Roadschool Trip to England - Food, Tips, and Tricks

 

Food & Drink

• Splurge on a traditional British tea. You'll be able to check it off your tourist bucket list, and it's quite a bit of fun! If you have money to burn, hit one of the more famous places, but be sure to make reservations. If you're on a budget, many locals hotels (including chains) offer an afternoon tea, too.
• Visit the local grocery store to save on sandwich supplies and crisps (chips). Pack picnic lunches to take on your outings. This will free up a bit of food money later for an afternoon tea.

English food gets a bad rap, but can actually be really delicious. Here are some must-tries:

• Full English Breakfast
• Sunday Roast / Roast Dinner
• Fish and Chips (preferably by the sea)
• (Savoury) Pie
• Sausage Rolls
• Bangers and Mash
• Pasty
• Sticky Toffee Pudding
• Shepherd's Pie/Cottage pie

Tips & Tricks

• Deter pickpockets by carrying a crossbody bag. Keep your wallet and phone in the inner pockets.
• Ask the hotel staff about which areas to avoid after dark, and try not to walk or travel alone. Always listen to your gut instincts!
• Using public wifi is a great way to save data. Major cities have wifi available everywhere, while more remote destinations may have limited coverage.
• Talk to the locals about which tours are fantastic and which are overrated.
• Many of the museums are free, including the Natural History Museum, British Museum, Victoria & Albert, Wallace Collection, and more.
• For some things, the English use metric measurements, and for other things, they use the imperial system. For example, roads are still measured in the imperial unit of miles, and height is often discussed in feet and inches.
• Pack as lightly as possible. Condense your clothing and toiletries, bringing multi-purpose items.
• Roll with it. Expect the unexpected (such as our Wild West / American week experience), and move forward with a "yes, and..." attitude.
• Have fun!! Ride the hippo. Find the painting that looks exactly like your niece...and text it to her. Walk with the sheep (but not with the bulls). Get off the beaten path. Explore the hidden gems, like an indoor rock garden. Take time to smell the roses.

Must-have items to pack:

• Rolling Backpack — If you get one thing from this list, make it the suitcase that will change your travel life. It's a rolling suitcase. It's a backpack. It holds much more than you'd expect, and is small enough to be considered a carry-on. Don't check your bags —take them with you. If you end up walking any length with your luggage, you'll thank me.
• Crossbody bag — Make it more difficult to be targeted by using a crossbody bag as your daily carryall. This one converts into a teeny-tiny pouch that easily fits into your suitcase.
• Convertible Backpack — Another bag that rolls up into a tiny pouch, this is a lightweight carryon that holds a lot of stuff, with several inner pouches and two water bottle pockets.
• Plug Adaptor — If you want to charge...anything...you're going to need a plug adaptor. The outlets in the UK are different from the ones in the US, so this is a must.
• Oregano Oil —These little herbals pack a big punch. Take them at the onset of sniffles, headache, or whatever your first signs of illness happen to be.
• Headphones — These noise-cancelling headphones take up a bit of space in your carryon, but serve the dual purposes of providing some peace and being more comfortable for inflight entertainment than the airline-provided ones

Basic UK English:

• the loo or the toilet = bathroom
• lift = elevator
• boot (of a car) = trunk
• queue = line-up
• pavement = sidewalk
• petrol = gas
• football = soccer
• quid = pound/unit of currency (e.g. 5 quid = 5 pounds)

Pick up activities and worksheets to augment your real or virtual trip in the unit study bundle below!

Explore the art, history, geography, food, and culture of England in this cross-curricular unit study….perfect for families getting ready to travel abroad or folks who want to travel via unit studies!  Each stop along the roadschooling trip covers a different facet of history and culture with unit information, resources, worksheets, activities, and more...  

YES!  I want 122 pages of FUN STUDIES!

Table of Contents:

• o Introduction & Geography of England
• o Portsmouth
  • o The Mary Rose & naval archaeology
• o London
  • o The British Museum & archaeology
  • o The Wallace Collection & medieval history
  • o The Tower of London / London Bridge & the Tudors
  • o Buckingham Palace & royalty
  • o Victoria and Albert Museum & medieval art
  • o Thames / Globe Theater & Shakespeare
  • o Sherlock Holmes Museum & British Literature
  • o Abbey Road & British Invasion
• o Leeds
  • o Royal Armouries & middle ages
• o York
  • o Jorvik & Vikings
  • o York Castle & archaeology
• o Haltwhistle
  • o Hadrian’s Wall & ancient Celts
  • o Vindolanda & archaeology
• o Alnwick
  • o Alnwick Castle & architecture
  • o Poison Garden & herbs
  • o Barter Books & WW2 history
• o Alnmouth
  • o North Sea & train history
• o Newcastle o Segedunum & ancient Romans
• o Tips & Tricks for Travelling in England