Staycation in the South of England

A staycation, or stay vacation, as I had jotted down before searching for the right spelling on the Internet, is a type of vacation where you stay within your country or region.

While it’s not my first one, this one was special and one of the best holidays I ever had. Not only was it a staycation, but also a trip to already known destinations – the first four nights were spent in what we both think is the most beautiful and exciting city in the world, London, and the last three in vibrant, seaside vibes-packed Brighton.

Mainly for leisure, and sometimes for work, my hubby and I both spent a good amount of time in London over the past ten years, and once in Brighton, over ten years ago and not together.

Why was it this special this time though?

London

Well, swapping hostels rooms for private hotel rooms does make a huge difference I won’t lie! In London we stayed at the Queensborough Apartments, a 3 mins walk from Queensway tube stop on the Central line, and a minute away from Kensington Gardens. The flat was comfortable, good value and in an unbeatable location, in a very very quiet street. While I had bought an umbrella and Chelsea boots for the occasion, we had warm weather for the whole week! And I was so inappropriately dressed…

The Big Ben

St Paul’s Cathedral

The Shard

We had no plans whatsoever for our stay, except meeting with Fede, my high school pal and adopted Londoner, wandering the Royal parks, and maybe, going to the Harry Potter studios – everything happened, except the last one as when we decided on booking the official tour, this was obviously sold out for the whole week ahead as it’s so popular. We didn’t mind, less time sitting our bums and more time to walk around.

Arriving at Stansted airport meant catching the direct train to Liverpool Street, located in the City of London, site where London was also founded, next to the Thames. The sun was warm and I enjoyed walking among these high skyscrapers ending down at the Thames to then continue my walk to Tower Bridge. Walking by the Thames and taking in the views across the river, no matter the side I’m on, is one of my favourite things to do when in London.

The Walkie-Talkie

The Gherkin

St Katharine Docks Marina

Tower Bridge

I think it’s the open spaces one of the things I enjoy the most about walking along the Thames, same as walking in Hyde Park, Regent’s Park or St James Park. And I’m always very impressed to see all birds that live in them.

Pelicans in St James Park

Regent’s Park

A very different story goes for Soho or Camden Town, neighbourhoods we visit once and again when in London. While Soho is in the heart of the centre, Camden Town is further away from the buzz of the city, but they’re both overwhelming places to visit, for their alternative shops, independent shops, music scene (the best English bands are straight out of these neighborhoods) and unique foods.

Amy Winehouse sculpture

Camden Town

All these places may sound familiar to you already and are places that should be seen when in London. The last time we were in London was in 2019 for my graduation at the Barbican centre, and I don’t remember going to Camden then. But I do remember doing something completely random and free that excites me to the day when thinking of it. That was visiting the Royal Courts of Justice, which on top of being a stunning building, are also free to visit while hearings are being held. I felt like in the movies seeing the judges with the typical wig.

I am telling you this because I think it’s important to leave some unplanned time when visiting a place, so to have time to run into surprises like this, which can end up making stronger and better memories than the usual ‘tick the box’ sightseeing.

On our last day in London, we cycled to Westminster and ran into the Supreme Court London building, free to visit and with super welcoming staff, clearly happy to have visitors. No hearing was taking place, so they also let us take some pictures – very happy tourists!

The Supreme Court London

Where to eat

This is always a tough one for me, as I love food, I worked with food, I’ve had lots of good food in my life and therefore can be very opinionated about it. One thing that really excites me about going to London is all the good food I can eat. The competition is high and the quality is top notch. But you can still go wrong, I don’t like for example to pay a lot of money just because the decoration is cool, and a lot of places just are like that. This time we kept it simple and I know I will have lots of criticism for repeatedly eating at some chains, but sometimes I just need consistency and this is what they give you.

