We had the exciting task of dipping our toes back in old familiar waters, and ended up as London correspondents for a number of Aussie breakfast radio shows.
Royal Wedding Aussies live from London
Throughout the week we talked all things royal wedding as Aussies live from London on River (Brisbane), Power FM, and a host of other stations across Queensland and New South Wales. We were a little tired by the end of it, but it was good fun.
We were also tipped-off by channel nine that they would be broadcasting live from Buckingham Palace, and I fortuitously ended up at a royal rehearsal in Windsor!
Take a look at these Instagram Stories highlights for the best of the royal wedding, Aussies live from London.
Congrats Harry and Meghan! What a lovely, sunny, romantic and historic event to be a part of.
Let us know in the comments how you celebrated xo
Love Royal Experiences? Did you know we have a few other great posts and insight to share?
Back at home in Australia sometimes you’ll find us engaged in banter at the pub with our neighbours from New Zealand. We’ll give each other a little good-humoured grief about our accents and get into heated debates about who boasts the best cities.
We can make fun of each other at home, you know? But overseas when we run into an Antipodean on our travels we more often than not stick together.
It’s a little like how in your family you can make fun (within reason, obviously) of siblings or cousins, but if someone else tries to, we’ll automatically defend the other.
A lot of this mateship goes back to war times, and on 25 April each year our nations commemorate Anzac Day to observe when our troupes landed at Gallipoli in 1915.
Today Anzac Day still stands as one of our nations’ most important occasions and is marked by a public holiday each year, as well as moving dawn services and daytime military marches.
Incidentally, it’s also my birthday.
Indeed, many of us make the pilgrimage to Gallipoli in Turkey for special dawn ceremonies.
And, there are always services in London including a dawn service at the Australian War Memorial, Hyde Park Corner which is – you might be surprised to know – usually overflowing with attendees.
If you have spent any time travelling or living abroad, you’ll appreciate that the sense of patriotism is often stronger when you’re away from home.
Add that to an emotional national day and you’ll usually find a hive of expats huddling together flying their flag.
On Anzac Day, Aussies and Kiwis unite, and being this far away – just as our men were 102 years ago – it’s a poignant moment to be part of.
It’s for this reason that I jumped on an opportunity that a colleague at work – a lovely lady from New Zealand – told me about.
Each year our High Commission offers passes to special ceremonies, and those with an Australian or New Zealand passport can apply.
You can try this link from the beginning of each year (or if it’s not working, Google ‘Anzac Day London High Commission’).
You must apply for passes to attend this special service, held at the Cenotaph war memorial in Whitehall, and followed by a church service at Westminster Abbey up the road.
Here’s a sample of what we experienced:
The day was moving and memorable. Highly recommended – add the task to your diary from February next year. We’ll definitely do this again.
Rolling green hills, pretty ponds, and sheep calmly grazing across vast expanses of English countryside − it was all very dreamy, as we headed towards the filming location of Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle.
We’d been driving along a quiet winding road for a while and wondered where it was.
“If you tilt your head to the left, Miss, just over the tops of those trees, you’ll see it in a moment,” chimed the jolly cab driver I’d met just 15 minutes ago in the nearby village of Newbury.
Filming location of Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle
As he spoke, indeed, it appeared! How amazing – Downton Abbey, or in real life, Highclere Castle – a very accessible day trip from London.
I couldn’t help the welling of excitement as we rounded the corner past more manicured greenery.
All of a sudden, England’s most famous stately home, Highclere Castle arose, grand as ever.
It reminded me of the excitement of when we had the chance to explore historical Blencowe Hall (part of my heritage and a stately place up in the north of England)!
It was just like in one of the world’s most-watched series’, Downton Abbey (sadly, final season aired in 2016, but as of an update to this blog, a film was released late 2019.
Exploring Highclere Castle (‘Downton Abbey’)
You too can play out your Crawley family fantasies by visiting the filming location of Downton Abbey, as do thousands of others who visit annually during the lavish property’s open periods (usually UK’s spring/summer).
