Whenever Heartland Boy tells his friends that he gets inspirations about his holidays from the weakness of the foreign currency, he is often met with weird stares. Heartland Boy typically shrugs this off in a self-deprecating manner. He simply wants to get greater bang for his buck. So when BREXIT struck in June 2016, the idea of a holiday adventure to the ever popular United Kingdom was formed.This idea began to gather strength as Heartland Girl gradually complained about a serious lack of welfare at the organisation despite working selflessly to build heartlandboy.com. In an absolute helpful manner, she mooted the suggestion that an incentive trip would help raise employee’s morale. Therefore, when Heartland Boy’s Human Resources department confirmed that he still had 2 untilised tickets for the year, he promptly booked a holiday adventure to the United Kingdom in November 2016. Furthermore, with the collapse of the pound, he had already amassed savings of almost 20% simply from currency difference.
The Heartland Couple has a pretty standard routine when it comes to exploring gateway cities. It would largely center on themes such as cheap and affordable attractions, local culture, excellent food and deep discount shopping. While United Kingdom does not have something as exotic as safari trips, it certainly offers all the above and plenty more. From planning the itinerary alone, Heartland Boy could tell that an exciting second honeymoon was in store for them.
Bustling Farmers’ Markets In The United Kingdom
Farmers’ markets absolutely fit these central themes. They are usually first on the itinerary since they have to be carefully planned as some of them only occur on weekends. Heartland Girl constantly gets fascinated by the organic products at these farmers’ markets. For Heartland Boy, he enjoys having his coffee and breakfast at these local spots. These places are melting pots of culture and he gets to sample various cuisines at affordable prices. Interestingly, he also likes to observe the profitability of the various stalls. If Heartland Boy ever sets up stall in a farmers’ market, he will be selling paella. Somehow, paella always attracts huge crowds.
Absolutely to-die-for liquid nitrogen ice cream at Chin Chin Labs in Camden Market, London
Borough Market located next to London Bridge was the first stop. It was also a good place to get fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables. These are must haves in the Heartland Couple’s refrigerator even during their travels. If you ever drop by Camden market, you absolutely have to visit Chin Chin Labs. The texture and flavor of its liquid nitrogen ice cream blew them off the park. An absolute must have even in freezing temperature.
One of the places to visit in London during Christmas has got to be its Christmas Markets. For instance, the Christmas Market at Hyde Park was so huge that Heartland Boy got sore legs the next day! As an added bonus, the Heartland Couple also got to visit the award winning Manchester Christmas Market and tried their first cup of hot mulled wine. Another new experience in their holiday adventure.
Free Walking Tours Widely Available In The United Kingdom
Free walking tours around the city fit the bill perfectly as well. This is one of the free attractions in London! Moreover, Heartland Boy finds this to be the most effective way to understand the history and culture behind the city’s urban landscape. Call this occupation hazard. As for Heartland Girl, she gets to squeeze in her daily exercise too. Happy wife, happy life.
Free Walking Tour By Sandeman New Europe In Covent Garden, LondonIn Oxford, the Heartland Couple made an exception by booking a paid walking tour conducted by students of Oxford University. The tour allows participants to enter exclusive compounds of Oxford University free of charge. This proves to be well worth the money since the prized attractions all charge its own individual entrance fee. Taking in Oxford City for the first time in their lives, the Heartland Couple absolutely fell in love with this historic city. As a university town, Oxford is littered with bookshops and libraries. It is evident that Oxford takes academia very seriously. It is perhaps not an exaggeration for Heartland Boy to get the pervading feeling that every citizen in Oxford is a high intellect!
Mixing It Up With Harry Potter At Oxford University
If you are in Oxford, do yourself a favour by popping over to Woodstock. It is a quaint old rustic sleepy town which also houses the UNESCO Blenheim Palace. It is a very romantic place and certainly rank as one of the things to do for those who come to UK for a honeymoon. The Heartland Couple took a refreshing morning walk around the palace that day and soaked in all the medieval vibes.
Blenheim Palace At Woodstock, Oxfordshire
London A Culinary Food Capital
When it comes to food, Heartland Boy is only interested in places where the locals go. If they are affordable, that will be an added bonus. Flatiron was one such restaurant that satisfied these criteria during this holiday adventure to the popular United Kingdom. The steak was a steal at 10 pounds and mightily satisfying.
10 Pound Steak At Flatiron, London
At the other end of the spectrum, Heartland Boy would also pamper the wife by going to renowned restaurants overseas. In this trip, they tried Pollen Street Social by Jason Atherton and the eponymous Dinner By Heston. A good tip to save plenty of money at these restaurants would be to sample its lunch set during weekdays.
An Amazing Lunch At Dinner By Heston
A Shopping Destination For All Types Of Budgets
Well, it was a real bonus that the Heartland Couple stopped by Oxford for a couple of days. Bicester Village, a massive designer outlet for branded goods, was just a few miles away from Oxford! They saved a considerable amount of money and time on transport by commuting from their hotel in Oxford instead of London. Further evidence that lady luck was on their side was that they visited Bicester Village right on Black Friday. It was absolute mayhem.
Every store was packed to the rafters as a result of their insane promotions. Tourists and locals alike were competing for the limited supply of products on monster bargains. These eye-catching bargains got the better of Heartland Boy until Heartland Girl lamented that she missed her meal time. Obviously, Heartland Boy got too singularly focused and neglected Heartland Girl’s welfare. Heartland Girl made sure this was not forgotten as a complaint to the in-laws was promptly registered.
While most Singaporeans who have visited London swear by Bicester Village, another good alternative would be Westfield shopping Mall. It is the largest covered shopping mall in London. Footfall is relatively low on weekdays as it is frequented largely by locals. This makes for a pleasant shopping experience and an ideal place to stock up on the souvenirs. A handy tip would be to register at the information counter to obtain a tourist privilege pass that provides discounts around the mall.
For those who are looking for more budget friendly options, the Primark Shopping Store at Manchester is an absolute haven. It is Primark’s biggest store in the world. Heartland Boy bought many tee shirts that cost an average of 5 pounds each. Somehow, the sizes at Primark fit his physique very well and the prices suit his wallet even better. Furthermore, he needed that bit of retail therapy to get off yet another disappointing home draw by Manchester United.
Conclusion Of A Holiday Adventure To The Popular United Kingdom
Heartland Boy is happy to report that employee’s morale at heartlandboy.com was raised considerably after this incentive trip. The company’s website looks sleeker and nicer than ever and monthly readership recently reached an all-time high! If you are interested in his itinerary, email him at alison@heartlandboy.com because he spent hours researching it on Tripadvisor!
Getting all excited about your travel plans? Don’t forget to purchase your Travel Insurance policies immediately after you have booked your air tickets! Protect yourself against trip cancellations, flight or luggage delays, medical fees incurred in foreign countries with a comprehensive Travel Insurance policy.
* Heartland Boy earns a small fee for every successful referral.
Note: Heartland Boy also saved plenty of money from using Shopback to book his hotel accommodation during this trip.
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