5 Days Trip In The UK Itinerary
January was quite a packed month for me. I had two planned and one half-planned trip, which is the trip we will discuss today: My five days in the UK!
I had planned to go to Bristol with my brothers, but in the end, none could make it.
After some hesitations and a few tweaks to suit my wishes better, I took the trip as a solo trip. This travel diary will not be equal in length, as some days were, for obvious reasons, much longer than other, but it’s still an excellent insight into what a five-day trip in the UK can be like!
I won’t go in-depth about the things to do at the different places I visited as I plan to do separate posts for each of them; they will be mentioned.
Still, it’s mostly a rough itinerary of all the best things to do and how you can also plan this five-day trip in the southwest UK for yourself!
5 Days Trip In The UK: London, Bristol, Gloucester, Cardiff Itinerary
If you plan to travel from Paris to London or London to Paris, I highly recommend you check out my travel guide on the best ways to travel from London to Paris to know what would be the best for you.
DAY 1: PARIS -> LONDON -> BRISTOL
On the 15th of January, I boarded a night bus to London. I know some people travel by day, but when it’s an 8 hours ride, I instead do it by night; sure, it’s not the best to sleep or anything, although I would rather not waste daytime when I could do real things, so, I much rather travel by night.
If you get lucky, you won’t have any neighbours next to you, which means you can set the way you want. At least you can somewhat “rest properly” because it’s tough if you’re like me and can’t sleep straight up on your seat and need a window or something to lay on.
Unluckily for me, the bus was super PACKED. I thought I had shown up early enough, but nope. The lady beside me was super friendly, but that meant no window for me. It was quite a long night.
Technically, the ride from Paris to London isn’t that long; the longest part is waiting to get into the train shuttle to cross the Channel. However, having a nice break to stretch your legs and have a snack is cool.
This day will probably be the most lengthy of all my five days, and rightfully so because I felt like this day lasted an eternity. While I was initially thrilled by the end of it, it was painful.
Never underestimate the need for downtime when you travel, especially with little to no sleep. Don’t be like me, don’t be stupid.
To travel from Paris to London, I used flixbus, and while it’s not the most luxurious way to travel, it does the job if you’re travelling across Europe on a budget. It was perfect for me to go to London at a lower price than the Eurostar and arrive in the city centre.
LONDON
At 6 a.m., we made it to London Victoria coaches station, an hour ahead. Yay, finally got off the bus!
As we arrived ahead of time, I decided to walk to Kensington from Victoria, passing through Harrods instead of taking the tube. I have to say the colourful window displays in the morning looked much nicer than I expected.
Walking instead of taking the tube was pleasant; I saw many streets I didn’t know, some cute coffee and so on. Besides, that helped me save some money and shaved off sometimes as no stores or attractions were opened this early morning.
Except for Starbucks, which was my first stop. Yes, not the most atypical choice, but oh well. It started raining, and it was there, so tada.
As soon as the rain stopped, I headed towards the Royal Albert Hall, mostly because I was curious about the display they would have put on for the Cirque Du Soleil show as I had worked for the show in Paris under a big top.
A bit further from the Royal Albert Hall, you can find Kensington Garden; I stayed in Kensington Garden for quite a while, almost 3 hours to be precise.
The park is enormous, with plenty of exciting spots to check out.
However, I didn’t read much about what is what during my walk; I mostly tried to take photos and relax my body.
Once I was done with the park, I moved on to the next stop on my bucket list for the day, the Natural History Museum. I’ve been to London several times before; for some reason, I had never made it to the museum.
I was running low by then; however, I still really enjoyed my visit, even if I might have missed a few things.
After I decided it was time for me to head to Bristol. The funny thing is, on my way to Victoria Coach Station, I accidentally stumbled onto Peggy Porschen. This place is always on my Instagram feed, making me chuckle.
