SHOCKING first impressions of the UK!

SHOCKING first impressions of the UK!

This is our first time in the UK countryside, and 
it’s not what we expected. We’ll show you a side of the UK most travelers never see. Everyone goes 
to London, but outside the city lies a completely different world. Rolling green hills, ancient 
castles, and small towns with quirky traditions that might surprise you. The truth is, we visited 
London years ago, but we didn’t really enjoy it at all. Yet we always felt like there had to be more 
to England than just the big city. So, this week, we are road tripping through southern England 
in hope of finding great sights, great food, and the real heart of England. I have to keep 
remind myself I have to stay on the left because my instinct is to keep going to the right, but 
apparently there is a reason why they drive on the left. Back in the day when there were 
still horses and knights all across England, apparently they would carry their swords on 
the right. So they rode on the left side of the road in case they encountered an enemy and 
had to defend themselves. So for our first stop, we’ve come to the small town of Rye. It 
is really beautiful. Rye is a hilltop town about 2 hours southeast of London. It’s 
one of the best preserved medieval towns in England with cobbled streets and timbered houses 
dating back to the 1400s. In the Middle Ages, Rye was a smuggler’s haven. A maze 
of tunnels and twisting lanes made it the perfect place to move contraband 
right under the nose of the authorities. I’m going to try the full English breakfast. 
All those years ago when I visited London, I remember not really liking the food. 
I thought it was a little bit bland, but I think this looks really good. Oh wow, the beans. I love the 
beans. Like there’s some bite to it, but it’s also like really saucy. I really 
really like this. I can’t say this too loud, but I don’t really like beans, so I took eggs 
benedict with Hollandaise sauce and smoked salmon. Wow, it’s amazing. So gooey and creamy. We’ve 
come to this beautiful cafe that used to be an apothecary, and it’s a really, really nice vibe 
here. That was amazing. And in the afternoon, we’re going to try some afternoon tea. And 
tonight, we’re going to a British pub that has won the award for the best pub in all 
of the UK. So, before we head to the car, we could not leave this town without seeing one of 
the most photographed streets in all of England. Apparently, this is Mermaid Street, and it’s on a 
lot of chocolate boxes here in the UK. The houses here are so beautiful. People apparently name 
their houses here because there are loads of signs outside with like Ivy Cottage. How much 
cooler is that than saying I live on number five. I love this. Didn’t know it existed. Most of 
these date back to the 15 or 1600s. They’ve been so beautifully preserved. We ferried our campervan 
over from France to explore England at our own pace. The plan is to drive down the Jurassic 
coast to Cornwall and then loop back up towards Stonehenge. Along the way, we’ll stop at lots 
of pubs, join a local festival and meet up with English friends who are going to show us around 
their hometown. So, according to Mr. Google, England is home to like 4,000 castles if you count 
the ruined ones as well. We’re actually going to go to a really cool castle right now. This right 
behind me is Battle Abbey. It was built a thousand years ago and it was built right on top of the 
site where one of the biggest battles in English history took place. I know this is like the most 
basic thing ever to be excited about in England, but look at it. You see this in all 
the movies. Doesn’t it look super cool? In 1066, England’s fate came down to this one 
battle, the Battle of Hastings. Think of it like the ultimate fight for the English 
crown. On one side you had King Herald of England and on the other William the Duke of 
Normandy who sailed over from France to take the English throne for himself. They clashed 
right here on these very fields. The battle raged all day until the invading army won and 
King Harold was killed with an arrow to the eye. And so a Frenchman became the new king 
of England. To cover the blood on his hands, the Pope made him build Battle Abbey 
right on top of the battlefield. I just love how much history there is here in 
England and how it’s all around you. Like this could be the movie set for something out of Game 
of Thrones. The architecture with those arches and it’s all super dramatic. It’s hard to imagine 
that there are literally hundreds of these places throughout the country. There’s actually a castle 
not so far from here, it’s called Bodiam Castle, that was built as a private residence, 
but it has this massive moat and stuff. There’s so many cool things you can see here. 
