Oh hey! It’s been awhile. I haven’t written for such a long time on here, not that anyone’s actually holding their breathe waiting for my next post. Life happened, it’s been a crazy month for me and although I’ve been going out and about around the city of London (and beyond) quite a lot, I do forget to take photos and document the whole thing. I guess that’s what happens when you’re having a great time. And to be quite honest, I don’t want to bore you with a blow-by-blow update of what I’ve been doing with my life.
The Greek Mister went to Barcelona for a bachelor’s party last weekend and like the good wife that I am, I’ve also arranged a weekend getaway with some friends. Friends, yes I think I found some friends here in London finally. You see, if you’re 30 something and you’re living in a place not your own it’s quite hard to find friends who you can truly trust. Yes, you’ll meet a lot of people but if you’re as picky as I am – most of them will just end up as an acquaintance but won’t really go beyond that. You can’t consider everyone a friend because if you do – the true essence of friendship is lost.
So the plan was to go to Royal Tunbridge Wells for a night and then onward to Canterbury the next day. What? You’ve never heard of Royal Tunbridge Wells? Yeah, me neither. Not until that weekend. Lol. My friend who lives there was quite worried that we won’t have anything to do while there but is there really a such a place in England that doesn’t offer anything to do? Not in my book so off I went. I took the train from Waterloo East to Royal Tunbridge Wells, the journey took 55 minutes and the train ticket price was £6.70 per person.
Royal Tunbridge Wells is an affluent town in the west of Kent. It was a popular spa retreat in the 16th century with rich Londoners and royalties visiting the place. Many believed that the water in the chalybeate spring of Royal Tunbridge Wells has healing properties because of its rich iron content. Due to the high influx of tourists, the town was developed to accommodate their visitors. The beautiful promenade of Pantiles was a result of that tourism boom – a Georgian colonnade that leads from the well which made Royal Tunbridge Wells popular. Needless to say, it was the first place we visited as soon as I arrived.
As with any other towns outside of London, most of the establishments in Royal Tunbridge Wells were closing at 6pm which of course includes the many gardens around the area that I wanted to visit. We only had time for one place to see that day and my friend Rui took me to Bewl Water.
Bewl Water is a water reservoir between Kent and East Sussex. You might think what can one do in a water reservoir? Apparently, a lot if you’re in Bewl Water. It is an 800-acre site set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty offering a range of leisure and recreational activities. The stunning view of the lake is already worth a visit though if you ask me.
There were two restaurants on site (that I’ve seen) and I do think I’d drag The Greek Mister there one of these days as I do feel like he’d love it as well. There’s a shop where you can rent a bicycle if cycling is your preferred way of exploring the whole expanse of Bewl Water. If you’re into boating though, they’ve got you covered too as well as fishing. It’s a shame that we were there for such a short time, ideally I would’ve spent an entire day there. I’ll be back soon, that’s for sure with The Greek Mister in tow.
Sadly, those were the only places I’ve visited in the beautiful Royal Tunbridge Wells. My own fault though as I left London quite late. I do plan on visiting one of the many beautiful gardens dotted around the town and I think that for me to be able to do that, a whole 24 hours is needed or maybe even 48. 🙂
Travel advice:
You can buy tickets in advance going to Royal Tunbridge Wells online but you may also purchase it on the day of your trip in Waterloo East station. The ticket I bought was for a specific departure time but when I arrived at the station, you can actually use it on any departure times. Plan ahead though as train cancellation is apparently very normal.
Looks like a very relaxing and fun filled trip! I am glad that you could find friends in London, whom you could travel with. I am in my 30s too and it is so hard to make friends!
Looks like a very good day trip from London! I’m also always looking for outings to do in and outside of London. I’m an American expat, been in London nearly 1 year, but I work in a restaurant so only have the odd weekday off. If you ever need a partner in crime, would love to meet up with a fellow expat…count me in! 🙂
[…] spending the night over at my friend’s house in Royal Tunbridge Wells, we drove to Canterbury the next day together with some of his other Portuguese friends. I have to […]
Pretty as a Picture? Well it certainly looks great. Gorgeous skies to boot. Hadn’t really missed you (blog) but only because it has been so busy here.
that’s a cheap train ticket:) pretty town!
Haha, what a ‘good wife’ … 😀 Good to hear from you again, and glad you’re having an awesome time in London. Weather looks good in the pics.