Escape The City | London City Guide

An hour South of London you’ll find the lovely seaside town of Brighton, my home for the past 20 years. Brighton is a cool city, with two universities, a big gay community, and a thriving music scene. By that I mean it’s young, liberal minded, outgoing, and looks after itself. It’s like a UK version or Portland. Because of this it’s a popular weekend escape from London, and an even more popular place to live. If you come to visit for the weekend, a nice place to stay is The Artists Residence. Also let us know you’re coming! 

Bath is a beautiful Somerset town, famed for its roman hot springs. While nowhere near as cool as Brighton, its proximity to Bristol does give it some much needed edge. So it’s well worth combining the two into a long weekend.

The Cotswolds are a beautiful part of the country, and how I imagine most Americans picture the UK. So it’s well worth escaping the city for a slice of upmarket rural life. Book a room somewhere like Soho Farmhouse, go shopping at Daylesford Organic Farm, have Sunday lunch and any number of amazing gastro pubs, and try to ignore the mounting credit card debt till you get back home. 

A short (cough) 5 hour train journey will see you in Edinburgh, home to Shortbread, Haggis, Harry Potter, and deep fried Mars Bars. It’s a wonderful city and well worth a visit, especially if you’re there during their summer, which takes place over two weekends over August. The Edinburgh Festival is well worth a visit, but you’ll need to snag accommodation super early.