Why Americans Fall in Love with Britain: Jonathan Thomas on the Renaissance English History Podcast

Anglotopia founder Jonathan Thomas recently joined Heather Teysko on the Renaissance English History Podcast to talk about 19 years of Anglotopia, what makes Americans fall head over heels for Britain, essential travel advice, and his plans to walk Hadrian’s Wall this summer. Here are the highlights from their wide-ranging conversation.

Heather Teysko has been running the Renaissance English History Podcast since 2009, making it one of the longest-running independent history podcasts in existence. She’s built an incredible community around Tudor history, complete with courses, a YouTube channel with over 50,000 subscribers, and even her own annual Tudorcon conference. So when she invited Anglotopia founder Jonathan Thomas on the show to talk about all things British, it was a natural fit — two people who’ve spent decades turning their love of England into a life’s work.

The result was a 42-minute conversation that covered everything from the origins of Anglotopia to off-the-beaten-path travel tips to the challenge of walking 84 miles across northern England. If you haven’t listened yet, we highly recommend it. But here are the highlights.

Starting Anglotopia in a Closet in Chicago

Jonathan traced the origins of Anglotopia back to 2007, when he was fresh out of college and frustrated by the lack of websites talking about Britain the way he wanted to read about it. It was the height of the blogging era, and there seemed to be a website for everything — except what he was looking for.

So he built one himself. Literally in a closet. A tiny closet in Chicago with a desk crammed inside it. Mrs. Anglotopia didn’t quite get the concept at first, but once the site started generating traffic, attracting advertisers, and making trips to Britain possible, she came around. By 2011, Anglotopia was a full-time job.

Nearly two decades later, Anglotopia has grown into a multi-platform exploration of British travel, history, and culture — encompassing the website, the Anglotopia Podcast (approaching its 100th episode), an online store, books, a mobile app, and the Friends of Anglotopia Club membership community.

What Makes Someone an Anglophile?

One of the most interesting threads of the conversation was Jonathan and Heather exploring what actually makes Americans fall in love with Britain. Jonathan pointed out that British culture is so deeply embedded in American life — from Roald Dahl books to Winnie the Pooh to British TV on PBS — that most people don’t even realize how much of what they think of as “American” has British roots.

As Jonathan put it, when the American colonists fought their revolution, they were essentially fighting for their rights as Englishmen. It was the most English thing they could have done.

For Jonathan personally, the spark came in his early teenage years through British TV on PBS and the film Empire of the Sun, which ignited a fascination with British culture, World War II, and aviation — a trifecta for an 11-year-old. Watching Rick Steves didn’t hurt either. And when his mom offered to take him to England for his early high school graduation, that first trip to London in 2001 sealed the deal.

That First Trip to London

Jonathan and Heather shared a lovely moment discovering they were both in London in 2001 — ships in the night. Jonathan’s first trip was a week in London with his mom, neither of whom had ever traveled internationally (aside from a fifth-grade field trip to Canada). They booked through a British Airways mail offer, stayed in a tiny Dickensian tourist hotel near Hyde Park, and spent the week seeing all the major sights.

The experience, Jonathan said, completely opened his mind. Growing up next to Chicago, he’d been to a big city before. But seeing London’s cathedrals and museums and history in person was something entirely different.

From there, the obsession only grew. Using surplus scholarship money in college, Jonathan spent every spring break in England while his classmates headed to Cancun. By graduation, he was hooked — wondering when he could move there, get a job there, build a life there.

Travel Tips: Where to Go Beyond London

The conversation turned to practical advice for first-time visitors, and Jonathan had plenty to share from 25 trips over 25 years.

His key recommendations for a first trip: spend a few days in London seeing the iconic sights (because for many Americans, London is England, much to the frustration of the British), but then get out of London. His go-to suggestion is the Cotswolds — a concentration of everything people envision when they think of England, from pretty villages to beautiful valleys to the quirky culture viewers know from Clarkson’s Farm. He also recommends renting a car for the freedom it provides, especially in areas where public transport is limited.

Beyond the Cotswolds, Jonathan suggested Bath for its Georgian history, York for its medieval charm and surrounding stately homes, and Scotland — particularly Edinburgh with a day trip to the Highlands. He noted that driving from Land’s End to John O’Groats in 2018, nearly everywhere in Scotland was the most beautiful place he’d ever been.

But the real gems, Jonathan said, are the places most American tourists never visit — the places the British themselves go on holiday. Dorset. The Midlands, which Jonathan called “England’s England,” the heartland where the Industrial Revolution began and some of the most famous stately homes are found. Shropshire. These are the places where you experience Britain as the British do, rather than through the lens of tourism.

The Business of Passion

Both Jonathan and Heather got candid about the realities of building a business around something you love. Jonathan talked about the peaks and troughs of online entrepreneurship — how Anglotopia went from advertising-focused to selling merchandise to importing British products, constantly pivoting as the internet changed around them.

He was particularly frank about the impact of social media algorithm changes, noting that he could show the exact points on revenue charts where Facebook cut off organic reach to followers — and when the business suffered as a result. That experience led directly to starting the Anglotopia Podcast in 2018, driven by a determination to control the platform rather than being dependent on social media networks.

Heather and Jonathan agreed on the fundamental truth of building a passion-driven business: it’s not complicated, but it requires persistence. You just keep doing it. Jonathan has been at it for 19 years, Heather for 17. The only way you fail is if you stop.

Walking Hadrian’s Wall This Summer

The conversation closed with what might be the most exciting topic of all — Jonathan’s plans to walk the Hadrian’s Wall National Trail this summer. The trail is 84 miles from Newcastle to Bowness-on-Solway, and Jonathan plans to complete it in 10 days, sponsored by Max Adventure.

It’s a dream 20 years in the making. Jonathan has started training for it multiple times over the years only to have the plans fall through. But this time it’s real — it’s booked, people are expecting it, and the business is riding on it.

Jonathan was refreshingly honest about the challenge ahead. The longest stretch is 15 miles in a single day, and the most he’s ever walked in a day is about seven miles. Training has been slow going thanks to cold weather. But the motivation is clear: he wants to walk in England, and if exercising there is what it takes, he can handle it.

Mrs. Anglotopia will be waiting at the finish line — she has no interest in walking 84 miles on purpose. After the walk, they’ll spend a few days in Yorkshire before finishing up in London.

And if Hadrian’s Wall goes well? Jonathan wants to make it an annual tradition — the Cotswold Way (about 100 miles), the Thames Path (which takes roughly three weeks), and beyond. As Heather put it, he’s like a young Bill Bryson — a comparison Jonathan called the nicest thing anyone could say to him.

Listen to the Full Episode

We’ve only scratched the surface here. The full conversation is well worth your time — Jonathan and Heather’s chemistry is excellent, and there’s plenty more about naps (Churchill was a fan), the feeling of England as a “soul home,” reading your own Goodreads reviews, and confusing Quentin Lake with Quentin Blake.

Listen or watch the full episode:

The episode is also available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Acast, and wherever you listen to podcasts — just search for the Renaissance English History Podcast and look for the February 20th episode.

Follow Anglotopia

If you discovered us through the Renaissance English History Podcast, welcome to the community! Here’s where to find everything Anglotopia:

Website: anglotopia.net
Podcast: Search for “Anglotopia” on any podcast platform — we’re approaching our 100th episode!
Store: store.anglotopia.net
Books: Available on Amazon, most booksellers, and directly from our store
App: Free on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store
Social Media: Search for Anglotopia on every network and you’ll find us