June 17, 2025 • 32 mins
In this episode of the UK Travel Planning Podcast, Tracy chats with New Zealander Abigail Hannah, who recently spent a month exploring the UK in winter. From sparkling Christmas lights in London to bracing coastal walks in Brighton and cosy family moments on the Isle of Wight, Abigail shares her honest reflections on what it’s like to travel the UK in the colder months.
Expect practical tips for navigating winter travel—how to pack smart, budget effectively, and make the most of trains and public transport. They also discuss staying connected with eSIMs, using Wise cards for spending, and making the most of the festive season with Christmas markets and museums.
Whether you’re planning a winter trip or just curious about what it’s like to explore the UK off-season, this episode is packed with helpful insights, travel stories, and seasonal inspiration.
⭐️ Guest - Abigail Hannah of Aotearoa Adventures
📝 Show Notes - Episode 154
🎧 Listen to next
- Episode 152 – Trip Report: London and Cotswolds Highlights with Kristen Gonzalez
- Episode 71 – Unveiling the Magic: London at Christmas – Top Things to Do and See
- Episode 102 – Discovering the Charms of Brighton: Insider Tips for Making the Most of Your Visit
Need help planning your trip? Book your personalised itinerary consultation with Tracy and Doug Collins – UK travel planning experts – for tailored advice based on your travel style, interests, and timeframe. Book your consultation here.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In this episode of the UK Travel Planning Podcast,
discover what it's really liketo visit the UK in winter, as
Abigail shares her month-longadventure from coastal walks in
Brighton to Christmas magic inLondon, plus practical tips on
transport, packing and stayingconnected.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast.
Your host is the founder of theUK Travel Planning website,
tracy Collins.
In this podcast, tracy sharesdestination guides, travel tips
and itinerary ideas, as well asinterviews with a variety of
guests who share their knowledgeand experience of UK travel to
help you plan your perfect UKvacation.
(00:38):
Join us as we explore the UKfrom cosmopolitan cities to
quaint villages, from historiccastles to beautiful islands,
and from the picturesquecountryside to seaside towns.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Hi, welcome to episode 154 of the UK Travel
Planning Podcast, and this weekI have a trip report with
Abigail Hannah from New Zealand.
So not only has Abigail been onthe podcast before or my global
travel planning podcast, Ishould say before this is her
first time on the UK TravelPlanning one, but it's also
(01:17):
great to have a New Zealander onthe podcast, abigail.
So welcome to the UK TravelPlanning Podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Kia ora Tracey, it is such a privilege to be here and
it's interesting.
You say it's exciting to have aNew Zealander, because I was at
the airport once and they tookages checking my passport.
I was actually boarding theflight to the UK and they
checked for ages and I was like,is there a problem?
They're just like sorry, wedon't see many New Zealand
passports.
(01:43):
We just wanted to double check.
You're allowed in.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Oh, that is so funny.
That is so funny.
Well, you're the second NewZealander that we've had on the
podcast Awesome.
So if there are any other NewZealanders out there who have
been to the UK recently, who arepodcast listeners, get in touch
, because we want to talk to youabout your trip Now, abigail.
Get in touch because we want totalk to you about your trip Now
, abigail.
Just give us a quickintroduction, because I have
mentioned you've been on aGlobal Travel Planet podcast
(02:09):
before and actually I've been onyour podcast a few times.
So just chat to us about whoyou are and what you do.
I think that would be great tostart with.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Yeah, so I'm based in New Zealand.
I've actually only lived herefor nine years, even though I
was born here, but I grew up inIndia, so that's a bit of my
backstory.
But I absolutely had to.
I found it really hard movingback to New Zealand because it
was supposed to be home, but Islowly and very quickly fell in
love with the country and justhave since then explored every
single corner.
(02:35):
And I'm so passionate aboutother people getting outdoors
and seeing New Zealand becausewhen you visit New Zealand, it's
all about the outdoors and thescenery.
And so I love hiking, I lovesea kayaking, I enjoy rock
climbing and we're actuallycurrently building out our van.
We're about 90% done and we'reabout to hit the road full-time
and be full-time van lifers.
(02:56):
So that's the exciting nextchapter.
But yes, I also host NewZealand's top travel podcast
called Aotearoa Adventures.
If you can't spell that, youcan type New Zealand travel
podcast and you'll find it.
And Tracy was on and talkedabout her visit to Aotearoa, new
Zealand, which was really cool.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
It was, and it's still hugely in my memories
because I loved it so much, andit's somewhere that Doug and I
constantly talk about going backto.
So we will be back to NewZealand at some point, because
it is a stunningly beautifulcountry.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Oh, I'm obsessed with it.
I could explore it for the restof my life and still not see it
all.
And I've had so many guests onthe podcast that are like ah, I
came for a three-month trip andnow I'm still here, 20 years
later.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Well, I'm very lucky in that it's not very far for me
to go really hop on a plane.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
It's a few hours away .
Speaker 1 (03:49):
I will be now and I have talked on your podcast all
about my trip to New Zealand,and you've been on my global
travel planning podcast talkingabout New Zealand and also about
Nepal and Kathmandu recently,which has has been amazing, but
this one, this podcast, is allabout your trip report and your
visit to the UK.
So let's kick off with that.
(04:10):
Let's talk about and give us anoverview of your recent trip
when you went, how long youstayed and the main reason for
your visit.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Yeah, well, probably one of the reasons not many New
Zealanders make it to the UK isit's literally on the opposite
side of the world.
I think it's 40 hours oftransit time just to get like to
Europe and that side of theworld.
But we kind of went a littlebit slowly.
So we went to India and Nepalfirst that's what I spoke to on
the global travel planningpodcast and then we went over to
(04:39):
the UK and our entire trip wasjust to see family.
So we've got family in Nepal.
My husband's brother and sisterare based in the UK.
I hadn't met one of my niecesthe other two, it had been two
years, I think, since we lastsaw them, and then we also had a
whole bunch of high schoolfriends that are in the UK that
we went and saw as well.
(04:59):
So when you first asked me tocome on, I was like, oh, it was
such a boring trip.
We didn't do that much.
It wasn't like a sightseeingtrip, it was.
Our main purpose was to seefamily.
But we did go to Brighton.
London and the Isle of Wightwere kind of the key places and
we did do some fun stuff aroundthere.
So we can talk about that.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Yeah, and you know what.
It is really interesting totalk about this because there
are lots of Australian, britishAustralians who will travel back
to the UK to go and see, andDoug and I kind of in this
category.
So we'll go back to the UK andwe will see family and friends.
So you have to balance that,wanting to see family and
friends, but also you're in theUK, you're not going to not do
some sightseeing, are you?
(05:41):
It's just you're going to fitthat in.
So how did you balance that?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yeah, so I didn't touch on time of the year, but
we were actually there atChristmas and so, being winter,
I feel like it was quitedifferent.
The last time I was in the UK Iwas 16 and it was summer and I
think it was the hottest summerthat had on record in a couple
of years.
So I remember from that tripthis beautiful, like blue skies,
(06:04):
sunshine, most days, and it waswith my family.
I've got five younger siblings.
We hired this van that wasmust've been a nine seater, I
think, that we all crammed intoand we actually got a national
heritage pass I think is thatwhat they're called.
And so the family pass wasactually 200 pounds for an
(06:24):
entire year, but there were likeeight of us on this one family
pass, so it was a great bargain.
I don't know if they still dothem, but I highly recommend.
And so we just ticky-toedaround the UK in this beautiful
summer and went to all thesenational national trust places,
um, but it was quite differentthis time around, being winter
and the sun comes up at about 8,30 in in the morning and it
(06:47):
sets at about 4.30.
