicious too, so I really can’t recommend a stay here enough.

Gin & Juice | Clever name, photo-worthy G&Ts and tons of gins to learn about and sample. Definitely put this cocktail bar on your list if you find yourself in Cheltenham.

Tea at The Ivy | We loved having afternoon tea at The Ivy with Chris’ grandma. The interiors are gorgeous, because the space was previously a bank with incredibly high ceilings and ornate molding. This definitely made our time in Cheltenham feel like a very special occasion.

Kent

The last stop on our tour de England was to visit Chris’ best friend James (who was the best man at our wedding) in a village about an hour outside London in Kent called Cranbrook. His fiancée is the head winemaker at Herbert Hall Winery, and they happened to be opening a bar on the vineyard property the weekend we were there. We were lucky enough to be there for the opening party and to taste the  English sparkling wine she has been working on over the last five years. We spent most of our time at the winery, but here are the highlights from our visit to Kent. 

Herbert Hall | We loved hanging out amongst the vines and sipping English sparkling wine at the winery. There are actually several wineries in this area of England, so definitely check them out if you find yourself in Kent.

The Swan at Chapel Down | Speaking of wine makers, we had the most amazing farm-to-table meal at the The Swan, a restaurant on the Chapel Down winery’s property. The food was delicious, and James asked Chris to be the Best Man at their wedding next summer during dinner. Bromance was definitely in the air!

Whitstable

We took a day trip to the seaside town called Whitstable, which was about an hour drive from Kent. The town is known for it’s rocky beaches and fresh seafood, so we took advantage by having lobster rolls and oysters for lunch. This would be such a great place to visit again in the height of summer!

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