Thrillist alum and travel expert Caleb Thill (@calebthill) retells the story of how he put down the itineraries and freely explored the rolling hills of Surrey. The only thing guiding him was a fabric fox, which coincidentally led him to some of the region's greatest gems.
Watch now to see which British customs he discovered on his trip inspired by his HomeGoods find.
Check out all of Caleb’s countryside excursions on Thrillist. This video "A Trip to the English Countryside Inspired by... a Fox Pillow?", first appeared on http://thrillist.com.
Watch now to see which British customs he discovered on his trip inspired by his HomeGoods find.
Check out all of Caleb’s countryside excursions on Thrillist. This video "A Trip to the English Countryside Inspired by... a Fox Pillow?", first appeared on http://thrillist.com.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 Okay guys, this may have been one of my favorite trips yet.
00:10 Let me tell you how I fell in love
00:11 with the English countryside.
00:13 (upbeat music)
00:15 Oh wow.
00:16 I love helping people with travel recommendations
00:19 and finding experiences they'll love.
00:21 Friend told me I'd love Homegoats,
00:22 so I obviously had to come and check it out.
00:24 Oh wow, look at all of these incredible global finds.
00:27 Its color and pattern is so cool.
00:30 And then I spotted something really special.
00:33 It had this fun fox image on the front
00:35 and the fabric felt so luxe.
00:38 I was fascinated.
00:39 And at such a great price, how could I not be interested?
00:42 Then I saw where it was from, made in England.
00:45 I could see it all, vast rolling hills,
00:50 small country hamlets, cozy cottage streets.
00:56 I think I just found my next adventure.
00:58 (upbeat music)
01:01 I had recently been traveling
01:10 to a lot of big cities around the world,
01:12 so this was a really enjoyable change of pace.
01:15 I felt free, ready to follow inspiration
01:17 wherever it led me.
01:18 And right now, my inspiration was telling me
01:21 that I was very hungry.
01:23 (upbeat music)
01:25 - Hey, how's it going?
01:27 - Welcome to The Fox in Caterham, Surrey.
01:30 - What can you tell me about The Fox?
01:31 This place is awesome.
01:32 - It was built in 1798 and then it was a hospital.
01:35 And then now, more historically,
01:37 we are just a local drinking pub.
01:39 - And can you tell me about the name, The Fox Pub?
01:41 - For obvious reasons, there's a lot of fox families
01:43 that live very, very local.
01:45 I see them every morning when we're doing the setup.
01:47 - Can you tell me a little bit
01:48 about pub culture in England?
01:49 - So it's really important for British people
01:50 and our culture.
01:52 We get instilled in it at a very young age
01:54 that we don't live to work.
01:56 So we do like to have a lot of relaxation time,
01:58 especially when we're off the clock.
01:59 And this is just a really safe environment,
02:02 a quintessential English pub
02:04 that you can come in and relax and feel safe.
02:05 - So it sounds like I obviously need to place an order.
02:08 - One fish and chips.
02:10 - Wow, this looks amazing.
02:12 Thank you.
02:12 It's so good.
02:17 It tastes so fresh, so delicious, so crispy.
02:21 - Something about the architecture and design here
02:23 has me wondering what else I can discover.
02:25 So my new friend, Jake, suggested I explore
02:27 one of the beautiful local gardens
02:28 to take in some natural beauty too.
02:30 (dramatic music)
02:33 Thank you so much for having me.
02:40 This is beautiful.
02:41 The gardens are amazing.
02:43 - Well, it's a great pleasure for us to have you here.
02:46 - I'm Miranda Gunn and I own the gardens here at Ramster.
02:51 My family does.
02:52 - I'd love to know where some of these plants
02:54 and flowers are from.
02:56 - Oh, well, the Sequoia dendron behind us
03:00 and the Wellingtonia, of course, come from California.
03:03 A lot of the azaleas came originally from China.
03:07 The maples started in Japan.
03:11 The magnolias come from all over the world,
03:14 but they've been hybridized in England.
03:16 So they're sort of half English.
03:18 - I, myself, love traveling.
03:21 I find so much inspiration from the sounds, the smells.
03:25 Just being in the gardens, I just feel so peaceful.
03:27 I feel so like, so relaxed.
03:30 And it's definitely something I could bring back
03:31 living in New York City.
03:33 - I like that.
03:34 It's very important in our busy lives
03:36 just to have somewhere where you can come
03:38 and walk peacefully and in quiet.
03:40 There we go.
03:43 - Here you are.
03:44 - Here's to you and your travels.
03:48 - Thank you.
03:49 I ended up following these rolling hills
03:53 and stumbled upon a beautiful small town called Shear,
03:56 an adorable country village with plenty of treats
03:58 for my picnic ahead,
04:00 and an opportunity to take in the beautiful views
04:02 of the countryside.
04:03 If this fun and finely woven pillow from HomeGoods
04:07 can spark a trip to the English countryside,
04:09 imagine what other adventures are out there
04:10 just waiting to be found.
04:12 Feed your wanderlust with incredible global finds
04:15 and a world of savings.
04:17 (upbeat music)
04:19 [BLANK_AUDIO]