10-Day Self-Guided Summer Trip to the UK

📍 London · 👁 3856 reads · ❤️ 1 likes

In July, London saw rain, with temperatures at 14°C. Even in a wool sweater and denim jacket, I was still freezing!

In London, you need a travel card or a contactless credit card (with a Wi-Fi-like icon) for the Tube and double-decker buses. My credit card was an older model and couldn't be used (and cash isn't accepted on buses either), so we walked to all the sights in London. During our days in London, we averaged about 16,000 steps a day.

The British Museum, the National Gallery, and the V&A Museum are all free to enter, but the British Museum and the National Gallery require advance booking. We purchased a three-hour guided tour at the National Gallery and the V&A Museum, costing ¥288 per person. I found the tours very professional and worth it (they also helped with booking).

To enter the British Museum, you have to queue and go through security (bag check). It opens at 10 a.m., and we started queuing at 9:30 a.m. Our tour of the British Museum was complimentary from Trip.com and lasted 2 hours (which felt a bit short), so we only saw a small portion.

Since we stayed near the British Museum, we later went back on our own (without bags, we could enter quickly through the back door without needing the reservation). But without a guide, we just wandered aimlessly and only glanced at things.

Westminster Abbey requires an entrance ticket: £29 per person. Buying tickets in advance on the official website saves a lot of time at the entrance. The site provides audio guides in various languages, so you can listen as you go.

We only glimpsed Buckingham Palace from the outside; there were simply too many tourists. We happened to see a cavalry patrol, which felt very ceremonial.

We didn't take the Thames River cruise, as we were put off by the huge crowds. However, during our days in London, we managed to check off most of the major sights like the London Eye and Big Ben.

Greenwich Park wasn't originally on our itinerary, but later, when we returned from York earlier than expected, our chauffeur took us for a spin. Along the way, we stopped at the Prime Meridian and the Queen's House.

The train from London to Edinburgh takes about 5 hours, while the flight is just over 1 hour. Since we had a lot of luggage, we ended up booking a small group tour for 6 people on Trip.com (around ¥13,000 per person) and took a chauffeur-driven car to Edinburgh, visiting Oxford, Cambridge, Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, and other places along the way.

At Stonehenge, we experienced how quickly the British weather can change. One moment it was clear and sunny; the moment we got off the shuttle bus, we were hit by a sudden storm. By the time we decided to leave, it had cleared up again.

Windsor Castle was beautiful and not too crowded (we booked the afternoon session). With audio guides, we strolled, stopped, and took photos.

In Oxford, we spent half a day casually visiting the museum, library, and cathedral.

Windermere Lake was a stop on the way to Edinburgh. We had lunch there and rode a steam train.

Cambridge felt livelier than Oxford. We also spent half a day wandering around to soak in the atmosphere.

Edinburgh was great except for the rain and the cold weather. Prices were also much more reasonable than in London. Every photo we took turned out like a masterpiece.

Alnwick Castle was another stop along the way. In the UK, when the weather is good, every shot looks amazing.

As a Harry Potter fan, this attraction required booking tickets a month in advance. We found a package that included transport and tickets for ¥1,300 per person. It was very popular, and the only slot left when we booked was the 8 a.m. departure (each session lasts 4 hours).

We arrived at the studio around 9 a.m. The two kids first took an online test to determine their house, then bought house robes (£74), which came with free embroidery of their names. After that, it was all about taking photos at various spots—most were free, but a few charged.

Finally, a word on British food: well, one word—"expensive."

Breakfast was basically the same at every hotel. For lunch and dinner, we mostly had pizza and pasta (around ¥150 per person). What left a deep impression was a Sichuan restaurant in Edinburgh and a Henan-style braised noodle shop near the British Museum in London (one bowl of beef stewed noodles for £12.8). The food was delicious and generous in portion (and paying in cash waived the service charge). Service charges at British restaurants are generally around 10%; the most expensive one charged us 20%.

There are many bubble tea shops in London and Cambridge, with a cup costing around £5. I couldn't bring myself to spend that, haha.

Finally, on accommodation in the UK: my impression is that hotels in London and Oxford are very expensive—about ¥2,000 per night for a three-star hotel in the city center. The rooms in London are quite small, and some hotels don't have air conditioning (but they do have heating). Edinburgh is also a popular tourist destination, so hotel prices are relatively high. In Manchester and York, you can stay at a five-star hotel for the same price.

Regarding safety in the UK, before I left, friends reminded me to keep a close eye on my belongings and not to talk to strangers. We all attached safety straps to our phones and were especially vigilant about our bags while visiting museums.

Internet signal in the UK is very poor. We rented two Wi-Fi devices, but sometimes in restaurants or indoor attractions, the signal was almost nonexistent. Fortunately, public places and hotels offered free Wi-Fi, which was slightly better than the rented ones.

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