Top 20 Travel Related Experiences of 2020

I think it’s safe to say we’re all glad to see the back of 2020. However I’m not going to concentrate on the sheer number of crappy things that happened during the year and rehash what we all know, because we’ve all lived it… many of us have lost loved ones and we’ve all been left with numerous scars.

Instead, as we enter yet another national lockdown here in the UK to start 2021, I’m choosing to remember the lovely experiences I had in 2020, to carry me through the next few months. And I have had many, despite life looking very different, with masks, sanitiser and social distancing for company.

Despite lockdowns and travel restrictions, I actually managed to travel around the UK a fair bit in 2020. So following the same format as I’ve done in previous years, it’s time to share my top 20 travel related experiences of 2020.

1. DisneyWorld

First of all, I am so lucky to have managed to get my absolutely superb holiday to Orlando in January before we’d even heard of Covid-19. Mr TJG and I spent 11 days at Disney World, staying in the Port Orleans French Quarter resort and it was amazing.

We first went to Disney in 2013 where we got engaged, so the place held even more magic for us than most. It’s taken us 7 years to return but we really made the most of the trip, spending at least 2 full days in each of the 4 main parks.

Our first day had to be at Hollywood Studios to experience Galaxy’s Edge which for those of you who don’t know is the new Star Wars themed land within the park. The newest ride: Rise of the Resistance is out of this world – it’s absolutely unbelievable how the effects are achieved. You really feel like you are in the movies and we were talking about it for days afterwards…it is tremendous! I don’t have space to wax lyrical about it here, but safe to say – it deserves its own blog post!

We also nicely timed our trip with Epcot’s International Festival of the Arts, which as an artist I found exciting. There were art stalls all around the world showcase, lots of additional events and I got to meet several Disney artists.

Of course I took every opportunity to meet Donald (as in Duck) that I could and came home with a significant amount of Donald merchandise.

The cherry on the top for me is that our trip also coincided with my BFF’s trip to Disney, so we got to meet up several days and tour the parks together, including a hilarious night out at the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue Show at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.

2. Kennedy Space Centre

I could go on all day about Disney now I’m on the topic, but it wouldn’t leave much space for anything else.

Before flying home, we moved out to the coast for 3 nights to visit Kennedy Space Centre. Having visited Johnson Space Centre in Houston a few years back, I knew I wanted to see Kennedy too and Mr TJG is a bit obsessed with SpaceX, so we booked 2 days there.

The Atlantis Space Shuttle took my breath away, as did the sheer size of the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) that we saw on the KSC Explore Tour. This tour took you out to the launch pads, stopped at the VAB and finished at the Saturn V building.

With yet another opportunity to see a Saturn V (as there’s also one in Houston), I am still completely flabbergasted at their immense size, and with Kennedy’s, there is a lot more space around it with lots of accompanying information boards and exhibits.

You really need so much more time to explore Kennedy than 2 days allows, but it was an experience I will certainly never forget.

3. Seeing a SpaceX Rocket Launch from Cocoa Beach

The planets certainly aligned for us during our time in Florida. A previously aborted launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral was rescheduled for the first morning we were due at Kennedy Space Centre.

Scheduled for 9.06, we decided to walk out onto the beach at our motel to watch the launch ahead of going to Kennedy. Clearly lots of other people do the same and we joined the thousands of other dots, backs to us, all looking north up the beach.

Mr TJG was made up to see it successfully launch that day and I had to agree, it was a pretty spectacular thing to watch, even from 20 miles away.

4. Olafur Eliasson Exhibition at Tate Modern

Right back at the beginning of January I made what turned out to be my only trip to London in 2020. Normally I go at least 3 times, so I’m glad I made it a day trip to remember.

First up was an excellent exhibition of Olafur Eliasson’s at Tate Modern. I originally became enraptured by Eliasson’s work in 2003 when I saw his amazing glowing sun installation which transformed Tate Modern’s vast Turbine Hall as part of the Weather Project. Go Google it if you missed it – there are no words to express how stupendous it was.

