Georgie’s Wanderlust

The United Kingdom, a land of green rolling hills and fish and chips. Split into four, England, Scotland, Wales & North Ireland, this west European country has so much to see! Two weeks in the UK will be filled to the brim with history, tours, sightseeing, hiking and food.

I was lucky to spend two weeks in The UK in the summertime. I travelled to the northern end of Scotland for a friends beautiful wedding on the coast of the Highlands. The area stayed true to itself and rained several times, with lots of cloud cover. I was also fortunate to see ample sunshine during my time, but enjoyed the rains nonetheless.

I will locate the places I visited and what I liked best about them! You have a lot of choices in The UK to pick from, these were the ones I landed on and I was very happy with my choices.

• The Highlands – Scotland
• Inverness – Scotland
• Edinburgh – Scotland
• Bath – England
• London – England
• Best time to visit
• Eating gluten free in The UK
• Summary

The Highlands – Scotland

The location of the wedding. So it was mandatory that I made my way to this scenic part of the country. Accessible from Inverness (which has daily flights from London), the Highlands are a couple hours drive north from here. Buses make their way through the large rolling hills and rugged coastlines, however I was fortunate to have a ride to and from.

There are a few hostels in the Highlands, and lots of bed and breakfasts. Cute cafes and restaurants dot the coastline, and there are multiple day and multi day hikes to explore the guts of the Highlands.

I stayed in Aultbea with friends, a tiny community on the coast. I stayed 4 nights here, however I recommend spending 2 days at minimum in this area to give yourself an opportunity to explore. If it’s in your budget, a rental car is going to give you a lot of freedom too, as public transport is available but only a few times a day.

Inverness – Scotland

Inverness is a cobblestoned town on the river river Ness, the river that flows out of Loch Ness. Yes, Nessy, the Loch Ness monster lives just up the road from the town of Inverness. Daily tours take you to the lake and around to see the home of this mythical creature.

There are many hostels and hotels in Inverness, I stayed at the Black Isle Hostel in the centre of town, which I highly recommend, and I also stayed at the Youth Hostel up on the hill, which I don’t recommend.

The Black Isle is in an excellent location, virtually across from the train and bus station, with comfortable rooms and large and modern bathrooms.

The town of Inverness is pretty, with the river running through it, wandering the streets is easy, and lots of tasty places to eat. I loved Perk Coffee + Doughnuts for a tasty treat.

I recommend 2 days in Inverness.

Edinburgh – Scotland

The capital of Scotland, Edinburgh has a stunning skyline filled with pointy churches and turreted castles. Stone buildings are everywhere throughout the city, the town is easy to navigate on foot with street performers to watch in the touristy sections. There are great vintage stores scattered throughout the city, as well as pubs and restaurants everywhere.

I stayed at St Christopher’s Old Town, which is a hostel chain found throughout the UK and other parts of western Europe. It was an easy and comfortable stay, location is great and it is clean and comfortable. The attached bar, Belushis, does great drink and food deals too.

I recommend 2-3 days in Edinburgh.

Bath – England

Bath is in the south western corner of England. A popular getaway for Londoners, you can visit the Roman Baths or the Abbey, a late medieval church. The river Avon wraps around the south side of Bath and makes for a beautiful walk. Tours to Stonehenge and the Cotswolds are possible from Bath and best to be arranged in advance.

The Pieminister makes a delicious gluten free pie and is 10 pounds (August 2023) in a lunch deal. I also enjoyed the Green Rocket, a delicious vegan restaurant, also catering to gluten free.

I again, stayed at the St Christopher – what can I say, it was easy, comfortable, and convenient. The only thing I would say about this one is I wish they had more of a kitchen than just a kettle and a microwave (no fridge).

I recommend 2-3 days in Bath

London – England

One of my absolute favourite things about London is the free museums they have everywhere. Some of these building are enormous and so beautifully created, and filled with equally beautiful art. The Natural History Museum is fantastic with an enormous blue whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling. The Victoria and Albert museum just next door is filled with an array of art from across the globe, well worth the visit as it’s a little less busy than the more well known museums.

The London bridge in London is a mild surprise as it is a complete flat bridge that gives incredible views of the Tower Bridge – most of us confuse this for the London Bridge. Maybe because of Fergie..?

Hyde Park is absolutely huge great for a walk about. Actually I recommend walking the city, it’s not too far to anywhere, 30-45 minutes, and you get to see so much more! Maybe even discover a cute cafe on the way. If you’re short on time, they have an intricate underground tube system that shoots you across the city in mere minutes. It is a tap-on, tap-off system with your credit card, ask a local if you’re confused.

I stayed at the Astor Museum Hostel, which is directly across from the British Museum in a quiet street.

I was in London over a weekend in early August and the city was absolutely bumping. While it is still possible to find a quiet corner at times, if you want to see all of the sights I recommend going on a weekday and staying for at least 3 days, but you could really spend a week. It’s easy to understand why people move there!

There is simply so much to see in London. I also recommend booking the museums in advance, even though they are free, they only admit a certain amount of people per day.

Best time to visit

While my two weeks in the UK were arguably in the best month for weather, I still saw a lot of rain. It was July/August 2023, and while the rest of Europe was experiencing a devastating heat wave, The UK was not. I had warm days, but also lots of rain. You can buy an umbrella from most gift shops.

Visiting in September and October, you will still have good weather, but without the mass swarms of people and huge queues for everything.

May and June are also a good time, as things are warming up and you will have more space to yourself.

Eating gluten free in The UK

As I have a wheat allergy (this is different to coeliac – think of it as more similar to an allergy to kiwis, or grass), eating “gluten free” (this is easier for me to ask for) can be interesting at times.

I actually found a surprisingly low number of restaurants in my two weeks in The UK that label gluten free on their menus. As english is my first language, and it is also the of The UK, communicating that I need to eat wheat free wasn’t too much of an issue.

However I did find I had to hunt a bit more for it than what I would in my home countries of Australia and Canada.

I always recommend doing online research beforehand to search out restaurants that are safe for you to eat at. Searching “gluten free” into google maps can bring up restaurants that have gluten free in their menus, and also reviews from people who have eaten there and had positive experiences. I always like to try to leave reviews at places that I had positive experiences. It really helps the business out, and also the people looking to dine there. So mentioning in your review that you found an amazing gluten free menu at a restaurant will go a long way for lots of people!

I found the grocery stores to be pretty well organised. Most of them have a “free from” section where they can group together allergies for people -free from wheat, eggs, dairy etc. I found some decent bread and cookies in these sections, for good prices too.

Travelling around The UK

The UK has a fantastic bus and train network that connects pretty much the whole country. I found it easy to get where I wanted to be. They also have pretty cheap flights with RyanAir or EasyJet, I like to use Skyscanner to search for the cheapest deals across multiple platforms.

You can use BusBud to search for bus and train tickets on the one site, and compare times and rates.

If you want to take the train, I recommend booking it in advance as the earlier you book, the cheaper the rate.

Summary

Thanks for reading! I hope you found some inspiration for your next trip to The UK! If you liked this mini guide, check out my post on the best outdoor destinations to visit in BC, in Canada.

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