Travel Bucket List: UK and Ireland

“Beauty is where it is perceived. When I see the sun shining across the pond, I think this side the richer which sees it.” — Henry David Thoreau

Note: All London photos are my own except for the Tower Bridge and Notting Hill photos.

With all the hype about Brexit, popularity of The Crown, and the sad news of Prince Philip’s passing, the media has been saturated with articles, documentaries, and movies about the British royal family and England in general. We also just finished watching the delightful Men In Kilts with Sam and Graham of Outlander fame and are fascinated with the beauty and traditions of Scotland. Eric is a descendent of the MacIver clan and would love to learn more about his heritage. Although I have been to England several times and technically in Ireland (the airport in Dublin), there’s so much more I’d like to see, do (and redo) in the UK. Traveling “across the pond” is relatively quick and we already speak the language. So here is my UK + Ireland Bucket List.

ENGLAND

TO REDO IN LONDON:

Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge - London, April 2011

Millennium Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral — London, April 2011

• Westminster Abbey (especially Poets Corner)

• Palace of Westminster | The Houses of Parliament

• Notting Hill | Portobello Road Market

• Abbey Road

• St. Paul’s Cathedral

• Millennium Bridge

• The V&A and The Tate Modern Museums

• Kensington Gardens

• The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

• The Tower of London + Crown Jewels

• Shopping at Harrods and Selfridges

• Covent Garden

• Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

• Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross

• Taking the Eurostar to Paris — Yes, I know this post is about traveling in the UK and Ireland, but I can’t be 3 hours away by train and not visit my beloved Paris!

NEW TO DO IN LONDON:

• See a play in the West End

• Thames Cruise — London’s answer to the Bateaux Mouches.

• London Christmas Lights — Maybe it’s because I’ve watched Love Actually so many times, but it seems to me that London does Christmas unlike any other city.

• London Eye — It just feels like something you should do, like going to the top of the Eiffel Tower when in Paris.

• High Tea in an iconic hotel or tea room — Claridge’s, The Savoy, The Ritz — How to choose?

FARTHER AFIELD:

• Oxford and Cambridge

• The Cotswolds

• Bath

• The Lake District

• Devon and Cornwall

• I suppose I should include Stonehenge although it wasn’t as interesting as I’d hoped. I did like Salisbury though.

London, April 2011

SCOTLAND

My eighth grade teacher, Grace Lippert, hailed from Glasgow and went in school in Edinburgh. Her Scottish brogue still rings in my ears, but curiously, she taught me more about Shakespeare and French vocabulary than she did about her native country. Here’s what I’d like to see and do in Scotland:

• The Royal Yacht Britannia

• Isle of Skye

• Scottish Highlands

• Edinburgh Castle and Old Town

• Loch Ness

• Glasgow

• Scotch tasting

Scottish Countryside

IRELAND

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

As I mentioned, I’ve spent a total of four hours in Ireland where I hand just enough time to learn the funny expressions like gobshite and for feck’s sake, watch the airport bartender pull a pint of Cute Hoor, and buy this Claddagh ornament for our 2018 Christmas tree. Next time that I’m in Ireland, here’s what I’d like to see and do:

• Stroll down Grafton Street and, enjoy a pint of Guinness at Temple Bar in Dublin (even though I’m not a beer drinker)

• The Clarence Hotel (owned by Bono)

• The Cliffs of Moher

• Trinity College Dublin

• Killarney and the 111 mile long Ring of Kerry

• Cork County and Blarney Castle (although traveling post COVID-19, I don’t think I would actually kiss it)

• The Dingle Peninsula

• Galway and a boat tour of Galway Bay

 

If you have traveled to England, Scotland, and Ireland, what recommendations do you have? And what about Wales and Northern Ireland?