My British Exploration

You may have noticed from my posts that I love to travel. So much so, that even in the deep, dark world of skint student-ness full of work, deadlines and zero time I have pledged to still travel as much as possible. Locally. Britain is actually a beautiful collection of countries - Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland are beyond gorgeous in their own unique way, and so often get overlooked by British people wishing to travel. Why not start at home?

My local South Wales has so many adorable little towns and villages, breathtaking countryside and incredible beaches that people haven't even heard of and don't attract any tourism - they are merely enjoyed by the lucky locals. Logic would tell you that these secret places are scattered across Britain and I want to uncover more of these little, lesser known gems, with the big "must-see"s thrown in, of course. So rather than visiting all the cities in the UK, that would result in missing so much, we decided to visit every county in Britain (many of which are "historic" and no longer used). I felt that this way we would see all the major destinations like London, Manchester, York, Bristol etc but it also gives us more of a chance of stumbling across some lovely little random towns: my favourite places to explore.

Here is a list of all the counties in Britain that I will be visiting (with Martin, I hope!); either for a day, weekend or a short break (maybe even a long break!). Some I have visited previously but will be visiting again to educate my Scottish boyfriend to the wonders of Britain south of the boarder and see some new places myself (marked with an asterisk). I will cross them off and add the locations we visited so you (and I!) can keep track of my journey if you wish. :-)

Wales

Anglesey

Breconshire

Caernarfonshire

Cardiganshire

Carmarthenshire (Carmarthen, Kidwelly, Pendine)

Denbighshire

Flint

Glamorganshire (We live here!)

Merionethshire

Monmouthshire (Usk, Newport)

Montgomeryshire (Y Bala)

Pembrokeshire (Tenby, Saundersfood, Narbeth,

Radnorshire

Scotland

Aberdeenshire

Angus

Argyll

Ayrshire

Banffshire

Buteshire

Caithness

Clackmannanshire

Cromartyshire

Dumfriesshire (Dumfries)

Dunbartonshire

East Lothian (North Berwick)

Fife (Dunfermline, Carnwarth, Limekilns)

Invernessshire

Kincardineshire

Kinrossshire

Kirkcudbrightshire

Lanarkshire (Glasgow)

Midlothian (Edinburgh)

Morayshire

Nairnshire

Orkney

Perthshire

Renfrewshire

Rossshire

Roxburghshire

Selkirkshire

Shetland

Stirlingshire

West Lothian (Bathgate)

Wigtownshire

England

Bedfordshire
Berkshire
Berwickshire
Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire
Cheshire
Cornwall *(Newquay)
Cumberland
Derybshire
Devon
Dorset
Durham
Essex
Gloucestershire (Bristol)
Hampshire (Farnborough, Camberley, Petersfield)
Herefordshire
Hertfordshire
Huntingdonshire
Kent
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
Middlesex* (City of London)
Norfolk
Northamptonshire
Northumberland
Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire (Oxford)
Rutland
Shropshire
Somerset* (Bath)
Suffolk
Surrey* (Guildford, Sutton, Croydon)
Sussex* (Eastbourne)
Sutherland         
Warwickshire
Westmorland
Wiltshire
Worcestershire
Yorkshire    
      

Ireland

Antrim

Armagh

Down

Fermanagh

Londonderry

Tyrone

(You may disagree with my classification of the counties of Britain as I am aware some are "historic" - I read a lot of lists of counties before deciding on this. I feel these best allow me to see as many places as possible.)