I’m back! I’m so excited to get away again, it feels like it has been a long time and I’m heading up north to Blackpool, Manchester and Liverpool for some time away. Another UK adventure.. I was nearly brave enough too book a holiday abroad this time round but there’s still some uncertainty, so here we are, back in the car heading on another solo adventure.

This adventure was so last minute, like, I booked my accommodation, packed my bag and got in my car all within about an hour of each other. I just needed to get away. So here I was, setting off on a solo car adventure up north. I left at about 17:30 and got to my hotel at around 23:00, so I didn’t do bad for timing. It was time for some downtime, a film and some sleep before adventures began in the morning, which was all going to plan until the fire alarm went off at about 01:00 in the morning, it was so cold outside and we had to go out and wait for the all clear to be able to go back into bed. Once that was over, it was then time for some sleep.

Day 1 exploring I decided to head down to Manchester for the day. Manchester has always had and will always have a fond place in my heart. It just feels like somewhere I have lived all my life. I haven’t, but it just has that sense about it. I found myself wandering around Soho, Gay Village and the famous Canal Street, around some of the Quarters and just looking at some of the street art (which was all incredible) and taking in some of the views. I stopped to grab a late lunch / early dinner and continued adventuring to some of the places around up there. I am a sucker for finding free entry art galleries and museums to look around, they can be really fascinating and it’s not something I would just do unless I was away exploring, so thought to make the most of it. In the evening, Hairspray the Musical was playing at The Palace Theatre so I secured a last minute ticket to go and see this which was well worth it. Perks of always booking a single last minute ticket to a theatre show usually always means that you’ll get a decent seat for a ridiculously cheap price. It was a great show and it offered me something to do in the evening, something which I sometimes struggle with when solo travelling particularly if I’m not up for going to a bar or similar. When the show finished it gave time to drive back to my accommodation before settling in for the night and planning my day for tomorrow.

Day 2 I headed to Blackpool for the day, I hadn’t been to Blackpool since I was a kid and it was just as I remembered it. I went to Pleasure Beach for a bit and went on some of the rides and then had a wander up to the other side and went in the tower, wandered up the pier, got some of those lush fairground style donuts, and had a browse around the arcades (and maybe put a few pennies in!). It was such a good day which really just took me back to my childhood. After a day out I headed back to my hotel and put some comfy, cozy clothes on and headed back out for some dinner and to the cinema to see the newly released ‘Dear Evan Hansen’. I found the cosiest little Indian restaurant foreigner, where the food was exceptional and then headed to the cinema for the evening. The film was wonderful. It had the perfect combination of happy and sad moments and left me slightly teary at points. I have always wanted to see the stage show but haven’t yet had a chance so the film was sufficing for now, but it did not disappoint. The soundtrack was lovely and I ended up playing it on the car journey back to my hotel too.

On my third day of adventuring, I went into Preston in the morning and then went on a trip to see some family which was lovely. I saw them a few months ago after years of not seeing them and whilst I was up north again I took the opportunity to. I also had to leave my hotel today as I was only originally planning to stay until today but I was loving my time away so much that I found somewhere else super cheap for the night so drove there after visiting my family and sorted myself out for the evening. I found somewhere to grab some dinner and put a film on in my hotel, I was really just enjoying taking it easy and slow for a change, not really having an agenda but seeing where time and the days took me so that I didn’t feel like I was missing out or wasting time away, and that actually, my time was mine and I could do whatever I wanted with it.

Day 4 was Liverpool and this was my fave day of all. I have never been to Liverpool before and it was honestly my vibe so much! It was so quirky, I literally fell in love with the city for the day that I was there. I started off at the British Music Experience. This was such an immersive experience which took me through music across time and there were so many different things to see and do there which kept my occupied for a while. From here, I headed outside and wandered around the local area where I came across The Beatles statue, which again, caught my eye and I had to grab a shot with it. I had a browse around Royal Albert Dock and found some incredible street art, statues and sculptures around the area, one in particular which I had seen previously in Medway by Lucid Creates. I went into the Tate Liverpool and spent a long time looking around and what was on offer both in and outside, and decided I really needed to come back for a weekend to explore even more. I had only a snippet of what Liverpool had to offer in my day there but it encouraged me to come back again one day for longer to check out even more.

I finished exploring and it was time for a long drive home. I turned my maps on and it was saying eight hours to get home, I couldn’t believe it. I was so not ready for the long drive. Anyway, let’s go and get it done. Smile and stay in touch, hopefully my next adventure blog post might be in another country! Mads xxx