My name is Amber Garratt. I am a former Gazette arts and entertainment editor who has just embarked on a five month exchange to the University of Southampton in Southampton, England to study geography.

Little fun fact — the Titanic sailed from Southampton port in 1912.

To start off my adventure, I spent three days in London to do some sightseeing and then headed to the English countryside, to Shootash, to visit a family friend before settling in Southampton.

I never visited London before and it definitely did not disappoint. Three days was not nearly enough to see all the sights, but I was able to ride the London Eye, visit Speakers’ Corner, window shop in Harrods (seeing as I could not afford an item in it), see Buckingham Palace and the changing of the horses, shop at Camden Market, walk Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus, witness the magnificent paintings of Pissarro, van Gogh and Monet at the National Gallery and “mind the gap” in the London Underground.

Another trip to London will be happening soon as I must have my photo taken at Abbey Road, cross London Bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Covent Garden, Tate Modern and Soho.

The English countryside is absolutely breathtaking — it felt like it was right out of the movies from the winding narrow roads to old thatched roof houses. There is so much preserved green space throughout England — directly beside Southampton is New Forest National Park with 571 square kilometres of forest.

Southampton is a beautiful city. It’s much more developed than the countryside but the waterfront is gorgeous and much of the city’s history has been preserved. One of the most notable aspects of Southampton’s city centre is the remnants of the old town wall which are located throughout the city.

A lot of the old buildings have been preserved and converted into charming boutiques and pubs. Directly in the centre of the city are West Quay Mall and IKEA, which takes away from the city’s historic feel but has all the shopping essentials. The Southampton docks are just a quick walk from the city centre. They offer ferry services to the Isle of Wight.

The University of Southampton has a beautiful campus. There is tons of open space with trees everywhere and a river running through campus, which gives the university added character. The residence halls are also impressive. I am living in the Wessex Lane complex, home to 1,800 residents — which is more than Western’s Saugeen-Mailand Hall.

This is only the beginning of my five months in England with much to look forward to including a week in Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day!

Cheers,
Amber