I really do like to make the most of my time off at weekends and this usually involves a trip to another UK city by train. I've been to
Warwick,
Derbyshire,
London,
Birmingham,
Manchester and many more destinations in the past couple of years and I'm always on the lookout for new places to explore. Being young, free and single (well not anymore) means I can go away at weekends and I intend to keep on doing this until I have more adult things to worry about.
Thanks to Michael Portillo and his
Great British Railway Journeys show I'm pretty obsessed with trains now (I'm even going on a steam train a few days after Christmas) and I love to relax for a couple of hours, reading on the train before ending up in an exciting and new destination.
There are still a few corners of the UK that I've still got left to explore including most of the Northern cities and Scotland but there are a few trips I would like to go on in 2014 a little closer to home which I can visit directly from Cardiff on the First Great Western rail network.
Cornwall
The first place I'm longing to visit is Cornwall. I've Only ever been down south as far as Dorset so I really want to explore that corner of the UK more. Cornwall is famous for; spectacular beaches; surf spots and surf schools; gorgeous gardens; cliff top walks; boat trips; and attractions such as St Michael's Mount, the Lost Gardens of Heligan, Minack Theatre, Land's End, King Arthur's castle and the Eden Project. I know I could go for a couple of weeks and still not see all of this beautiful area.
I think a trip to Cornwall would be best in the Summer so I could enjoy the beaches and get out for lots of walks so my next destination is somewhere I can visit any time of the year.
Oxford
From the city of Dreaming Spires - Oxford to the pretty countryside of Oxfordshire, there are so many fantastic things to see and places to visit in Oxford. I've never been before and it's somewhere I'm itching to visit. I bet you can guess the place I want to visit there the most? The
Bodleian Library of course! For a bookworm and library assistant like me it's the ultimate destination.
The Divinity School at Oxford also served as Hogwarts infirmary in four films and the Duke Humfrey's Library was Hogwarts library. Both of these located at the Bodleian Library. I would love to hire a bike and visit the Ashmolean Museum, Blenheim Palace and Bicester Village to shop some of the designer outlets.
Trains to Oxford only take two hours from Cardiff so I'm not sure why I've never been before.
First Great Western run to some fabulous destinations around the country and they are giving you the chance to win two first class tickets to the location of your choice. You can chose Cornwall, London, south Devon, Bath, the Cotswolds, Cardiff and Bristol (and many more) If you win and chose Cardiff do let me know and I can give you plenty of recommendations of things to do and see.
Where you go is up to you, but to be in with a chance of bagging the prize you’ll need to
go to this page and fill in your details. You’ve only got until December 16th to enter, so be quick! If you’re on Twitter you can let others know where you’d most like to go and join in the chatter using the #imagreatwesterner.