I absolutely love it so far. I am the king on top of my castle. They actually named the town 
around here Battle. I love how they just went, “What do you want to call the town where 
the famous battle took place. What if we just call it Battle?” And everybody agreed. I 
do have to say the one thing that surprised me so far is how kind and friendly the British people 
are. We entered here and apparently they have like this yearly pass where you can enter 400 sites. 
It’s about £108 for two people because there’s a discount right now. And they really calculated for 
us like which sites we’re going to and if it would be more beneficial to us. Explain us everything 
we need to know. So hospitable. To afternoon tea! Oh wow. Oh wow. That looks amazing. Oh my 
goodness. This almost looks too pretty to eat. When I think of England, I think of 
tea, which is exactly what we have right here. A little afternoon tea. Best thing is 
it comes with a lot of snacks. Some finger sandwiches with smoked salmon, ham. We have some 
scones with clotted cream and jam. And on top, the moment supreme… And this tea, the tea 
they recommend is called breakfast tea. I’m not sure why in the afternoon they have breakfast 
tea. But I’m just following the orders here. Should we take a finger sandwich? Wow. Lovely smoked salmon. Now it’s time 
to try the scones. These are with fruit. There’s some raisins in there. And then you’re 
supposed to put clotted cream and jam on it. Now apparently each region has its own tradition: 
first the clotted cream or first the jam. And for a thousand years they’ve had disagreements about 
it. I read that the queen preferred it jam first. Wow. It tastes a bit like whipped cream but 
thicker. Wow. So this place is located in the town of Lewes inside this really beautiful 
garden. We have this beautiful china. The vibe here is just amazing. That’s amazing. You know 
what I like about British people? I love the sense of humor. There’s all these little jokes 
everywhere you look. Even the traffic signs have puns in them here. *gps instructions* My GPS is 
confusing me a little bit. First it says miles, then it says quarter mile. I’m doing calculations 
in my head, and then it’s like 600 feet. I feel like I have to be some kind of math savant just to 
follow the GPS. We’ve just checked into our hotel. Woohoo. We are actually here because tonight we’re 
going to go to a pub that has been awarded best pub in the UK. So, we’re going to see what that is 
all about. I just switched on the TV and the first show it recommends watching is Kitchen Nightmares. 
It was recorded here in the UK or at least these episodes are. Where we’re from, that is probably 
the most famous show from the UK. And it is good, Gordon’s funny. This hotel looks straight out of 
the Victorian era. It actually opened in the late 1800s back when Worthing was buzzing with railway 
travelers. It’s now a protected heritage building. We parked in this little side alley next to the 
hotel and we can see our van. So, we’re also going to be going to Stonehenge this week. So, I’m 
going to book our tickets. I’m on the hotel’s Wi-Fi here. Something I did not realize for years 
is that whoever runs a Wi-Fi network can actually see a lot more than you think. The websites 
you visit, sometimes even the stuff you type, like your email address, your banking details. 
The first time someone told me about this, I just honestly could not believe it because these 
days it already feels like every other website and government service is asking me to scan my ID for 
this and log in to that. And the last thing I want is for any of that information to just be floating 
around out there for anyone to see. So that is why we use a VPN. We’ve been using Surfshark’s VPN for 
6 years now. A VPN basically scrambles your data so that no one else on your network can make sense 
of it. To them, it’s just going to look like code, like gibberish. More than 1.5 billion people 
in the world already use VPNs. But what it also gives you is freedom. We’ve traveled to over 50 
countries and it is wild how often websites are blocked just because you’re trying to access 
them from a certain country. With Surfshark, you just change your location at the click of a 
button. And as far as the internet’s concerned, you’re now browsing from a different country. 
You can even access full Netflix libraries from other countries, it’s actually pretty cool. 
