It is truly remarkable how just a few days can completely alter one’s life. I know this is true because this happened to my brother and me back in October of 2022. For one brief week, we trekked across the foreign English landscape with nothing more than a single bag on our backs. We quickly fell into a deep infatuation with not only the country, culture, and people but also the experience of it all and the thrill of diving headfirst into the unknown with just a single backpack. After having such an incredible experience, we didn’t want to just shelve everything for ourselves. This website was created with the sole purpose to encourage others to set off into the world and hopefully shed the monetary shackles that currently exist.
Traveling does not have to have the imposing entrance fee that most think of. One can have the whole world in their grasp if they are attentive and resourceful. We hope to provide you with a small foundation or sip of inspiration to get you out there.
Brief background: We are two brothers currently stranded in America’s heartland. A few years into our careers, we both started to experience some slight burn out and began searching for a small change in our mundane routines. A rash decision later soon turned into a week-long stay in the land of fish and chips - England.
As we both had never been on a flight longer than a few hours, we did not know what to think before embarking on this new adventure. Nerves, excitement, and a loud cabin resulted in us being unable to sleep for the duration of the flight. As we touched down in London, the bright sunshine on our faces betrayed the true time as back home it was just now 3 AM while here in England, it was actually 9 AM. What followed was a strange day of being both tired due to the lack of sleep and yet wired due to our excitement.
After deboarding the aircraft, we raced through the sprawling airport and were soon on an underground rail car darting down various dark tunnels until shooting off into the bright sunlight.
AJ: Looking back, the first leg of this journey left me feeling completely stressed and exhausted. We had to put up with a plane delay and almost missed our connecting flight by just a mere few minutes. Outside of being unable to sleep, I truly did not mind the flight and the hours passed by rather quickly. The feeling I experienced the moment I stepped off the airplane onto the English soil was something I will never forget.
Austin: This part of the trip was definitely the most mentally draining. When we arrived at our local Kansas City airport and were alerted about a plane delay, our entire trip was put into question. What would we do if we missed our international flight? Our detailed itinerary that we had spent so much time on was dependent on us making this flight. When we made it just in time at our final US airport, we were both overwhelmed with relief and quickly got into the mindset that this was actually going to happen.
Our first true stop in England was the legendary college town of Cambridge. As we hopped off the train, we were soon racing towards the city center to join a small tour we had booked previously online. We later realized we had more time than originally anticipated before the start of the tour, which granted us some precious moments of free time to sit down to catch our breaths.
As the beginning of the day was such a whirlwind of traveling, this was our first moment of peace and allowed us to truly take in our surroundings and embrace the fact that we were here in a foreign country, completely alienated from our friends and family back home. It was very surreal being surrounded by these looming colleges that rose to the skies and seeing unfamiliar faces everywhere you looked. This was the moment that everything started to truly feel real and that this was no longer just a dream or a distant imagination.
A few brief moments later, our tour started, which happened to turn into a private one as we were the only two people to show up. It was a great way to start the trip by having a tour just to ourselves as we paced the cobbled streets and learned about the history of the various colleges (31 in total) and the significant people who attended them. Our tour concluded with a small stop that included punting along the river that encircled the city (punting is reminiscent of boating through the canals of Venice).
After our brief boat ride, we walked onwards to the train station and were soon setting off towards the final stop of the day.
AJ: When we started planning this trip, Austin had previously suggested this stop and I originally didn’t seem convinced. I didn’t enjoy my time in college so I didn't want to repeat that by going to a town whose whole reputation is for being a college town. As I had pretty low hopes and expectations for this place, I left feeling completely in the wrong and truly enjoyed the time spent here. It was an incredible day and I would go back again without question.
Austin: The history we learned of Cambridge from our private tour really made me appreciate being able to walk the grounds that great thinkers before me had done. To name a few: Stephen Hawking, Alan Turing (Father of Computer Science), James Watson and Francis Crick (discoverers of the DNA double helix structure). Something that I learned from our stop in Cambridge is that it’s probably best to avoid booking tours for the first day of your trip. We gave ourselves plenty of a buffer to get to Cambridge, but I had completely forgotten to consider the time it would take us to get from the Heathrow Airport to central London. Luckily, the trains ran faster than we had planned for so we made up our lost time that way.