So our activities were a lotmore cozy, should I say.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
But again, anna was also over the UK at the same
time as you.
It took a bit of adjusting toyou, actually, because you
forget in some ways, you forgetjust how short the days are in
winter, particularly Decemberand January.
You're like, oh, there's a lotmore darkness than there is
daylight, and actually that is ahuge thing to think about if
you're planning a trip.
Actually, I'm going to do apodcast soon about visiting
(07:17):
London at Christmas and thingsto do and that will be one of
the considerations that you needto kind of think about.
But how did you kind of manageto like plan in terms of packing
and taking stuff?
Cause I'm going to ask thatbecause I've just actually done
a podcast the global travel planI want and talk about packing
and there's a huge debate aboutjust taking, carry on and then,
(07:39):
you know, checking your bags.
But Doug and I have justtraveled throughout different,
you know know, different seasons, so we had more luggage than we
would normally.
How did you deal with that,with packing, for knowing you're
going to be in the UK in winter, it was going to be dark, yeah,
a bit more cozy yeah, so, likeI mentioned, this was actually
um month two of a three-monthtrip.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
So our first month was India, nepal, so we had
quite a different wardrobe forthat.
And then the UK and the US wasour next stop, and so that was
winter and it was quite cold.
So I'm pretty sure I probablywore like thermals most days I'm
quite a cold person so I hadlike my merino layer and I would
also wear like merino leggingsunderneath my jeans just for
(08:23):
that extra warmth.
And then I had my leather boots, my blundundstones, and I'm
pretty sure I lived in thoseevery single day.
I don't think I wore anythingelse because it was quite.
It was wet for probably halfhalf the month of the time that
we were there, and I feel like Ionly saw the sun maybe three
days in that entire month, butone of them was in Brighton.
(08:46):
So Brighton was the first placewe went to, and so should I
tell you what we did aroundthere?
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Yes, I love Brighton, and it's far too long, actually
, since I've been to Brighton,so that's high on my list when I
get back over to the UK.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Well, it's interesting because I feel like
Brighton is like the seasideplace that everyone goes to in
summer, so it was definitely alot quieter and sleepier in
winter and you could tell.
But there was this beautifulcliff walk and I'm the kind of
person that just loves doingstuff outdoors when I travel.
I'm just like I want to beoutdoors all the time.
So we had this beautiful sunnyday and we did this cliff walk
(09:20):
all the way from Brighton toRottingdean, which is this
little old town village I thinkthat's what it was called,
that's what I've got in my notes, and yeah, so we went into,
like I don't know, a 200 yearold pub or whatever it was and
had a drink.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Fairly new, then fairly new.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
In New Zealand.
That's quite old.
It might have been older, Idon't remember but I remember
looking at my watch and beinglike, oh, it's only five o'clock
, it feels like it's nine or tenbecause it was so dark and
something else that was quitecool, because it was Christmas
and because in New Zealand allour Christmases are in summer, I
(09:59):
really wanted to kind of leaninto the winter Christmas and
just embrace it.
So we went down to like a localchurch around the corner that
was having a carol service andthe choir was there and we all
had candles and there was wineand it was just like very
wholesome.
And then we also went to theGlenbourne Opera House, which is
just outside of Brighton aswell, and that's a 1,200-seat
(10:23):
opera house and, yeah, that wasa really cool experience as well
.
And that's a 1200 seat operahouse and, yeah, that was a
really cool experience as well.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Okay, that's, that's something I've not done, that
something a little bit different.
So after Brighton, you were inLondon, so I was also in London,
but I went at the end ofNovember to get a lot as much of
the Christmas decorations in asI could, because I was actually
traveling on mainland Europeand went to lots of different
countries to visit someChristmas markets, which was a
lot of fun.
Um, so tell me about London,because London's in a great
(10:49):
place to visit.
Well, I love London atChristmas.
So how did you find it?
Speaker 3 (10:52):
that was what I was most excited about on this trip.
Um, and my husband Isaac was,um, it was just like the one
thing that I that I wanted to do.
I'm like I know we're here seefamily, but I have to see the
Christmas lights in London.
And I think a lot of that camefrom you, tracy, and seeing all
of your photos and videos of theChristmas lights over the years
, and I was like this is the onething we have to do.
(11:13):
So it was really cool and wemet up with some friends in
London and, honestly, I justfollowed them around.
So I have no idea, like, whatthe kind of route is that we
took.
I have no idea, like, what thekind of route is that we took,
but we started in PiccadillyCircus and then we kind of hit
St James Road Street, leicesterSquare, trafalgar Square, st
Martin's Lane and Piccadilly.
(11:33):
Yeah, piccadilly Circus iswhere we started.
So we just kind of went on thisbig wander and, honestly, it
felt like every single street inLondon was just so festive and
there were crowds and crowds ofpeople.
But it was just very wholesomeand everyone's all bundled up
and you're just having a goodtime.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
It is amazing, I think, that there's just such a
great atmosphere and everywhereis decorated.
The shops are amazing, thedecorations are amazing, the
whole atmosphere is just great.
I mean, especially if you getone of those cold, crisp kind of
winter's day, so it's notraining, it's not drizzling,
it's not miserable, it's justbeen a sunny day and it's cold
(12:12):
and you can get wrapped up.
So I spent a lot of time kindof pounding the streets in
London to get as much video andinformation and photos of the
shops and the decorations.
So they'll be on the websiteand hopefully we'll be sharing
those on YouTube as well soon,if you're planning to visit
London at Christmas.
But did you go to Covent Gardenat all?
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Because that's also a lovely place to go.
Yes, we did, and they have thebig bell decorations.
That was really pretty as well,and Christmas trees everywhere.
So many Christmas trees.
I think the one in Trafalgarsquare was a gift from norway or
something.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yeah, it is.
They give that every year, sothat usually arrives.
Uh, usually, I think I'd I'dalready left the uk by that
point to do some travel, but, um, it arrives around about the
5th, I think, of december.
That usually goes up or aroundabout between the 5th and the
10th, I think.
But yes, that's.
That's been a gift, um, sincethe of World War II, I believe,
from the Norwegian people.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Yeah.
So it was just it was reallycool and it's cool to just kind
of wander down and just take inall the festivities.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
No, it's really good.
So let's talk about some of thepracticalities, because I know
you did spend a lot of time withfamily, but still you still had
to do the kind of practicalstuff that we get asked about.
So how?
Speaker 3 (13:28):
did you get around?
Yeah, so we used publictransport pretty much the whole
time.
Um, um, when we first landed inHeathrow actually, this is one
thing I'll say we, heathrow andGatwick are very far apart and
it is important to know whichairport you're flying into.
I knew that we had them thewrong way around, but we flew
into Heathrow to go south andthen we've like, yeah, we had
(13:51):
them the wrong way around and Iknew it, but it was a compromise
we were willing to make for themore affordable flights.
Yeah, so we got out of theairport at Heathrow and went
straight to, like, the traindesk and they were just able to
give us tickets to Brighton andtold us which bus to be on and
it was.
It was pretty straightforward.
To be honest, we hadn'tpre-booked anything.
(14:12):
We just kind of showed up anddid it as we went, and then for
the next legs like getting backto London, getting to Milton
Keynes we just booked all ofthose legs a couple of days
before we went.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
And you went by train or by bus.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Mostly by train, but a few buses.
I think it was more affordableto catch the buses to the
airports, yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Yeah, and how did you find the trains?
I can hear Doug kind of goingask her about the trains.
How was her training?
Speaker 3 (14:35):
experience.
I don't remember it being toocomplicated.
I remember it being prettystraightforward, and I've seen
Doug's videos.