Things I did in London:
- Royal Albert Hall
- Kensington Garden
- Natural History Museum
At first, I was supposed to spend a few more hours in London and do more, but I couldn’t take it anymore. I was glad I hadn’t booked my bus ticket to Bristol before I arrived in London; this way, my zombie self could make it to Bristol earlier.
I carried heavier backpacks in the past, so I don’t know what happened there, but it was no fun. It’s a good thing I was excited about returning to London; that balanced it out.
That made me think again about how significant downtime is, even when you only travel for a few days.
DAY 2: DAY TRIP TO GLOUCESTER, ENGLAND
Initially, the plan for this day was to go to Cardiff, but I had to switch days as the forecast was announcing rain in Cardiff but not in Gloucester. However, that was a lie because I did get rained on. But, anyway.
I wasn’t sure about Gloucester, not because I thought I wouldn’t like it but because I was hesitant between Gloucester to see the cathedral where some part of Harry Potter was filmed.
And Lacock village, which is also a Harry Potter shooting location (and other famous movies)—keeping Lacock on my England bucket list for next time!
I took an off-peak morning train from Bristol Temple Meads.
If you’re ever in Bristol, this is an excellent and short-day trip.
After a quick stroll around the city centre, I guess the first thing I did was head toward the cathedral, which was my main reason for visiting this city.
What I did in Gloucester:
-Gloucester Cathedral
– World of Beatrix Potter
-St Oswald’s Priory
– St Michael Tower
DAY 3: DAY TRIP TO CARDIFF, WALES
Cardiff has always been on my day trip list when I was living in Bristol, but for some reason, it never happened. So, this time, I decided to make it happen!
It was planned, and nothing was going to change this! It was scheduled for Friday, although the forecast showcased rain, so I postponed it to Saturday, as I said above.
I made it to Cardiff around 10 a.m. I could have arrived earlier, but I missed the first train I attended to take.
Cardiff is only a short distance from Bristol, only 50 minutes by train. You don’t exactly break the bank if you buy an off-peak return ticket.
After a light but yummy breakfast and exploring a few passages I found along the way, my first stop of the day was Cardiff Castle.
I spent the most significant chunk of my day as there is much to see and read about. It’s always fun to explore a castle that has so much history.
Also, the site is pretty big, so reading, displaying, and listening to the audio guide app takes some time.
After that, I headed towards Bute Park, passing by the Bute Animals Wall, which is nicer and cute than I thought when I saw it on the map. Bute Park is also just lovely. Besides, getting a bit of nature in a city always feels nice.
Once I was done, I went inside the city centre to check out some more landmarks (Pierhead clock, Cardiff Story Museum, Cardiff Market, etc.) before heading to the next thing on my itinerary.
The next stop on my itinerary was Cardiff Bay. Cardiff Bay is about 20 minutes from the city’s centre on foot. I can’t say the streets I walked to get there were particularly thrilling or anything interesting, aside from a few ornaments on the road at some point. It was still lovely, nonetheless, to enjoy the fresh, crisp winter air.
It’s funny because I lose a lot of time whenever I do this part of my thinking. The other one feels incredible because I get to see a lot more things freely if I ever want to change the path of my itinerary if I see something interesting before reaching my destination.
I guess that’s why I like walking so much, that and because it’s free.
I spent the rest of my afternoon exploring Cardiff Bay and the different things it offers after a quick break, eating my lunch facing the harbour. After that, it was time for me to head back to the city centre for more exploration before I headed back to the train station to go back to Bristol.
I didn’t do much in the evening as I had my dose of walking already, although something worth writing about is that I did try Nando’s for the first time. While it’s good, I still don’t get the excitement about it.
What I did in Cardiff:
– Cardiff Castle
– Bute Park Animal Wall
– Bute Park
– Cardiff Market
– Cardiff Bay / Mermaid Quay
– Cardiff Museum
READ: CARDIFF DAY TRIP, 5 THINGS TO DO
DAY 4: CHILLING IN BRISTOL, ENGLAND
I never felt more in my life like a grandma with constant back pain by this point, which genuinely made me regret my packing options and apprehending the next day as I would have to go through a pretty much similar day as day one if I wanted to follow my schedule
I was still carrying that damn HEAVY backpack.
