UK Travel Blog & UK City Guides | Charlie on Travel

Walking the South Downs Way in Stages: Route Guide & Where to Stay

Charlie Marchant — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 20:25:27 +0000

The South Downs Way is a 160-kilometre National Trail along the chalk ridge from Winchester to Eastbourne, usually split into eight stages. It is one of the few long-distance walks in England you can do without a tent, without a car and without taking a week off work, because the trail crosses railway lines at […]

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South Downs Way Winchester to Exton & East Meon: Stage 1 Walk Guide

Charlie Marchant — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 19:43:12 +0000

The South Downs Way starts at the old City Mill in Winchester and runs 160 kilometres east to Eastbourne. Stage 1 officially finishes at Exton, a small village in the Meon Valley about 19 kilometres in. If you are planning the whole route, start with our South Downs Way stage-by-stage guide. We extended Stage 1, […]

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Stanlake Park Wine Estate: Vineyard Stay Near London

Charlie Marchant — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 17:32:04 +0000

Stanlake Park Wine Estate is one of the easiest vineyard stays to reach from London. The Elizabeth line runs direct to Twyford station, the stop before Reading, and the estate is a fifteen-minute walk from there. This makes Stanlake one of the easiest vineyard stays to reach from London without a car. I went for […]

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Best Beaches Near the Seven Sisters, East Sussex

Charlie Marchant — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 18:43:11 +0000

Looking to get out to the beach in East Sussex? This blog is for you. Within easy reaching distance of London and Brighton, the south-east coast has a lot more beach to it than just Brighton beach, especially if you don’t mind pebbles! Luke and I live in Hove, and we’ve been up and down […]

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Seven Sisters Cliffs From London: How To Do It In A Day

Charlie Marchant — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 16:40:33 +0000

Getting to the Seven Sisters cliffs from London is easier than most people expect — a train from Victoria down to Seaford, then a short bus along the coast road, and you’re at the start of the walk in about two hours. It’s one of the best day trips from London, and one of very […]

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Best Wine Bars in Brighton — Where We Drink (2026)

Charlie Marchant — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 08:19:32 +0000

The best wine bars in Brighton are across the city and to a mile west along Church Road and Western Road in Hove. Brighton and Hove sits in the middle of English wine country and it draws exactly the kind of small, opinionated, independent places that take wine seriously. These are the wine bars Luke […]

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Best Independent Coffee Shops in Brighton and Hove (2026)

Charlie Marchant — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 21:40:00 +0000

Brighton and Hove’s independent coffee scene is one of the better things about living here. Forget Starbucks, Costa and Nero — you can get your caffeine fix and put your money into a local business at the same time, and in most of these places the person making your flat white knows exactly where the […]

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Sussex Vineyards With Restaurants: Where To Eat Among the Vines (2026)

Charlie Marchant — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 18:14:26 +0000

Sussex vineyards with restaurants turn an afternoon tasting into a wonderful day out. Eating at a vineyard is a different proposition to eating anywhere else: the wine list is about eight bottles long, all of it made roughly two hundred metres from your table, and the vine views make the experience. Sussex has more of […]

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Cuckmere Haven: The Valley Walk That Skips the Seven Sisters Crowds (2026)

Charlie Marchant — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 17:12:36 +0000

Everybody who gets the bus out to Seven Sisters Country Park turns right, walks to the sea, and photographs the cliffs. They are spectacular after all. But there’s a hidden gem walk if you turn left. The Alfriston and River Cuckmere circular starts from exactly the same visitor centre, takes in the meandering river, a […]

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Vineyard Stays in Sussex: Where To Sleep Among the Vines (2026)

Charlie Marchant — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 16:57:14 +0000

There’s a particular kind of evening you only get at a vineyard: everyone else has gone home, the tasting room has turned into a bar, and you’re drinking the wine that was made in the building next door with no thought whatsoever about how you’re getting back. That’s the argument for staying over rather than […]

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