3 of the Best Places to Spend Autumn in the UK

Autumn is one of my favourite times to travel around the UK.

Yes, people may mock the Great British weather's famous indecision, but leaving the house with a raincoat AND suncream is all part of the adventure, isn't it? It all contributes to the magic of the ever-changing landscapes that this beautiful country has to offer, and as we've seen from the last few months, the rain keeps the UK's beautiful shades of green in check!

The crowds have mostly dissipated, spurred on by the threat of changeable weather, the leaves have turned every shade of red, orange and gold and no one will judge you for spending the afternoon in a cosy pub or cafe with a slice of cake and a coffee, because that's just what you do in the 'ber months.

The UK really comes into its own in autumn - maybe this is controversial but I think there are lots of destinations around the UK that look even better through the autumn lens. Whether you're in search of tree-lined streets and long walks over crunchy leaves, a cosy city break or somewhere to watch the waves crash against the shoreline, these three places are my personal recommendations and they're sure to deliver!

In The Pursuit of Finding Joy

Hey friends,

It's been a while since I posted on The Owlet.

I started this website in 2017 as a hobby in an attempt to feed my creative side while working as a commercial event photographer and coming to terms with the fact that I now hated the job I’d worked so hard to build for myself. 

My creative outlet did a little too well and somehow became my job back in 2019, but over the last few years its been increasingly difficult to find the passion for writing that I once had an abundance of. Somewhere between the industry-wide focus on "helpful content", Google’s many updates coming in thick and fast, and multiple life-changing events in my personal life, I didn’t have the space in my brain to write for fun anymore. 

Earlier this year I lost my mum - one of my biggest cheerleaders and the person who taught me to look for the small joys in everyday life, even something as simple as enjoying a coffee with a pretty view. Somewhere in the stillness after the funeral, I  realised that somewhere along the way I'd been so busy wanting to make Mum happy and comfortable that I’d stopped looking for joy for myself. 

So a few months ago I decided to go all in on the pursuit of farming for joy and finding ways to make the days count. I spent so long saying no that my default answer to any opportunity is YES. I’m very much in the mindset of I’ll try anything once, because if you haven’t tried it then how do you know if you’ll enjoy it?

5 Unmissable Destinations for a UK Road Trip

Hey Owlets, 

Now that the world has returned to (somewhat) normal, a lot of people are choosing to leave the country in search of sunshine and new surroundings. I'm definitely guilty of this, having fallen in love with Sweden earlier in the year, but I don't think that we should be forgetting the incredible wealth of beautiful destinations that we have on our own doorstep. I grew up holidaying in the UK and loved it; even as an adult I'm a huge fan of staycations.

I know a lot of you came to my blog through a post about my first experience of international travel so I want to try and convince you that a road trip is the perfect way to holiday in the UK. In an attempt to convince you I thought I would share some of my favourite places around the UK to help you plan your next cross-country trip. I’ve tried to choose places that are fairly spread out, but I live in the South West so most of my recommendations will be in the South, the Midlands or in Wales because that’s where is easiest to get to from my home. If you're looking for a few places to add to your bucket list, keep reading to discover some of the best staycation destinations in the UK.

Bristol

Okay, you can’t blame me for trying can you? I know I live here so I’m biased, but Bristol is hands down a “you can’t miss it” city. Bristol is an incredibly vibrant city where (in pre-covid times) there’s always something going on. There are amazing independent shops and cafes, restaurants serving more different types of cuisine than you could manage to name off the top of your head and an incredible nightlife. 

If cultural/educational travel is more your thing then Bristol also has you covered. Bristol’s heritage goes back to the 1300s when it was mainly a merchant city - you can still see evidence of that across the city today and there’s a whole host of free or low cost tours that will guide you around the sights and share stories of objects that you would walk past without giving a second glance. 

There’s actually so much heritage that I studied it for a project in university and it’s one of my favourite projects I’ve ever created, so if you fancy an article about Bristol’s history I would be more than happy to let my inner history nerd roam free on the blog for a while. 

