Hello everyone I hope you are having good week, I thought I would post a little about UK travel (or a staycation as some like to call it) as there has been so much talk about it recently and also we are just now starting to get out and about on our own travels. I think sometimes people feel that it is not exciting enough or that they are missing out somehow and that is a shame as there is so much to see and so many benefits.
I have heard a little of this talk myself this week hearing people complain about how dreadful it will be if they can't get abroad and have a proper holiday, I know this is how some people feel and a very recent way of looking at holidays I think as years ago travel abroad was not the norm. Somehow the idea of a holiday has become linked with travel to another country and anything different from this can be viewed as a compromise.
So I have a list of my reasons why I think a holiday in the UK is something you should embrace and I am going to start off with a an image of me sitting outside our caravan last weekend.
- It is so much more accessible, in terms of getting around, cost and being available as an option to more people. I will get to each thing in turn in a minute but if you just stop and think about what is involved in travel to another country there are a whole list of things that need to be in place before you even set off. That involves passports and other documentation depending on where you are travelling, foreign currency, holiday insurance in case you are taken ill or are the victim of a crime while away or extra vaccinations depending on what part of the world you are visiting. It all adds up to quite a bit of paperwork and expense. A holiday in the UK can be affordable for many people as there are so many options from renting a caravan, pitching a tent sorting a house share, bed and breakfasts and hotels if you want something more fancy. You can be away in a hour if you stay close to home, hop on a bus, train or take the car if you drive and there is no hidden expense.
- The expense, I think we can all agree that holiday in the UK can also be very expensive depending on what you book but if we are being conscious of the cost it is so much much affordable to holiday closer to home. There are of course all the factors listed above that will not be required and will therefore save you a lot of money. That is a big saving before you even choose where you want to travel to and also a part of the holiday cost that is a little hidden and that people just forget about. Your transfers to and from the airport, this may be parking for a week or two or getting a taxi, this may happen at both ends of your journey and can sometimes be very expensive when you arrive. The cost of eating while travelling and once you are away, again this may be dependent on what form of accommodation you chose but food can be expensive if you have not rented a space with cooking facilities. Losses on currency exchange I know a lot of people pay on cards these days but differences in rates can still have an influence on how much things cost while you are away and whether or not you get good value out of your holiday. If you stay in the UK the travel alone can be so much more affordable, knowing your own surroundings means you can self cater and know how to shop if you need to stick to a budget while away. You can buy or borrow a tent to make it super affordable or look into house swapping. If you want more luxury a good hotel in the UK will still all expenses considered still work out cheaper than more basic accommodation abroad if you take out all the other hidden costs I mentioned.
- Timings, now this can be anything from when you are able to travel to how long it takes to get there. So if we begin with travel to your destination just a short flight is made into a longer journey when you factor to in transport to the airport, check in times at the airport, waiting for your baggage at the other end. Then you have transfer times to your holiday destination (these can be quite a journey as well depending how far from the nearest airport you are) then check in and settling in. This alone can leave people tired when they arrive but most people just accept this as part of their holiday. The other timing issue I find is when you can travel, holidays abroad are very much dependent on flight times and ferry times etc. This again largely depends on where you are going but it often needs a fair bit of planning ahead. When you travel in the UK I find you have so much more flexibility in when you go, if you are staying in a rented house this is usually still Friday or Saturday change over but when you set off from home is in your power. You usually roughly know the travel time and there are no long waits in airports, no waiting for luggage. If you are camping this can be sometimes spur of the moment, spot a nice weekend of weather and try and book a spot on a quiet site. This has been our reason for returning to caravaning we want to be able to make the most of the sunshine here in the UK.
- Seeing the UK, how much of the UK have you seen and experienced? I like to watch travel shows about the UK and I have to say I am always jotting down new places that I want to visit. Walking shows are good like the one by Julia Bradbury and the shows about train journey's also show a lot of what there is to offer. Even if you travel to a few favourite locations each year you are bound to find something new if you look. Try looking on the local town pages for what is going on and the top attractions in the area. You could make a list of places you would like to see and plan your holidays around that, or is there a theme park or attraction you would like to visit? Maybe decide on a weekend nearby and make that just one of the things you do that weekend. We love Whitby and one time when we visited the Abbey there was a live theatre group in the grounds doing a production of Dracula, we all sat on the grass and watched. We had been many times but never seen that before. Below is a picture of the pretty town of Congolton that we visited on our last weekend away last week. It is not that far but I had never been, then was a gorgeous country park where we walked. These trips out do not need to cost a lot of money or be big organised events.
- Being green, not taking that long haul flight is one way of doing your bit for the environment, if this is something that you are keen to do more of then not taking holidays abroad is a big one. There are also holidays here in the UK where you can actively get involved in conservation if that is your kind of thing, and supporting nature reserves by using the cafes is one small step that you can do.
- Supporting the economy, this has been mentioned a lot recently too in the news but why not give it a boost by spending your money here at home. We all want local businesses to do well and it may be that the UK takes a big hit by so many people taking their savings elsewhere every year. I don't think that it has to be any major spending either, if we all just our money to the local high streets while we are away even for the little things like cosmetics and that book you want to read. Wait until you are away before buying on Amazon then buy what you need in the local shops and bookshops.
- It teaches you to embrace the weather! A holiday doesn't always have to be about the sun although we do look out for good weekends mainly because we have dogs to walk. There are many indoor activities and if you look out for them there are so many things you can do in a new town that don't need sunshine. We are used to rainy days here in the UK so having a holiday can mean you have a plan for what to do when the weather is not great. I have to say we travelled to Cyprus one year for Christmas and it rained all week, without the sun there we couldn't find anything local to do near our resort in poor weather. That is not to knock Cyprus but rather to highlight how much easier it is to source things to do here in the UK without any language barriers and also if you were not relying on the sun to begin with.
- To learn more about your local history, when my boys were young we were in the English Heritage and spent many weekends exploring castles and houses. |If this is something you have not tried I suggest you do as the cost of a family for a year is well worth all the days out you can have. It is great for children and adults, some sites allow dogs in the grounds but not buildings.
- To feel good about where we live, I don't if you have heard this but when asked if they have been away a lot of people say oh yes but we only went to (insert UK location here!), people seem to apologise for having a holiday in the UK as if it is not as good as one in another country and that we should hang our heads and ask for forgiveness! The UK is beautiful and we should celebrate that, if you don't agree I think maybe you need to see more of it. We need to get out and teach our children what a brilliant place this is and how lucky we are.
- You can take your pets, now this is a big one for me as a dog owner and of course it depends where you go but we always take our pets away with us. We have rented houses, cottages, static caravans and owned our own touring vans and they always came. No need for kennels, house sitting or the worry of them pining for us staying in the UK means the whole family can go away if that is what you want.
Ok that was a long one, thank you for reading if you made it to the end. I thought I would try something a but different today so please let me know if you enjoyed it and what your thoughts are on any of it. Take care.
