This post is long overdue. I am writing this just to inspire my self to think of yet another holiday. It could be similar in nature or not, depending on the feeling i get after i finally finished this post. Not too sure how long this post going to be so... maybe I'll start with a quick overview.
I had to refer back to my hotel bookings and my phone camera gallery as this was a while ago (last December). We spent 2 nights in Oxford, 1 night in Bath, 6 nights in London, 1 night in York, 2 nights in Edinburgh, 2 night in Windermere, took an overnight ferry from Liverpool to Belfast and lastly spent 2 nights in Belfast. We took almost all kind of transportation throughout our travel but I think we rather enjoy the train rides. We took a train to York from London and another train from York to Edinburgh. But the most unforgettable experience have to be driving during a snow blizzard from Edinburgh to Lake District.
Day 1 - Heathrow - Windsor - Oxford ✈🚘
Day 2 - The Cotswold + Bicester Village🚘
Day 3 - Bath🚘
Day 4 to 9 - London 🚈🚍
Day 10 - York🚆
Day 11 to 12 - Edinburgh, Scotland🚆🚍
Day 13 to 14 - Windermere, Lake District🚘
Day 15- Liverpool🚢
Day 16 to 18 - Belfast, Northern Ireland 🚕🚍
Let's get into the details shall we? We took Malaysia Airlines flight from KLIA to Heathrow simply because it is a direct 16 hours flight. The last time I went to London was with Etihad and we had to transit in Abu Dhabi. At first, I wanted to break-up the journey so we could visit a transit city but I decided against it as we just want to spend more time in the UK.
Day 1 - Arrival, Magnificent Windsor and A Quiet Oxford on Christmas Day
We left Malaysia for London on the eve of Christmas 2025 and arrived in the wee hour of a very cold Christmas day. Upon arrival, we were greeted by smiling immigration officers wishing Merry Christmas to their colleagues. We went through our security checks in a jiffy. I anticipated long lines and many questions because we did have to Q for almost 2 hours in the summer of 2016. Since we arrived earlier than schedule, we managed to get ourselves cleaned up at the airport, had coffee, acclimatized to the cold weather and pray fajr before going to the car rental company to pick up our rental car. Since it was Christmas day and there were no public transport in service, rental car is the best option available to us. That way, we get to roam freely around the Cotswold before going into London. We rent our car from the company, Budget. We used the app Booking and the whole process is painless except for the price. As we chose to pick up our car at the airport and it is Christmas day, we paid so much for a 4 day rental (more than MYR2,000). That's the price of convenience. The rental company have shuttle services that took you from the airport terminal to their office. Again, so convenient!
After we picked up our car which involve a whole lot of waiting simply because we arrived way too early, we finally made our way to Windsor. It is located just a few minutes drive from Heathrow. Windsor is the best spot to stop and it was very beautiful. It has a lake with many ducks in it, the Long Walk is incredible too and of course the castle. We also managed to get coffee and pastry at a local coffee shop. There are a few coffee shops selling pastries and souvenir shops that were opened. It was such a lovely walk.
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| Our cute Fiat in Windsor |
We wondered around for a bit and then we made our way to Oxford. We stopped at a service station to use their restroom. All the shops were opened and there were quite a number of people too. We got coffee and a bit of snacks at their small M&S before continuing our journey to Oxford. Driving on the highway was fairly easy however going through their country road is a whole other story. Their speed limit ranging from 15 to 30 miles an hour caused so many arguments between Eddy and I.
After dropping our bags at our homestay which was located within a short walking distance to Oxford City Centre, we went to explore a little bit of Oxford by foot. We got ourselves kebab from Kebab King for dinner simply because they are halal and were open on Christmas day. Many souvenir shops were opened as well but the roads were rather quiet as it was a bank holiday in the UK. We walk around Oxford for a bit, browsed the souvenir stores and returned to base before it got dark at around 4pm. We managed to do our laundry as 16 hours flight can get a bit messy. Then we just stay in watched tv the rest of the night. Since we adjusted our biological clock a few days before our arrival to the UK, we experienced no jetlag. Just that I kept waking up at 3am because it was lunch time in Malaysia.