Peterborough was intended to be our final stop for the night due to its proximity to our next location the following morning. Lacking any true attractions or draws for us, we planned on just checking into the hotel and getting some much needed rest. After some confusion due to Apple Maps, we finally were checked into our room and were soon showered and ready for bed. However it slowly dawned on us (and our stomachs) that due to all the excitement in Cambridge, we had failed to have anything to eat that entire day. We slowly and gingerly made our way downstairs to the hotel bar. After ordering some iconic fish and chips, we were soon approached by three locals that were watching a soccer… I mean football, game over in the corner. They were intrigued by our accents and asked us several questions as they had never experienced Americans or tourists in general as they later proclaimed their city was voted “England’s Worst City To Live In”. What followed was an evening of conversation about soccer, politics, and even relationship advice. These three guys were extremely down to earth and incredibly supportive of our adventure and even left us with this final quote “If we could have made your trip just a little bit better, we would be happy”. Little did they know, this would turn out to be one of, if not the best night of our entire trip.
AJ: As mentioned above, Peterborough was nothing more than just a place to lay my head down at the end of a long day. However, looking back now, that night in Peterborough might truly be the best night of my life. Getting to talk to some local guys of my own age, in a foreign country, about the sport I adore, was truly amazing. They absolutely respected and were ultimately impressed with my soccer knowledge and I truly felt accepted. It was such a great occasion and it was truly remarkable as it was all unplanned. This single night in Peterborough signified for me what traveling is all about. I hope I can head back to Peterborough in the future and buy those guys a round. I am absolutely coming back here again.
Austin: Our stop in Peterborough definitely surprised us in a good way. We didn’t expect much for this stop, only that it was along the way up north to York. However, Peterborough became the most realistic glimpse we would have our whole trip to a typical English city and their residents. The guys we talked with at the hotel bar instantly befriended us, which made the best conclusion to a very long day.
After a great, full English breakfast in Peterborough, we were soon on a train heading towards our next destination, York. York is a city seated deep within the depths of history and we planned on spending the entire day in this city. Once we left the train station, we were soon greeted with a legendary view of the York Minster rising above the neighboring buildings and dominating the skyline. We then climbed up on the ancient walls that surrounded the city and bombarded down the remains of the old stronghold. York had such a deep history; we were able to walk on the ramparts, navigate through a ruined abbey, and through the remains of a Roman tower all before we had even made it to York Minster. Once we finally made it to the famous cathedral, we just stood frozen in awe in the dark shadow of the Minster. We had never seen a sight such as this one and we were truly spellbound by not only its size but beauty. We were then able to buy tickets to enter and then ascended the 275 narrow stone steps up the tower to be greeted with a view that was well worth the pain we had just endured on the journey up. After our brief time above the Minster, we then did the reverse as we traversed into the bowels of the crypt. Here we were able to examine tombs of a saint and figures that have long since passed. After our time in the Minster was up, we then paraded down old streets lined with cobble as we veered into the historic Shambles.
The Shambles was an area littered with small shops and restaurants and supposedly ranked as Europe's most visited street. After stopping in a local pub for a small lunch and having some great conversations with incredibly friendly natives, we headed back to our hotel for a small rest. A short nap and several beers later (picked up along the way), we soon set off again towards our final York landmark: Clifford’s Tower. As we approached the age-old fortress, we began to feel ourselves slowly start to slip into the pages of history as we explored the tower and started to reveal its past secrets.
Our day in York ended with a nightly ghost tour that whisked us through the now eerily abandoned streets and filled our heads with ghostly visions and terrors. As the tour concluded, we slowly meandered our way down empty desolate streets back to the hotel, all the while casting quick glances over our shoulders.
AJ: Much like Cambridge, York was another one of Austin’s picks. Before heading into this, I hadn’t even looked up York once so it was all a surprise to me. It was an incredible city and I would rate it extremely highly. As I love history, it was fascinating being able to walk through all the years here and reach out and truly touch it. Walking through York was one of the best days of my life and I would recommend it to anyone looking to have an England trip.