I battled a bit with myself, wondering if or no it was worth it to push myself a little to go to Castle Combe as it was a place I also wanted to check out, but every step I took during this thinking process reminded me that no, it wasn’t worth it to push myself more than I already had
READ: BRISTOL IN ONE DAY, 24 HOURS ITINERARY
Instead, I enjoyed a chill and chilly day in Bristol, redoing some of my favourite activities and checking out some of my favourite places. I love discovering new places but also returning to places I love and dear to my heart.
Returning to a place where you have many memories is such a nice feeling.
I had a stroll around the city centre and the harbour where you can find the M Shed, which I recommend visiting if you go to Bristol. And a bit further, the S.S Great Britain, another landmark of Bristol’s history.
Then I headed towards Brandon Hill, catching some noodles from Walk to Wok on my way there. The weather was excellent; I had a nice cup of noodles and a good city view. Nothing to complain about!
Brandon Hill is one of my favourite places in the city, as you can see the whole city. It’s also one of the best spots to see the fireworks all over the city and during bonfire night in November!
I spent the rest of the afternoon at the museum and spotting some street art in various places before I called it a day and headed back to the hotel after some shopping.
READ: 20 PHOTOS TO INSPIRE YOU TO VISIT BRISTOL
DAY 5: BRISTOL -> LONDON -> PARIS
Last day of the trip!
Before the trip, I thought I’d check out early and return to London to explore and do more stuff there.
But I didn’t; I checked out around noon, which was the latest you could check out and I just worked on my laptop during the morning and tried to pack my backpack efficiently.
I didn’t feel like I had a dull day, a long one, but not dull to experience; however, it is nothing thrilling that would be worth doing some detailed storytelling about it.
That being said, I do have something worth mentioning.
Mrs Potts! A chocolate house where I had my dessert later in the afternoon that day. I still loved the place and the hot choc’ though! I also had a sugar hype after my stay there, or maybe it is just me who’s not used to sugar being more of a savoury person.
If you’re ever in Bristol looking for a nice dessert place to drink a hot chocolate, you should check it out!
As you can see, I took many day trips while using Bristol as a base; there are many good day trips to take from Bristol. You can check that out here!
In conclusion, minus the real pain that slowed me down, I had a perfect time away in the UK during those five days. I love my country, family and friends; however, I also love to have some downtime all by myself in a different setting than the one I live in. Granted, the UK isn’t drastically different from France, except that they drive on the wrong side of the road (yes, the wrong one); it’s still refreshing to have a change of scenery!
Also, follow me on Instagram to check out my travel adventures around Europe and more lifestyle content @cpt_lyne!
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5 Days Trip In The UK Itinerary
✈ Best Travel Ressources To Plan Your Next Trip
✈ How To Find Flights?
– Skyscanner; it is a good comparator for finding the cheapest flights.
– Google Flights is also a good help when comparing flights.
✈ Where To Book Accommodations?
– Booking.com: plenty of options and ways to get discounts the more you book.
✈ Best Sites To Book Activities
– GetYourGuide when I can’t get a ticket directly on the website or if it’s easier to go through them.
– Klook if you need to book more than just activities and would like to get everything from the same website or different day trips—(i.e. transport cards, car rental, hotel…).
✈ Other helpful travel resources
– Radical Storage: If you need a place to keep your luggage for an extended period when you travel, I recommend using them.
– TheTrainline: If you love to travel by train like me, then TheTrainline needs to be your go-to website for train travel in Europe.
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Disclaimer: This resources box contains affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you book anything through my links at no additional cost. These links help me support the blog and generate more content. Happy travels!
Beautiful pictures and great post.
Thank you x