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Experience the World From Home: A Week Inspired By the United Kingdom
Since schools are closed and travel is almost non-existent for most of us; we thought it would be fun to share some ideas for adventures in the home. We’re calling it the travel addicts guide to experience the world from home.
Ideas for reading, movies and entertainment, crafts and activities, and food inspired by the countries of the UK all while in the comfort of your own home.
Duration: 6 days, Monday thru Saturday
Countries: Explore activities inspired by England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales
Reading and Watching: For both adults and kids
Activities: Geared to families
Food: Simple ingredients and easy to make
Did you know this week the airlines in the USA announced a 95% drop in international travel?
Wow.
It’s a huge drop, but I really don’t know too many people who are willing to accept the risk of flying around the world right now. Not only because of the risk of catching Coronavirus, but getting stuck away from home as countries close their borders and even worse being caught without health insurance.
But, what to do when you travel almost every other week-end from March through November and have international trips planned for the year that you’ll likely need to cancel?
We’re experimenting with travelling the world from the comfort of our home and hitting the trails around home while being socially distanced….
Come join us as we plan “weekly” adventures around the globe with the help of the local library, Pinterest, streaming services, and the craft library we’ve collected at home for a rainy day!
Experience the World at Home: Week 1 the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is made up of 4 separate countries: England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Each has its own devolved government meaning their power is given by the United Kingdom government in varying degrees. The capital city is London in England proper, however, each country also has its own capital: London, Cardiff, Belfast, and Edinburgh respectively.
With so much to see and do how can we pick just a few things? From the castles and manor homes, military history, to the birthplace of modern golf, hiking, and some of the finest pottery in the world how can you choose just one adventure. While we’re highlighting the UK we can’t forget about the arts! Home to Shakespeare, the Beatles, and Harry Potter we could literally spend weeks reading UK inspired literature and watching UK inspired TV shows.
So far, we’ve been to all the countries, but Scotland. It’s on our bucket list to be combined with the Faroe Islands. We fully expect Stonehenge to look a bit different built from legos than the real-life version, but hey, at least you can walk between the pillars in your living room! Besides, you’d never do the UK justice in just 1 week, maybe hit some capital cities but totally miss the countryside which is just brilliant. To put in perspective, we’ve spent 4 weeks in 2 separate trips and feel we’ve barely scratched the surface. But hey, in your living room there are no security lines, flights, or travel time.
Here we go on our United Kingdom themed adventure!
Monday
Start off our United Kingdom inspired week by learning a bit about the history of the United Kingdom and some fun facts.
There is a huge amount of literature and movies to choose from so we’ve tried to choose a few adult and childrens selections that the whole family can enjoy.
Hope you enjoy trying some of these activities as much as we have. Share your favorites in the comments below.
Read
Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
Entertainment
Start your trip with some YouTube videos to give you more information on the United Kingdom and its history.
Introduction to Great Britain and the UK
Top 10 Facts About the United Kingdom
Crafts and Activities
Create your own replica of the Union Jack Flag. Use paints, crayons, craft paper. Be creative!
Create a princess hat and sword for the young princesses and knights to wear to supper tonight.
Food
Medieval times style for supper tonight! Think finger foods. If the idea of everyone dressing up and eating with their fingers grosses you out feel free to use utensils!
Ideas for a medieval supper may include choices such as:
Mushroom Soup (drunk from the bowl if you’re not using utensils)
Tuesday
Today let’s get inspired by London and Southern England!
The hustle and bustle of London, an amazing city, home to Buckingham Palace and the Queen. London probably brings to mind the Queen’s guards, the royal family, Big Ben, crown jewels and a host of other historical sights.
In Southern England we’ll check out Canterbury and the Canterbury Cathedral inspired by Chaucer’s, The Canterbury Tales. Perhaps a more surprising part of southern England are the wineries and cider houses with tours and tasting rooms for the foodie in you.
Read
The Canterbury Tales by Chauser
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne
Entertainment
The Crown on Netflix
Winnie the Pooh on Disney Plus
Downton Abbey on Amazon Prime
Crafts and Activities
Food
A trip to London wouldn’t be complete without high tea! Dress in your finest, places the tea sandwiches and treats on a beautiful platter, and boil up your favorite tea.
For kids who are missing their friends, hold a virtual tea party!
Wednesday
From here we travel to central and northern England: home to the Beatles in Liverpool, Shakespeare in Stratford Upon Avon, the Cotswolds’, Stonehenge and Hadrian’s Wall.
Here we can explore and discover the arts from the era of Shakespearean literature to the Beatles and right up to today’s filming of Harry Potter in Oxford.