His works often reflect his long standing interest in nature, the weather and our interactions with the environment.

As part of this exhibition, I got to walk through a fog tunnel where you couldn’t see more than a metre ahead of you, stood transfixed by his kaleidoscopic works, and played with my split colourful shadow moving as I did amongst others!

All of these works make you more aware of your senses, where you stand in relation to others around you and within your space and environment as a whole.

You’ll also be drawn to his installations if, like me, you are fascinated by geometric patterns. The model room through which we entered the exhibit demonstrates his love of complex geometry. It was utterly mesmerising!

5. Snowman Sculpture Trail

After the Tate it was time to partake in one of my favourite past-times: following a sculpture trail. This one was along London’s South Bank from London Bridge to Tower Bridge and featured the much loved Snowman by Raymond Briggs.

Like other Snowman trails in Salford’s Media City and Middlesbrough, there were 12 sculptures decorated as a different day from the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ carol.

The Christmas markets were still in full flow too, so the day was given a very festive feel, with boozy hot chocolates and scrumptious crepes while wandering along the Thames.

Read more about my trip to all three Snowman Sculpture trails here.

6. Afternoon Teas at The Courthouse and The Vicarage

I’ve had precious few afternoon teas out during 2020, although when everyone else was baking banana bread, I was secretly baking scones and working my way through a lot of clotted cream and fancy jams. There’s no strawberry in my household, but zingy cherry, blueberry & elderflower and sherry trifle preserves instead.

However, I enjoyed two local Cheshire afternoon teas just before lockdown, one with my Mum at The Vicarage near Holmes Chapel and the other at The Courthouse in Knutsford where I met up with blogger friend Sophie for a good ole chinwag.

It’s not something we get to do often as we live in completely different areas of the UK, but as she was passing where I’m based in Cheshire on her way to the Lake District; it was an excellent opportunity to meet up.

Here’s hoping we get to meet up again soon as I miss times like this. Check out Soph’s blog on the The Courthouse afternoon tea for more food and interiors porn!

7. Having My Nephew Stay with Me for the Summer

This easily became my biggest highlight of summer 2020. Due to his mum having to shield, my nephew Jacob was not able to go out and do things. So he came to stay with me for the summer holiday period so I could take him on staycation day trips and he could get to see his grandparents too.

We had a fantastic time, although some of my ideas for great days out didn’t always match his, usually when any decent amount of walking was involved.

While I loved a walk we did in the Peak District with my Dad, it was accompanied by a lot of whinging and sulking. Similar happened on a day out at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park as I insisted we walk to locate some of the more remote sculptures by Andy Goldsworthy, my favourite land artist. Always good to remember ice-cream bribery works wonders!

8. Swan Sculpture Trail in Burton-upon-Trent

One of two sculpture trails that actually went ahead in summer 2020, the swans flying in to Burton-upon-Trent provided such a big breath of fresh air for us culture nuts.

At the time I was avoiding all inside exhibitions even though lots of galleries had reopened, so an outdoor public art trail was perfect.

Most sculpture trails had been postponed, with one of the main issues being the encouragement of people gathering in the spaces around the sculptures and touching them. What actually happened in reality was people respected everyone else’s space and waited till others had moved on from a sculpture before approaching. Add in plenty of hand sanitiser after touching a sculpture, and I never felt unsafe.

In fact, it was one of the best days out I had during the summer and even Jacob was still smiling at the end of a day where we’d walked all day following the trail. Bonus!

9. Wise Owl Walk in Nottingham

The other sculpture trail of summer 2020 was a mini one of 10 owls positioned around Nottingham, managed by Wild in Art. After following the Hoodwinked robin trail in 2018, I found many of the locations were the same for the owls, so it was like coming home.

This was my first trip into a city centre since lockdown began and there were some areas I felt I needed to avoid due to the sheer number of people. However, it was just so nice to be wandering around doing something vaguely normal again and it didn’t stop me finding all the sculptures and gaining that lovely sense of satisfaction which accompanies the completion of a trail.