Austin: Going into this day, York had a lot to live up to. We essentially had to create our entire itinerary around this destination because of its far distance up north (compared to our starting point in London). During our research phase of the trip, I stumbled across a documentary series about castles in England. There was an episode of York featuring its Clifford’s Tower (which isn’t much of a castle nowadays). The history and appearance of York that emanated from an hour long episode instantly captivated me and resulted in constant nagging to AJ about including York in our itinerary until he eventually succumbed. The mix of Roman and Catholic history was both up our alleys and the York Minster seemed to beckon me. Even with these unattainable expectations, York exceeded them. Being greeted by the Roman walls that encompassed the city with the minster poking up into the sky will be a memory I will never forget.
After a quick breakfast in York, we set off for a brief stop in Leeds. We ultimately didn’t have anything planned but decided Leeds would be a good stop to get out and stretch our legs. We slowly walked down some city streets and through some picturesque markets before ending up in a small shopping center/mall where AJ was able to purchase some Leeds United gear as a souvenir. We soon left the mall and headed back to the train station, saying goodbye to our short stop in Leeds.
AJ: Not too much to say about Leeds as we barely scratched the surface. I will say that the few markets we tramped through were really peaceful and interesting.
Austin: Leeds was a wildcard during our planning. We knew we wouldn’t have much time here, but I wanted to see the most of it with the time we had. I was looking into walking tours but we decided against it due to us not being confident on our arrival time. Something we had found during the research phase was the ruins of the Kirkstall Abbey. However, we later discovered its long distance away from the city center, which made it an impossibility for our trip. I still had a great time in Leeds seeing its interesting buildings and crowds of people heading to work.
After leaving Leeds, we eventually stopped in the city of Manchester to grab something to eat before heading to Wigan. Much like Leeds before it, we did not have anything planned in Manchester. After stumbling through several shop lined streets, we soon found ourselves outside of a massive shopping mall. We had a small lunch within the mall and soon left Manchester as quickly as we had arrived.
AJ: This again felt very much like Leeds. We didn’t have anything planned here and just stopped to stretch our legs and get something to eat. Hard to really give much of an opinion on the city as we were there for barely an hour. (Don’t trust the guy working at Archies in the Manchester mall if he says the Peri Peri Chicken isn’t spicy… he’s a liar)
Austin: Our stops in Manchester and Leeds became tourist attractions for modern English culture. We didn’t have a set itinerary for both of these stops and spent our little time at each close to the city center/train station. At these stops our main views were of the people of England and them going on about their normal days. Later on in the trip whenever we became surrounded by fellow tourists in London, I would begin to appreciate this sight more.
As we left Manchester, we headed to our final destination for the day, Wigan. We decided to stop at Wigan as we were granted some tickets to the Wigan football match that evening. We made our first true blunder of the trip here as the hotel we had booked was a full hour walk away from the train station. Even though the walk was long, it was fairly pleasant as we got to witness much of the city and even caught several glimpses of the stadium looming in the distance. After freshening up at the hotel, the time was finally upon us to see our first soccer game in England. The walk to the stadium felt electric as we marched onwards with throngs of locals before standing in the presence of the large stadium. As we collected our tickets and climbed the steep steps to our seats, the atmosphere began to evolve. The match happened to be against Blackburn Rover, which meant it was a local derby. The away fans started to trickle into their seats and soon chants and cries were ringing out from the stadium. Several beers and meat pies later, the match was over (1-0 Wigan) and we made our way back to the hotel, putting a great end to the night in Wigan.
AJ: I will probably rate this night higher than my brother due to my obsession with this sport. I have always held soccer in the highest regard as it is my passion and makes me feel like I truly belong somewhere. After years of obsessing over the sport and playing it both in person and online on FIFA, being able to sit in the ground and take in an English soccer game in person truly shook me. It felt like all the years I have dedicated to soccer finally reached a climax and I was at peace. It felt like a massive weight was finally lifted off my shoulders and I do not know if I will ever be able to replicate that feeling again.
