Double Review Day: England Travel Edition

Pretty Little London: Trips

From the creators (Sara Santini & Andrea Di Filippo) of Instagram account “Pretty Little London” comes a very aesthetically pleasing book featuring various unique and lovely trips to take outside of London. I found this book to be very engaging and easy to read–it’s organized in an easy-to-follow manner and I now have so many more places that I want to visit in England thanks to the info! I really like that suggested trip lengths (and distances from London) are included. While many of the places to stay that are mentioned are very much outside my budget, it is nice to dream! While it seemed like the places to stay were all over my budget, the many of the activities/eateries seemed budget-friendly. I’m planning on going back to England next summer, and I can definitely see myself revisiting this book while planning!

The photos are stunning (as one would expect) and I loved all the tips on where and when to take good photos while visiting the places mentioned. I think my only critique is that I wish the photos included captions so that it was clearer what the photo was of.

London: A Guide For Curious Wanderers

While the previous book focuses on places outside of London, Jack Chesher’s book focuses on all of the interesting, bizarre, unique, and at times, hidden areas of London’s history. Chesher also runs an Instagram account (Living London History) and this book is full of fascinating little tidbits. I will say–I think this book reads better if you are actually in London, but that’s just my opinion. While there were many interesting parts, it read a little dry at times, but I think this would be different if one was actually visiting these places in the city. Chesher is a good storyteller…I wonder a bit if some of the information came across as “dry” to me only because I wanted more of the story!

What I like is that at the end of each section, there is a walking map/guide with many key areas listed that you can visit. I definitely want to try one or two next time I visit! There are sweet illustrations throughout and the book is organized thoughtfully.