uk Archives - Runaway Brit

Summer’s Coming, and I’m Going to Europe!

Europe, Featured, Plans, Travelling berlin, copenhagen, cornwall, denmark, england, estonia, europe, germany, hamburg, prague, stockholm, summer, summer getaways, sweden, tallinn, travel, uk, united kingdom, västerås

In June, heavy monsoon rains will saturate the streets of Mumbai, so I am doing what most other foreign teachers here do—leaving India for the summer. And what better place to go than Europe? In contrast

Eden: Experience A Rainforest Without the Bugs!

Europe, Featured, Nature, United Kingdom biome, conservation, cornwall, eden project, rainforest, uk

Have you ever wanted to experience the exotic flora and fauna of the rainforest, but are terrified of snakes and spiders? If so, then this post is for you! Since my parents moved to Cornwall

The Essential Elements of a British Christmas

Europe, Food and Drink, Tradition, Travelling, United Kingdom britain, christmas, mince pies, music, the snowman, tv, uk

"The Brits are pretty special in the way that they celebrate Christmas..."“How do you celebrate Christmas in the UK?” is a question that I have been asked a number of times during the six Christmases

My 5 Travel Highlights of 2013

Europe, Travelling bosnia, cornwall, england, europe, glacier, iceland, isle of skye, istanbul, Jökulsárlón, lagoon, looe, mostar, scotland, skye, travel, turkey, uk

At the beginning of 2013 I had no travel plans. I had just moved to an expensive apartment in Stockholm and expected a light travel year similar to 2012. But, as is often the case

10 Foods To Try in Europe

Europe, Food and Drink belgrade, bosnia, burek, cevapcici, cornish pasty, cornwall, croatia, culinary tour, europe, food, goulash, Greece, hungary, istanbul, kajmak, kleftiko, kremna rezina, lake bled, lamacun, lokum, mostar, pierogi, poland, serbia, slovenia, turkey, uk

Warning: This post will make you hungry! I had not been travelling for long before I realised that my trip would become a culinary tour of Europe, devoted mainly to trying different, and amazing, new

Discovering Lovely Looe, Cornwall

Europe, Nature, Travelling, Working Overseas britain, cornwall, england, fishing, looe, smuggling, uk, village

In British English the word loo is a colloquial term for the toilet, so when my sister and her husband announced that they were moving to Looe—pronounced in the same way—they received a few sniggers

Europe’s Fairy-Tale Castles: Castell Coch, Cardiff

Europe, History, Nature, Travelling, United Kingdom cardiff, castell coch, castle, fairytale, uk, united kingdom, wales

Ascending dramatically from a sea of tangled forest, the three turrets of Castell Coch are a scene straight from a fairy tale. The castle would not look amiss in any part of medieval Europe. It

Following Edinburgh’s Potter Trail

Europe, Literature, Travelling, United Kingdom elephant house, greyfriars bobby, harry potter, literature, rowling, scotland, tour, travel, uk

“How are we going to recognise her?” whispered my friend Grainne as we stood outside Edinburgh’s famous ‘Greyfriars Bobby’ pub. “I don’t know. Maybe she’ll be wearing a cape!” I replied. I was not wrong.

The Real Mary King’s Close: A Journey Into Edinburgh’s Past

Europe, History, Travelling, United Kingdom edinburgh, mary king's close, scotland, uk

"Hidden deep beneath the Royal Mile lies Edinburgh’s deepest secret; a warren of hidden ‘closes’ or streets where real people lived, worked and died. For centuries they have lain forgotten and abandoned… …until now." - Mary

Scottish Highlands: A Romantic Retreat

Europe, Nature, Travelling beach, castle, eileen donan, fairy pool, glencoe, isle of skye, lake, morar, romance, scotland, silver sands, skye, travel, uk, waterfall, wedding

There is nothing more romantic than the beauty of natural scenery, and my recent trip to the stunning Scottish Highlands got me thinking about how Scotland has the perfect landscape for a romantic retreat, and

Why You Should Visit Wales

Europe, Photography, Travelling, United Kingdom beach, castle, coastline, cottage, ogmore, stone wall, uk, united kingdom, wales

Rather than flowing over the top of the British Isles as usual, the Jet Stream's current positioning to the South has brought the rainiest summer that the United Kingdom has had in decades (and let's face it

A Slice of Welsh Life at St Fagans National History Museum

Europe, Tradition, Travelling, United Kingdom museum, national history, st fagans, uk, wales, welsh life

Standing in the shadow of Cardiff’s Millenium stadium, and only a stone’s throw from the uber-trendy Mermaid Quay bay area, nestles St Fagans National History Museum—a gem of a museum chronicling the history of Welsh

What Makes Britain So Great?

Europe, Food and Drink, Travelling, United Kingdom, Working Overseas british isles, great britain, uk, united kingdom

I recently read Mallory on Travel’s brilliant article ‘What’s So Great About Britain?’ with a huge grin on my face because, all things considered, my homeland really is an amazing place, and what better day

War Museums: Meaningful or Macabre?

Travelling a-bomb dome, berlin wall, bridge over river kwai, cambodia, cheung euk, coventry cathedral, germany, hellfire pass, hiroshima, japan, kanchanaburi, killing fields, kymer rouge, memorials, thailand, Tseul sleng, uk, war museums

Visiting a war museum is not a pleasant or comfortable experience and I have left the ones I have visited in tears. Many of the images and artefacts are deeply disturbing, exposing me to atrocities

Wimbledon – A British Institution

Europe, Tradition, United Kingdom all england tennis club, andy roddick, lleyton hewitt, serena williams, sw19, tennis, tommy haas, uk, united kingdom, venus williams, williams sisters, wimbledon

It’s already well into the swing of tennis season and the next tournament on the agenda is, of course, Wimbledon. Even though the UK has not enjoyed much success on the hallowed turf of SW19

Free to Travel – How I Broke Free From Debt

Asia, Friends and Family, Teaching, Vietnam, Working Overseas debt, finance, saving, travel, uk, vietnam, working overseas

On the evening of March 15th 2007 I sat in a small bar in Northampton confessing to a friend of mine that I was struggling with debt. I didn’t know how I had reached that

Bad Wolf Bay: The Rugged Coastline of South Wales (UK)

Childhood Memories, Europe, Travelling bbc tv, cardiff, doctor who, dr who, dunraven bay, europe, south wales, southerndown beach, uk, wales

Although I enjoy travelling the world and have branded myself a Runaway Brit, I do still appreciate the beauty of my home country. The UK is a small but diverse island and has many unappreciated

The roof top terrace taken from the lounge.

Another New Home

Asia, Childhood Memories, Friends and Family, Travelling, Vietnam moving house, sweden, uk, vietnam

My Baltic adventure ended a week ago today as I stepped off the Tallink-Silja Festival and back onto Swedish shores. But new adventures are always awaiting and it was with a spring in my step

Lest We Forget – Remembering The Fallen

Childhood Memories, History, Life in Sweden, School, Teaching, Tradition, United Kingdom conflict, flanders fields, macrae, oppression, poppies, remembrance, remembrance day, soldiers, sweden, teaching, uk, war

Poppy placed at 'Hellfire Pass', Thailand "Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them." Today is Remembrance Day: a

The Tie that Binds.

Life in Sweden, Teaching education, school uniform, sweden, swedish education, teaching, uk

The new teacher orientation week at my new school went pretty much as expected. We were introduced to various policies, systems and schemes of work; and informed about the usual array of Special Educational Needs