Greetings from the UK
And a beautiful travel book series.
Hello! I’m emailing from the United Kingdom; a country I feel quite familiar with, having visited numerous times and lived in for a handful of years. Thanks to the pandemic, it’s been over half a decade since I stepped on its shores (sounds more dramatic phrased that way, don’t you think?).
It feels like a lot of time has passed, but also, none at all, in that weird way our days and weeks are ticking on after lockdowns and the various fun stuff the pandemic brought into our lives.
While some aspects of life here have certainly changed - things are noticeably much more expensive, for example - much still feels the same, in the most reassuring of ways. One completely unexpected feature has been the good weather! I’ve experienced over a week of warmth and sunshine, which is rare in this corner of the world. I’m not mad about it, but had I known, I would have left my ‘UK “summer”’ clothes at home and lived in t-shirts and shorts. Oh well.
Spotlight on: London
It’s been particularly nice to say heyo to London again, as I lived in the city for a spell and got to know it pretty well. An added bonus; I’m here with someone who has never visited before, leading to a great opportunity to show off not only well known sights, but the bits of the city I really love.
This included signing up for the London Loo Tour, one of London’s quirkiest tours and something I’ve wanted to do for years. As the name may suggest, this toilet-themed tour is an introduction to the city through then lens of its loos - the ongoing political history of finding a place to pee in London (free and accessible to all, more of a challenge than you may realise), as well as some of its more unusual WCs. Highly recommend this tour - no matter if you’re visiting for the first time, or consider yourself to be a London local. You’ll definitely learn something new.
I’m looking forward to updating and adding to my content on London once I’m home. Heading to the UK capital for the first time? Here’s a detailed 4 day itinerary. Maybe you live in the city and are looking for unique date ideas. And here are some things you can get up to in London’s south east neighbourhoods - a very underrated part of the city, IMO.
The Passenger travel series
Earlier this year, I collated my favourite coffee-table travel books into a post. And as lovely as these books are, it felt like something was missing. Books with intention, that allow us to walk alongside the people that know them best, as they strip back the layers of their country or city.
Enter The Passenger travel series, which manage to strike the perfect balance between looking damn fine on a bookshelf and being full of the most interesting information. I exhibit terrible (non-existent, really) restraint around books and accidentally bought three in the lead up to this trip. All three are places I’ve been to in the past and will be hitting again very soon, so it’ll be most interesting to come back and flip through these books, with each destination fresh in mind.
The series has been around for awhile, so there’s plenty of places to choose from. There is even an edition on space; not exactly a destination many of us will get to in our lifetimes (I presume, who on earth knows what the future holds), but reads as being very fascinating, nonetheless.
Other posts on Birdgehls.com
Some quick links
Thanks for reading!
-LC