The Jacobethan-style country house is set on 5000 acres (five times bigger than New York’s Central Park).
It’s an opportunity to step back into another world altogether.
The library is magnificent, housing over 5000 classic editions; pause a moment in the posh dining room and ballroom (where many a romantic Downton moment has been stolen), and the bedrooms (there’s over 50!).
You can wander the formal gardens, plus enjoy a spot of tea and scones. It’s very special, almost royal like Buckingham Palace, that’s for sure.
When Downton filming is done, Highclere hosts expensive events and celebrity weddings.
It’s home to Lord and Lady Carnarvon, and the property has been in the Carnarvon family for over 300 years.
Back in its heyday, an army of 60 servants catered to the Carnarvons’ every desire. However, it costs around $1 million to maintain such a stately home these days, with just 20 full time staff.
Getting from London to Highclere Castle
It’s an easy day trip − around an hour’s train ride from Paddington to the quaint town of Newbury, then a friendly cab driver will ferry you to Downton… er, I mean, Highclere (but don’t worry if you get it wrong, they’re used to it!).
Good news for those fretting over the end of our favourite show or indeed excited for the new film – you can still make a pilgrimage here and enjoy ever more of England’s charms. Book your tickets here
Are you a Downton Abbely fan too? Drop me a line in the comments!
Anyone who has been to York in England knows there’s plenty of cool things to do here. It’s a charming northern English city, and I’m definitely glad to have stopped by, even if just for a weekend.
We wanted an adventure outside of London. York is feasible being that trains take only a couple of hours between the cities.
The journey ends as it did from around 1841, at the beautiful York transit centre. Incidentally, also revealed to us as the largest Roman burial area in York.
While just two hours between London and York today, back in the 1800s the train journey took 14 hours! I wonder how long it was originally between some of our other favourite destinations accessible by train, like Northampton or Kent?
Things to do in York: getting around
We’d recommend booking tickets for the big red bus ‘hop on hop off’ tour.
Just £10 each (at time of writing), with a stop right outside the train station, this proved to be an effective and informative orientation to the city for a pair of wanderers short on time.
For just £7 more we also enjoyed an hour-long river expedition, worthwhile given the city’s former prominence as a major port of trade.
Weekend in York: what you’ll learn
Throughout the day we learned about the old Tudor building, The King’s Manor, where many a monarch has stayed. Legend has it that Anne Boleyn walks through the courtyard in the evenings, head in her arms.
Old Roman and medieval walls and ruins surround the small city, standing testament to centuries of intriguing history, dating back beyond even 2000 years ago when York held as a Roman fortress.
Coming into contemporary times (by comparison), several closed-in windows were pointed out to us, still remaining barred from when the land owners refused to pay a new tax on sunlight in the eighteenth century. It’s where the term ‘daylight robbery’ comes from.
The famous Gothic York Minster Cathedral – one of the biggest of its kind in northern Europe – is of course beautiful, and stands as the tallest building in these parts.
York is traditionally a very religious city, evidenced by many churches.
We were told of a local saying that dates back hundreds of years:
“You can go to a different church every week and different pub every night”
…because both types of establishments are plentiful within the small space.
Haunted hotels in York
Appropriately, we dined for lunch at The Red Lion pub, allegedly the oldest and most haunted pub in the area! 👻
There are – by many accounts – lots of haunted hotels in York.
The Red Lion’s owner Becci Turner turned out to be a lovely young Aussie (we are everywhere!).
She verified “strange happenings” for the first few months after she took up lodging upstairs at the pub. But, she said it has all settled. They’ve “come to an understanding”.
Shopping and exploring
We discovered many carvery shops and even old cobblestone lanes that used to be filled with butchers stores (mostly now tourist shops); meat was big business around here.
Even more amusing were the delectable (to non-Vegans of course) looking meat stores on the old Viking Street of ‘The coopers/wood and barrel workers’ – how appropriate, Cooper does love his meat!
