A month in the U.K.?

[LockedOutOfMN]

Expats, what would you make sure you fitted in if you were sent back to work in the U.K. (by yourself) for a month?

This is happening to me! I'll be working but can travel at weekends and have obviously planned to see family/friends. I'm thinking more things I need to do by myself - even really little things like eating a decent curry - to make the most of the English experience (I'll be in England, in a relatively rural place / not close to any big cities). Suggestions very welcome!

Not much to be honest! Curry, yes. Just take a bit of time and appreciate the seasons. I grew up in ME and the world feels pretty homogeneous now.

London, Bath, York, Edinburgh, lake district and Cornwall.

I'm not an expat but

• a walk in the countryside, take a picnic if it's nice weather!

• fish and chip supper

Fry up breakfast
Black pudding as often as possible
Pub lunch x many, preferably in pub gardens
John Lewis
Cheap nasty sausages
Curry as often as possible
Greggs
Bath - for the city and to see friends, plus a visit to several places on the outskirts like Lacock
Edinburgh to see a much-loved friend who needs a hug
Glasgow to see family
While I'm up there I'd like to visit the Borders for the first time
Manchester to reminisce
London to see friends - this time I'd do Borough Market, other times I do other bits
I'd try to get to a beach, an abbey ruin, several National Trust places
See family wherever I can
M&S
John Lewis again
Poole to see a friend
I'd quite like to see York having never been there before

I'm a bit homesick now. Have a lovely time OP.

I might try to see a stone circle too.

Nothing much to add, except I'm SO envious!

Walking in the countryside (moors, coastal paths, country lanes). It's such a way of life in the UK and the climate's well-suited to walking unless it's peeing down.

Enjoy some good, friendly pubs. I love a country pub and the quality of the food has improved massively since I left.

History, history, and more history.

I should've kept off this thread as all I want to do now is jump on a plane! I'm fine as long as I don't think about the UK.

Do you not go back regularly? A month is a very short time, especially if you are working. I probably would just do friends, London, pubs, eating out and John Lewis tbh. If only you had more time.

Ex-pat here, Last time I went home UK I put on so much weight!

But what I like to do is (food always first)

Go to every supermarket I can
Buy decent wine (I so miss Majestic)
Beef/cooked meats/bacon /sausage
Cheese, huge amounts of!
Butter
Crusty bread
Pickled onion crisps
Pork scratching
Cream cakes
Strawberrys and cream
Any other food I cannot get (which is rather a lot) I love going back into UK spermarkets, they are all sooooo clean and tidy, I want to throw myself at the chilled cabinets and eat everything!

Go out for Sunday lunch
Greggs (sad I know)
Go to a large city and have a good shop/mooch than have a nice lunch
Trip somewhere on a train, just because I can!
Trip to the seaside and have chips and gravy
Lazy Sunday with the papers and at noon a large G&T, preferably sitting on the grass in the garden (or the fire in winter)
TKMaxx
M&S/John Lewis
Shops that sell toiletries Superdrug/Boots/Bodycare

I am deprived!

So envious! I would:

1. Buy and devour the Sunday papers. All of them. On a Sunday, obviously.
2. Go to a pub beer garden for lunch.
3. Marvel at the fact I can buy alcohol in the supermarket
4. Eat salad cream. And skips. And English chocolate. Ooooh and a wispa bar.
5. Look around waterstones, debenhams, monsoon, boots and primark. Do they all still exist?
6. Go to a ye olde pub for a Saturday night with my friends.
7. Go out for a proper English Curry
8. Go to a market. Do you still get weekly markets?
9. Go to a car boot sale. Why are the just a British thing?

10. Go for a walk buy a lovely English river (with a borrowed dog) 11. Go to walk around a woods and marvel at the British countryside 12. Get free tickets to watch something being recorded for bbc radio 4 (ooooh how I miss listening real time) 13. Go to the theatre 14. Go to a panto 15. Drive around looking at everyone's Christmas lights (you'll have to go in Dec, sorry) 16. Drive down a country road in the summer that's lined with a canopy of green trees. Lush. 17. Just mil around in busy areas listening to PEOPLE WITH THE SAME ACCENT AS ME (it freaks me out as I go years without hearing it in person) 18. Pop across to another European city for a night. Just because I can 19. See if there's a fete or something at my old school so I can have a nose around

Thanks OP - I enjoyed that! PS bring me back some Heinz salad cream, would you?

We hired a campervan when we did it last. I wasnt on my own though.
Best holiday ever.
We did a lot of castles and historic places. Lots of picnics. Ate more irn bru and jaffa cakes than should be humanly possible.
We missed out on the tower of london so that woyld be my first stop.

London.
Bamburgh Beach - Northumberland.
Beth & Stonehendge.
Edinburgh.

Couple of other things I always do, buy some flowers and I love just to take my time in a bookshop, have a coffee at the same time..

I also ( instead of driving) got a bus and sat on the top deck at the front to go out for the day to another city, great fun! Not so much coming back as there was a road race on.

Also went around a couple of cathedrals and old churches and went to 2 museums and an art gallery. Love a good look around museum and art gallery gift shops for bits to bring back.

Had a day out in York, just to soak up the atmosphere, so different to where I live, and pubs lots of pubs

These are all great suggestions: thank you all so much, and huge apologies to anyone I've made feel homesick.

My favourite idea is windybay's about the Sunday papers: that has gone to the top of my list!

I don't really need to buy stuff to take home but I will definitely have some pootles around British supermarkets just for the hell of it (and end up buying things like Ryvitas and ready made quiche lorraine to scoff for old time's sake). Pub lunch, curry, and fish & chips will all feature too so I should probably pack my looser-fitting clothes.

One thing I'm going to miss is running - where I am is down country lanes and by the time I get there it'll be dark / dusk after work and I'm probably too scared to go out even in daylight on winding narrow roads without pavement. At least I have found a couple of bigger parks a bus ride away where I can go at the weekend and get in a longer run, at least.