Bristol is also known for being an incredibly arts-focused city - there’s a whole host of museums and galleries big and small, daily talks across the city, performances both on the street and in local venues and there are so many freelancers here. If you need a holiday to get the creative juices flowing then Bristol really is the place for you. Head to the nearest trendy cafe and spark up a conversation with anyone who feels too cool to talk to and I guarantee you’ll leave feeling inspired.

South Wales - Cardiff and the Valleys

I realise this one is kind of vague, but there isn’t really a way that you can choose just one part of South Wales to visit - you could quite easily fill an entire road trip itinerary with destinations in South Wales alone. I worked with the tourism board a while ago - I arrived thinking I knew the region really well and left feeling like I’d visited for the first time. There are so many different places to visit and every single area has a totally different feel.

If you’re more of a city dweller then start in Cardiff. It’s a little similar to Bristol in some ways - it’s full of history and culture, but it’s docks were built to export goods like coal, and the history of industry in the area made the city grow in a different way to Bristol. If you love shopping then Cardiff city centre is second to none - you could get lost in St David’s Centre for hours. 

Cardiff is also full of history with a castle in the city centre and lots of remnants of days gone by everywhere you look. Cardiff is also very much known for being the setting of a huge amount of TV shows with programmes like Casualty and Hollyoaks being filmed there, and if you’re a fan of Doctor Who and Torchwood then you cannot miss the city centre or the bay because there will be so many streets that you recognise. Torchwood was a spin-off of Doctor Who and the death of a certain main character prompted fans to flood to one of the most famous filming locations to leave tributes. Torchwood ended exactly 10 years ago but Ianto’s Shrine is still there, and the water tower used in some of the most famous scenes in both Doctor Who and the spin off is still referred to as “Torchwood Tower” by locals. 

If you’re more into quaint villages or getting into the middle of nowhere then South Wales still has something to offer you. I talk in more detail in my Weekend Guide to South Wales article, but places like Llantrisant, Porthcawl, Penarth, Lllangollen and Tenby are beautiful. If you want to go for a walk in the middle of nowhere then head to Bryngarw Country Park, or my personal favourite is Parc Slip for it’s beautiful and seemingly-endless walks, stunning views and the tiny cafe to recover in when you’ve finished your adventures. In my mind South Wales is one of the ultimate road trip destinations.

Plymouth, but Devon in general

If you follow me on Instagram then you’ll know that my trip to Devon was the inspiration for this post. Last year we wanted to go on holiday and one of the only places in the whole of Devon and Cornwall (I kid you not, I’ve never seen an empty booking.com search) that had availability was a Premier Inn in Plymouth. I honestly wasn’t expecting much - I just thought it was another city by the sea - but how wrong I was. Plymouth in itself is a stunning city - it has two sides to it. 

Standing by the lighthouse in Hoe Park, if you look to the right there’s lots of pretty little buildings that you would expect to find in a seaside village, but look behind you or to the left and it’s all modern. Plymouth is a student city so it goes without saying that it’s got a good nightlife, but there are also so many nice restaurants, and you can’t visit without taking a tour of the distillery.  Plymouth has a long history as a naval base so there’s a lot of interesting museums to visit and interesting sights around the city that are easy to spot. There’s also a huge aquarium, a famous zoo and so many coastal walks that are accessible straight from the city centre. 

Plymouth is also a perfect place to set up base for the night because it’s perfectly located for visiting the rest of Devon and Cornwall. Half an hour’s drive East of Plymouth will take you to well known seaside destinations like Torquay and Weymouth. If you drive a little West then you hit Cornwall just as you’re leaving the city. When you think of quaint English villages and little chocolate box houses then you’re probably imagining a village in Devon or Cornwall. 