There was another pub called Cooper’s Place – evidently ‘coopers’ (barrel and tub makers) were very important to the Vikings and also residents throughout medieval times.
Can’t go past a bit of history in amongst beer and a bite to eat.
Aside from churches and pubs there are many amazing Viking exhibitions and museums, Roman wall walks and all sorts of cool events on year-round in York. Set yourself up with a schedule before visiting.
It’s quite extraordinary, being from Australia, and wandering the streets of cities that exist amongst fascinating historical ruins and relics. I do somewhat envy those locals who probably take it all for granted.
It’s been sunny and warm lately – almost, dare I say it, Aussie-like! We’re gearing up for the big Europe trip and taking advantage of our last few days in London, and so today finally ventured to the ‘other end’ of the Overground line to Richmond. What a beautiful part of the world this is! I’d urge visitors in London to take a ride to this region on the river. Elegant homes, cute pubs by the water, quaint shops, the gorgeous Kew Gardens (stop prior to Richmond) and a short bus ride to the delightful Hampton Court Palace, one of Henry VIII’s favourite haunts… well it was back in the day, but perhaps he’s still ‘haunting’ there, who knows? ;-) I must say, I was looking forward to my visit to this palace, and it didn’t disappoint. Unlike The Tower of London which can be a bit creepy (although I love that too), this place is bright, magical and maintains a regal air about it. It’s easy to imagine Queens wandering around the lavish rooms, up and down the staircases, through the famous outdoor maze…
Travel tip: When we first moved to London I invested in a Royal Palaces membership card which not only provides some funds towards the upkeep of London’s lovely old properties, but allows unlimited entry into the likes of Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, The Tower of London and Hampton Court. Brilliant value for money, and offers many options for nice days out.
With only a few weekends to explore the parts of London we haven’t been to (and those we’d like to see again) we ventured out early to see how the ‘other half’ live in the wealthy Mayfair district. We researched the precinct and discovered that the majority of ‘tourist’ action and celebrity spotting occurs at the historical but chic Shepherd Market, a charming little piazza developed in the late 1730s, hidden away between Piccadilly and Curzon Street (just a few minutes walk from Green Park station; not far at all from The Ritz where Rhonda and I recently dined). The main road near the tube was buzzing and busy (as it usually is) with tourist buses stopping every few minutes to collect visitors for their trips around the city; and artists who were setting up dozens of paintings for sale along the walled entrance into Green Park itself.
We wandered down a signed old London alleyway that pointed the way towards Shepherd Market but unfortunately when we arrived there wasn’t much happening, so we stopped for a latte, meandered around the square and admired the old Victorian pubs and quaint boutiques for a while, then consulted the trusty BlackBerry for alternative Saturday exploration options.
We’re on a budget at the moment so looked up ‘free London attractions’. Of all the options, the Kensington Roof Gardens seemed like a great idea, although apparently they’re closed until mid-week (so stay tuned for that update); we decided instead to head back onto the Jubilee Line to London Bridge where I’d seen some interesting old shops and pretty cafes a few weeks earlier.
As it turns out, London Bridge is absolutely humming on Saturdays because of the famous Borough Market – a gathering that we’d even seen featured on The Travel Channel but had never been to because we rarely ventured to this side of London (until moving to the east in April). The whole area was loud and busy, with motor vehicles, train traffic, and thousands of people all out to score a delicious bargain at one of the many poultry, fish, curry, wine, cake, bread, cheese, fruit and vege stalls – a trading tradition that dates back beyond 1014!
We were in our element, sampling all manner of delights, and even found a stall that was promoting local wines – for a mere fiver we sampled six glasses (rosés, whites and reds) that are ‘home made’ in the UK, and learned about the history thanks to our lovely wine connoisseur, Dominique – a special shout-out to www.winepantry.co.uk for this experience, and FYI we did choose to purchase a lovely bottle of Biddenden Gribble Bridge Rosé (budget… out the window again this weekend!).
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