Travel Roundup: July to December - Shy, Strange, Manic

Kariss inside a giant letter A in Margate

2017 was the year of travel for me, I explored the UK and Europe in a way I never had before and left pieces of my heart in places all around the world. If you’ve read my rravel roundup from the first half of the year you’ll have read that I’d already visited 14 places in 4 different countries, so where else did I go? Well, read on to find out and see just how many places I managed to squeeze into the year! I have chosen not to mention the places I revisited that I had already mentioned in my first Travel roundup such as Leeds, Lincoln and Edinburgh.

July

Cambridge

Two of my university friends now live in Cambridge so I jumped on a train to meet them for dinner and drinks one weekend. I have visited the city before but only for a job interview several years ago and neither time have I had a chance to really see the city so I must come back.

Ely

If I only spent a short time in Cambridge then Ely was really was a flying visit in comparison! After dinner and drinks in Cambridge, I stayed here at my friend’s house and the only part of the city I saw was this somewhat infamous eel statue, which I made my friend drive me to prove that yes, it is actually a real thing!

Margate

Growing up in Yorkshire I explored a lot of the North of England as a child, but the South is still a bit of a mystery to me. Whilst I am living in London I want to make the most of it and visit as many places in the South as I can. This is how I ended up taking a random weekday trip to Margate with Haydy and Maryam after discovering a train deal online. Typically for Britain despite it being July we arrived in the middle of the mother of all rain downpours and get thoroughly soaked! We dried off and managed to spend the rest of the day exploring the seaside town. Expect to see a full post on this day soon, it was a really fun day!

Check out my post on Spending a Day in Margate

August

Bosworth

If you’ve been a reader of my blog for a while you might remember that several years ago I headed to Leicester to watch the funeral procession of Richard the III after his remains were discovered in a Leicester car park. Myself and my fellow history nerds had sworn to come back and go to the Battle of Bosworth Visitors Centre in the future but it became one of those things we never got around to doing. Then this year I discovered that the visitor’s centre had an annual festival every year on the anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth complete with reenacted battles, medieval living camps and medieval stalls so we quickly made a plan to visit. It was so much fun and we got to see the museum too.

Dublin

After visiting Bosworth and a slight detour to Lincoln and Yorkshire it was time to head to Dublin! I’d first visited Dublin a few years ago for a 40th birthday celebration so I was looking forward to spending more time exploring the city. I was heading over with a couple of old work friends so the emphasis was on spending time with them rather than trying to fit in as much as possible. We did manage to see the Guinness brewery, Dublin Castle and the Kilmainham Gaol Museum during our short time there.
Check out my posts on my first day in Dublin and my final two days.

September

Amsterdam

I’d been desperate to go to Amsterdam for years so I was glad I finally managed to make it this year thanks to a press trip with Cheap Flights. I fell in love with it just how I thought I would. There’s so much to see in this city and the architecture is phenomenal. I’d love to go back in warmer weather and experience more of the city.
Check out my post on how to do Amsterdam for £500 and Amsterdam canal cruising.

Sitges

My sister turned 40 this year so she celebrated in style by hitting up the gay capital of Europe, the beautiful Spanish town of Sitges. There was sunbathing, drinking and a lot of laughs to be had!

October

Dunkirk

Taking advantage of a crazy deal I found online that meant I got a return ferry trip to France for 50p our first stop was Dunkirk. Initially, we were going to spend the whole trip here but instead had decided to drive a bit further and head to Bruges. We only had a few hours here but we had an amazing French lunch (I tried my first steak tartare) and took a walk towards the seafront to see the WWII memorial before heading onto our next stop.

Check out my post on How to see the best of Dunkirk in two hours

Bruges

I really loved Bruges. When I visited I was feeling a little burnt out from all the travelling I’d done and this proved to be the perfect destination for that, travelling to take a break from travelling! It is beautiful, calm and just the right size to wander around and see the sites without feeling like I had to race to fit everything in. It has left me with a definite craving to see more of Belgium.

I did continue to travel throughout November and December but it was all the places I’d already been to in 2017 such as Leeds, the Lake District and Edinburgh, so I won’t annoy you all by repeating myself, see my first travel roundup if you want to hear more on those places.

Check out my post on Why Brugge is the Perfect City for Mindful Travel

So what is my tally for the second half of the year?

9 places
5 countries
8 new to me

So one less country then the first half of the year but 5 fewer places overall, but the same amount of new places. Now here’s the big one, my overall total for 2017:
23 places
9 countries

16 places new to me

I did this with ten flights, two ferry trips and countless miles by train and car. All whilst on a limited budget and fitting around a full-time job, volunteering, blogging 3 times a week and vlogging. I can’t lie, I am actually quite impressed with myself! Is there any of these places you’d love to read more about? Let me know and I’ll make sure to share those posts with you soon!