I had him at the back of themind telling me to look at the
board, find out which train itis wait for the platform.
We also used the apps as well,which were super helpful.
We got the two together pass,which meant that we could save
(14:57):
30%, I believe when the two ofyou were traveling together, so
we were always travelingtogether, and so that worked out
for us really well too yeah,that's it.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
That's something that Doug always says to people.
Check to see if you can get oneof the rail cards which will
save you money.
Now, talking about money, and Iknow at the moment, for the
Australian dollar and the NewZealand dollar, we haven't got a
great exchange rate at themoment it was a pound?
Speaker 2 (15:22):
yes, it.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Yes, it was, it still is.
How did you handle money?
Because we get asked this allthe time and, to be honest, I
very rarely carry any cash inthe UK these days which Doug
goes mad about because Iliterally carry my phone, so I
just use contactless 99% of thetime.
So how did you?
How did you find that?
How did you deal with cashcontactless?
(15:43):
Did you get?
How did you find that?
How did you deal with cashcontactless?
How?
Speaker 3 (15:45):
did you deal with exchange?
Speaker 1 (15:47):
All that sort of stuff.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
So I don't think I even saw banknotes actually in
the UK.
If we did, it was my husband,isaac, that looked after the
cash.
But I'm a really big fan of aWise card and I've been using
those for years.
So what it is it's effectively,I guess it's like an
international bank and what itmeans is that you can add
(16:09):
currency, any currency.
So I'm adding my New Zealanddollars, transferring that in
New Zealand, and then you alsoopen up a bank account in pounds
and you can transfer it acrossand you get really good exchange
rates and you can choose whichdays you are doing those
transfers as well.
So would kind of move someacross.
When it went down a little bit,even though the exchange rates
were so bad while we were overthere, um, and it just meant
(16:32):
that we were spending in pounds,um, and you're not paying those
transaction fees every singletime you're tapping, um.
So, yeah, my husband wascarrying the physical wise card
and then I had the same wisecard on my phone as the
contactless.
So when we were tapping in onthe tube and stuff, we would
both just tap on with the wisecard.
(16:52):
We didn't get Oyster cards andthat worked really well,
although it was a little bitfunny when you're going through
your bank statements and you'vegot like the exact same
transaction for the tube, liketwo in a row.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Yeah, I think it's a mistake.
What's mistake?
What's going on?
Yeah, well, we always say youknow, the whole contactless
versus oyster con is such a bigdebate, um, and we always just
said everybody, just check thepros and cons and choose what
works for you, because it's sucha divisive.
Honestly, it's one of thosedivisive topics that I think
people are very like.
You know, you should only dothis or no, you should and we're
like yeah, just read the prosand cons and decide what there's
no right or wrong with this.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
I'm pretty sure I asked you this question as well
before I went up, yeah, tracywhat do I do?
Which one do I get?
Um, and I just, I just likeit's extra effort to get an
oyster card to me.
I couldn't see too muchdifference.
I was like we're just gonna gocontactless.
It makes it easier yeah,exactly it's.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
It's honestly it's up to you.
I, I sometimes use most of thecard, I sometimes use my phone,
it depends, um.
But I do say to people like, ifyou, if you know, doug and I
are slightly older than you andsometimes you know when you
there's lots of things going onand I I don't know where I put
my phone or I don't know where Iput my card or whatever.
So, yeah, I've just like, atleast if an oyster card goes in
my pocket or and then if I loseit, not a big deal and we've
(18:04):
actually had feedback frompeople said oh, my husband
actually lost his oyster card,so thank god it wasn't the
credit card, you know soagain, it's.
You just have to work outexactly what works for you.
So that's what I say.
But Doug and I also use wisecards.
He's got a card, I've got acard, I have mine on my phone.
I think I have something like20 different currency accounts
on there, um, because obviouslythis last year I've been in 22
(18:26):
countries, but I don't know howmany different currencies, but
majority of those I could use mywise card for, which is
brilliant.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Yeah, and I've just been on a trip to South Korea
and I just tapped my wise cardeverywhere and it just works so
well, so I'm a big fan of that.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Definitely easier.
So let's talk about budgeting,because obviously you were doing
a big trip, we're gonna justcome back from a big trip and
and obviously when you're away,when when the Australian dollar,
the New Zealand dollar isn't asstrong as it was and you have
to kind of think about budgetconstraints.
So how did you manage withbudgeting?
Speaker 3 (19:01):
that's a really interesting question.
I was kind of hoping youwouldn't ask, sorry, no, I think
we had an idea of how much wewould be spending on the trip,
but I think we exceeded thatquite a little bit along the way
, and a big part of that was theexchange rate.
But because we were primarilyseeing family, we weren't
(19:23):
actually spending money onaccommodation.
So in the UK in particular,eating out when we were with our
friends was a big expense.
And then getting around andyeah, like it was $40 New
Zealand dollars for my husbandand I to go into London and back
out, which seems like so much,and I know it's just the
exchange rate.
(19:43):
We were based in Wimbledon,which is, I think it's just
outside the tube, um, yeah thing.
So you had to like transfer thetrains, um, so I think
transport overall was like alittle bit more costly than we
were anticipating.
But I was also workingfull-time, well, part-time, um,
on the road as well, so thatkind of helped with cash flow,
just being able to still havemoney coming in and still being
(20:06):
working while we were traveling.
So, yeah, I don't know if thatquite answers your question
about budgeting, but I think putsome contingencies in there, or
do your research beforehand,because we didn't do much
research into cost and you knowwhat I, because we we tried to
kind of have an idea of whatthings are going to cost, but I
always think things cost morethan you expect.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
It just does, and things like exchange rate
fluctuating can be an issue.
I mean, doug and I have donesome house sitting, which really
helped because that bringscosts down, because I find
accommodation and eating out arejust huge expenses and so
that's something that we'vetried to do, and obviously you
were staying with family, sothat helps and I do go and visit
(20:49):
friends and stay and stay withfamily sometimes as well, when
I'm in the uk, which helps.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
I will say, though, I found that groceries in the uk
were quite a bit cheapercompared to what I'm used to in
new zealand, which um surprisedme and made me a little bit
angry when I saw new zealandlamb for so cheap.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Your christmas specials in the uk are
extraordinary to be honest, thatdoes not surprise me, because
we thought new zealand grocerieswere really expensive.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
Yeah, we were a bit like oh yeah, so I I don't know
if that's just like a comparisonbetween new zealand, um, but if
you are, if you do want to doyour own grocery shopping and
that's an option, that might bequite an affordable way and also
, well, I was going to say thatyou can look at like meal deals
and places like Marks andSpencer's and Tesco's and
Sainsbury's and they're, they'rereally good.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
That's something that we do all the time just go for
a meal deal because and I knowwe get feedback in the Facebook
group all the time going oh,thank you so much for saying
about meal deals, because weknew about them and so we could
budget that way because, yeah, Ithink, and Doug and I try to
either have a if we stay in bedand breakfast have a
reasonable-sized breakfast, sowe then only eat the main meal
at the end of the day becausethat's another thing, just to
(21:53):
try and keep the cost down.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
The other thing that surprised me about London I
didn't realize you have to bookthese places if you want to be
eating out and having dinnerthere, because that's something
you only do in New Zealand.
If it's like a very fancyrestaurant, like, you'll book in
advance, but in London itseemed like anywhere we wanted
to eat and we were a biggergroup with our friends.
There might have been four orfive of us well, four or five
(22:17):
plus yeah.
So that's something to keep inmind book ahead if you want to
eat out in London yeah, bookahead for a lot of things.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
We've got an article about how far ahead you should
book.