Austin: Watching a soccer game in England was a surreal experience. I may not be into the sport as much as my brother is (honestly, who is), but I still had a great time when I was not getting scolded for drinking a beer in the stands. The many miles we had already walked on this trip was catching up to me when we had our long walk from the train station to our hotel. The morning after we made sure to spare the cash to get a taxi to the station to save up our energy for the new day, which I think was definitely worth the money. Overall, I have nothing but good things to say about our time here. Something that stands out to me was how friendly the locals were.
As we left Wigan in the morning, we decided to stop in nearby Liverpool for a little while. Unlike Leeds and Manchester before it, Liverpool wasn’t a complete unknown to us and we knew of several things we would like to see on our short stop. While in Liverpool, we were able to walk out in front of the legendary Cavern Club where the Beatles played, see a statue of the above mentioned Beatles, and walk down the royal docks.
AJ: We didn’t do a whole lot or spend much time here so I can not really relay too much. I did really enjoy walking along the docks and seeing the water and feeling the brisk wind on my face. It was a nice change of pace from the previous mainland cities we had visited.
Austin: From our short time here, the one thing that stood out to me was Liverpool’s architecture. Near the docks, there were towering buildings that caught my eye. I also found it strange how quiet Liverpool was during our stop as the alleys were very still when we hunted for the famous Cavern Club.
Our plan for Birmingham was much like the one we had for Petersborough previously on the trip. We decided on Birmingham as it was halfway to London and we wanted a shorter travel day in the morning. As we arrived in Birmingham, we were greeted with several large skyscrapers, which truly made this city stand out compared to the previous ones. After a small lunch at a wetherspoon, we set off back to our hotel to refresh and recharge. After a few short naps and British TV shows later, we ventured out into the night to a nearby movie theater and watched a horror movie to pass the time. The theater itself was really interesting and modern and it was a good deal of fun to just people watch before our movie started. Ultimately, we had a pretty nice afternoon and evening in Birmingham and, looking back, wish we had more time to explore more of the city.
AJ: Birmingham was a fun evening. Our hotel was nice and the views were great. Outside of a small health scare that popped up during the night (more on that later), I enjoyed Birmingham. I’m also very thankful that Austin thought of seeing a movie as it was very cool to see a different kind of movie theater and really get in with some locals.
Austin: For me, Birmingham was where I saw the impact our culture has on England’s. While we were recharging in our hotel room on British quiz shows, I realized how impactful the Hollywood industry is over here. Nearly half the pop culture questions were American related and many of the movie showings were American (including the horror movie we watched).
We soon left behind Birmingham for our final main English city, London. Unfortunately, AJ woke up with a swollen eye and we had to make a quick stop at a local urgent care to get checked out. An hour later, we were soon racing in front of Big Ben to our first stop for the day, the Tower of London. At the Tower of London, we were able to see countless suits of armor, weapons, and even the crown jewels. Once completed, we then set off towards the Churchill War Rooms where we were able to traverse through an intricate tunnel of underground bunkers and rooms where Winston Church helped conduct WW2. Once we finally made our way to the surface, we darted through St. James’ Park to see Buckingham Palace. After seeing the residence of the late queen, we then boarded several trains and wandered to our new hotel.
It was a relatively peaceful night as we were both exhausted, so we were lacking the motivation to go out and explore. However, the desire for more British candies/sweets fueled us and we made a long trek to a local convenience store to refuel on some sugar. We eventually ended the night back at the hotel bar having a few drinks and watching a soccer game.
AJ: We covered a lot this day and it showed as I became very sore and tired as the day wore on. All the miles we had walked previously began to add up and this was the first day where it truly hit me. Regardless, it was an eventful day as we saw much of the London staples. Even though London was massive and full of exciting things around every corner, this might have been my least favorite city on the entire trip. As blasphemy as that sounds, I felt London was just too big and touristy. I can’t see myself spending much more time here in the future.
Austin: This day was chaotic from the very start. Navigating foreign health care, racing around Westminster and taking in all the London sights, and snaking through Churchill’s bunkers left us both exhausted (all this while carrying our backpacks, mind you). During planning, I knew this day would be a whirlwind. Due to the proximity of London sights, you can see a lot in a single day. However, our backpacks started to feel as if they were gaining weight throughout the trip and this day exemplified this phenomenon. I don’t regret anything about this day, but, going off AJ, I don’t see myself making it back to London any time soon.
