UK Diary: Road to Bristol

Hello everyone, today we're starting our road trip. Before we drive around northern England, we'll head to Bristol first. Because our main mission for my UK trip is to attend my nephew's graduation.

 

 This trip was a new experience for me. I usually travel by train, but this time we'll be driving around northern England. Traveling by car in England is quite different from traveling in Thailand. In England, for long distances between cities, we use motorways. They're similar to our own expressways, but without toll booths. For Thailand, where we have to pay tolls the entire way ^^.

 The journey from Cambridge to Bristol takes approximately 3.5 to 4 hours, depending on the route and the length of the stops.

Along the motorways, there are rest areas called service stations, similar to petrol stations in Thailand. However, in England, they're much larger and better in terms of service.

There are coffee shops like Starbucks and Costa, fast food restaurants like Burger King and KFC, and small supermarkets like Waitrose, M&S, and WHSmith where you can buy food and other necessities. Restrooms are also available at these rest stops, which are generally very clean.

Because today we left before noon. After traveling for about an hour, we stopped for a light lunch at the service station.

We didn't want to eat anything heavy, so we went to Little Waitrose to pick out some food. The prices were quite high compared to Thailand (the high cost of living in the UK).

Cute Starbucks reusable cup

For coffee, I relied on Starbucks today (because that's all they have). I didn't buy it at the self-service counter, but bought it at the shop.

Pork Pie !!!

There were a lot of seats, so it was very convenient to eat here. After we ate, we grabbed some snacks to eat in the car as we still had another two hours' drive to Bristol. 

We ate our snacks and enjoyed the view. The scenery was beautiful, with fields, cow farms, and sheep farms everywhere. Unfortunately, I couldn't take any clear photos.

And then we arrived in Bristol! 🚗

We checked in at the Holiday Inn Bristol City Center, a hotel in the heart of the city. It was within walking distance of everything.

View from the room

The room (the bed was small, lol)

My nephew forgot to bring a shirt for tomorrow's graduation ceremony, so we had to go out and buy one at Cabot Circus, a shopping center in the heart of Bristol. It's a 10-minute walk from our hotel. There are department stores, clothing stores, and tons of restaurants.

Iced Americano from Costa Coffee

I also did some shopping, bought a cute pair of shorts, took a break from walking, and had our second coffee of the day.

Cute things at Procook

Before dinner, we still had some time, so we strolled around the city.

There are beautiful old buildings, modern shops, and cafes.

Even though it's crowded, the atmosphere isn't as bustling as London.

It's a truly beautiful city.

Bristol, a port city in southwest England, has been an important hub for maritime trade for centuries. It was also a major port for the slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. (Information from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_slave_trade)

Another common sight here is the seagulls. They're plentiful and not afraid of people.

The streets are lovely.

Tonight's delicious dinner was at Pho, a Vietnamese restaurant. It's a chain restaurant with many branches. Even though it's a chain restaurant, it's delicious.

The food is incredibly flavorful, and the price is in line with the high cost of living in the UK. For our meal with five people, it came to £107.

Before going back to the hotel, we took a walk along Bristol's waterfront. The atmosphere was wonderful, especially on a beautiful summer day like this. There was a cool breeze, boats, cafes, and lots of people lounging by the water. 🛶

We've finished our full-day trip from Cambridge to Bristol. Tomorrow is graduation day.

Don't forget to tune in for the next episode! See you there! 👋”

UK Diary: Road to Bristol