10. Day Out in Manchester

After our venture into Nottingham, Mr TJG and I felt brave enough to book a Covid-secure day out in Manchester, having not been in to either of our local cities all year.

We had vouchers for an afternoon tea at The Lowry Hotel given to us for Christmas, so we finally booked in during September and it was one of the best afternoon teas I’ve ever had. The Lowry’s Covid policies were excellent and did not stop the experience from being very relaxing and luxurious.

We also booked a round of Junkyard Golf, something I’d always fancied trying. It was so much fun! I’m a huge fan of crazy golf so setting that activity to music in a dark neon lit environment is too tempting to pass up.

We completed the original scrap yard themed challenge called ‘Gary’, but there are two other courses set within a jungle and a circus, so we’ll definitely be returning for a rematch one day.

I even partook in a bit of retail therapy that day. It was the first time in 6 months that I’d physically shopped in anything but a supermarket. I went a little bit mad in Paperchase (one of my favourite shops) and had to practically be dragged out an hour later by hubby.

11. Weekend at the Inn on the Lake, Ullswater

The first thing I did when hotels were allowed to reopen was to book a weekend back at the Inn on the Lake hotel on Ullswater in the Lake District. This was our wedding hotel and as we weren’t able to return on our anniversary itself, something we do every year, we’d made a pact that it was the first place we were going once we were able.

We enjoyed a fabulously relaxing weekend basically walking, eating and wandering around Glenridding. There was even a little craft fair operating in the village hall which was lovely to see – it was a little slice of normal. It was moments like this that really made me remember to take pleasure from all the little simple things that we could do through this really strange time.

12. Weekend at The Borrowdale Hotel

The success of our first Lakes weekend away made us book in at one of the Inn on the Lake’s sister hotels a few weeks later – The Borrowdale. The hotel itself was great, but it rained NON-STOP, the ENTIRE TIME!

The thing you need to know about the Borrowdale valley is that it is the wettest place in England! FACT! And so, we didn’t actually spend any time in Borrowdale itself and instead drove out to the coast one day to Whitehaven, where although overcast and chilly, it was DRY! Woop woop…

I did attempt to walk along the top of the harbour wall, but as I got to the top of the steps, the wind practically blew me straight off, so I beat a hasty retreat. The weather was definitely out to challenge us that weekend it seemed.

While walking around the harbour and up the hill to the Candlestick we discovered the long mining history Whitehaven has from the various information boards dotted around, including the Wellington Pit disaster of 1910 which sadly claimed 136 lives.

13. Potfest-in-the-Park Ceramics Festival

After we checked out of The Borrowdale hotel, we decided to leave the rain behind and headed to Potfest-in-the-Park. Potfest is the UK’s largest annual ceramics festival and is held at the grand Hutton-in-the-Forest estate, near Penrith.

With over 100 ceramicists displaying their work, Potfest is an exciting event to see and buy some unusual contemporary ceramics in all sorts of forms from mugs, bowls and vases, to garden art, ornaments and sculpture. You can read more about Potfest-in-the-Park in my blog here.

It was nice to be able to walk around the grounds of Hutton-in-the-Forest and explore the parkland and gardens while we were there.

14. Visiting National Trust Properties

I really enjoyed making good use of my National Trust membership during the summer months of 2020. I managed to get to several properties before the end of the season including Tatton Park, Speke Hall, Erddig, Powis Castle and Clumber Park.

I am lucky to have many properties within a short drive of where I live and the beautiful weather we had in the U.K. made for some excellent (dry) days out.

While most of the National Trust properties themselves are closed during Covid, meaning the historic houses and castles buildings; the grounds, parklands and wider estates have all been open and actively encouraging people to visit to get outside and enjoy nature.

My nephew particularly enjoyed following the Terrence the Troll Trail at Speke Hall and completing the downloadable activities booklet from Tatton Park which we printed out to fill in while we were there. It was both fun and educational, but slightly misleading trying to find a ‘handkerchief tree’ in August, when the type of foliage that makes the tree look like this only exists in spring! Cue – a lot of time walking round in circles!