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Day 2 - Timeless charm at The Cotswolds & Boxing Day Sale at Bicester Village
One of the reason why we stayed in Oxford was because we wanted to have a base which will make it easy for us to wander around the Cotswolds. According to AI, the Cotswolds is the largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England and Wales. We visited several towns starting with Burford. We had our breakfast at a charming little place called Bakery on the Hill.
A misty, alluring morning gave way to a brief walk around the charming town of Burford. We soaked up the crisp cold air before setting off for Bibury, a tiny village known as the "most beautiful in England." The road was a mess, with traffic backed up due to the annual Boxing Day Duck Race. We got there just in time to see the organizers release hundreds of rubber ducks into the stream. The sight of them bobbing and racing along, with the crowd cheering from the banks, was an unforgettable, unique tradition. Anyone can buy a duck to take part and the proceeds often go to charity making it a fun event with a serious purpose.
We walked by the clean stream watching real ducks swimming and made our way to the area where "the most beautiful village" is located. Since there were too many people around, we could not really enjoy the uniqueness of the place. Another reason to return to the area some other time. *wink
Our next stop was Bourton-on-the-Water, a small but very popular Cotswolds town. The area was full of people, with many relaxing by the river or gathering in the bustling cafes. Since it was almost lunchtime, most cafes were full, but we found a spot at a cozy shop named La Reine. We ordered tea and pastries, not because we were hungry, but simply to warm our hands. The town was filled with quaint shops, each with beautifully decorated and whimsical window displays. We spent some time browsing before making our way to the next town, Chipping Campden.
Our last stop of our Cotswold's exploration day was Chipping Campden. We arrived around 2:30 pm, but the fading afternoon light and the fog already made it feel dark. To be honest, the town's charming streets and Cotswold stone architecture, while beautiful, felt a bit repetitive after seeing so much of it throughout the day. We snapped a few pictures and then got back on the road, heading straight for Bicester Village.
The hour-long drive from Chipping Campden brought us to Bicester Village Premium Outlet. We hit a bit of traffic on our approach and were surprised to see a long queue of people just to get in. While we waited, I scrolled through my phone and read news reports about the chaos that had broken out earlier in the day, with queues stretching for what seemed like miles. We were incredibly lucky as our line moved smoothly and we were inside in about 45 minutes.
Our first stop was the multi-faith contemplation room, then we made our way to a few of the high-end stores. We had to make at least a few purchases to justify the long drive! I found a new purse from Furla on sale and my husband insisted I also pick up a small handbag from Coach. I also grabbed a few small items from L'Occitane. To top it all off, we stopped at a kiosk called Vero Latte for a warm apple pie crumble and a cup of hot chocolate. The crumble was a perfect mix of sweet and tart and the hot chocolate was rich and creamy, it was absolutely heavenly.
Day 4 - Oxford's attractions & Bath at night while thinking about a small medical issue
Its our last day in Oxford and my husband was complaining about the pain in his toe that he has been feeling on and off since the day before. Oh no, gout attack! As we were mostly driving around the Cotswold, he managed to endure the pain by taking panadol and painkillers. So, the first agenda of the day after a light breakfast and a super nice coffee at the Covered Market, was to find some medicine for to relive his pain as he had forgotten to bring his stash.
We went to the biggest Boots we could find in Oxford and was told that the only thing they could offer to Eddy was a stronger pain meds. We tried Holland & Holland which sell mostly herbal remedy and bought a cherry based supplement from them. Since Eddy is not feeling well, we thought of lightening our luggage loads before entering London so that we don't have to lugged heavy bags around London public transports. We went to the post office to post a package containing several Malaysian food ingredients to a friend who is staying in Belfast.
We did not manage to explore much of Oxford as planned since Eddy was in pain, but we did see all the main attractions such as the the Bodleien Library, Ashmolean Museum (which we didn't enter), the Radcliffe Camera, the Bridge of Sighs and the highlight of the day was visiting the Oxford's Museum of Natural History. Eddy endured the pain (with the help of the painkiller) like a champ!