Whatever kind of adventure you’re looking for you will absolutely find it in Devon. Head to Dartmouth to ride a steam train and see the only railway station that never opened (Brunel got a little too cocky, but we’ll save that story for another day), you can ride a funicular railway in a little Victorian town (Lynmouth), or get lost in the hills on Dartmoor National Park. If you’re looking for another big city to visit then head to Exeter to explore beautiful architecture and make the most of the river with a country walk.

Cornwall

You knew this was coming, didn’t you? I don’t think I can really mention Devon without also mentioning Cornwall. A lot of guides tend to lump them in together as if it’s all one place but they’re two separate counties and I would argue that they offer very different things. In my mind Devon is the slightly more modern place - it’s still relaxed but a little more fast paced and much of the county is inland so it’s more about stunning hill walks and forgotten little villages. Cornwall has a lot of that too, but it boasts a lot more coastline and it makes the most of it.

I honestly challenge you to find a village in Cornwall that doesn’t feel like it’s been taken straight out of a fairytale - inland you’ll find tiny market towns that feel a bit higgledy-piggledy but somehow still make sense. Towards to coast you’ll find quaint villages that welcome surfers and feel like you could stay there forever without time ever moving forward. Even the big cities like Falmouth feel like a sleepy market town on steroids rather than an actual city. If you love getting lost down winding streets but then Cornwall is the place to go. Equally, if you love watersports, going on long hikes or you travel with a bike or surfboard as a prerequisite then you’re still bound to love it.

“Up North”

I appreciate that this is a little more vague, but it’s because I shamefully haven’t seen that much “up North” yet. As a Southerner when I say “up North” I mean places like Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, York etc. The thing that I find mad is how close together all of these major cities are - from where I live London is 120 miles away, Cardiff is about 50 miles and Plymouth is 120 miles away. 

If you look at all of the major cities I mentioned Liverpool is the furthest West, so if we start there Liverpool to Manchester is 35 miles, Manchester to Sheffield is 35 miles, Sheffield to Leeds is 45 miles and Leeds to York is 30 miles exactly. That means that the North of the UK is the perfect place for a road trip - either to start one or to build your entire itinerary around that region. 

There are so many beautiful historic towns and bustling cities that I desperately want to visit and even though I’ve only mentioned the major places, if you’re travelling by car then there are an unending amount of picture-perfect villages where you can stop to explore on the way.

As a Southerner the North has so far been on the list but not ticked off because even the closest of those cities is over 3 hours away by train or car. However, I’m genuinely considering booking a cheap train ticket or flight and then just travelling between the major cities for a few days. Let me know if that’s something you would be interested in and maybe I can make it happen sometime this year.

I hope that these suggestions give you a few really good starting points or at least some inspiration to plan an epic UK road trip, or even just a few mini region-specific road trips. Whatever route you decide to go down (pun most certainly intended), you’ll be sure to have the most amazing time and discover things that you probably never expected to find a few hours drive from home.

Have I missed a really obvious place to visit? Let me know and I might make a part two!

Love and Feathers, 

 The Owlet 💜 

You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Pinterest

A Guide to Historic Events in the UK

Hey Owlets,

The UK is known for it’s love of traditions that range from cute and quaint to weird and wonderful - if you’re not from the UK it can be hard to understand why they started and how they’ve become such an ingrained part of UK culture. Truthfully, a lot of the most historic events aren’t attended by many locals anymore - they’re either an odd tradition that a small town keeps alive, or they’re attended by tourists. Either way, the UK has some pretty quirky traditions so it’s interesting to learn about them, even if you don’t get to visit them!

A Pandemic Hotel Stay: My Experience

Hey Owlets,

I originally wrote this post in November 2020, and I've been holding on for "the right time" to post since then. Now things are starting to open back up I'm desperate to get away for awhile, but I know that not all of you feel the same and you're maybe a little nervous about how travel might look after lockdown. With this in mind I wanted to share my own personal experience from our between-lockdowns trip to give you an idea of what to expect.