Read
Harry Potter by JK Rowling
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare in Plain and Simple English
Entertainment
Yesterday on Amazon Prime
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week on Hulu
Harry Potter – we have the movie series in our library, what can I say, I’m obsessed!
Crafts and Activities
Write a poem. This website has lots of great ideas for kids (and adults like me who need some help 😊
Build Stonehenge out of Legos – the bonus? You can actually walk in it!
Food
We actually use a recipe out of The Main Cookbook for this Meal, but here’s some online one to try. We love to make an au jus or gravy from the pan dripping to dip the Yorkshire in.
Roast Beef or steak works great too. Tomorrow’s recipe uses beef as well so feel free to save some roast for tomorrow.
Mashed Potatoes with Horseradish
Just like it sounds. Eat mashed potatoes plain with milk, butter and salt. Add gravy or pan drippings. Or go crazy and mix in horseradish for some kick!
Thursday
Today we leave England and make our way over to Wales. I must admit when we visited Wales a few years ago we were not prepared for the beauty of the country. At the time we had only planned a few days and in hindsight wished we had planned at least a week in this beautiful country.
From beaches and the sea to hiking in national parks to the rolling hills, cities, towns and of course Cardiff the capital home to Doctor Who there is so much to see and do here.
Read
The Sword in the Stone by TH White
I haven’t read the book below, but now have more books on my reading list after researching famous Welsh books. Check out this list published by The Guardian.
On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin
Martha, Jack and Shanco by Caryl Lewis
Entertainment
Fireman Sam on Amazon Prime and YouTube
Doctor Who on Amazon Prime and HBO
The Sword in the Stone on Disney Plus
Crafts and Activities
Paint a daffodil picture
If you have a garden in your home, plant or pick daffodils to dress your table. Ours are starting to come up but might not be up in time to enjoy this week!
Food
When we visited Wales we had to try “Welsh stew” or Cawl. It was so delicious. Here’s a recipe to try below. If you made a roast the night before and have left overs this can be a great use for them.
Friday
Let’s head north to explore Scotland. When you like me think of Scotland do bag pipes, castles, the Loch Ness Monster, military tattoos, and visiting/hiking in the national parks come to mind?
It’s Friday so we thought we’d highlight Scotland today in the event you can leave work early and head out for a hike in your city. If you are in part of the country that is required to shelter in place perhaps you can throw on the nature channel and use that treadmill or just walk in place. 😊
Read
Peter and Wendy by JM Barrie
The Loch Ness Monster by Erin Peabody
Entertainment
Brave on Disney Plus
Peter Pan on Disney Plus
Outlander on Hulu and Amazon Prime
Braveheart – might need to buy this one… an oldie, but a goodie
Crafts and Activities
Did you know modern golf was created in Scotland? Create a mini golf course in your home or garden.
Obviously, it’s not practical to create holes in your floor if you are playing indoors so get creative. Use a small soft ball and a create your “hole” from a plate. No clubs? No problem. Try a broom stick instead. Just be careful not to break anything with an overzealous swing.
Hike – in the spirit of Scotland, head to the great outdoors for a walk today. If you have been asked to shelter at home, try some indoor options to get the heart rate up.
Food
Fish and chips wrapped in newspaper. Sounds delicious doesn’t it?
Whether you use fish sticks, create your own batter, or just eat fresh fish baked or fried it’s up to you. We do challenge you to try vinegar and salt on your fries instead of ketchup. After all you are on vacation in Scotland!
Saturday
For the last day of our United Kingdom inspired week, let’s head to Ireland for the day. Hopefully the luck of the Irish will be with us today. We lived in Newfoundland in Canada for several years and it surprised many people when we visited Ireland and had no problem understanding the accent.
Northern Ireland is part of the UK and the south is independent Ireland. A land of beautiful landscapes, lakes, and of course famous pubs. It’s only fitting that we spend Saturday celebrating this beautiful island.
Read
Gulliver’s Travels by Johnathan Swift
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Entertainment
The Chronicles of Narnia on Disney Plus
PS I Love You on Amazon Prime
Games of Thrones on HBO – This one is definitely not kid friendly and while technically set in a mythical world parts of it were filmed in Ireland.
Crafts and Activities
Did you know the town of Belleek in Northern Ireland has a fine China factory? We couldn’t pass up a tour and visit on our trip through. The china designs are beautiful and counted among the best in the world.
Make your own clay handprint keep sakes.
Food
Classic corned beef and cabbage.
We just had this for St Patrick’s Day, but we love it so much. Plus, if you have left overs you can have:
Corned beef hash for Sunday brunch. Yum! We have eggs easy over on top to up the protein for this delicious breakfast.
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