Naick and I use Surfshark on all our devices, and we only pay for one plan that costs us 
less than a coffee a month. And now you can try it out totally risk-free because Surfshark is 
going to give you a 30-day money back guarantee, which means you can download it, if you 
don’t like it, you can get all your money back. And they’re throwing in four extra 
months for free if you use the link in the description box below or scan the QR 
code on the screen right here. Cheers. That is some good beer. And as a Belgian, that’s 
a compliment. I’m excited to experience a bit of British pub culture. This was, after all, awarded 
the best British pup in all of Great Britain. I was expecting a bit to be more pub-like, but 
I it actually feels a little bit more homely, almost like you’re in somebody’s living room, 
but like 400 years ago. This pub is located in Findon. And apparently the specialty from 
Findon is lamb meat. They have the yearly lamb festival as well. This is braised 
lamb shoulder with, of course, beans. Wow. I think the sauce has a little bit of a minty 
flavor to it, which I’m usually not a big fan of, but it really works with this. Might 
even start like beans here. Now, I do have to say one particular 
thing about this pub. Listen… Probably from all the candle wax. The table is a 
little bit sticky. Anyways, I’ve got the meat pie. Isn’t that something that they have everywhere? 
And it’s supposed to be… Ooh. Oh, this is soft. It’s a little bit crunchy on the outside, but 
it’s super soft and gooey on the inside. It smells amazing. It is amazing. England pulls you 
in with big names like London, Stonehenge. But as we were sat in this pub, we realized maybe 
those aren’t even what England’s really about. I realized there is a certain magic to England 
that I wasn’t really expecting to find. Like it is just so charming. And tomorrow we’re going 
to the Jurassic Coast. We will see you guys in the morning. So this morning we got an early 
start and we drove through the beautiful English countryside. It was like super serene with the 
rolling hills and the beautiful light. And now we are at the Jurassic Coast. This is the only 
natural UNESCO World Heritage site in all of the UK. So this is kind of like the UK’s version 
of the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, all that good stuff. Got the rocks and the greenery. 
Almost looks like it’s in Bali or something. There is a beach in Bali that looks a lot like this. 
Yeah. Wow. I never expected this in the UK. The Jurassic Coast is 185 million years old, 
but it’s more than just pretty. Dinosaurs once walked here, and you can still see their 
footprints in the rock. In the 1800s, a local woman even discovered complete 
skeletons of these giant sea reptiles right here. I think this one kind of looks 
like a kind of angry dolphin. But even today, families still come here to hunt for 
smaller fossils that wash out of the cliffs. That’s actually pretty all 
right. I love the sound it makes. It’s a little bit cold, but I thought it would be a lot colder. It’s actually 
pretty all right, I would say. And this place is called Lulworth Cove, I 
think. Beautiful idyllic bay. Almost seems like something you would see like in the Caribbean 
or something. Reminds me of back in the day, a time with pirate ships and rum. Lots of 
rum. Today’s goal is to reach Cornwall, England’s southern tip, famous for its 
postcard towns and fish and ships by the sea. We haven’t tried that yet, 
so we’re really excited. I’m actually very surprised how many traffic jams there 
are here in the south of the country. So, because this part of the coast is so beautiful, 
it’s also a little bit more touristy. So, we came through this town called Exeter. I heard 
someone refer to this place as a more normal town or city. I think that’s exactly what it is. But 
then, smack in the middle of it, you’ve got this. Holy guacamole. Look at this ceiling. That 
is super impressive. I’ve never seen anything like this. What a cool cathedral. Seems they’re 
setting up for like a concert or something here. God is a DJ. I love finding these places where 
as a foreigner, you’ve probably never heard of this. I hadn’t, but you come here and it’s like 
this hidden gem and it just blows your mind. That’s so cool. We continue onwards, to Cornwall! 
