I think we surprise people when we say this…but, we miss England. We miss it a lot. Sure, we have been living walking distance to the beach in sunny Southern California, but there is just something about the charm of England that we miss. Even with the misty grey days, there were so many perks and to be honest, the constant drizzle didn’t really bother us. Just throw your rain jacket on and go! Lancaster will always hold a special place in our hearts. So, what is it that we miss…let me count the ways.
1. Historic home
You all have surely heard this already, but how sweet is it to live across the street from an 11th-century castle!
We lived in a Georgian stone home built by a rich merchant in the 1700s on a cute cobblestone street leading away from the castle and ending just a short block away at the Judge’s house.
I could see the castle from my work-from-home office window, and I loved being able to take a lunch break to eat in the courtyard between the castle and the priory. One of our favorite places to grab lunch for a picnic there was a Poke bowl spot called Koko.
2. Meat pastries
Picking our favorite British food is tough, so we lump them all into the meat pastry category. Nobody does meat wrapped in a pastry quite like the British. Just a block down the hill past the Judges’ house was a fantastic steakhouse. The Beef Wellington was absolute perfection there. The pastry crust was crisp and buttery while the steak inside was perfectly tender and flavorful.
The best pork pies were made by a local butcher who came out to the weekly farmers’ market. My favorite was the apple and stuffing pork pie.
The farmers market was set up on the main drag in the center of town just a couple blocks from our home. So, it took a lot of self-control not to run out and grab one for a snack every Wednesday. Of course, I had to also save some of my weekly calories for the basic sausage roll too. Gregg’s is the classic choice and was conveniently located next to the Boot’s, the UK-version of CVS, so an easy treat when walking around town running errands.
Apparently, I could write a whole blog just on meat pastries, but I can’t move on without giving a shout out to steak and ale pies. Yum! Lancaster had a special annual pie festival. We had one of the best steak and ale pies at the festival and even a unique one, rabbit and chorizo pie.
3. Ciders on tap
The UK drinks the most cider per capita than any other country, and more than half of all apples grown in the UK are used for cider production. Producers range from small operations where you can only find the cider at the local pub to the mass producers that are shipped worldwide. For cider lovers, pubs offer multiple high-quality ciders on tap, so I tried many different regional styles of cider while in England. Luckily, two of my favorites from larger producers, Magners and Strongbow, can be found bottled in the US, but finding a great cider on tap is a bit more challenging here.
4. Pantomime
The British tradition of the Christmas pantomime was an instant hit with us. British pantomime includes songs, slapstick comedy, dancing and employs gender-crossing actors. Audience participation is encouraged, and the shows are normally based on popular fairy tales. We got to see a hilarious adult-only rendition of the Little Mermaid musical. Gotta love British humor and supporting the LGBTQ community.
5. Corner grocery stores and M&S (Mark’s and Spencer)
Is it weird to have a favorite grocery store? The healthy, pre-made meals at M&S were tasty and relatively cheap and were an enormous help to get us through the stressful work week. We also discovered purple broccoli, the best tasting and prettiest broccoli ever, at the M&S. To top it off, a short walk to grab a few groceries whenever needed was convenient and my favorite way to grocery shop. In general, England has a lot of small corner grocery stores that had all the essentials (even fresh fruits and vegetables) in a quick, convenience-style store, and we loved that one was on the 5 min walk home from the gym, so we could easily grab anything we ran out of mid-week on the way home after a workout.
6. Sunday Roast
One of our favorite British traditions was Sunday roast. I still can’t believe the home-cooked quality of the roasts at pubs all around town. Some would even throw in a free bottle of wine. And multiple choices – beef roast, pork roast, roast turkey. And usually a fish option too (not that we ever ordered it). All served with mashed potatoes, baby potatoes, vegetables, plenty of gravy, and Yorkshire pudding.
Yorkshire puddings are pastries that top a roast and, unfortunately were the most inconsistent in quality. At first, we didn’t know what all the hype was until we actually got a really good one. When soft on the inside and a bit crisp and chewy on the outside, you have a winner. Carbs galore for Sunday roast. Occasionally we’d see the British version of pigs in a blanket – sausage wrapped in bacon instead of a pastry.
One of our favorite pubs was called Merchants and was just a block from our home. Who needs to cook on Sunday when this is so good and so close!
