England is a bucket list destination for many in the US. You can actually explore it pretty cheap if you know the right tricks! Here is how we did it and how you can too.
Beautiful architecture – Check
Interesting cities and culture – Check
Low cost trip – Check
A HIGHLY successful and memorable trip!
Cost Per Day
$46.36
Number of Days On Trip
3
Total Trip Cost
$139.07
Itinerary
We made it to Morley, England! Why Morley? Well… it is a good location for exploring the middle of the UK! Plus we landed a house sit taking care of our new best friend (the hairless cat) Baldwin!
We had 3 days here… So what did we do? Go to Manchester and Liverpool of course! How exciting is that!?
Day 1 - Morley, England
Day 1 getting to a new house sit has a similar routine.
- Get settled and unpack
- Check out the house to see what you are working with and what must happen
- Befriend the animals and take care of any first tasks
- Make your way to a store/market and pick up some food/drinks for your stay.
- Explore the town!
Morley is a quaint town. We arrived at the train station and had to hike up a rather large hill to the house we stayed in. That hill still gives me nightmares. It was about a 15-minute walk, however lugging around a broken hard rolling case luggage up a hill and over cobblestones is unforgettable. Do me a favor – use backpacks.
It is always fun looking at the architecture of these out of the way towns and living like a local.
We knew there would be rain, and we packed some compression rain jackets just in case. Good thing! We needed them often. Check out what else we brought on our trip! It should help you with your packing list.
Day 2 - Manchester, England
Only 1h from Morley by train, Manchester is a no-brainer to take a day trip to. We made a large breakfast at the house and headed out! We didn’t have much of a plan but we did find some an awesome hidden gem.
John Rylands Library
We stumbled across this amazing building on the internet as an attraction and decided to see what the hype was about. We couldn’t believe how architecturally amazing this place is! Plus, free entry and we ran into a free tour while we were there to get the building’s history. So cool and worth the trip if you are in town.
The library was built to look ancient but really construction started in 1890 and took 10 years to construct. It is made of sandstone which gives hints of pink and tan. Put this place on your list to visit – in fact, here is the link to make it easy for you.
Day 3 - Liverpool, England
How can you go to England and not go to the birthplace of the Beetles? We took the train from Morley in the morning (about 2 hour) and spent the day walking and exploring the city! It was, of course, raining.
Leaving Liverpool Lime Street Station, we ventured into Beatles territory. Mathew Street is lined with Beatles signs, plaques, and too many Cavern clubs or pubs or whatever they call them to stand out.
We went down to the promenade walk and the wind was unreal, but walking around the shops around Albert Dock was a treat!
After that, our tastebuds needed some traditional fish and chips (I mean… when in Rome right?), and went away from the pier (since they always overcharge) to a cool beer street. None there of course, but the hunt was on. We continued to walk to a mall-type market and found a local place where all they sold was fish and chips. Jackpot!
Trip Cost Breakdown
| Item | Category | Cost |
|---|---|---|
|
Carrefour |
Groceries |
$10.47 |
|
Aldi |
Groceries |
$30.29 |
|
Johnny English Fish |
Fast Food |
$12.68 |
|
Eurail |
Transportation |
$85.63 |
Cost analysis and Value Assessment
Our total cost for this 3 day trip was $139.07 which is $46.36 per day for 2 people. I’d say that is darn good for both of us to be able to see 2 of the most known cities in England!
There are lots of activities to do in these cities that take money. We did opt not to go on any tours, spend time in bars, or eat at many restaurants. Yes, this saved quite a bit on the cost but in retrospect, I wish we would have gone to a Beetles bar in Liverpool. It would have been worth it.
We couldn’t believe how cool Manchester was! In honesty, it was not on our “bucket list” go go see. But are we sure glad we did! The architecture was amazing, the street art is unreal, and the parks are a great place to sit for a while.
House sitting is a pretty major cost saver of course. In this case, it saved us around $500 for an equivalent on AirBnB. $0.00 rent is amazing. Also, why stay in a major city when it is so much less to stay a bit outside of the city? Is that extra hour really making that big of a difference?
We also used our Eurail Pass to the fullest extent by taking longer trips on back-to-back days. Also, we did not need to haul all of our luggage with us since we could leave it at our home base!
Conclusion
Even though this was a stop over trip on our way to Scotland, we will remember forever! Between the architecture, history, and new furry (bald?) friend, it’ hard to forget this trip.
For us, it was perfect to explore more more of the world and spend less. It gave us a minute to reflect on how amazing this trip is and how much we are thankful for being able to explore these new destinations and create lasting memories.
You should definitely consider a trip like this if you are looking to experience what the UK is really like.