Because that's another questionthat comes up a lot, I'll link
to that in the show notes,because that's a, that's a,
that's a good point.
Um, abigail, now what aboutstaying connected?
Did you use an e-sim?
Did you buy a sim card?
How did you do?
Speaker 3 (22:38):
it?
Oh, that's a really goodquestion.
I think what we did is wepicked up a SIM card at the
airport and we put that in myhusband's phone, and then I had
an eSIM that I was using for thewhole trip as well, which also
worked in Nepal and the US, sobetween the two of those, that's
kind of what we did, but I wasmainly relying on him to hotspot
(23:00):
me for data because he had moredata on his plan, but that
worked pretty well, yeah, so wejust picked up something locally
and had an eSIM as a bit of abackup, just in case.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Oh, that's a good idea.
I know we've been using eSIMsfor the last well, all the last
few places we've been to aboutthe last few years I think we've
been using eSIMs and and I justfind it so easy.
When you just fly into a newdestination, you switch over and
off, you know where you go, soit works really well.
Oh, just popping back to London, did you get into into any of
the museums in London to get theV&A by any chance?
Speaker 3 (23:31):
yeah, so we had, um, we had one day in London which
was just that evening, seeingall the Christmas lights, um.
But then, um, we came backafter New Year's and I kind of
just wanted to have a daywalking around London.
I I was like you know, we'rehere, I just want to see all the
things.
I'd done it before on myprevious trip.
But we kind of just wanderedaround.
So we started near the LondonEye, didn't go on it, the lines
(23:54):
were really long and I honestly,tracy, I've grown up in India
so this shouldn't be a shock tome.
But I found the crowds in Londonjust huge, like there were so
many people around, likeWestminster and Big Ben.
We were kind of just jostlingour way through the crowds,
which I don't remember fromprevious trips.
I don't know if it was just thetime of year or because it was
(24:16):
the only sunny day we'd had inabout a week, but we wandered up
to Buckingham Palace, wentthrough Hyde Park and then from
there we went to the V&A,because I had been to the
National History Museum and theScience Museum on past trips and
I wanted to see the V&A.
So, yeah, we had a wanderaround there.
It was really cool and Iespecially like the big.
(24:38):
I think they're called likecast the moulds Cascot.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
There we go.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
Tracy knows what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
I found that interesting.
Well, every time I go back toLondon I it's really funny
because I'll just go and sit inthe cast courts for an hour on
my own and just I just love them, absolutely love and and I know
if you've listened to thepodcast before, you probably
think, yeah, I talk about theV&A a lot.
It's just I honestly love it.
I love the V&A, I just love thejust sitting there and I don't
(25:08):
know the whole atmosphere.
The cast courts is justsomething I really love it.
You're just surrounded by allthese casts of amazing places
from around the world.
So, yeah, it's, it's fantastic.
And did you get to their cafe?
Because it's the first museumcafe in the world and it's all
art deco, so I hope you did butif you didn't, you have to go
next time.
Speaker 3 (25:26):
I can't remember if we stopped at the cafe, um, but
we did.
We wandered through quite a fewof the levels, didn't see it
all because we were a little bitshort on time, but I quite
enjoyed, like the stained glassgallery as well, um, I found
that super interesting, um, butyeah, you could spend hours
around all the museums in londonand I also just love so much
(25:46):
that they were free to enter.
I think that's just, it's sucha good rainy day activity as
well.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
It gets very busy, though I know I think the year,
oh Christmas before Doug and Itried to get the Natural History
Museum on a rainy day.
Forget it.
We didn't book and it was likethe queue was far too long.
But I'm actually going to do apodcast about the museums in
london because we do get asked alot about them and a lot of the
museums are free.
So natural history museum,british museum is free, vna is
(26:14):
free, the science museum's free.
A lot of them are free, smallerones not necessarily, but a lot
of those are included in thingslike the london pass, like the
florence nightingale museum isexcellent, worth visiting.
So we'll have a chat actually ina future podcast episode about
those.
Now, did you buy anything?
I know you were going on toAmerica, so probably a little
bit difficult, but did youpurchase anything when you were
in London or in?
Speaker 3 (26:34):
the UK.
I don't think we did.
I don't think we got anysouvenirs to take home.
We got a few Christmas presents, but we yeah, we really didn't
want any excess baggage no, no,I get that.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
I, to be honest, I've left a suitcase full of stuff
at my mom's but I could notbring back because we were
traveling back via a number ofcountries and I was like I'm not
dragging this around with me.
So I totally get that.
But you're very good with thatbecause I find, especially if
you go into some of thoseChristmas shop, the Christmas
decorations are just so gorgeous.
I was definitely tempted.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Actually we did get.
We got one thing which was agift for Isaac's grandma who we
were seeing in the States.
So we were, we were going toget rid of it before we got home
and we picked that up at one ofthe markets in Brighton.
It was sort of this handcraftedum little.
Yeah, it was awesome the themarkets down in Brighton as well
, just meeting local businessesand craftsmen and artists.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yep, yeah, and you were.
You were there at the righttime of year for the Christmas
markets as well, so there's lotsof Christmas markets on as well
, where you can buy lots of cutelittle things if you're
visiting um.
So I'm gonna ask what was thehighlight of the trip for you?
Is that anyone?
Speaker 3 (27:41):
oh, I, I mean, of course, the highlight was the
people.
Um, we had an incrediblechristmas on the isle of wight,
but it also came with um the flu, oh, no, so um, it was.
We were staying on my well, afamily farm, so my
brother-in-law's wife's farm, um, but it was this beautiful,
(28:04):
beautiful, serene location justin the countryside, which was
amazing.
But then we all got sickbecause the girls managed to
bring some sniffles home fromschool.
So that was a highlight.
The food over Christmas washighlight, because the Brits
know how to put on a feast.
Um, oh yes, yeah, that wasawesome, um.
But I also just loved our day inLondon, walking around, um and
(28:26):
just it being a blue sky, noclouds, sunny but still crisp.
You kind of touched on thatbefore, um, but that was a
highlight for me as well.
One thing in London I wish we'ddone was St Paul's.
Um, we did go and we kind oflike walked past it in the
evening, but I wish we'd goneinside, cause I I think we went
inside on my previous trip, butI feel like it's it's underrated
(28:50):
.
It's so big.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
It's beautiful, it's beautiful.
I went to, I went to, I wentthere for Evensong in January.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Yeah, so that's something that's going to be top
of my list for the next visit,I think.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Good.
Well, it's good to hear thatyou're.
You know you've got a planning,potentially in the future,
another visit back to the UK,but for this episode of the
podcast, what would be?
And I always end with the samequestion.
So what would be your one tipthat you would get?
You'd give for anyone travelingto the UK for the first time.
I think specifically going toask for New Zealanders as well.
I think this might be usefulfor a New Zealand audience.
Anything in particular for aNew Zealander planning a trip to
the UK for the first time.
I think specifically going toask for New Zealanders as well.
I think this might be usefulfor a New Zealand audience
Anything in particular for a NewZealander planning a trip to
the UK for the first time.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
Yeah, I think my tip and we've already touched on
this but, honestly, having thatwise card and for it to just be
such an easy solution, I thinkthat that would be my biggest
tip honestly, because you justget hit with so many fees when
you, when you take your anz cardor your bnz or whatever it is
you've got in new zealand umtaking those, you just get hit
(29:52):
with far too many fees.
So that's that's my tip veryboring but very practical no,
very practical, and that'sthat's important.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
So, um, thanks so much for joining us this week on
the podcast Abigail.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Thank you so much, Tracy.
It's been lovely to chat withyou.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
It's always good to catch up.