7. Bonfire Night
Bonfire Night (or Guy Fawkes Night) is an annual commemoration on November 5th to remember when the plot was foiled to blow up the House of Lords and assassinate King James I in 1605. Guy Fawkes was caught guarding the explosives and arrested.
The UK goes all-out for this celebration, and Lancaster was no exception. Art and light displays were sprinkled around town in (or on) the historic buildings. A giant glowing moon was inside the priory next to the castle.
Kids could play an old-school video game, Asteroids, that was projected on the Judges’ house.
The finale of the night was a fireworks display in a field by the castle. Only residents were allowed to be anywhere near the castle, so we had some of the best seats in the city from the comfort of our home.
8. Cadbury
Cadbury chocolate is known around the world. And Cadbury Easter chocolate is out of control. We had to try every version of the Cadbury egg we could find – cream egg pudding cups, cupcakes, pudding with cake cups, cream egg ice cream cones. And don’t forget the Oreo Cadbury eggs too.
9. Pringles
The Pringles flavors are some of the most unique I’ve seen anywhere. The Christmas special Prosecco were pretty impressive because they actually had something that made them have a bubbly/sparkling mouthfeel (imagine poprocks). We enjoyed them on a wintry hike in the Lake District.
The Tandoori Chicken Masala tasted like authentic Indian chips as well. We had actually just been to India and discovered their masala-flavored chips, and Pringles got pretty dang close. We took them on a hiking adventure in the Scottish highlands.
Peking duck was also pretty good and made an appearance at a picnic in the Yorkshire Dales of England.
Finally, keeping with the picnic tradition, we brought red curry Pringles on a hike in Wales.
10. Lancaster canal
The Lancaster canal was built in the late 1700s and runs 42 miles through Lancashire and Cumbria. I loved runs along the beautiful Lancaster canal. In town, I passed the Cathedral and the pubs. Outside of town, I discovered cute old cottages, canal boats, and horses.
Sunny weekends spent on the canal drinking a pint of beer or cider and munching on fish n chips was picture and tastebud perfect.
11. Lancashire lamb
Lancaster is in Lancashire county, which is home to more sheep than people. The lamb dishes here are some of the best I’ve had. Just a simple Lancashire hot pot (traditional lamb stew) at a local pub is to die for.
12. Sticky Toffee Pudding
I think the picture and name speak for themselves. Decadent, gooey, simply amazing. One of Jimmy’s all-time faves.
13. Afternoon Tea
Another British tradition that I never gave much of a thought to ended up being one of my favorite experiences in England. Tea just tastes better with tiny, cute sandwiches, and crumbly scones with clotted cream and jam really are the perfect complement to tea.
In nearby Manchester, we had tea at a Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland-themed tea room. Jimmy got into traditional afternoon tea with me too, but here they even had a “manly” afternoon tea for him to try. Along with his scone, he got a scotch egg and a slider.
14. Gin and Tonics
Gin and tonics have always been one of Jimmy’s staple cocktails, but I couldn’t stand them….until we moved to England…and I was given a hundred choices of gin plus quality tonic. Now, gin and tonics are one of my favorite refreshing, summer drinks when made with a proper tonic and one of my favorite gins. Move over Sapphire, Whitley Neill is where it is at.
15. Proximity to other countries
To finish, one of the biggest advantages of living in England is the proximity to so many other countries, cultures, and cuisines to experience. Just a couple-hour train ride brought us to Edinburgh, Scotland where we met up with some friends taking an anniversary trip. We could also road trip a bit further into the Scottish highlands where we met up with another friend taking a photography holiday. We also went south to the often overlooked but just as gorgeous Wales.
We could take cheap, quick flights for long weekends all over Europe. For MLK weekend, we went to wintry Prague. We celebrated the beginning of spring in Amsterdam. We spent Patriots weekend (Boston holiday since I still worked for a Boston institution) on an island just off the coast of Africa called Madeira. We went to Italy just because we absolutely love Italy and wanted to see a different coast and a unique “cave” city. We spent the 4th of July on the beaches in Nice, France, and a friend flew all the way from the US to meet us.
We could easily take longer vacations around Europe too. We met friends in Croatia to celebrate a special birthday. During Thanksgiving week, we got in the Christmas spirit at all the best Christmas markets in Germany and Austria. For Christmas and New Year’s, we took an iconic rail journey instead of flying and traveled for two weeks through France, Switzerland, and Italy.
Now, is it really so hard to believe that we miss living in Lancaster?
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