I tried a non-conventional approach to cheering up Eddy: bribing him with new shoes. Since he didn't buy anything for himself at Bicester Village, we went to a local shop, Walters of Oxford and found a unique pair. Afterward, we stumbled upon a small Christmas market. It was our first in the UK, and I was surprised to find one still open since they usually close a few days before Christmas. I was only looking forward to the Edinburgh Christmas market, which normally runs until January 10th. Finding even a small one was a pleasant surprise.
Before making our way to Bath which was our final destination before entering the city of London, we stopped at the Covered Market, again, for a quick lunch. There was a small pizza shop called Pizza by Sartorelli's that was buzzing with customers so we ordered a margherita pizza.
We arrived in Bath quite late in the day as the road leading to Bath from Oxford was quite foggy and I made Eddy drive slowly. "Late" here simply means after the sun has already set which happened pretty early during winter time. Upon arrival, we ran into a small difficulty of finding a parking space. The hotel we were staying, the Royal Hotel, had very few parking spaces and they were all fully occupied. So we had to park in a public parking space just a few meters a way from the hotel. The charges is very expensive but we had no other choice.
As usual, upon arrival, we cleaned up for a bit, pray and made our way to find dinner. We walk towards the Pulteney Bridge. We found a small chip shop with halal sign on it and decided to order a fish and chip. They have window seats with a view. Since its night time, we can't really see much from the window.
After that quick meal, we decided to walk a little around Bath Abbey. Most shops were already closed but the night lights surrounding Bath City Centre was very pretty. We returned to our rooms before 8pm.
We stayed at the Royal Hotel, an old hotel established in 1846. It is located very near to the Bath Spa train station. The front desk officer who helped to checked us in was a very nice and polite English chap. We get to chat for a bit and found out that his mom is currently staying in Johor Baharu but, he has never been to Malaysia. The room that we got was very spacious. Even though the floor creaked when we walk around the room, it was still a well maintained hotel with a functional lift. Of all the hotels we stayed, the Royal Hotel had the best complimentary teas and coffee selections. They also gave us Galaxy hot chocolate mix and several biscuits to go with our tea. Its ashamed that be only get to spend 1 night there.
Our morning began with a beautiful breakfast spread, which was included with our room. Afterward, we set out to explore more of Bath. We were lucky that the city is quite compact, allowing us to see nearly all the major attractions without too much walking. This was especially helpful for Eddy, who was still in pain. However, as soon as he woke up, he found a workable solution to his problem. He consulted with an online pharmacist and arranged for his medication to be shipped to our hotel in London. We were really hoping the meds would arrive quickly, but with the holiday season and New Year's approaching, we could only pray for the best. Since we planned to stay in London for almost a week before heading north, I was fairly confident the medication would reach us in time.
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| We got a cup of hot coco from Mrs. Pot Chocolate House |
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| The Royal Bath Hotel is located at the end of this road, on the left |
Personally, I feel that the best place to visit in Bath is the Bath Guildhall Market. Although it is small in size but, it has the quirkiest collections of souvenirs and products. It is the home of the oldest tea and coffee merchant in Bath established in 1888. We bought our first array of cheese from a cute cheese shop called Nibbles Cheese. Eddy bought a hat and I got a Mini car model. We had fun just wandering around the market. We checked out from our hotel around 11am and made our way back to Heathrow so that we can returned our rental car. Other than the foggy highway, our drive was pretty uneventful and we reached our hotel in London before dark.
Upon arrival, we dropped our bags, cleaned up and went hunting for food. We decided to go to Tesco instead and got some provisions such as instant noodles, snacks and juice. Since our hotel was close to the Tower Bridge, we decided to have a picnic at a park overlooking the Tower Bridge. On the hindsight, that was probably not a good idea. But, in my defence, we saw another couples there too. After Eddy saw a homeless guy sitting on a bench near us, we decided that its time to head back to our hotel. Plus, it was so cold!
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| We continue our picnic in the warm comfort our our hotel room. |
