Our 7 Day England Itinerary

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Harry Potter was such a large part of my childhood. I connected deeply with the books, reading them at nearly the same age as the characters were, and became mildly obsessed - an obsession that still reigns strong today. I went to all the midnight book and film releases and would stay up all through the night to finish the newest book. When the last book came out and I read the epilogue, I remember thinking, “Okay this takes place on September 1, 2017. Wouldn’t that be cool to go to Platform 9 ¾ on that exact date?!” But that was nearly ten years before and I put the thought out of my mind until sometime in 2016, when I started planning my dream trip.

I couldn’t believe I actually made it happen! Not only was I there for such an important moment for me, but Aaron and I got just a taste of what an amazing country England is. We experienced so much in our 7 days across the pond. It was our first Europe trip together and only our third trip as a couple. I’d say it was really what kicked off our travel bug! Here is what we did in those seven days.

Day 1

Arrived!

Rented a Car

Drove to Stonehenge

Finished in Bath

Day 1 of our 7 Day England Trip began with our arrival mid-morning. After making it through customs, we picked up our rental car to set off on our journey. Because I wanted to land at Kings Cross Station exactly on September 1, we started this trip off by seeing the countryside first then working our way toward London. After getting used to our absolute boat of a car (I thought cars in Europe were supposed to be tiny?!), and getting used to being on the wrong side of the car and the road, we set off for Stonehenge.

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument - a ring of giant stones located in the west countryside of England. The stones have been dated back to 3000BC and their exact purpose has been a mystery to scientists and historians for many years. Some think it was used by the ancient people that created it for keeping time, some think rituals, and some think burial ground (remains have been dug up in the area.) While there are many sites like this around the UK and the world, Stonehenge remains the most famous due to the size and preservation of the stones.

I personally loved visiting Stonehenge. I found the adjacent museum to be informative and the stones themselves to be awe-inspiring. When researching for this trip I found many people seemed to feel it was underwhelming and you couldn’t even get close enough to the stones. I wholeheartedly disagree. I felt like tourists were kept at a safe distance, but still close enough to really experience the details. And it really just fascinated me!

After getting a dose of prehistoric history we headed on to Bath. Bath is most famous for its Roman and Georgean history - both reflected in the historical monuments and architecture. This was a must-see for me because Jane Austen is my favorite author and spent many years of her life here. We arrived in Bath later than expected, so we spent much of our evening roaming the streets and exploring. We stopped at a grocery store to pick up some snacks for dinner and the rest of our trip. We turned in to our hotel early to be well-rested for the next day.

Day 2

Bath

Stourhead

Castle Combe

Day 2 of our 7 Day England Itinerary was an absolutely action-packed day. We started at 5:30 am because we were too excited to sleep. It was so peaceful to roam the streets with no one in them and really take in the city.

We headed up to the Royal Crescent - a historic row of houses built in a U shape in the mid-1700s. From there we went to The Circus, another architectural landmark that features townhouses curving around in a circle. Both sites were beautiful and made for great photographs.

By then the town had awoken, and we headed off to the Roman Baths, a Roman landmark built on a hot spring for which the town was named. There is so much Roman history in Bath, and the museum contained many artifacts from that time period. A great history lesson and a very cool site to visit.

From there we headed to the house where Jane Austen spent her time in Bath, now a historic site in honor of her. We grabbed lunch in the tea room and browsed the shop, but because we were crunched for time, we skipped the tour. Next time! One thing we missed on our list was visiting the Bath Abbey, as it was closed for Sunday services the day we were there. We still got a taste of the amazing architecture outside.

After lunch with Jane Austen, we trekked up the hill for a visit to the Prior Park Landscape Garden. We got super lost which ate up way too much of our time, then exited in the wrong spot and wasted even more time trying to find our car. We did get to walk through some quaint back streets, which would have been wonderful if we didn’t still have so much to see!

We were losing daylight so we wasted no time driving to Stourhead Estate. This was our main purpose in renting a car for this leg of the trip. We could have reached many of the other sites via train from London, but Stourhead was on my must see and not easily found via train. Stourhead was an estate owned by several very wealthy families until it was donated to the National Trust in 1946. Not only are the grounds beautiful, but you may recognize it as a filming location for the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Have I mentioned I love Jane Austen? I really loved how peaceful it was to roam this estate and take in the views. We couldn’t leave without taking our own recreated Pride and Prejudice photos.

After a few hours roaming the grounds, we hopped back in the car and headed to visit the town of Castle Combe just a few miles north of Bath. Castle Combe is the entryway to the district of England known as the Cotswolds, an area of rolling hills most famous for the quaint, honey-colored villages peppered throughout the landscape. This was a must-see on Aaron’s list and strolling through the little village as the sunset was a great way to cap off this busy day. We’d planned on seeing everything a little earlier and driving to London at the end of the day while there was still some light, but because our schedule got pushed back, we were forced to drive very late and in the dark to our next hotel. I wish we would have booked another night in Bath! We arrived at our hotel late and absolutely crashed.

Day 3

London walking tour

Was supposed to be York

London Museum

After such an action-packed day the day before, we planned to have another one today. We had every intention of sticking to our schedule and taking a day trip out to York, but we woke up way later than expected and missed our train. We needed the rest and decided to have a relaxing day seeing some of London’s highlights. We took a self-guided walking tour that Aaron found and planned online which included sites such as Buckingham Palace, Green Park, Trafalgar Square, Admiralty Arch, Downing Street, Parliament, and Big Ben! All the London must-sees in just a few hours!