You can find out links to allthe information that we chatted
about in this episode at theshow notes uktravelplanetcom
forward slash episode 154.
But for this week, abigail andI are about to sign off and say
the usual happy UK travelplanning.
Bye, from both of us, bye,bye-bye.
(30:29):
Thank you for tuning in to thisweek's episode of the UK Travel
Planning Podcast.
As always, show notes can befound at uktravelplanningcom.
If you've enjoyed the show, whynot leave us feedback via text
or a review on your favouritepodcast app?
We love to hear from you andyou never know.
You may receive a shout out ina future episode.
(30:51):
But, as always, that justleaves me to say until next week
.
Happy UK travel planning.
In this episode of the UK Travel Planning Podcast,
discover what it's really liketo visit the UK in winter, as
Abigail shares her month-longadventure from coastal walks in
Brighton to Christmas magic inLondon, plus practical tips on
transport, packing and stayingconnected.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast.
Your host is the founder of theUK Travel Planning website,
tracy Collins.
In this podcast, tracy sharesdestination guides, travel tips
and itinerary ideas, as well asinterviews with a variety of
guests who share their knowledgeand experience of UK travel to
help you plan your perfect UKvacation.
(00:38):
Join us as we explore the UKfrom cosmopolitan cities to
quaint villages, from historiccastles to beautiful islands,
and from the picturesquecountryside to seaside towns.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Hi, welcome to episode 154 of the UK Travel
Planning Podcast, and this weekI have a trip report with
Abigail Hannah from New Zealand.
So not only has Abigail been onthe podcast before or my global
travel planning podcast, Ishould say before this is her
first time on the UK TravelPlanning one, but it's also
(01:17):
great to have a New Zealander onthe podcast, abigail.
So welcome to the UK TravelPlanning Podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Kia ora Tracey, it is such a privilege to be here and
it's interesting.
You say it's exciting to have aNew Zealander, because I was at
the airport once and they tookages checking my passport.
I was actually boarding theflight to the UK and they
checked for ages and I was like,is there a problem?
They're just like sorry, wedon't see many New Zealand
passports.
(01:43):
We just wanted to double check.
You're allowed in.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Oh, that is so funny.
That is so funny.
Well, you're the second NewZealander that we've had on the
podcast Awesome.
So if there are any other NewZealanders out there who have
been to the UK recently, who arepodcast listeners, get in touch
, because we want to talk to youabout your trip Now, abigail.
Get in touch because we want totalk to you about your trip Now
, abigail.
Just give us a quickintroduction, because I have
mentioned you've been on aGlobal Travel Planet podcast
(02:09):
before and actually I've been onyour podcast a few times.
So just chat to us about whoyou are and what you do.
I think that would be great tostart with.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Yeah, so I'm based in New Zealand.
I've actually only lived herefor nine years, even though I
was born here, but I grew up inIndia, so that's a bit of my
backstory.
But I absolutely had to.
I found it really hard movingback to New Zealand because it
was supposed to be home, but Islowly and very quickly fell in
love with the country and justhave since then explored every
single corner.
(02:35):
And I'm so passionate aboutother people getting outdoors
and seeing New Zealand becausewhen you visit New Zealand, it's
all about the outdoors and thescenery.
And so I love hiking, I lovesea kayaking, I enjoy rock
climbing and we're actuallycurrently building out our van.
We're about 90% done and we'reabout to hit the road full-time
and be full-time van lifers.
(02:56):
So that's the exciting nextchapter.
But yes, I also host NewZealand's top travel podcast
called Aotearoa Adventures.
If you can't spell that, youcan type New Zealand travel
podcast and you'll find it.
And Tracy was on and talkedabout her visit to Aotearoa, new
Zealand, which was really cool.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
It was, and it's still hugely in my memories
because I loved it so much, andit's somewhere that Doug and I
constantly talk about going backto.
So we will be back to NewZealand at some point, because
it is a stunningly beautifulcountry.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Oh, I'm obsessed with it.
I could explore it for the restof my life and still not see it
all.
And I've had so many guests onthe podcast that are like ah, I
came for a three-month trip andnow I'm still here, 20 years
later.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Well, I'm very lucky in that it's not very far for me
to go really hop on a plane.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
It's a few hours away .
Speaker 1 (03:49):
I will be now and I have talked on your podcast all
about my trip to New Zealand,and you've been on my global
travel planning podcast talkingabout New Zealand and also about
Nepal and Kathmandu recently,which has has been amazing, but
this one, this podcast, is allabout your trip report and your
visit to the UK.
So let's kick off with that.
(04:10):
Let's talk about and give us anoverview of your recent trip
when you went, how long youstayed and the main reason for
your visit.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Yeah, well, probably one of the reasons not many New
Zealanders make it to the UK isit's literally on the opposite
side of the world.
I think it's 40 hours oftransit time just to get like to
Europe and that side of theworld.
But we kind of went a littlebit slowly.
So we went to India and Nepalfirst that's what I spoke to on
the global travel planningpodcast and then we went over to
(04:39):
the UK and our entire trip wasjust to see family.
So we've got family in Nepal.
My husband's brother and sisterare based in the UK.
I hadn't met one of my niecesthe other two, it had been two
years, I think, since we lastsaw them, and then we also had a
whole bunch of high schoolfriends that are in the UK that
we went and saw as well.
(04:59):
So when you first asked me tocome on, I was like, oh, it was
such a boring trip.
We didn't do that much.
It wasn't like a sightseeingtrip, it was.
Our main purpose was to seefamily.
But we did go to Brighton.
London and the Isle of Wightwere kind of the key places and
we did do some fun stuff aroundthere.
So we can talk about that.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Yeah, and you know what.
It is really interesting totalk about this because there
are lots of Australian, britishAustralians who will travel back
to the UK to go and see, andDoug and I kind of in this
category.
So we'll go back to the UK andwe will see family and friends.
So you have to balance that,wanting to see family and
friends, but also you're in theUK, you're not going to not do
some sightseeing, are you?
(05:41):
It's just you're going to fitthat in.
So how did you balance that?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yeah, so I didn't touch on time of the year, but
we were actually there atChristmas and so, being winter,
I feel like it was quitedifferent.
The last time I was in the UK Iwas 16 and it was summer and I
think it was the hottest summerthat had on record in a couple
of years.
So I remember from that tripthis beautiful, like blue skies,
(06:04):
sunshine, most days, and it waswith my family.
I've got five younger siblings.
We hired this van that wasmust've been a nine seater, I
think, that we all crammed intoand we actually got a national
heritage pass I think is thatwhat they're called.
And so the family pass wasactually 200 pounds for an
(06:24):
entire year, but there were likeeight of us on this one family
pass, so it was a great bargain.
I don't know if they still dothem, but I highly recommend.
And so we just ticky-toedaround the UK in this beautiful
summer and went to all thesenational national trust places,
um, but it was quite differentthis time around, being winter
and the sun comes up at about 8,30 in in the morning and it
(06:47):
sets at about 4.30.
So our activities were a lotmore cozy, should I say.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
But again, anna was also over the UK at the same
time as you.
It took a bit of adjusting toyou, actually, because you
forget in some ways, you forgetjust how short the days are in
winter, particularly Decemberand January.
You're like, oh, there's a lotmore darkness than there is
daylight, and actually that is ahuge thing to think about if
you're planning a trip.
Actually, I'm going to do apodcast soon about visiting
(07:17):
London at Christmas and thingsto do and that will be one of
the considerations that you needto kind of think about.
But how did you kind of manageto like plan in terms of packing
and taking stuff?
