York, England

We bought the train tickets from London King's Cross Station to York Station. The journey was about 2hr 30 mins. 

York is a small city that is only approximately 279km² which is even smaller than Singapore! 2 days trip in York should be able to cover most of the attractions. A lot of people were shocked when we said we were staying for 4 days (we were taking it easy). 

Here is my suggested itinerary for York.

Day 1 - York Minster, The Shambles, York Castle Museum and Clifford's Tower (York's Chocolate Story or National Railway Museum if there is enough time)

York Minster

York Minster (or Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York) is one of the largest gothic cathedral in Northern Europe. Its history begins way back to 627AD and has been rebuild few times since then. Visitors are allowed to explore the Minster at £10 (adults) or climb up the tower (with 275 steps) at £5 (adults) to the highest point in York or just for services. 

The stained glass inside the Minster.

The Shambles

The Shambles is one of the old street in York which has overhanging timber-framed buildings and narrow lanes. It used to be a street of butchers’ shops and houses where the meats were hung at the shop front. The streets were made narrow to prevent exposure of the meat from direct sunlight.

This is one of the most popular streets in York.

The Shambles Market is next to the Shambles where you can do a little shopping.

Clifford's Tower and York Castle Museum 

Further down the Shambles is Clifford's Tower which is the remains of York Castle originally built by William the Conqueror. It is on a hill and you can enter the tower for £4.70 (adult). The York Castle Museum is directly opposite Clifford's Tower. 

York Chocolate Story

If you still have some time after York Castle Museum, you can drop by York Chocolate Story for a tour (£11.50 adult) on history of chocolates. Last tour is at 4pm. Alternatively, you can grab a cup of hot chocolate to keep you warm.

There are a lot of chocolate for sale too.

Day 2 - City Walls Walk and National Railway Museum

City Walls Walk

What is better than taking a short walk around York City Walls in the morning which had been protecting the city. The walk is about 3.4km and there are stories at each entrance of the walls. The walls is open from 8am to dusk.

Along the walls.

National Railway Museum

This is one of my favourite visit for the trip (because its cold outside) and its free! At first we were still deciding if we should visit the national railway museum but since it is ranked 1st in trip advisor and we had spare time (a lot). We decided to give it a try and ended up staying till the museum is closed!  

There are a lot of trains on display and write up about their history and information on the interior of the train.

You can even have a ride on the steam train.

Thats about it for my trip to York!

London, England

Finally after few months of anticipating to the trip, it's finally time to jet off to London!

I have always wanted to visit London and hence making it the first stop of this trip.

Here is my itinerary for London:

- Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace

- London Eye

- Big Ben

- Westminster Abbey

- Borough Market

- London Bridge

- Tower Bridge

- Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter

- National Gallery

- Natural History Museum

Travelling around London is easy. You can take the train (mainly the Tube) to any parts of London. It will be more affordable if you buy the Oyster Card (£5 refundable deposit). The Tube is divided into zones and fare structure is based on zone travelled. The best way to save on transport cost is to visit places of interest in the same zone together, and also to travel during off peak hours which cost slightly lesser. You can check out this website for more information on travelling around London.

Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park

The nearest Tube station to Hyde Park is Hyde Park Corner station. However, if you are also planning to visit the Buckingham Palace, you should alight at Green Park station and walk to Buckingham Palace and then to Hyde Park.

I did not manage to catch the full changing the guard as there were too many people around and we arrived after 10:15am (Jan 17 to Mar 17 timing, for most updated timing click here). Buckingham Palace is open to visitor during summer. You can visit the State Rooms, The Queen's Gallery and the Royal Mew.

This is the map of Hyde Park.

I did not explore the whole park but only covered the lower part of the park along The Serpentine Lake till Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. There were a lot of ducks and swans there! You can feed them with bread and they will all gather around you. There are few restaurants, cafe and refreshment booths in Hyde Park too. 

This is the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. You are allowed to sit on the side and paddle your feet and hands in the fountain. Everyone is just chilling over there.

London Eye, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey

London Eye, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey are all in the same area (alight at Westminster Station). Once you alight from Westminster Station, Big Ben is just right in the front of you. It is so magnificent and stunning that I think you will forget to move and end up blocking everyone exiting the station.

Westminster Abbey is on the right side of Big Ben. There is an entry charges of £20 (Adult) to enter into the premise and it closes at 3:30pm. Do reach earlier if you intend to go in as there will be queue.

London Eye is across the river from Big Ben and I realised that I did not take many photos of London Eye. Maybe it is because it is similar to Singapore Flyer. But below is an iconic photo of the red phone booth for you. Try dialling 62442, maybe something magical might happen (Harry Potter fans will understand).

Borough Market, London Bridge and Tower Bridge

Alight at London Bridge Station and walk over to the Borough Market, there will be a lot of hot food waiting to fill up your empty tummy. I also noticed that there are a lot of stall selling cheese, fudges and breads. 

One of the must-try in Borough Market is the coffee from Monmouth. Awesome especially during the winter but do expect a long queue and it is quite usual to have to wait at least a 15 minutes before you are able to place your order. They sell coffee beans too. 

London Bridge and Tower Bridge

I'm sure everyone has heard of London Bridge when they were young! Finally stepping on the London Bridge and no we did not play "London Bridge is falling down" on the bridge. London Bridge is walkable from Borough Market. So you can come here after shopping at Borough Market. This is the statue leading to London Bridge.

Further down the London Bridge, is the Tower Bridge. The Tower Bridge is so much nicer than the London Bridge! It is just like a castle. There is a Tower Bridge Exhibition inside with admission charges. The bridge will also be lifted for ships to pass through.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter

This is a must visit for all Harry Potter fans! But I will not be posting any spoilers here. Just go and enjoy the tour. I stayed in the studio from 1pm to 7pm. Remember to buy the tickets online (it sells out fast) before going as all tickets must be booked in advance. You can't buy from the studio on the day itself.

National Gallery and Natural History Museum
If you have time, you can visit the National Gallery and Natural History Museum as well. Admission is free. You just have to queue to get in (and leave some tips afterwards if you feel like it). National Gallery displayed a lot of paintings from famous painters such as Vincent Van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci etc. It will be opened until 6pm everyday (except Friday which closes at 9pm). Natural History Museum has wide range of exhibition like Dinosaurs gallery (there is a  t-rex in the gallery) etc. The Hintze Hall is closed when I was there. So do check out the website.

That's about all on my trip to London! Here is a video (1st attempt) that I took during the trip. Enjoy!