Pret a Manger has been a fav for oat milk flat whites and delicious breakfast sandwiches, and Greene King pubs another staple for our pints and easy dinners, with unexpected options like plant-based burgers and fresh mussels, at stunning venues such as The Anchor Bankside, where we went twice, or the Silver Cross.

Plant-based burger

Local pints

The Anchor Bankside with the Shard in the back

Kapara Israeli Restaurant Soho was an exception to our pub routine, chosen because next door to the bar we were having drinks at with Fede. There was a dj, a super cool bathroom, a beautiful decor, but, the food was really not worth what we paid. Overall a different experience with friends.

How to move around London

It’s been a few years now that you can tap your contactless card to access and exit the tube in London, and this will automatically calculate and charge what your ride costs, with a daily cap at less than £9. We used this a lot and it was very convenient. Did you know that London’s tube is the oldest and fastest in the world? Be aware some stops do not have lifts though, and carrying up whatever luggage you may have can prove a challenge.

While the tube is fast and convenient, our favourite means of transport is the bicycle. Thanks to Lime, Tier and Forest, we enjoyed some lovely rides across the parks and into town.

We were sad to leave London, but happy with our fast train from Blackfriars train station to Brighton, conveniently bought with my fav Train line app.

Brighton

Brighton is a place to relax, walk by the sea several times a day, eat, check out the independent shops in North Laine and more.

In need of a good bed, we booked the Premier Inn Brighton for the three nights and we’re very happy with the value for this hotel, plus the fantastic location, right in the centre. This makes such a big difference to your overall holiday as you can come back for a nap after having a busy morning and you don’t have to worry about public transportation at night, if you want to hang out in the centre.

Where to eat

My fav thing to do while in Brighton must have been walking down to The Coffee House to have my oat flat white, first thing in the morning. This view and company, I will miss!

Pizza Pilgrims was a revelation, we don’t have this chain in Scotland, and we both thought it was one of the best pizzas ever.

Pizza Pilgrims Brighton

Lunch at the seafood shack was one of the best lunches of my life. I just love no frills, fresh, simple, local produce, and this is just what this place offered. We had a selection of cockles, crayfish and marinated prawns as sharers, and then a lobster roll, and a crayfish roll, of which I have no pictures because of seagulls fear so we had to eat quickly!!

As I write I realise how much good food we had in Brighton! On the last night, we treated ourselves to a seafood dinner and joined a quick thirty minutes queue to Riddle & Finna The Lanes (they have another one by the beach). This restaurant immediately caught my attention the first time we walked past it – the open kitchen you can see from outside, the delicious smell coming from it, and the cosy space, all made up for a fantastic dinner.

As we sat, they placed a round plate with fresh butter, bread and different sorts of fish pates in front of us. We then ordered two glasses of Sussex bubbles, two starters made of scallops in lemon and parsley and calamari with peanuts and ginger sauce and as mains, seafood linguini and seafood risotto. Everything tasted very fresh and we were full by the end of it.

I’m so excited about the food, that I almost forgot to tell you about the highlight of the trip, a day out to the Seven Sisters, a spectacular geological cliff formation in this beautiful part of the world. People take day trips from London just to see them. From Brighton, we took the local bus to Birling Gap, which is an hour drive, plus a thirty minute (pleasant) walk down the cliffs.

Birling Gap

Our last day in Brighton was the perfect holiday day! The sun was shining, the sea colours were beautiful, and we even saw a marine creature in the water, not sure what it was though! We walked all the way to Hove and saw the colourful Beach Huts, then cycled back with the Brighton city bikes. After an hour nap (so many naps have been had during this trip), we were out again, having a delicious local ice cream by the beach. Aw, what a life!

The Lanes, Brighton

The Cricketers pub

The Royal Pavilion

We are going back home full of new memories and well energised and wondering how much we are joking when saying we want to spend our holidays here from now on! 😁

I would love to hear of you’ve ever been and what you loved the most!

For more ideas on what to do in London have a look at my post from 2019 too 💖

Pamper day on a solo trip to London