After traveling through Scotland and returning to London for a second time, I started on a mini circular journey through England and Wales (before returning to London of course).

The whole trip lasted only about a week, but I squeezed in a lot!

Be warned…this post is definitely picture heavy.

OXFORD

First stop - historic Oxford! I was only here for really one day, so a walking tour was my best option. The one I found wasn’t free, but it was only £10 for 2 hours and included the entrance fees to a few fun places in Oxford.

I learned a lot about the creation of the town, the school, and the famous people who have attended Oxford over the years.

C.S. Lewis was a professor at Oxford University, and quite a bit of the inspiration for The Chronicles of Narnia came out of the campus.

Like Mr. Tumnus…

Aslan the Lion…

And the lamp post!

Walking inside some of Oxford’s many colleges looked like something straight out of Harry Potter.

And Bodleian Library? Yeah that was actually IN Harry Potter (it was the infirmary).

My other nerd out moment came after the walking tour when I ventured into the Museum of the History of Science. There were so many incredible and old scientific devices ranging from atlases and compasses to microscopes and radios.

The coolest piece though? Einstein’s Blackboard!

Ok I may be a big science nerd, but you have to admit that’s kind of cool.

Oxford was a beautiful city with unique architecture and a deep historical history. I’d definitely visit again!

BIRMINGHAM/STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

From Oxford I took a bus to visit family who live in the Birmingham area! It was so great to see them again, and they gave a weary traveler her own room for a few days (seriously the best thing ever after so many hostels).

I didn’t get any pictures of us together (what kind of traveler am I?? Definitely an excuse for me to visit again), but I did snap a picture of the cutest member of the family…Harvey!

I was also taken on a fun tour of Shakespeare’s hometown, Stratford-Upon-Avon. It was a cute town with a ton of history (are you sensing a pattern here yet?), and I loved learning more about Shakespeare and his upbringing.

One of my favorite parts of the tour of Shakespeare’s house was the imprompu performance at the end! There were several actors in period clothing who could recite any piece of Shakespeare’s works you requested. I have to be honest I don’t know my Shakespeare very well, but luckily Diane did and we were treated to several wonderful excerpts.

CARDIFF, WALES

It was a beautiful bus ride from Birmingham to Cardiff, Wales through the English countryside. Everything was so green!

I was only in Cardiff for 1.5 days but I immediately fell in love with it. This is definitely a city I would love to return to and explore further.

I mean there is Cardiff Castle in the center of the city…

Which has a bridge lined with animals…including a sea lion!

The Wales Milennium Centre…

And if you want to see more of the crazy fun Welsh language, check out this sign from the science museum.

There’s the beautiful Water Tower…

Roald Dahl Pass…

Which leads to Cardiff Bay…

And of course the main reason I came here…the Doctor Who Experience!

Now I plan on doing a “Nerding Out in the UK” post in the near future (which will include all things Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Harry Potter), so I won’t talk too much about this now. Only that it was amazing and a lot of fun.

But I will leave you with a little picture preview.

One day was not enough to explore the city properly, so round two is definitely in the cards some day!

STONEHENGE

It was a quick train ride to the town of Salisbury, the stepping off point to the infamous Stonehenge.

Now I had been warned by several people whom I had told I was visiting Stonehenge that it was a bit of a letdown for them. They all said “it was just a pile of rocks in a huge field” (which, to be fair, is true).

But it’s STONEHENGE. I had to go. As long as I prepped myself for the ‘pile of rocks’ and prepared to be underwhelmed, I would be good.

And it worked! I went in with low expectations and actually really enjoyed myself.

At the Visitor’s Centre you get a set of headphones and an audio guide to lead you around Stonehenge and explain its history to you. I loved having the audio guide and learned so much.

Unfortunately (yet understandably) you can’t go really anywhere near the stones since they’re so old and fragile, but the tour leads you in a full circle around Stonehenge and explains interesting details from every angle.

Including the best place to take a selfie.

Not really…but I thought this was a pretty decent spot.

So there you go! A fun week traversing through a bit of England and Wales.

My speed of travel is getting pretty fast now, and it only gets faster as I head to France. Something I promise you I will later come to regret.

But thankfully I was still in good shape at this point in my trip! Running from Daleks and walking around giant rocks is tiring business.

Have you ever been to Stonehenge? Think it was just a ‘giant pile of rocks’?