Before I left on my latest trip to Europe, I randomly sent a WhatsApp message to one of my travel blogger friends, Isabel from Bel Around the World. It turns out she was in London finishing up her travels in Europe before heading down to Thailand to speak at TBEX. She met my friend and I at LHR as soon as we landed – and then we were off on a whirlwind nearly 3-day road trip of the countryside outside of London.
Our first stop was Wrotham, the definition of historic, charming and cute all rolled into one cozy confine. The earliest written records of Wrotham are from 785. Jane Austen apparently stayed at the Goring Place, a private estate here in 1813. We came here to seek out the roots of the Wrotham clone of Pinot Noir. We ended up seeing one vine planted on the grounds of the old church.
The main hotel in the village, The Bull was originally built in 1385 and has been operating for more than 600 years. Of course, it has. It’s always a shock to see dates like this especially coming from California. And of course, on a Friday night it was completely booked. We moseyed along, dejected.
The next day as we always expect in the UK, was raining – no, it was more of a drizzle, the typical weather we often experience during our visits to the country, regardless of the time of year it seems. Taittinger, one of Champagne’s most historical producers decided to take up growing grapes south of London a few years prior. A challenging effort considering the UK’s climate, but perhaps less so as temperatures continue to rise over wide parts of the planet. We drove on a muddy and rocky road to the vineyards; they looked healthy and so did the surrounding apple orchards. We crunched away at a few that had fallen on the ground.
The next day we drove over to the impressive Beaulieu Estate and Buckler’s Hard, a huge piece of property owned by the Montagu family (lords). While we didn’t see any vineyards here, an heir of the Montagu family owns a winery in Napa Valley. This place is home of the National Auto Museum, an abbey dating from the 13th century, the Beaulieu castle, a charming old village, and a river port. One needs at least two days here. We had 1.5 days and longed for more time such was the extent of the experiences and attractions offered. I’m not sure how many people outside of the U.K. know about this impressive place. It’s well worth a visit if you find yourselves with some extra time to take short a road trip, while in London.
Next up was France – probably our most visited country in Europe due to its wine heritage and my personal interest in wine. From Paris we drove down to Bourgonge and spent several days based in Nuits St. Georges and visited the following properties (most not open to the public): Domaine d’Arlot, Maison Camille Giroud, Domaine Dujac and Jean-Claude Boisset. Of course, we stopped by one of the vineyards within a short walk of and owned by one of the most famous wineries on the planet, Domaine Romanée Conti.
Then it was a drive up to Champagne where I had been before. This time the highlight was a wonderful visit at Pierre Morlet – small producers of incredible Champagne. Fortunately, a gentleman from Luxembourg was there and was able to translate for us.
Leaving France, we jetted down to Thessaloniki, Greece and were greeted with our first sustained sunshine in several weeks. Our primary stop was Pella, a small town next to one of Greece’s very historical sites, the ancient city of Pella and the nearby museum. And yes, the ancients did make wine in the old city which was very advanced for its time including wide streets, massive buildings and an impressive water delivery system. The city was founded at the end of the 6th century B.C.; it used to be near the sea but today the nearest shoreline is a good 40-45 minutes’ drive by car as the landscape has completely been filled with sediment over the centuries. And Pella was the birthplace of Alexander the Great.
We finished out the trip with some relaxation, visiting the Pozar Thermal Baths, natural hot springs located along a river and then driving down to and staying in the coastal town of Pydna.
Wow that’s an interesting trip for you where you have all kind of fun and sightseeing of special products. This looks an interesting place to visit in future. Thanks for giving an idea about what we can here. Thanks for lovely style of article.
Sunny – sometimes the last minute trips are the most memorable! Put Beaulieu Estate on your must visit list the next time you are in the UK 🙂