After years of traveling throughout Britain, experienced Anglophiles inevitably develop a list of aspirational experiences—those special journeys and encounters that transcend ordinary tourism to become lifelong goals. This collection of British dreams ranges from simple luxuries to epic adventures, each representing a different way of engaging with Britain’s landscape, culture, and heritage.
The Evolution of Travel Dreams
Travel aspirations change over time, influenced by experience, interest, and circumstance. As Jonathan notes, “I’m a big proponent of setting goals and achieving them. So when we make a list like this, I fully intend to do everything on this list.” This commitment to achievement rather than mere wishful thinking distinguishes practical bucket lists from idle fantasies.
The couple’s list reflects their deep engagement with British culture over more than a decade of travel. “This list is the long game. This is like for the rest of our lives,” Jonathan explains, acknowledging that some goals require years of preparation while others await favorable circumstances or resources.
Walking Britain’s Historic Paths
Hadrian’s Wall: The Ultimate Challenge
Jonathan’s primary bucket list item reveals both ambition and honest self-assessment. “I really want to walk Hadrian’s Wall… it’s about an 80 mile walk from coast to coast in northern England… but there’s a problem with wanting to do Hadrian’s Wall and that problem is that i’m very lazy and i don’t walk.”
This 80-mile trek across northern England follows the Roman emperor’s defensive wall, taking approximately a week to complete. The route traverses some of Britain’s most beautiful countryside while offering encounters with nearly 2,000 years of history. However, the physical demands create genuine obstacles for someone admitting, “I work from home and I live in an area where you can’t i can’t like walk outside my front door go for a walk i’ll get run over by a car.”
His training plan demonstrates practical goal-setting: “This summer I’d like to go for walks with my kids and with my wife and with the family… I’d like to maybe get back up to that 4 or 5 mile mark this year… and then I’d like to get the Thomas family to get a treadmill so that when October comes and we can’t leave the house for 6 months… I’d like to keep the mileage up during the winter.”
Additional Walking Goals
Success with Hadrian’s Wall would open possibilities for more ambitious treks. The Wainwright Coast to Coast walk, stretching from the North Sea to the Irish Sea, represents the next level of challenge. “It’s about twice as long as the Hadrian’s Wall Walk. So it takes about two weeks to do. And… the elevations are much, they change much more steeply.”
The Cotswold Way offers a more accessible alternative for couples travel. “It literally goes from one end of the Cotswold to the other… it takes about two weeks as well… I think you and I would have a lot of fun doing because we like the Cotswolds a lot.”
Luxury Experiences and Social Aspirations
Historic Hotel Grandeur
Jackie’s fascination with London’s grand hotels reflects appreciation for both luxury and history. “I really have a thing for really grand, regal, and stately hotels… these are very exclusive, very high-end hotels that we cannot afford to stay in.”
Her current compromise involves cocktail experiences at legendary establishments: “We go to, we pick one hotel per trip, and we’ll go have a cocktail in the cocktail bar.” They’ve visited the American Bar at the Savoy, the Rivoli Bar at the Ritz, and the Dorchester, each offering glimpses of luxury and opportunities for memorable people-watching.
The ultimate goal extends beyond mere accommodation: “I would love to actually stay in one of these big hotels… not just be an interloper because then that’s just uncomfortable… but like really do it in style… where there’s fresh flowers in the room… if you stay in a room that is of a certain level like they give you a butler.”
The Season: British Social Calendar
Both hosts share enthusiasm for experiencing “the season”—Britain’s traditional summer social calendar encompassing events like Henley Regatta, Wimbledon, the Last Night of the Proms, and Royal Garden Parties. “There’s events throughout the summer that the British social calendar kind of revolves around,” Jonathan explains.
This aspiration requires significant planning and resources: “We’d like to just rent somewhere for the summer go for the summer… and do all these things… obviously this would be a very extensive proposition so the goal would be hopefully by the time we’re able to do this somebody else is paying for it through a book deal.”
Jackie’s concern about attire reveals the social complexity: “I’m going to need to buy a lot of hats… if this is like a high class thing we’re not gonna be rolling up on the train.” Jonathan’s reassurance that “there is first class on the trains” demonstrates how even luxury experiences can maintain accessibility.
Remote Scotland: Escape and Authenticity
Scottish Coast Retreats
Jackie’s vision of extended Scottish residence reflects desires for both retreat and creative productivity: “I would love to legitimately do that… maybe when our kids are much older, just be like, okay, like we’re going to take six months and we’re going to rent a little cottage up in Scotland and that’s all we’re going to do.”
Her description captures the romantic appeal of Scotland’s isolation: “We would have our groceries delivered and go down to the pub for dinner… we could write… somewhere where we can walk to the shore or it’s just outside the door… and enjoy the noise of the sea.”