Woo! Traffic doesn’t agree with me though. So, we are about 1 hour out from our destination 
right now, but the problem is I am absolutely famished. It is 4 p.m. So, I’m going to 
try my luck at British supermarket snacks. Oh, what you got there, friend? I come bearing a 
variety of typically British snacks. Jaffa cakes. It’s came recommended. I’m so hungry. Oh, look at 
this. This is a chocolate trifle. Oh, that looks good. Ooh, you can see the layers in there. This 
is triple chocolate trifle with British cream. Oh, is there orange in there? Mhm. It’s a bit, a 
little bit similar to ones we have in Belgium. Hmm?! That thing on the bottom is 
like a little bit more firm. Oh, that’s good. That is good. And we also 
have from the oven section two macaroni pies and two minced beef and onion 
pies. Cheers. Cheers. I’ll take it out of the container. Does not look like 
macaroni. I think I have been scammed. We’ve made it to Cornwall. More specifically 
St. Ives, which is one of the most beautiful towns apparently. And all I can say is, wow, 
this place is… it’s almost like magical. Like all the houses, you have the harbor here with 
so many restaurants and bars and everything. You can even do a boat ride to see seals. And 
I’m just loving the vibe here. Sunny weather, people on vacation. Why do English people even 
go to France on holiday? I mean, the weather’s perfectly fine here. We’d been holding off on 
fish and chips until we could have them here. But little did we know, we were in for a big 
surprise. St. Ives, of course, started off as a fishing village, so we had to come here for a 
little chippy. Some fish and chips. We got it at Harbour Fish and Chips because they use locally 
sourced fish and locally sourced potatoes to make everything fresh from scratch. He’s very 
interested. He was looking at you while you said that. Let’s start with the fries or… they 
call them chips here. Pretty good, sir. And as a Belgian, I think I can judge if fries are good or 
not. Now, we have some fried fish, cod, in batter. That was really crunchy. Wow. I asked 
the guy behind the counter what sauce he would recommend. This is the curry sauce. Incoming. I have seagull anxiety. I think we’re going to have to make a run for 
it. This was not the best idea. I can’t believe that in the first 48 hours we got scammed and 
robbed by the locals here. What is this? No, the people are fine. It’s the wildlife. Seagulls 
are like the pirates of the shoreline, I tell you. Good morning. What a lovely day. So, we came to 
this campsite last night and you have sea views here. Unbelievable. You can see the rocks over 
there sticking out of water. It’s still a little bit foggy. The morning fogs are clearing up. One 
thing that’s a bit surprising here at the campsite is that we just came from France and everybody 
just says hello everywhere you go. And here when people walk by our camper van, we just say hello 
and then people just look at us weirdly like we insulted them or something. Strange how cultures 
differ. So, the plan for today is to drive north towards Stonehenge. Stonehenge, of course, is 
one of the most famous spots in all of the UK, but to be honest, I am a little bit skeptical 
because it’s a 3-hour drive to essentially see some stones. I hope it’s going to be worth 
it. Cheers. Cheers. So, we just picked up a small breakfast, which is typical of Cornwall. 
The Cornish pasti. Hmm. That is good. Beef, potato, onion. What? On the packaging, it 
says 790 calories per serving. It’s like a Big Mac. It’s more than a Big Mac, I think. So, 
on our way to Stonehenge, we’re stopping off in a spot that you’re not going to find in any 
guide book. Each region of England actually has its very own culture and traditions. And in 
summer, the English celebrate those by hosting these big festivals. So, we’re going to go to 
a typical English fair. I saw some pictures and this one just looked fascinating. So, these are 
what they call trick horse riders because they do tricks and they are pretty impressive. 
I didn’t even know people could do this. So, have you ever wondered what do the English do 
in summer? Apparently, it’s not running around to catch umbrellas because it’s raining so often. 
No, they go outdoors. We came past so many fairs on our way here. Some were like centered around 
plants or people were selling stuff from the boots of their car. It was really, really cool 
and we really wanted to experience this and so far I love it. I love the vibe here. There are 
a bunch of food stalls here and I immediately had my eye on one of them. I took a Yorkshire 
pudding. Honestly, when she gave me the dish, I was really confused because I thought 
Yorkshire pudding was like a dessert. So, I was super excited to try like a British pudding. 
So, when she gave me this giant bread dough disc and started putting meat toppings on top of 
it, I was really confused. But apparently, this is the pudding. This is made… This 
is like a dough batter. There’s like a pork crackle, there’s sausage, there’s mashed 
potato, and then there’s loads of gravy. The mashed potato is a little bit weird. It’s probably not mashed potato. 
