Let’s be honest, a lot of the last few months has not been easy but there have been some real positives that have come out of lockdown. We’ve rediscovered our local corner shop, the joys of home baking such as bread and some childhood favourites and of course board games. We have all come to appreciate our local area and with the restrictions and quarantine post air travel, many of us will be taking a staycation for the first time.
Are We There Yet?
Ah the great British holiday, for many this is a return to childhood. Who can forget the seemingly endless car journey to get to your holiday destination? Telling your parents that you needed the toilet or worse that you were going to vomit after all the sweets mum and dad let you have, to keep you quiet. Driving in convoy with family friends in the days before mobile phones, stopping so you didn’t lose sight of them. The arguments between your parents as they debated the route over a giant map – sat nav has saved many a marriage. Air con and tech have made the journey more comfortable, but we hanker after the years when we played eye spy and there were only a handful of radio stations.
The Beach
Ok so we don’t have miles of white sand and palm trees, but you don’t have to go far in the UK to find incredible beaches with Cornwall, Wales, Brighton and Scotland boasting some of the best. Most of us will have some memory of days spent at the beach, it really does make us nostalgic for sandwiches filled with sand, deckchairs, the taste of salt and the relaxing sound of waves crashing on the shoreline. Us Brits really do love to be beside the seaside so pack up your parasol, picnic basket or even a barbecue and let’s make the most of our beautiful country this summer.
Camping
The great British pastime, camping. Sleeping out under the stars, toasting marshmallows over a campfire, games of rounders sounds idyllic right? I can speak from personal experience of being utterly drenched in a field in the middle of August with a 3 and 4-year-old, idyllic it was not. Then there was the year we camped, and the wind was so strong that in the middle of the night we had to secure our tent to the car to stop it being blown away. It makes us shudder to even consider camping, but our children have no memories of those challenges, they just recall shrieking with laughter with their friends. My own recollection of camping as a child is much the same. In an age of tech, it can be great to unplug for a few days so let’s all be brave once more and pack up the tent for some outdoors fun.
The British Isles is blessed with miles of coastline, picturesque countryside, chocolate box villages, ancient pubs, national parks, lakes and there’s even the odd mountain if you’re feeling adventurous. With long, warm summer evenings and twilight that is just magical I can think of worse places to be this year.
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