Cause I'm going to ask thatbecause I've just actually done
a podcast the global travel planI want and talk about packing
and there's a huge debate aboutjust taking, carry on and then,
(07:39):
you know, checking your bags.
But Doug and I have justtraveled throughout different,
you know know, different seasons, so we had more luggage than we
would normally.
How did you deal with that,with packing, for knowing you're
going to be in the UK in winter, it was going to be dark, yeah,
a bit more cozy yeah, so, likeI mentioned, this was actually
um month two of a three-monthtrip.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
So our first month was India, nepal, so we had
quite a different wardrobe forthat.
And then the UK and the US wasour next stop, and so that was
winter and it was quite cold.
So I'm pretty sure I probablywore like thermals most days I'm
quite a cold person so I hadlike my merino layer and I would
also wear like merino leggingsunderneath my jeans just for
(08:23):
that extra warmth.
And then I had my leather boots, my blundundstones, and I'm
pretty sure I lived in thoseevery single day.
I don't think I wore anythingelse because it was quite.
It was wet for probably halfhalf the month of the time that
we were there, and I feel like Ionly saw the sun maybe three
days in that entire month, butone of them was in Brighton.
(08:46):
So Brighton was the first placewe went to, and so should I
tell you what we did aroundthere?
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Yes, I love Brighton, and it's far too long, actually
, since I've been to Brighton,so that's high on my list when I
get back over to the UK.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Well, it's interesting because I feel like
Brighton is like the seasideplace that everyone goes to in
summer, so it was definitely alot quieter and sleepier in
winter and you could tell.
But there was this beautifulcliff walk and I'm the kind of
person that just loves doingstuff outdoors when I travel.
I'm just like I want to beoutdoors all the time.
So we had this beautiful sunnyday and we did this cliff walk
(09:20):
all the way from Brighton toRottingdean, which is this
little old town village I thinkthat's what it was called,
that's what I've got in my notes, and yeah, so we went into,
like I don't know, a 200 yearold pub or whatever it was and
had a drink.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Fairly new, then fairly new.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
In New Zealand.
That's quite old.
It might have been older, Idon't remember but I remember
looking at my watch and beinglike, oh, it's only five o'clock
, it feels like it's nine or tenbecause it was so dark and
something else that was quitecool, because it was Christmas
and because in New Zealand allour Christmases are in summer, I
(09:59):
really wanted to kind of leaninto the winter Christmas and
just embrace it.
So we went down to like a localchurch around the corner that
was having a carol service andthe choir was there and we all
had candles and there was wineand it was just like very
wholesome.
And then we also went to theGlenbourne Opera House, which is
just outside of Brighton aswell, and that's a 1,200-seat
(10:23):
opera house and, yeah, that wasa really cool experience as well
.
And that's a 1200 seat operahouse and, yeah, that was a
really cool experience as well.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Okay, that's, that's something I've not done, that
something a little bit different.
So after Brighton, you were inLondon, so I was also in London,
but I went at the end ofNovember to get a lot as much of
the Christmas decorations in asI could, because I was actually
traveling on mainland Europeand went to lots of different
countries to visit someChristmas markets, which was a
lot of fun.
Um, so tell me about London,because London's in a great
(10:49):
place to visit.
Well, I love London atChristmas.
So how did you find it?
Speaker 3 (10:52):
that was what I was most excited about on this trip.
Um, and my husband Isaac was,um, it was just like the one
thing that I that I wanted to do.
I'm like I know we're here seefamily, but I have to see the
Christmas lights in London.
And I think a lot of that camefrom you, tracy, and seeing all
of your photos and videos of theChristmas lights over the years
, and I was like this is the onething we have to do.
(11:13):
So it was really cool and wemet up with some friends in
London and, honestly, I justfollowed them around.
So I have no idea, like, whatthe kind of route is that we
took.
I have no idea, like, what thekind of route is that we took,
but we started in PiccadillyCircus and then we kind of hit
St James Road Street, leicesterSquare, trafalgar Square, st
Martin's Lane and Piccadilly.
(11:33):
Yeah, piccadilly Circus iswhere we started.
So we just kind of went on thisbig wander and, honestly, it
felt like every single street inLondon was just so festive and
there were crowds and crowds ofpeople.
But it was just very wholesomeand everyone's all bundled up
and you're just having a goodtime.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
It is amazing, I think, that there's just such a
great atmosphere and everywhereis decorated.
The shops are amazing, thedecorations are amazing, the
whole atmosphere is just great.
I mean, especially if you getone of those cold, crisp kind of
winter's day, so it's notraining, it's not drizzling,
it's not miserable, it's justbeen a sunny day and it's cold
(12:12):
and you can get wrapped up.
So I spent a lot of time kindof pounding the streets in
London to get as much video andinformation and photos of the
shops and the decorations.
So they'll be on the websiteand hopefully we'll be sharing
those on YouTube as well soon,if you're planning to visit
London at Christmas.
But did you go to Covent Gardenat all?
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Because that's also a lovely place to go.
Yes, we did, and they have thebig bell decorations.
That was really pretty as well,and Christmas trees everywhere.
So many Christmas trees.
I think the one in Trafalgarsquare was a gift from norway or
something.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yeah, it is.
They give that every year, sothat usually arrives.
Uh, usually, I think I'd I'dalready left the uk by that
point to do some travel, but, um, it arrives around about the
5th, I think, of december.
That usually goes up or aroundabout between the 5th and the
10th, I think.
But yes, that's.
That's been a gift, um, sincethe of World War II, I believe,
from the Norwegian people.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Yeah.
So it was just it was reallycool and it's cool to just kind
of wander down and just take inall the festivities.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
No, it's really good.
So let's talk about some of thepracticalities, because I know
you did spend a lot of time withfamily, but still you still had
to do the kind of practicalstuff that we get asked about.
So how?
Speaker 3 (13:28):
did you get around?
Yeah, so we used publictransport pretty much the whole
time.
Um, um, when we first landed inHeathrow actually, this is one
thing I'll say we, heathrow andGatwick are very far apart and
it is important to know whichairport you're flying into.
I knew that we had them thewrong way around, but we flew
into Heathrow to go south andthen we've like, yeah, we had
(13:51):
them the wrong way around and Iknew it, but it was a compromise
we were willing to make for themore affordable flights.
Yeah, so we got out of theairport at Heathrow and went
straight to, like, the traindesk and they were just able to
give us tickets to Brighton andtold us which bus to be on and
it was.
It was pretty straightforward.
To be honest, we hadn'tpre-booked anything.
(14:12):
We just kind of showed up anddid it as we went, and then for
the next legs like getting backto London, getting to Milton
Keynes we just booked all ofthose legs a couple of days
before we went.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
And you went by train or by bus.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Mostly by train, but a few buses.
I think it was more affordableto catch the buses to the
airports, yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Yeah, and how did you find the trains?
I can hear Doug kind of goingask her about the trains.
How was her training?
Speaker 3 (14:35):
experience.
I don't remember it being toocomplicated.
I remember it being prettystraightforward, and I've seen
Doug's videos.
I had him at the back of themind telling me to look at the
board, find out which train itis wait for the platform.
We also used the apps as well,which were super helpful.
We got the two together pass,which meant that we could save
(14:57):
30%, I believe when the two ofyou were traveling together, so
we were always travelingtogether, and so that worked out
for us really well too yeah,that's it.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
That's something that Doug always says to people.
Check to see if you can get oneof the rail cards which will
save you money.
Now, talking about money, and Iknow at the moment, for the
Australian dollar and the NewZealand dollar, we haven't got a
great exchange rate at themoment it was a pound?
Speaker 2 (15:22):
yes, it.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Yes, it was, it still is.
How did you handle money?