It’s probably not mashed potato. Oh! I really really love this so much. It’s kind of 
like a holiday feel. The weather is beautiful. People are out enjoying themselves. There’s shows 
that are super cool. There’s all sorts of little artworks. So this morning we’re going to go and 
visit the famous Stonehenge. It’s actually quite weird to think that, you know, there’s this big 
parking lot here with a lot of people. It’s weird to think that Stonehenge is just going to pop up 
somewhere. I don’t see it yet here. There it is… Holy guacamole. Look at this. It’s a lot bigger 
than I expected. I read that these stones weigh up to 25 tons each. And this structure is 4,500 
years old. Stonehenge is one of the craziest mysteries on Earth. Nobody knows how these 
giant stones got here. Some say giants built it. Others say the sorcerer Merlin teleported 
it. And yes, people even claim aliens dropped it from the sky. Scientists still don’t know the 
real answer. All we know is it’s perfectly lined up with the summer sunrise and the winter sunset 
like some kind of massive ancient calendar. So, I’ll be honest. I was coming here with kind 
of not very high expectations. I thought it just bunch of stones stacked together. You’ve 
seen a picture of it, you’ve probably seen the real deal. But now that we’re here, I do have 
to say it’s so impressive to stand in front of something that is older than pretty much any 
other structure you can think of on the planet. This is older than the pyramids in Egypt. It’s 
older than the Colosseum in Rome. Of course, it does get quite busy. As you can see behind 
me, there’s quite a lot of people cuz it is a famous site and it’s roped off right here. So, you 
cannot get super close. But Stonehenge is actually not the only one of its kind and in some ways not 
even the coolest of its kind. We’re going to show you one more place. I think it’s going to blow 
your mind. So we’re now in the town of Avebury which is home to the largest stone circle in 
the entire world. This one is about 20 times larger than Stonehenge in the diameter. But the 
really cool part about this… Big stone good! 10 of 10 stone. Part of the town of Avebury 
is actually located within the stone circle. Houses, roads, and even this pub right 
in the middle of the stone circle. Got myself a chicken bacon sandwich. I have this steak sandwich, 
which looks really good. I really love places like this, towns like this 
that just have this unique charm, this fascinating history. It’s like a gem that you don’t really 
find if you only hit like the tourist highlights. So far, we’ve been exploring England on our own, 
but now it’s time to see it through the eyes of two locals, Chris and Marianne, dear friends that 
we met on a completely different adventure a few years ago, have invited us to their hometown 
in Shropshire. We haven’t seen them in years, and we’re really excited. Hi, guys. Oh my 
goodness. Hello. You all right, big man? Oh, great. Great. These guys are proper legends. We 
were driving our van from Alaska to Argentina. We thought we were doing something cool. You 
were. And then we accidentally met them on a random parking lot in Whitehorse. And then 
we found out that they were driving their van from the UK all around the world. And we 
actually left and finished from right here, this spot at the iron bridge. This is where 
they had their coming home party where everyone welcomed them across the finish line 
after how many years and how many countries? 4 and 1/2 years. 40 countries. Even the mayor came 
out to welcome us home. This bridge doesn’t just look cool, it literally changed the world. Built 
in 1779, it was the first cast iron bridge ever made. This kickstarted the entire industrial 
revolution. England isn’t just about history books and big landmarks. The biggest charm 
we found in moments like this. When you’re in a town you’ve never heard of alongside 
lovely people who make you feel right at home. That is a traditional British pork pie. Wow, that 
is amazing. I love the pastry. So much flavor. Hmm. Like, don’t ask us to do like technical 
stuff. On the river. Incredible. You can’t get more British than this. This is like a really 
beautiful part of England. Wow. But of course, we didn’t come all this way just to skip out 
on London. So, that is where we are going next. And if it already happened by the time you’re 
seeing this, I’ll put those videos up here.

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This is our first time exploring the UK (specifically England!) and we think there’s more to this beautiful country than just London… So join us for our first impressions of the UK as we take a road trip through the south of England.

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