Post Covid-19 Great British Staycation Bucket List
As we emerge from lock-down and pubs, restaurants and tourist attractions start opening up once again, not to mention in demand hairdressers, I’m sure like me you’re itching to get out and about a bit more. As foreign holidays are still largely off the cards for the time being, the Great British staycation is expecting a huge boom.
I know I have no wish to get on a plane anytime soon, and for my postponed travels to Austria next summer (to go to a wedding that was originally planned for September) we are looking at going by car instead. It’s a trip we’ve always considered doing but never got round to as time wise we’d need longer to drive there and back, casually stopping at a few locations on the way. It’s a different style of European travelling than we are used to and this may be the situation to make us take the plunge and do something a bit differently. However in the meantime, we are keeping our feet planted well and truly on British soil and so I thought it’d be fun to explore our Great British staycation bucket list. Here goes….
Table of Contents
Places I’d like to return to
Hartlepool
Most importantly for us, a trip up to Hartlepool to see close family and friends was the first long distance trip we would do. And in fact – we’ve already done this on Sunday just gone. It was just for a day trip on this occasion and with the weather promising a dry day, it was easy for us to meet in peoples gardens and keep well over 2m distance. We arranged how we’d use loo’s safely and the day out seeing family was just what was needed. Hopefully later in the year, we’ll go back for a long weekend.
Lake District
A trip to the Lake District is a no brainer for inclusion on any Great British staycation bucket list. For Mr TJG and I, it holds a super special place in our hearts as we got married in the Lake District at a hotel on Ullswater. The moment the hotel announced they were taking bookings for stays from the 4th July, I was immediately on the phone and booking in a trip towards the end of the month. We would normally have gone up to celebrate our wedding anniversary in April but obviously Covid-19 had other ideas.
Having looked online at the safeguards the hotel was putting into place to become Covid-safe, I was satisfied that we would be able to enjoy a safe stay there, without too much disruption to the usual experience. To tell you we are excited would be an understatement. We’ve also learnt that the hotel has used the time they’ve been closed the last few months to undergo a full refurbishment throughout the bar, lounge and restaurant areas and it looks rather snazzy!
Anglesey
Like most people I know, we’ve had to postpone a couple of trips we had booked due to Covid-19. For us though, most of these were already in Britain. The first one would have been a week in Anglesey, staying out to the North West near the coast. I’ve been to Anglesey on a few day trips in the past, but never spent any major time there exploring. I’ve only hit some of the big tourist spots like Beaumaris, Holyhead Mountain and that village…you know – the one with the longest name in the world that nobody can pronounce! Hats off to you if you can… good skills!
Eden Valley
The second trip that had to be cancelled was to the Eden Valley staying at the same place that we’ve stayed in several times over the last couple of years. We found a self catered cottage that we absolutely love and we really fell for this lesser known area of Cumbria that we can’t help returning time and again. Previous trips have included visiting all the ruined castles in the area, lots of quaint market towns like Appleby and Kirkby Stephen and big bucket list walks like High Cup Nick and Nine Standards Rigg.
Lincolnshire
Not long after we got married, Mr TJG and I spent a week in Lincolnshire staying in the village of Old Bolingbroke. It was an area of the UK that neither of us had spent any time in and we packed in a lot of sight-seeing from the city of Lincoln and towns of Sleaford and Boston to the many heritage windmills scattered county-wide, National Trust properties of Gunby Hall and Tattershall Castle and RAF Coningsby.
Returning to a different area of Lincolnshire massively appeals, possibly somewhere nearer to the border with Nottinghamshire to open up other possibilities of places to visit. I’d love to visit Southwell Minster and if you drive down past Grantham and into Cambridgeshire, stately homes like Burghley House would be top of my hit list.
UNESCO Ironbridge
In 2018 I went to Ironbridge in Shropshire to follow the ‘Let’s Go Quackers’ duck sculpture trail. It was only then that I realised just how many museums make up the Ironbridge Gorge UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ever since, I have wanted to return to explore fully.
The museums that are now open following the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions are Blists Hill Victorian Town, Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron and the Furness Kitchen, Museum of the Gorge and the Iron Bridge Toll House. All others currently remain closed. The big plus now however is that the iron bridge itself has finished being restored and is visible for all to see, unlike 2 years ago when it was sheathed in scaffolding and plastic.
Northumberland
So not as to leave Mr TJG out of the planning trips conversation, I asked him what would hit his Great British staycation bucket list and he responded that he’d love to go back to Northumberland which we last visited in 2017. My response was Ooooo, good choice….!
I love visiting Northumberland for all its amazing castles. It really is littered with them, more so than Wales and that’s saying something. The coastline is stunning and there’s some fabulous walking countryside, not to mention an excellent bookshop in Alnwick (Barter Books.)
Places I am yet to visit
Scottish Islands Road Trip
Ok, so this is a biggy for me and one trip that is on all my travel related bucket lists, not just the Great British one. I would love to take off on a big road trip around the Western Scottish Isles. Ever since I spent 5 days on the Isle of Arran in 2007, I’ve been dreaming of an island-hopping adventure around them all. I’d need some serious time to do this properly though. As Mr TJG is a contractor we half expect to end up with a significant gap between his employments at some point in the future and this would be the ideal time to embark on something like this. I may need to tether my expectations of just how long the adventure could last, but in my head it would be amazing!