To say this day was a long one would be an understatement. We had previously booked a tour that included visiting Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath (with a small pub lunch in between) and we had to be at a bus station extremely early in the morning to embark on the trip. We were herded onto a large double decker bus and were soon speeding down the motorway. Our first stop was the royals’ favorite residence, Windsor Castle. Though we did not find much enjoyment in the lavish rooms, it was interesting and noteworthy going through the on site church as this is where the late Queen Elizabeth is buried. Our stop at Windsor was then followed up with visiting the prehistoric stones of Stonehenge. As luck would have it, as we pulled into Stonehenge, we experienced our very first drops of rain of the entire trip. Even though we were covered in a cold mist, it was truly a great experience to see these relics of the past right before our eyes. Stonehenge was definitely an afterthought for us but it turned out to be a true highlight.
Our next stop after Stonehenge was a small thatched roof village of Lacock. The village’s main claim to fame was being the shooting location of several scenes in the Harry Potter movie franchise. However, for us it would be the place of our much needed and desired lunch. After having a meat pie, we traversed down the old cobbled streets and just took in the town on our own, away from the rest of the group. After our lunch in Lacock, we set off to our last stop, the ancient Roman city of Bath. While we only had a few hours in Bath, it felt like a few hours too many and we were both left feeling slightly let down as the city was dotted with countless shops and possessed a strong tourist vibe/focus.
The tour finally concluded late into the night back in London. A few hours (and countless trains and connections) later, we set off into the night to our final hotel of the entire trip. We might have saved the best hotel for last as it was right up against the legendary Wembley Stadium.
AJ: Though we saw several cities in one day on the tour, I would never take a tour again in my life after that experience. You were confined to a strict schedule, with no room for any changes or improvisations. Even though the tour was much of a let down, I was highly impressed with Stonehenge. Heading into this trip, Stonehenge was an overrated afterthought, but I really cherished being able to see these stones up close. I believe that the weather helped lift my enjoyment levels at the mound as it set a dark, gloomy atmosphere that fit so well in this setting. As Stonehenge pleasantly surprised me, Bath surprised me but in the opposite direction. I felt like Bath was such a let down and felt like a complete tourist trap. I believe my feelings are also being directed due to the short amount of time the tour gave us here. All said and done, I would not visit Bath ever again without a specific reason. The day did end well though due to our hotel’s location. As mentioned above, I am infatuated with soccer so having the opportunity to be so close to the historic Wembley Stadium was truly incredible for me. Ultimately, it was an incredibly long and tiring day, but I’m glad we did it all.
Austin: AJ and I learned from this day that day-long tours are not for us. We were drawn to this tour due to the short length of our trip and the ever-expanding list of things to see in England. We thought a guided tour that stops at multiple tourist destinations in one day would be great for us. Though we are happy we were able to see the Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and the ancient city of Bath in one day, we both wholeheartedly agreed never to do a day-long tour again. I was very happily surprised by our visit at Stonehenge; the massive size of Stonehenge was something I did not expect. However, the part of the tour that left a sour taste in my mouth was our short stop in Bath. We had spent most of the day traveling in the bus to get there, which is quite the distance from London. By the time we had arrived in Bath, we did not have enough time to appreciate the city’s history. I would not recommend a day-long tour to tourists that want to make the most of their trip.
AJ: It’s hard to truly summarize this trip and what it means to me. This trip gave me the best days of my life and I relive it constantly in my head. There has not been a day that goes by where I don’t reminisce of the time I spent over in England with my little brother in tow. I would honestly move there tomorrow if I could. I just fell in sync with everything over there and will absolutely find myself there again in the future.
Austin: This trip definitely means a lot to my brother and me. We have finally reached an age where such a trip is possible. Being able to explore a foreign country in a week and not being hindered by heavy suitcases made for an unforgettable adventure. The personal impact of experiencing another country’s culture and history firsthand can not be overstated.
If you are wanting to recreate this trip or plan a trip in England for yourself, please reference the following to hopefully save you some money and headache:
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