This post was written by Hannah, aged 14, who entered our Young Persons’ Writing Competition 2020.
My dream UK holiday is one that encompasses history, culture and the often beautiful natural sites of the United Kingdom. I would love to really experience the whole of the United Kingdom by visiting Scotland, Wales, and England through a road trip.
Firstly, I would love to start in one of the most ruggedly picturesque places in the world. The Lake District is full to the brim of placid, emerald lakes and lush, gently sloping hills. Furthermore, there are many authentic and quaint villages to explore that contain ample local history. The most famous lake is Lake Windermere, and local tourist agencies offer various fun watersports such as kayaking and paddleboarding. I would also love to hike across the many hills and come face to face with the natural beauty and wildlife.
I would then travel to Glasgow, a city in Scotland that is known as being a major European cultural center, as it contains a vast array of galleries, museums, and festivals. It is very easy to explore by walking and I would love to wander around the city center, possibly coming across the magnificent Glasgow Cathedral and renowned Glasgow School of Art. There are many gems to discover in Glasgow such as the Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Glasgow Style Gallery which contains work by Salvador Dali and Van Gogh.
I would then travel the coast of Scotland, taking in the magical scenery and stopping to sail around the Outer Hebrides. The Outer Hebrides are full of pristine, white-sand beaches and turquoise, crystal-clear waters. I would continue down the coast of Scotland to the city of Inverness. Inverness is situated amidst the beguiling Scottish Highlands and so I would take some time to explore them. There are many elusive red deer that live on the mountains and also sublime waterfalls and streams. Inverness also has the grand Inverness Cathedral and is filled to the brim with culture. Surrounded by numerous myths, I would also take a few hours to visit Loch Ness. I would finish the trip to Scotland by visiting Edinburgh. It boasts centuries of architecture from the Medieval period to the more elegant Georgian period. I would simply wander the streets, taking it all in. Edinburgh is also home to many festivals throughout the year, and it would be really fun to go to one of these.
I would then visit London. London is the bustling, cosmopolitan center of the United Kingdom. I would love to get my fill of history and culture by visiting the National Gallery, British Museum and Natural History Museum. London has many more galleries and museums that I could also visit. It also has many trendy, fashionable places such as Soho that I would like to go to. London is a growing, modern place but is also coated in history, and contains almost everything a tourist would want from Buckingham Palace to the Churchill War Rooms.
Afterwards, I would like to quickly visit Bath as it holds lots of significance as a center of Roman trade and holds lots of invaluable ancient history. I would like to visit the actual Roman baths that the town is built around. Then I would like to go to the Cotswolds as they look like the idyllic, charming villages taken straight out of a fairytale book. I would also visit Oxford, adequately nicknamed ‘the City of Dreaming Spires’ for its incredible architecture. I would then travel to the Jurassic Coast, which runs from Devon to Dorset. The very rocks record 185 million years of the Earth’s history and the scenery is absolutely amazing; the weather-beaten coastline is littered with coves, beaches, arches and headlands.
In Wales, I would love to visit the Snowdonia National Park which is full of abundant greenery coating the rocky hills, and overflowing with wildlife. Snowdonia is also shrouded in folklore about King Arthur, making it an even more attractive place to go. The summits of the mountains give a lovely, panoramic view of the scenery. Furthermore, I would visit Cardiff. I would travel to Cardiff Castle which has sections that are still intact despite being constructed 1,000 years ago. The city center of Cardiff also offers a range of attractions, entertainment, and shopping. Cardiff also has a vibrant waterfront and was once busy docklands, giving it a great deal of history.