Travelling the UK on a Shoestring
I am a Brit and I absolutely love travelling around my country of birth. Up until now, all of my travel blogs on the Hive have been about my tropical adventures, but the truth is that wherever I go, I like to soak up all that I can - and mostly on a shoestring. While I was living in London, I often planned daytrips out based on which rail journeys were on special offer that weekend. I recall many tickets costing under £10. It meant that I could go more often and it also meant that I had the opportunity to visit a LOT of UK places on the cheap. I just checked to see if this is still possible and I see that there is still a cheap fare finder, which has journeys for £15 or under, which - given inflation - does not seem that bad.
However, this trip to Plymouth about 8 years ago was completely unplanned and we ended up travelling by coach from Victoria Coach Station on a rather long and slightly uncomfortable overnight coach ride. We hadn't actually been heading to Plymouth, but to Dartmoor. We had a booking at a farm on Dartmoor for the next day and could not cancel. The moors were calling us! Unfortunately, there had been some confusion at the rental car place in Victoria Station, London, which resulted in not being able to hire a rental car, as planned. At first we were devastated, as it was the middle of summer and no other cars were available, but then we found a cheap coach that could take us to the south-west for the next day. Yippee!
Every Cloud has a Silver Lining.
Every cloud has a silver lining and we ended up renting a car from Plymouth instead and thereby getting to experience breakfast in Plymouth too. If you've never been, I'd highly recommend it! We were certainly pleasantly surprised. The sun was just rising when the coach finally drew into Plymouth and we could take a stroll to stretch our legs and get some fresh air, a coffee and breakfast (with our luggage - luckily we travel light and the paths were fairly even!). As the sun rose over the quay in Plymouth, I took these pictures of the marina.
Plymouth is steeped in history, owing a lot to its maritime past, and is also the home of Plymouth Gin. It had a laidback feel that took me quite aback. It certainly was a welcome pitstop after the 7 hour overnight National Express coach journey which had started at 11pm and arrived at Plymouth coach station at 5.55 am, after long arguments with the rental car people.
The town centre is quaint and is home to a wide range of shops, bars, cafes and restaurants. Some of the buildings - like the ones in this picture below- reminded me of the architecture common in Kent, UK, where I grew up. Lots of wooden beams and old pubs.
Plymouth is affectionately known as Britain’s Ocean City and these pictures show you just why....
As well as the waterfront, other attractions we saw on our stroll were the aquarium, the lido, the lighthouse and the Dome - as well as some quirky marine sculptures.
Eggs and Toast
And then we found somewhere for breakfast! I don't think this place exists anymore, sadly as I have been unable to locate it. (I'd love it if I'm proven wrong!) It was on the quay somewhere and it had a unique concept of toast and eggs, with a myriad of different breads to enjoy - freshly baked on the premises.
These were the bakers making the bread early morning as we boiled our own eggs and sliced our own bread.
– And of course, we looked forward to the spectacular views of Dartmoor, just a short drive away!!
Thanks for Reading!
Have you ever had to take a detour and ended up enjoying it? Unexpected places are always my favourites!
Lots of Love,
Marley and Me! xxx
All photos are my own