Travelling - past, present and future

Helloo, this ones going to be a bit of a lengthy one so go and grap yourself a cuppa’ and *yummy snack of choice* to get yourself through!

Travelling and exploring new places is something that i have always loved. A few years ago i decided that i didn’t appreciate the places around me enough. There are some really beautiful cities in the UK, i’d love to visit them all eventually so i’m slowly working my way through. In 2015 i visited some amazing places and there’s many more that i plan to visit or revisit this year too. I have also done snazzy (hopefully) clickable links to any of the places that I have mentioned to make it a little easier for you to navigate, so you can take a sneaky look and maybe visit a few for yourself. 

2015 Travels:

I won’t go into too much detail on every city just a few of my favourites and most memorable ones, mentioning just a few of my highlights from throughout the year and hopefully I won't ramble on for too long!
 So in February i went to Norwich, it was very quaint with lots of cobbled streets that you could get lost amongst filled with lots of lovely little independent shops, i know sounds like my kind of heaven already! Whilst i was there i took the opportunity to go to lots of little cafes and coffee shops, i would definitely recommend No 33, theres usually a queue but its worth the wait for the best pancakes! Strangers coffee house, Pandoras kitchen ( who sell the best salted caramel brownies oh my gosh ) and little red roaster which has a really cute stall on the market are also ones to visit. On the restaurant side i went for the safe bet with Jamie’s Italian and Bill’s, you can never go wrong definitely two of my favourites for any city! 

In April i took a quick trip down to London, although I didn’t have much time as I mainly went to watch the marathon. However I would love to go again in the future and spend more time exploring as I think the city itself is amazing and there is so much there that I am yet to see!

Moving on to May my parents took me on a surprise trip to Cambridge for my birthday, this was the second time i had been, I absolutely love it there, everywhere is so cute and historic. The boat tours are touristy of course but I would recommend them if it is your first time, they are so relaxed and a good way to learn a little about the city. I went to an amazing crepe place that i wish i could remember the name of! We also went for one of the best halloumi burgers i’ve ever had in a really cool restaurant with an industrial style decor which i loved called Smokeworks, hidden away on a little side street but well worth finding! 

In the summer me and my family went on holiday to the south of France and whilst we were there we visited the city of Perpignan. This is the only city outside of the UK that i am going to mention as I am yet to venture out of this country too much. However it was too gorgeous here not to give it a quick mention. It was nice to see somewhere that wasn’t completely commercialised, there was a lot of French culture and things that i would consider to be traditionally French which was nice to experience. The shops were also amazing , and yes a very necessary trip to Sephora obviously had to happen!

I’ve visited both Nottingham and Leeds countless times throughout the years but I love them both so much as cities that i thought I would still include them. Nottingham has lots of lovely places to visit once you get to know the good areas you can find some hidden gems down some of the little side streets! I love the cafe ‘Homemade’ , ‘200 degrees coffee roastery’ is also the perfect place to take a break from the shopping with a cuppa’! I also have to mention the ‘Jamie’s Italian’ here is so nice and you can never beat a trip to Yo Sushi what ever city you’re in! There’s also a lovely area called Cobden Chambers that has lots of little independent businesses, including a magazine shop I love called ‘Ideas on paper’ where you can pick up lots of independent magazines, zines, books and stationary. Moving on to Leeds, which I think I could say is my favourite city so far, I just really love everything about it, i would really like to go to Uni there eventually i think. I can’t go a trip there without going to the corn exchange, not just for the mandatory insta photos but also for the gorgeous little independent shops inside (you can pick up the BEST humous and falafel at ‘Humpit’!) For coffee and cakes i would definitely recommend ‘Laynes espresso’ as this is by far my favourite cafe in Leeds, but ‘Mrs Atha’s’ is also nice too. I have so many more recommendations for these two cities because I go fairly often, so if you want a more in depth post or anymore information on them just let me know in the comments.

My aspirations for travelling in 2016. 

I haven’t decided on too many places as it would be completely unrealistic, however there are a few places I have been desperate to visit for so long and this year i would like to explore these places to tick them of my list. I also invested in one of those scratch maps of the UK and Ireland so that i can follow and keep track of which places I have been to and decide where i want to go next, I think these are such a cute idea!

The first place I would love to visit is Brighton! I can’t believe i’ve never been as it looks right up my street with the lovely little beach huts and independent shops and cafes I'm pretty sure i’d be in heaven. I’ve been reading lots of posts and been very inspired by the lovely Viviannadoesmakeup and Charlottesweb who have both done amazing posts on Brighton, well worth a read if you’re also thinking on taking a trip.

Somewhere thats a little bit of a trek but i have been desperate to go to for so long is Edinburgh. After following whatoliviadid’s trip there i felt totally inspired and i’m so excited to go and explore! I think it looks so cute and historic! Definitely look forward to a blog post in the near future of me exploring the cobbled streets, little shops and cafes, and all my Scottish excitement!

Finally i would like to take a quick trip to Oxford. It’s been sat on my list of places to go for a while now but i just never seem to have got round to going. I’m not sure when I plan to go but it just looks very traditionally English and a nice place to explore for a day or two!

I’m sure there will be other places I visit this year too, however I like to decide on a few destinations at the beginning of the year so that I have things to look forward to, maybe it will motivate me through the struggles of sixth form a bit, or is that too optimistic?

Wishlist of places to visit abroad:

I thought i’d include a little section of places that i am currently lusting over visiting in the future that are slightly further away. When i’m older, a bit more settled, and have explored and appreciated my own country I would love to venture abroad. Going abroad makes me feel fairly anxious with lots of changes, new surroundings and the dreaded plane! However despite this I am determined to combat this in the future and try to say 'yes' to more opportunities that I am given, otherwise I know i will regret missing out on some amazing experiences and memories. Some of the places i’d love to visit include; Thailand, Holland, Berlin and Budapest. I've seen loads of people from some of my favourite blogs and people i follow on twitter travelling to amazing places this year and i have felt so inspired and envious of all their amazing trips! I’ve looked into them all quite a lot recently and I think I would love them all, i’d really love to experience all of the different cultures and traditions and just generally explore them all!

This post is getting super long i’m so sorry, but i’m pretty proud of you if you’ve managed to get this far and I hope at least part of this has been kind of useful or interesting for you. Let me know in the comments where you would like to visit this year or if you have any questions on any of the places i have mentioned!

Ash x