Scottish Islands Exploration
The Scottish islands represent ultimate escape from modern connectivity. “Sometimes the world is just really loud and wouldn’t it be amazing to just be able to basically just kind of check out like go up to one of these little islands and you can only get to by boat… and just you know spend some time together as a family and… just kind of disconnect.”
Jackie’s interest in traditional crafts adds cultural depth to this aspiration: “I’m a knitter… there is a huge tradition of knitting… up on the northern islands… these are really tiny islands that made a global impact, which is amazing.”
Culinary Adventures and Domestic Dreams
Market Culture and Cooking
Jackie’s desire to cook with British ingredients reveals appreciation for the country’s food culture: “I would love to like to go like source our food at the market and be able to like cook really amazing dinners and maybe have dinner parties… with our british friends.”
Her enthusiasm for British markets stems from their quality and authenticity: “They have the most beautiful markets… it’s almost painful to not be able to be like I’ll have a wedge of blue, please. A good wedge of cheddar.”
Transportation Adventures
Railway Enthusiasm
Jonathan’s passion for trains generates multiple bucket list items, from heritage railways to tube station completism. “I’d like to go to all the Heritage Railways around Britain… there’s like 50, so, you know, I could just tick off a few every couple of years.”
His desire to “visit every tube station” represents an extreme form of urban exploration, though Jackie’s response—”You have fun with that”—suggests this remains a solo pursuit.
Driving Challenges
The M25 orbital road around London appeals to Jonathan’s love of British driving: “I want to drive the M25… it mostly goes through Greenbelt land, so there’s a lot of beautiful landscapes… It crosses a huge, beautiful bridge.”
The North Coast 500 in Scotland represents a more scenic driving goal: “It’s a 500 mile drive that does a loop of the Northern Highlands… they have said… that they think that that drive is the most beautiful drive they’ve ever been on.”
Aviation Dreams
Spitfire Flight Experience
Jonathan’s ultimate aviation goal combines historical appreciation with personal adventure: “I would like to fly in a spitfire… it’s a symbol of British design and engineering… they look cool and they sound amazing when those Merlin engines are fired up.”
The experience comes with appropriate cost: “It costs about… like 2,500 pounds, which is like $4,000. It’s a lot of money, which is why it’s a bucket list thing.” The flights typically take place over the White Cliffs of Dover and include professional filming—creating a permanent record of the experience.
The Ultimate Goal: Belonging
British Citizenship
Jonathan’s most profound aspiration transcends tourism entirely: “One day I want to become a British citizen… one day I’d like to just come to Britain from America and go through the citizen line and be welcomed home.”
This goal requires massive life changes: “We have to move there for one, which is very difficult. And then we have to stay there for, I think it’s seven years.” Yet it represents the logical conclusion of deep cultural attachment.
Jackie’s observation about Jonathan’s appearance in Britain adds poignancy to this aspiration: “In a crowd i could spot john right away in britain you look like every man like you are hard to spot in a crowd.” His ancestry test results—”75% British”—suggest genuine genetic connection to accompany cultural affinity.
Practical Considerations
Many bucket list items require significant resources, planning, or life changes. The seasonal goals need flexible schedules and substantial budgets. Walking ambitions demand physical preparation over months or years. Remote Scottish retreats require career flexibility and family cooperation.
Yet the list’s diversity ensures accessibility at different life stages. Market cooking experiences need only short-term accommodation with kitchen facilities. Heritage railway visits can happen during any British trip. Hotel cocktail experiences offer luxury tastes within reasonable budgets.
Beyond Individual Dreams
These aspirations reflect broader themes about travel, cultural connection, and personal growth. The walking goals emphasize physical challenge and historical engagement. Luxury experiences explore Britain’s continuing class traditions. Remote retreats seek authentic connection with landscape and community.
Most significantly, these dreams demonstrate how sustained engagement with a place can evolve from tourism toward something approaching belonging. Jonathan’s citizenship goal represents the ultimate expression of this progression—the desire to transform from visitor to resident, from observer to participant in British society.
The list’s combination of practical goals and distant dreams creates a framework for lifelong engagement with Britain. Some items may remain unrealized fantasies, but others will undoubtedly become cherished memories. The act of articulating these dreams provides direction for future travels while acknowledging that the most meaningful experiences often arise unexpectedly rather than through careful planning.
As bucket lists go, this collection balances ambition with achievability, individual interests with shared experiences, and practical considerations with romantic dreams. Whether realized or not, these aspirations demonstrate how travel can evolve from mere sightseeing into deeper cultural engagement and personal transformation.