Because we get asked this allthe time and, to be honest, I
very rarely carry any cash inthe UK these days which Doug
goes mad about because Iliterally carry my phone, so I
just use contactless 99% of thetime.
So how did you?
How did you find that?
How did you deal with cashcontactless?
(15:43):
Did you get?
How did you find that?
How did you deal with cashcontactless?
How?
Speaker 3 (15:45):
did you deal with exchange?
Speaker 1 (15:47):
All that sort of stuff.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
So I don't think I even saw banknotes actually in
the UK.
If we did, it was my husband,isaac, that looked after the
cash.
But I'm a really big fan of aWise card and I've been using
those for years.
So what it is it's effectively,I guess it's like an
international bank and what itmeans is that you can add
(16:09):
currency, any currency.
So I'm adding my New Zealanddollars, transferring that in
New Zealand, and then you alsoopen up a bank account in pounds
and you can transfer it acrossand you get really good exchange
rates and you can choose whichdays you are doing those
transfers as well.
So would kind of move someacross.
When it went down a little bit,even though the exchange rates
were so bad while we were overthere, um, and it just meant
(16:32):
that we were spending in pounds,um, and you're not paying those
transaction fees every singletime you're tapping, um.
So, yeah, my husband wascarrying the physical wise card
and then I had the same wisecard on my phone as the
contactless.
So when we were tapping in onthe tube and stuff, we would
both just tap on with the wisecard.
(16:52):
We didn't get Oyster cards andthat worked really well,
although it was a little bitfunny when you're going through
your bank statements and you'vegot like the exact same
transaction for the tube, liketwo in a row.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Yeah, I think it's a mistake.
What's mistake?
What's going on?
Yeah, well, we always say youknow, the whole contactless
versus oyster con is such a bigdebate, um, and we always just
said everybody, just check thepros and cons and choose what
works for you, because it's sucha divisive.
Honestly, it's one of thosedivisive topics that I think
people are very like.
You know, you should only dothis or no, you should and we're
like yeah, just read the prosand cons and decide what there's
no right or wrong with this.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
I'm pretty sure I asked you this question as well
before I went up, yeah, tracywhat do I do?
Which one do I get?
Um, and I just, I just likeit's extra effort to get an
oyster card to me.
I couldn't see too muchdifference.
I was like we're just gonna gocontactless.
It makes it easier yeah,exactly it's.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
It's honestly it's up to you.
I, I sometimes use most of thecard, I sometimes use my phone,
it depends, um.
But I do say to people like, ifyou, if you know, doug and I
are slightly older than you andsometimes you know when you
there's lots of things going onand I I don't know where I put
my phone or I don't know where Iput my card or whatever.
So, yeah, I've just like, atleast if an oyster card goes in
my pocket or and then if I loseit, not a big deal and we've
(18:04):
actually had feedback frompeople said oh, my husband
actually lost his oyster card,so thank god it wasn't the
credit card, you know soagain, it's.
You just have to work outexactly what works for you.
So that's what I say.
But Doug and I also use wisecards.
He's got a card, I've got acard, I have mine on my phone.
I think I have something like20 different currency accounts
on there, um, because obviouslythis last year I've been in 22
(18:26):
countries, but I don't know howmany different currencies, but
majority of those I could use mywise card for, which is
brilliant.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Yeah, and I've just been on a trip to South Korea
and I just tapped my wise cardeverywhere and it just works so
well, so I'm a big fan of that.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Definitely easier.
So let's talk about budgeting,because obviously you were doing
a big trip, we're gonna justcome back from a big trip and
and obviously when you're away,when when the Australian dollar,
the New Zealand dollar isn't asstrong as it was and you have
to kind of think about budgetconstraints.
So how did you manage withbudgeting?
Speaker 3 (19:01):
that's a really interesting question.
I was kind of hoping youwouldn't ask, sorry, no, I think
we had an idea of how much wewould be spending on the trip,
but I think we exceeded thatquite a little bit along the way
, and a big part of that was theexchange rate.
But because we were primarilyseeing family, we weren't
(19:23):
actually spending money onaccommodation.
So in the UK in particular,eating out when we were with our
friends was a big expense.
And then getting around andyeah, like it was $40 New
Zealand dollars for my husbandand I to go into London and back
out, which seems like so much,and I know it's just the
exchange rate.
(19:43):
We were based in Wimbledon,which is, I think it's just
outside the tube, um, yeah thing.
So you had to like transfer thetrains, um, so I think
transport overall was like alittle bit more costly than we
were anticipating.
But I was also workingfull-time, well, part-time, um,
on the road as well, so thatkind of helped with cash flow,
just being able to still havemoney coming in and still being
(20:06):
working while we were traveling.
So, yeah, I don't know if thatquite answers your question
about budgeting, but I think putsome contingencies in there, or
do your research beforehand,because we didn't do much
research into cost and you knowwhat I, because we we tried to
kind of have an idea of whatthings are going to cost, but I
always think things cost morethan you expect.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
It just does, and things like exchange rate
fluctuating can be an issue.
I mean, doug and I have donesome house sitting, which really
helped because that bringscosts down, because I find
accommodation and eating out arejust huge expenses and so
that's something that we'vetried to do, and obviously you
were staying with family, sothat helps and I do go and visit
(20:49):
friends and stay and stay withfamily sometimes as well, when
I'm in the uk, which helps.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
I will say, though, I found that groceries in the uk
were quite a bit cheapercompared to what I'm used to in
new zealand, which um surprisedme and made me a little bit
angry when I saw new zealandlamb for so cheap.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Your christmas specials in the uk are
extraordinary to be honest, thatdoes not surprise me, because
we thought new zealand grocerieswere really expensive.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
Yeah, we were a bit like oh yeah, so I I don't know
if that's just like a comparisonbetween new zealand, um, but if
you are, if you do want to doyour own grocery shopping and
that's an option, that might bequite an affordable way and also
, well, I was going to say thatyou can look at like meal deals
and places like Marks andSpencer's and Tesco's and
Sainsbury's and they're, they'rereally good.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
That's something that we do all the time just go for
a meal deal because and I knowwe get feedback in the Facebook
group all the time going oh,thank you so much for saying
about meal deals, because weknew about them and so we could
budget that way because, yeah, Ithink, and Doug and I try to
either have a if we stay in bedand breakfast have a
reasonable-sized breakfast, sowe then only eat the main meal
at the end of the day becausethat's another thing, just to
(21:53):
try and keep the cost down.
Speaker 3 (21:55):
The other thing that surprised me about London I
didn't realize you have to bookthese places if you want to be
eating out and having dinnerthere, because that's something
you only do in New Zealand.
If it's like a very fancyrestaurant, like, you'll book in
advance, but in London itseemed like anywhere we wanted
to eat and we were a biggergroup with our friends.
There might have been four orfive of us well, four or five
(22:17):
plus yeah.
So that's something to keep inmind book ahead if you want to
eat out in London yeah, bookahead for a lot of things.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
We've got an article about how far ahead you should
book.
Because that's another questionthat comes up a lot, I'll link
to that in the show notes,because that's a, that's a,
that's a good point.
Um, abigail, now what aboutstaying connected?
Did you use an e-sim?
Did you buy a sim card?
How did you do?
Speaker 3 (22:38):
it?
Oh, that's a really goodquestion.
I think what we did is wepicked up a SIM card at the
airport and we put that in myhusband's phone, and then I had
an eSIM that I was using for thewhole trip as well, which also
worked in Nepal and the US, sobetween the two of those, that's
kind of what we did, but I wasmainly relying on him to hotspot
(23:00):
me for data because he had moredata on his plan, but that
worked pretty well, yeah, so wejust picked up something locally
and had an eSIM as a bit of abackup, just in case.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Oh, that's a good idea.