We grabbed a quick lunch then spent our afternoon at the British Museum, a free museum containing over 8 million historical artifacts and artworks including the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles, and Egyptian Mummies. The museum only displays about 1% of their collection, but that is still a whole lot to see!

Post museum, we grabbed dinner at this cute little Italian place. We had every intention of doing more exploring after dinner, but I felt very unwell. I had stomach cramps so severe they had me hunched over, so we headed back to the hotel, assuming I had just eaten something not agreeable. This was unfortunately not the case, as these symptoms persisted through much of the rest of the trip and was later discovered I was suffering from Gallbladder stones. Not good. It really put a damper on the rest of our trip and caused us to miss much of our itinerary. I’m bummed but there is always next time right?

Day 4

Early AM Photos

Lots of resting

Harry Potter Studio Tour

Day 4 of our 7 Day London Itinerary began with getting some early morning photos in some of the iconic spots we saw the day before. I find when I’m focused on sightseeing, it’s hard to focus on taking a good photo and vice versa. So I love to come back to locations in the early hours of the morning when not many people are around and really take my time to get some photos. That way when I am touring and exploring, I can focus all my attention on actually experiencing the sites and not worrying about getting the perfect shot. After a fun morning of photo taking, we grabbed some iconic fish and chips for lunch. Post lunch we relaxed in the Soho Square Gardens, because guess what? My cramps had come back with a vengeance and I was determined to not let them ruin our evening plans.

As evening approached, we hopped on a train out to the suburb of Watford for another highlight of the trip - the Harry Potter Studio Tour. Props, sets, costumes and interactive activities from all eight of the movies are packed on to two soundstages at the actual film studios where much of the movies were shot. This was a Harry Potter Fan’s dream come true. Unfortunately, I was feeling so ill, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have and had to find places to sit and take breaks throughout much of the tour. I still had a blast and loved seeing some of my favorite scenes come to life in front of my eyes. Stepping through the Great Hall took my breath away and I loved seeing up close all the details that went into making the movies so magical.

By the time we’d finished the tour, it was night and I felt terrible. At this point, I was seriously contemplating going to the emergency room and I probably should have but I didn’t want to waste more of our trip in the hospital. The trains back to London were down for maintenance, and while we normally wouldn’t have minded waiting, my poor health made us want to get back to the hotel ASAP. We paid for a cab back into London which cost a whopping $80. It was so worth it and our cab driver was so so nice. (When we asked him to take us to our hotel he said “In London?! You know how far that is mate?!”)

Day 5

Oxford

Thank god I felt better on the morning of Day 5 because this was another part of our trip I did not want to miss. We got on an early train to head to the historic town of Oxford. Most famous as home to one of the oldest Universities in the world, Oxford is located just 60 miles north of London and has been home to many famous authors, scholars, and inventors throughout the years. Our first venture after departing the train was to join a free walking tour which provided a ton of info to the history of the town. We saw a few of the colleges and got to see the Bodleian Library, the area that inspired some of CS Lewis’ most beloved characters, and even caught a glimpse of David Tennant filming Mary Queen of Scotts. We grabbed lunch at a great restaurant called Quod and spent the afternoon exploring the town including an enormous bookshop called Blackwells, a must-see in Oxford.

My stomach started acting back up so we caught the train back to London. We were supposed to explore the Notting Hill neighborhood, but I didn’t want to push it so we grabbed some pub food and spent the night in.

Day 6

Dover

I was finally feeling back to normal on Day 6 and not a symptom in sight. On the morning of Day 6, we hopped on a train to Dover, a seaside town most famous for being a major port, to see the magnificent white cliffs.

After getting very very lost, we eventually found the hiking path that goes along the top of the cliffs. Wow. It was such a spectacular view. The day was sunny and clear so we even got a glimpse of France across the channel. The major climb up was so worth it. After getting our fill of great views, we headed back down and hopped on a train back to London. We grabbed pizza at a place near our hotel that night and promptly fell asleep.

Day 7

Platform 9 ¾

Tower of London

Tower Bridge

Shopping

THE BIG DAY WAS HERE! We woke up bright and early and so so so excited that this dream I’d had years ago was finally coming true. After taking some early am photos, we hopped on the underground and made our way to Kings Cross Train station. It was packed with people, many in costume, all crowded around the Harry Potter shop located in the station. Fun fact - platforms 9 and 10 are in a separate building from the main station and are not separated by a brick wall but by tracks. The arches between platforms 4 and 5 were renumbered for filming. Kings Cross was also undergoing some construction at the time, so the exterior shown in the films is actually St. Pancras. There is a great photo spot next to the Harry Potter shop featuring a cart disappearing halfway through the wall in homage to the films. We got our photos at the Studio Tour a few days prior, but it’s the same experience.

As 11:00 approached the place was buzzing and a countdown began. When the time hit we all cheered! I felt bad for the people actually trying to make trains amidst the chaos. We hung around for a few more minutes, but everyone else seemed to be dispersing, so we did as well to head out for the rest of our day.

Next we headed to see the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, two iconic sites not to be missed in London. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening shopping - picking up some cheap Harry Potter finds at Primark (which we are getting soon here in Chicago and I am sooooo excited) and picked up some tea at the famous Fortumn and Mason

Day 8

Departed!

The day of our departure! We were sad to leave as we felt we had barely scraped the surface of exploring this great country and loved our time here. We grabbed some early AM photos before we headed to the airport for our flight back to Chicago.

Have you ever been across the pond to England? What are some your favorite spots?