 In September we went on a road trip around Devon and Cornwall and during that trip I received a lot of messages asking what it was like to stay in a hotel now, what had changed and if I felt safe. A lot of you mentioned that you wanted to go away but you weren’t sure what to expect, so hopefully sharing my experience will help you to feel more informed about staying in hotels when we’re able to travel again. It goes without saying that this is my experience from before the second lockdown, but I can’t imagine that there’s much more that hotels can change so I still think it’s worth talking about. We stayed at a Premier Inn for our trip - this post isn’t sponsored and we paid for the stay ourselves, but I’m telling you this so that you know my experiences are linked to this specific brand of hotels, because the rules may be slightly different depending on where you choose to stay.

Parkway Hotel & Spa, Cwmbran: A Very Honest Review

Hey Owlets,

If you’ve been following me on Instagram you might remember our trip to South Wales late last year. It seems a lifetime ago now between multiple lockdowns and English people basically being banned from crossing the boarder into Wales, but it was such a good trip that I wanted to chat about it some more, particularly now we’re actually able to go to hotels again. Honestly, I’m so excited - I’ve got three trips booked already!

 The Parkway Hotel and Spa is the most hidden of hidden gems that you could possibly hope to find. Driving there I genuinely thought we had taken a wrong turn as we made our way through an industrial park, until we spotted a gap in the hedge and a sign. As you turn in though, you instantly forget where you’ve just been as you’re transported into an oasis in the countryside. You drive down a tree-lined road and despite the surroundings outside the hotel you could easily believe that you were in the middle of nowhere. You end up with the perfect combination of secluded but actually quite well connected, with it only being 18 miles from Cardiff and having it’s own train station in the centre of Cwmbran. The first impressions were a very good sign of what was to come.

Let’s Catch Up

Hey Owlets,

A while ago I uploaded a post called “It’s Been a While” and the irony hasn’t escaped me that it’s actually been a while since I uploaded again after that post. In case you missed it, I talked about struggling to find inspiration in lockdown and coasting by doing the minimum each day to continue to keep a roof over our heads - inspiring content, I know. In that sense things haven’t changed a lot, but other things have so I thought we were due a catch up because I actually miss sitting down to put my thoughts on a page with you.

So, what happened in the last few months?

Follow Me To: A Devon & Cornwall Road Trip

Hey Owlets,

I feel like I'm back in 2017 as I write these words but it's time for a good old-fashioned "Follow Me To" post. If you're a fairly recent member of The Owlet family you probably have no idea what this is, but my entire blogging career started with me writing travel diaries and sharing where I've been. In all honesty I phased them out a few years ago because I was told that people only read blogs for advice; well as much as I enjoy writing tips posts, I do miss my diary-style posts and having spoken to you on Twitter and Instagram it turns out you do too! Given that we're all in need of a bit of escapism right now I thought this would be the perfect time to bring them back. So, let's chat about what I got up to on our recent trip to Plymouth.

How to Plan the Perfect Road Trip

Hey Owlets,

Holidaying abroad has almost returned back to 2019 levels,  and while that is a good thing for travel companies it's not so positive for UK travel and holiday provides.

With so much going on int the world at the moment, there are many of us in need of a good holiday on a budget, and a road trip could be the perfect answer!

A lot of people tend to instantly dismiss road trips - until recently it’s been considered one of the most uncool ways to travel, and it’s only in the last few years with millennials converting vans into hipster-friendly mobile homes that it’s become a sought after way to travel again.

Review: Llanerch Hotel, South Wales

*gifted stay

Hey Owlets,

If you've been keeping up with my Instagram you'll know that I've been doing a lot of travelling recently. While I love getting to explore sometimes you need a little quiet time in between to reset, so my boyfriend and I headed to Hensol to spend some time at Llanerch Vineyard. The beautiful five star hotel is tucked away in a quiet corner of South Wales in the kind of place that you would never find if you weren't looking for it.

April in Pictures

Hey Owlets,

Be careful what you wish for! I haven't published a "Month in Pictures" in so long, mostly because the first part of the year is never very interesting then because everything came at once I was drowning in content. I'm still buried under photos to edit and to-do lists to tick off, but I'm a master procrastinator so let's ignore that and have a chat instead!

