Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

Not every trip to England is all about London. Don’t miss an opportunity to get outside of London to visit some fantastic sights: Windsor Castle, Winchester for the cathedral; Portsmouth for the D-Day Tapestry; Bath for the Roman Baths, the Abbey, the Royal Crescent and Jane Austen Museum; the city of York for Yorkminster and the Shambles; the Yorkshire Downs, Lake District and the Peak District for scenic beauty; Land’s End, Penzance, Salisbury, Stoke-on-Trent, Chester, plus Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland. The list is practically endless!

But where to stay? Ah, that is the question. There are hotel chains in most of the major cities, as you would expect, so if you want a Hilton, check out their website. Ditto for Marriott, Best Western, Holiday Inn, and any other chain you might want to use.

But if you want to experience something apart from a generic hotel, consider being a bit more adventurous.  Let us tell you a story from our own journeys.

On one of our trips we did little planning as we wanted to wander and see what might come our way. We made just a few hotel reservations: one near Heathrow airport for the day we arrived; one at that same hotel for the night before we were to depart; a reservation for three nights in London just before our departure date.  In between, for about 10 days, we had no plans and set out each day to see where the road would take us.

On the second morning, heading west toward Land’s End, we talked about where we might spend the night. Noticing a sign for a Holiday Inn Express, we stopped to see if they had any hotels in the West country. They did not, but the nice lady behind the counter said she once stayed in a small hotel on the coast that she recommended.  Phone number in hand we called from the car and, sure enough, they had one double room available which they happily reserved for us and also gave directions—this was in the days before Satellite Navigation.

After lovely stops in Penzance and Land’s End, we set out for the hotel, following the directions. The journey began on a major highway (4 lanes), changed to a smaller highway (2 lanes) and then to a country road that shrank to a country lane with high hedges on both sides.  Eventually the hedges ended and all we could see was a horizon and land that ended about 100 yards away. We noticed a small sign with the name of the hotel and an arrow pointing over the cliff. Easing up to the edge, we could see the top of buildings well below us with a switchback road leading down to a parking lot. We slowly eased our way down and sure enough, there it was, the Hartland Quay Hotel!

It had the most amazing coastal view of the Atlantic Ocean, a nice pub attached where we had dinner, and a museum about the history of local shipwrecks.  During dinner we met some folks doing a walking tour of the coastline who gave us tips on things to see in the area.  Overall, it was an amazing, serendipitous find with great memories for us.

After that particular trip we broadened our approach of where to stay, which now includes small hotels, rental cottages, and B&Bs.  Only when we have no other choice do we opt for a brand-name hotel.

What can you take away from our story?  Be encouraged to branch out from major hotel chains and “safe” restaurants when you visit England outside of London. Do some research, find out-of-the-way places to stay, eat in the local pubs, meet the local residents there, and soak up the English friendliness. You may be pleasantly surprised with what you find along the way!  To help further we’ll be posting some reviews of places we’ve stayed, including how we found them, to give you some hints on planning your own adventure.

Stay tuned!

(The picture above is of Hartland Quay Hotel, taken from their website at http://hartlandquayhotel.co.uk)