Southampton
For many years now, Mr TJG has been promising to show me around his university city of Southampton and as of yet, we’ve never quite made it down there. From the town walls to the marina and a number of fascinating museums, there’s a lot to see and do in Southampton, so this is definitely on my Great British staycation bucket list
Elan Valley
The Elan Valley in mid Wales is made up of a number of reservoirs and the views from walking the myriad of paths around this area are gorgeous. Accessed via the market town of Rhayader, the Elan Valley is rather remote and not the easiest place to get to. As a result, it has remained stubbornly out of reach. Therefore I’m thinking if I officially put it on my Great British staycation bucket list, I may just actually get there sometime.
It is also the playground of the Red Kite, a bird I have only ever seen once when visiting Strata Florida Abbey (due West from the Elan Valley) I’d certainly love to spot them again.
Lake Vyrnwy & Pistyll Rhaeadr
Like with the Elan Valley, Lake Vyrnwy isn’t the easiest place to get to but is such a stunning reservoir valley, that it has long been on my Great British bucket list. I’ve always wanted to stay at the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel and Spa, do a bit of walking in the area and follow the sculpture trail that I believe exists at the eastern end of the lake. A necessary stop when visiting the area is Pistyll Rhaeadr – the highest single-drop waterfall in Britain at 240ft. Now that must be impressive!
Kent & East Sussex
As you may have gathered from my previous entries, I am a big fan of castles. I love them! And I know there are some big hitters down south in Kent and East Sussex that I would love to visit. I’m looking at you Leeds, Deal and Bodiam, to name just a few. I can’t wait to visit Canterbury cathedral either as if there’s one thing I love possibly more than castles, it would be cathedrals!
A British Narrowboat Holiday
This is a relatively new addition to my Great British staycation bucket list. This is not something I had considered much until I found myself at Pontcysyllte Aqueduct last year. The aqueduct is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Llangollen, North Wales. Walking alongside the narrowboats as they crossed the (stupidly high) aqueduct made me want to cross in the manner it was designed for. Mr TJG and I then started investigating narrowboat holidays but we never got round to actually deciding which canal network we wanted to explore most. That is definitely a tough decision as there are so many options.
Getting My Culture Fix
One of the biggest things I have missed during lockdown is my culture fix. I used to visit museums and art galleries on a regular basis and anyone who reads my blog regularly would know how much I love following sculpture trails. All the ones that were planned for this year have been postponed and I’m really missing it.
Now that museums and galleries are starting to reopen, I’m looking forward to booking some gallery trips into the diary. Generally I’d prefer to stay out of big cities for the time being where I envisage more crowds and it being harder to social distance. I am also not particularly confident about using public transport at the moment, especially if unnecessary. Therefore my regular trips down to London will continue to remain absent.
One of my main reasons I visited London so frequently was to visit the many superb museums, particularly the Tate, where I am a member. Luckily my local city of Liverpool has a Tate gallery, so I aim to get there soon.
My local town museum reopens this week and plenty of others at various points throughout July. On my museum hit list is the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight, Wirral; the Atkinson in Southport and the Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool.
Get in Touch
So, what places would you add to your Great British staycation bucket list? What activities have you missed the most? Get in touch and let me know in the comments box below…. Please feel free to borrow any of mine if I’ve inspired you!
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Sophie Pearce | 9th Aug 20
I’m thinking of heading to Lincoln on a day trip soon! They’ve opened the castle again now on a pre-booked basis. Plus I want to see the Imp! It’s been on my hit list forever haha.
They have an Imp sculpture trail you may like!
I’m definitely missing Bamburgh Castle and the Lake District too 🙁 Take me back.
I’d love a long staycation in the Peak District too.
Great ideas in this post! Thanks Tilly.
Sophie x
Tilly Horseman | 9th Aug 20
Ah, snap! We’re aiming to do a week self-catering in Lincolnshire in October and will head to Lincoln for the day during that week. The imp sculpture trail is on my radar, but I think it’s been postponed for now. Most sculpture trails that were planned for this year have been postponed. Aiming to visit the Swan trail in Burton-on-Trent soon as that launched yesterday.
Glad you approve of my staycation ideas! So many beautiful places in the UK, I do sometimes wonder why I ever look abroad, he he… So much to see in this country that I’ve never done! Lets hope we get to tick some off soon!
xx
Lois Cordelia | 9th Jul 20
It’ll be worth the long drive, I assure you! Xx
Tilly Horseman | 9th Jul 20
Oh definitely…I think I’d want to be down there for longer than a week though – so much to see and do! x
Mrs K Ibbotson | 9th Jul 20
I’d definitely like to get down to the South East and explore castles; cathedrals; National Trust & English Trust properties; well known gardens open to the public…even a beach or two, to see how they compare to those up here in the North. It always seems such a long way and I doubt a week would be long enough – so there’s a start to my bucket list! Also the chance to get back to the Lake District; the Yorkshire Dales; quiet/quaint seaside locations and continue my Cathedral City tours list!!
Tilly Horseman | 9th Jul 20
Much like my own list then – We’re a good match! 🙂 Yes, I don’t think a week in the South East will be long enough either… Oh well – it’ll just have to be 2 weeks then! 😉
Lois Cordelia | 9th Jul 20
Great list, great article! Like you, I’m unwilling to use public transport at the moment, so haven’t been far lately.
So pleased you’ve included Kent’s beautiful castles, including Leeds – my latest Elmer design features Leeds Castle. (The Maidstone Elmer trail has of course been postponed till 2021.)
Stay safe, Tilly! Always love your blog posts xxx
Tilly Horseman | 9th Jul 20
Hey Lois, Yes – I’ve never made it down to Kent and East Sussex before. It’s a long drive from the North West! I would love to go though! I’ve just found that the Burton Swan sculpture trail is starting from the 8th August, so I’ll have one to go follow (yeay), and not too far from Warrington – bout an hour and a half’s drive.
Stay safe Lois and thanks for reading and getting in touch! xx