A Weekend Guide to the Welsh Valleys

Hey Owlets,

If you live in South West England then you'll already know about the Severn Bridge drama, but for those of you that don't allow me to catch you up. Wales is incredible - full of beautiful walks, stunning scenery and something for everyone to do; in fact my "Welsh Dad" as I called him spent the entire time I knew him trying to instill some Welsh pride into this "poor Englishman". But there was just one problem - a £6.70 barrier. Despite Wales and England only being separated by a 3 mile long bridge the toll was something of a mental barrier, and it always felt unfair because you had to pay to get in to Wales but not out (although honestly, it was worth it). 

However, the days of one-sided tolls are finally over having been abolished at the end of last year, so Love The Valleys invited me to take a look round.

Follow Me To Spain in Wales: April Feria

Hey Owlets!

I don’t think I’ve done a “Follow Me To” post since I went to France in January, but the rain is getting warmer and my schedule is filling up so we must be getting towards summer! Today I wanted to take you to an event that I’ve never actually been to before. 

My Year In Review: 2017

Hey Owlets,

Last year I wrote a blog post looking back on all the things I'd done in 2016. It was half selfish because I wanted to be able to look back and see what I did and how I've changed, but you seemed to really enjoy reading back so I thought I'd do the same for 2017. If any year was going to show my journey, it would be this one. Even thinking back I'm proud of how far I've come, so scrolling through my iCloud drive was an emotional trip down memory lane.

July in Pictures

Hey Owlets,

I tried a new style of post last month with my June in Pictures post, and it had so much good feedback I thought I'd do my July in pictures too - even if it is a little later than anticipated.

We start off the month with a trip to Bristol Zoo after hours which was absolutely amazing! The lovely people at Bristol Zoo invited us for dinner and a private tour after the zoo had closed to celebrate their restaurant refurbishment and their twilight evenings at the zoo. The food was amazing and it was so cool to see all the animals in a more peaceful setting, check out the post for more details.

Follow Me To: Graduation!

Hey Owlets,

Today I have a particularly special "Follow Me To" post. In case you've not been on any social media in the last two weeks... I'M A GRADUATE!! I am going to be filming a Q&A and I've already had a few questions about applying so I intend to do a completely separate post about that, but for now I just wanted to be able to share my day with you. 

My graduation trip actually started the day before the ceremony. Our ceremony was at 10am and there was absolutely no chance that I was going to get ready and do my makeup ready to leave home at 7am so we stayed in a hotel. We decided to celebrate the night before so went to Cafe Rouge for dinner. We decided to use Tesco Clubcard points to pay for it. In case you didn't know, you can transfer points into vouchers and they're worth 4 times more, so £2.50 in points is £10 in vouchers (not sponsored - I just don't think anyone knows about it!). Anyway, to the point of the story. Dad called because the vouchers hadn't come through, and as per usual he got chatting to the man on the phone, saying that we were in Cardiff for graduation, so he gave us an extra £10 voucher to say congratulations. Not particularly relevant but I thought that was so lovely! The food was great as ever, and they're really good for gluten free food too. We then went back to the hotel, I opened the presents my parents kindly gave me then we all had an early night.

Follow Me To: My 21st Birthday!

Hey Owlets,

IM OLD!!

So I'm officially 21 now and I felt like that called for a very special week in pictures- my birthday week. I've had the best week of travel, parties and spending time with friends and family so I thought I'd bring you along. Obviously the above photo isn't from my birthday week, but it's pretty much become my own personal meme every time I'm excited about something.

I started my birthday week by handing in my final EVER uni assignment - I'm still not over the fact that I'm no longer a student. I'm kind of gutted that I didn't get to celebrate with everyone else, but in the evening there was a dinner to honour the Chair of South Gloucestershire Council's end of term and she's a family friend so I wanted to go and support her. As it happens, I ended up doing my fair share of celebrating there and it was a really good night.