Home Sweet Home
I was raised in Birmingham and went to university in Sheffield before leaving the UK at 21. I’ve pretty much been living overseas ever since. I used to feel apathetic towards the UK, especially in light of Brexit, but travel has made me appreciate my native country and see it with new eyes. I usually hop back to Britain every year or two and although it doesn’t truly feel like home any more, it will always be home.
Bookish & British
Some recommended read and literary travel through the UK:
British Bookstores
The best and most beautiful bookstores that the UK has to offer:
British Food
I may not always be patriotic, unless it comes to food! British cuisine is highly underrated and although some things may be an acquired taste (hello, Marmite), I promise there is more to British food than fish and chips:
Spring Foraging Guide for the UK by Sarah Tamsin [guest post]
I feel as if spring has really snuck up on us this year. It’s officially time for people living in Britain (or anywhere temperate in the Northern Hemisphere) to come out of hibernation and start enjoying the extra hours of sunshine. And so, I have written this spring foraging guide to edible wild plants you…
The Great British Cake-Scoff: A Guide to British Food
So, I’ve put on a lot of weight since I’ve moved back to the UK and with very good reason. British food is not an internationally beloved cuisine. In most large cities around the world, you may be able to find a decent pizzeria, Chinese takeaway or Irish pub. But, you will never ever find a good…
More British Destinations
Personal Thoughts
I’ve written a lot about moving away and moving home. Here are a few thought pieces on those subjects:
On Moving to Bangkok and Gripping the Second Trapeze
I moved to Bangkok. Forgive me for the blunt delivery, but when I came to write this post I wasn’t sure what I want to say about it. I didn’t want to say, “Look at me and my jet-set lifestyle – I just casually moved to Bangkok!” because there’s been a complex backstory to get…
The Kraken & the Warrior, a Personal Story on Mental Health
I think… I think I’m ready to talk about my mental health. I think it feels like time. I think it’s important that you know what’s been going on and it’s especially important because I guarantee that someone you know is struggling with their mental health right now. That someone you know might even be…
Chasing Home | A Few Thoughts On Being Between Places
Hey guys. So, I recently participated in the World Nomads Travel Writer Scholarship programme, where I wrote a piece on the theme ‘a place that is unfamiliar to me’. Devastatingly, I didn’t win the scholarship (next year, perhaps?), so here is my entry published here instead, entitled Chasing Home: (more…)
Pico Iyer: Movement is Nothing Until You Stand Still
I’ve been back in the UK now for four months. I’m still reluctant to say ‘back home’, but I’ll admit that it’s slipped off my tongue more than once. Like travel writer Pico Iyer says in his TED talk, ‘Where are you from?’ and ‘Where is home?’ are more complex questions now than they once…
Why Moving Back to the UK is Harder Than Moving Away
Yep, I’ve turned into that girl who starts all her sentences with, ‘When I lived in Hong Kong…’ My room is filled with knick-knacks from places I can’t pronounce. I can give advice on jet lag, fear of flying, travelling with only a carry-on and finding cheap flights online. I can speak in different tongues.…
16 Things I Would Tell My 16-Year-Old Self
We now interrupt this scheduled programme of backpacking-related blog posts to bring you something completely different. Time travel. I thought that moving back to the UK this Christmas would just feel like my annual Yuletide visit, and that the fact that I don’t have a return flight wouldn’t hit me until well into the new year.…