The summer holidays are upon us, but disaster has already struck many families attempting to start their holiday trips abroad. Chaos at the airports, resulting from staff shortages and flight cancellations, has led to dismay for those hoping to enjoy their week in the sun.
But this gives rise to an opportunity. Staycations, or domestic UK holidays, had already been on the rise as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. With more of us discovering exactly what our own country has to offer, this summer is a chance to make the staycation great again. Here are four of the best ways to do just that.
Caravanning
Caravanning is a fundamentally British pastime, and an utterly fun way to spend a holiday, whoever it is you’re travelling with. Incidentally, caravanning has been gaining in popularity recently, even before the aforementioned madness at the airports.
But caravanning is not simply the hooking of an aging trailer to the back of your car. There is also the option of static caravanning, with luxury holiday trailers ensconced in some of the UK’s most beautiful places – removing the need to source and hitch up your own caravan entirely.
Static caravans can be found in the likes of North Wales, on the doorstep of the Snowdonia National Park. Likewise, you could find them dotted along the Trans-Pennine Trail and even in the Scottish Highlands – but if you’re already going all that way, we have another staycation suggestion for you.
Wild Camping
Scotland stands apart from the rest of Britain when it comes to staycationing, with thanks to a little-known law regarding camping. Where camping on private land is illegal in most of the UK, and camping must be done on authorised sites with permission, Scotland is different; wild camping is legal, with some simple caveats regarding safety and responsibility.
This places much of Scotland’s incredible wildlands on the menu for your summer staycation. If you and your friends are the adventurous types, you could take yourself up the Grampian mountains and enjoy the best landscapes in the North, pitching up where you please. It would certainly be a holiday to remember.
Airbnb
Domestic holidays were revolutionised by the emergence of holiday letting platforms like Airbnb, which enable access to a wide variety of weird and wonderful accommodation options across the country and, indeed, around the world. The range of holiday lets available encompasses glamping opportunities, rooms in private residences, entire flats and stately homes. You could take a solo trip to Yorkshire Dales, or you could hire a barn for a 20-strong weekend party trip.
Seaside Resorts
No UK staycation list is complete without mention of the seaside. The UK’s seaside resort towns are quintessential summer holiday fare, and the resort hotels that sit a stone’s throw from the ocean are the perfect accommodation for both families and friend groups. With a seaside trip, you get the best of everything: sun, sea, amusements from the arcades, melty ice creams and evenings of merriment.
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