I know we've been using eSIMsfor the last well, all the last
few places we've been to aboutthe last few years I think we've
been using eSIMs and and I justfind it so easy.
When you just fly into a newdestination, you switch over and
off, you know where you go, soit works really well.
Oh, just popping back to London, did you get into into any of
the museums in London to get theV&A by any chance?
Speaker 3 (23:31):
yeah, so we had, um, we had one day in London which
was just that evening, seeingall the Christmas lights, um.
But then, um, we came backafter New Year's and I kind of
just wanted to have a daywalking around London.
I I was like you know, we'rehere, I just want to see all the
things.
I'd done it before on myprevious trip.
But we kind of just wanderedaround.
So we started near the LondonEye, didn't go on it, the lines
(23:54):
were really long and I honestly,tracy, I've grown up in India
so this shouldn't be a shock tome.
But I found the crowds in Londonjust huge, like there were so
many people around, likeWestminster and Big Ben.
We were kind of just jostlingour way through the crowds,
which I don't remember fromprevious trips.
I don't know if it was just thetime of year or because it was
(24:16):
the only sunny day we'd had inabout a week, but we wandered up
to Buckingham Palace, wentthrough Hyde Park and then from
there we went to the V&A,because I had been to the
National History Museum and theScience Museum on past trips and
I wanted to see the V&A.
So, yeah, we had a wanderaround there.
It was really cool and Iespecially like the big.
(24:38):
I think they're called likecast the moulds Cascot.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
There we go.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
Tracy knows what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
I found that interesting.
Well, every time I go back toLondon I it's really funny
because I'll just go and sit inthe cast courts for an hour on
my own and just I just love them, absolutely love and and I know
if you've listened to thepodcast before, you probably
think, yeah, I talk about theV&A a lot.
It's just I honestly love it.
I love the V&A, I just love thejust sitting there and I don't
(25:08):
know the whole atmosphere.
The cast courts is justsomething I really love it.
You're just surrounded by allthese casts of amazing places
from around the world.
So, yeah, it's, it's fantastic.
And did you get to their cafe?
Because it's the first museumcafe in the world and it's all
art deco, so I hope you did butif you didn't, you have to go
next time.
Speaker 3 (25:26):
I can't remember if we stopped at the cafe, um, but
we did.
We wandered through quite a fewof the levels, didn't see it
all because we were a little bitshort on time, but I quite
enjoyed, like the stained glassgallery as well, um, I found
that super interesting, um, butyeah, you could spend hours
around all the museums in londonand I also just love so much
(25:46):
that they were free to enter.
I think that's just, it's sucha good rainy day activity as
well.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
It gets very busy, though I know I think the year,
oh Christmas before Doug and Itried to get the Natural History
Museum on a rainy day.
Forget it.
We didn't book and it was likethe queue was far too long.
But I'm actually going to do apodcast about the museums in
london because we do get asked alot about them and a lot of the
museums are free.
So natural history museum,british museum is free, vna is
(26:14):
free, the science museum's free.
A lot of them are free, smallerones not necessarily, but a lot
of those are included in thingslike the london pass, like the
florence nightingale museum isexcellent, worth visiting.
So we'll have a chat actually ina future podcast episode about
those.
Now, did you buy anything?
I know you were going on toAmerica, so probably a little
bit difficult, but did youpurchase anything when you were
in London or in?
Speaker 3 (26:34):
the UK.
I don't think we did.
I don't think we got anysouvenirs to take home.
We got a few Christmas presents, but we yeah, we really didn't
want any excess baggage no, no,I get that.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
I, to be honest, I've left a suitcase full of stuff
at my mom's but I could notbring back because we were
traveling back via a number ofcountries and I was like I'm not
dragging this around with me.
So I totally get that.
But you're very good with thatbecause I find, especially if
you go into some of thoseChristmas shop, the Christmas
decorations are just so gorgeous.
I was definitely tempted.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Actually we did get.
We got one thing which was agift for Isaac's grandma who we
were seeing in the States.
So we were, we were going toget rid of it before we got home
and we picked that up at one ofthe markets in Brighton.
It was sort of this handcraftedum little.
Yeah, it was awesome the themarkets down in Brighton as well
, just meeting local businessesand craftsmen and artists.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yep, yeah, and you were.
You were there at the righttime of year for the Christmas
markets as well, so there's lotsof Christmas markets on as well
, where you can buy lots of cutelittle things if you're
visiting um.
So I'm gonna ask what was thehighlight of the trip for you?
Is that anyone?
Speaker 3 (27:41):
oh, I, I mean, of course, the highlight was the
people.
Um, we had an incrediblechristmas on the isle of wight,
but it also came with um the flu, oh, no, so um, it was.
We were staying on my well, afamily farm, so my
brother-in-law's wife's farm, um, but it was this beautiful,
(28:04):
beautiful, serene location justin the countryside, which was
amazing.
But then we all got sickbecause the girls managed to
bring some sniffles home fromschool.
So that was a highlight.
The food over Christmas washighlight, because the Brits
know how to put on a feast.
Um, oh yes, yeah, that wasawesome, um.
But I also just loved our day inLondon, walking around, um and
(28:26):
just it being a blue sky, noclouds, sunny but still crisp.
You kind of touched on thatbefore, um, but that was a
highlight for me as well.
One thing in London I wish we'ddone was St Paul's.
Um, we did go and we kind oflike walked past it in the
evening, but I wish we'd goneinside, cause I I think we went
inside on my previous trip, butI feel like it's it's underrated
(28:50):
.
It's so big.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
It's beautiful, it's beautiful.
I went to, I went to, I wentthere for Evensong in January.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Yeah, so that's something that's going to be top
of my list for the next visit,I think.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Good.
Well, it's good to hear thatyou're.
You know you've got a planning,potentially in the future,
another visit back to the UK,but for this episode of the
podcast, what would be?
And I always end with the samequestion.
So what would be your one tipthat you would get?
You'd give for anyone travelingto the UK for the first time.
I think specifically going toask for New Zealanders as well.
I think this might be usefulfor a New Zealand audience.
Anything in particular for aNew Zealander planning a trip to
the UK for the first time.
I think specifically going toask for New Zealanders as well.
I think this might be usefulfor a New Zealand audience
Anything in particular for a NewZealander planning a trip to
the UK for the first time.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
Yeah, I think my tip and we've already touched on
this but, honestly, having thatwise card and for it to just be
such an easy solution, I thinkthat that would be my biggest
tip honestly, because you justget hit with so many fees when
you, when you take your anz cardor your bnz or whatever it is
you've got in new zealand umtaking those, you just get hit
(29:52):
with far too many fees.
So that's that's my tip veryboring but very practical no,
very practical, and that'sthat's important.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
So, um, thanks so much for joining us this week on
the podcast Abigail.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Thank you so much, Tracy.
It's been lovely to chat withyou.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
It's always good to catch up.
You can find out links to allthe information that we chatted
about in this episode at theshow notes uktravelplanetcom
forward slash episode 154.
But for this week, abigail andI are about to sign off and say
the usual happy UK travelplanning.
Bye, from both of us, bye,bye-bye.
(30:29):
Thank you for tuning in to thisweek's episode of the UK Travel
Planning Podcast.
As always, show notes can befound at uktravelplanningcom.
If you've enjoyed the show, whynot leave us feedback via text
or a review on your favouritepodcast app?
We love to hear from you andyou never know.
You may receive a shout out ina future episode.
(30:51):
But, as always, that justleaves me to say until next week
.
Happy UK travel planning.
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