15. Knowsley Safari Park

When I knew my nephew was coming to stay I decided to take out membership at Knowsley Safari Park. He loves animals so I figured we could go several times as it’s only a short drive away. In the end, we only went the once, but I have now been 4 times on my own and I love it. Animals always have the ability to lift your spirits so whenever I feel a bit down, I just take myself off to Knowsley.

Each time I’ve had completely different experiences on both the car and foot safari based on which animals were doing what and where. The first trip I found myself stood nose to nose with a tiger, separated only by a piece of glass, while he paced around the edge of the enclosures. This was the only occasion I saw him close up though.

It was only on my last trip that the giraffes finally came out of their house. The inside attractions at Knowsley are not open during Covid and that includes the giraffe house which normally you’d be allowed in.

I’ve seen the lions in all sorts of poses and on one drive an ostrich took a fancy to my car and another time, I had a close encounter with a rhino.

I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of driving round Knowsley. The one thing I will never do though is take my own car through the monkey enclosure as there’s only one way that ends and it’d cost me a fortune!

16. Blackpool Illuminations

Driving through the Blackpool Illuminations was a last minute decision the evening before the second national U.K. lockdown, and what an excellent idea it was. We didn’t get out the car anywhere and yet still got to see some fabulous sights. You couldn’t have asked for a more perfect Covid-secure activity.

There was a lovely section of the illuminations that formed a touching tribute to the NHS. There were images of rainbows and sequences of rainbow coloured lights featured heavily in this year’s display.

It was also the first year the illuminations had ever been extended beyond their usual 66 night run. They continued right through into the first week of 2021. Read more about my experience of the 2020 Blackpool Illuminations here.

17. Sunset at Mary’s Shell in Cleveleys

Somewhere that had been on my U.K. bucket list for several years now was Cleveleys on the Lancashire coast; specifically to go see Mary’s Shell – a massive shell sculpture situated on the beach there.

I finally got there last summer and discovered it was a fabulous place to watch the sun go down. It was so perfect that while sat on the steps of the promenade, watching the waves lap against the shell and the sky colour and cycle through orange, reds and purples and finally fade to black, it felt like I had no other cares in the world.

This feeling was so wonderful that I’ve been back a couple of times since with the tide at different stages for a different experience. It’s just a shame it’s comes with a considerable drive to get there.

18. A Week’s Holiday in Yorkshire

In early October, I got to have a week away in Yorkshire, choosing Boroughbridge to stay so I could easily explore the Dales, the Moors and the Vale of York.

I got to do some quality walking in the area, including walks along the river between Boroughbridge and Aldborough, discovering the nearby Devil’s Arrows standing stones and Staveley Nature Reserve.

I popped across to York to meet up with blogger friend Maja for a walk around Askham Bog. Maja blogs a lot about her adopted home county of Yorkshire and it was fab to finally meet up with her, something we’ve tried (but failed) to do on a number of occasions.

I finally walked up Roseberry Topping, Yorkshire’s famous little peak that resembles the Matterhorn, nicely ticking an entry off my U.K. walks bucket list.

I also ventured out to the coast in search of an intriguing sculpture I spotted on Google Maps – the Charm Bracelet. This required a walk from Saltburn to Skinningrove which turned out to be a great section of coast to walk along. There’s a fabulous stretch of beach just north of Skinningrove that is a Mecca for dog walkers as its big, wonderfully sandy and most importantly dog friendly all year round! My pooch Roger, who we lost suddenly to cancer back in April, would have loved it.

19. Birthday Weekend Away

Like many in 2020, I did not get to celebrate my birthday with family and friends, but luckily Mr TJG and I could still indulge in a weekend away.

We visited the town of Southwell in Nottinghamshire as the minster there was one English cathedral I had not yet visited. Unfortunately the chapter house which Southwell is well known for was closed for renovation, which of course just means that we’ll have to return some day.

We stayed at Hellerby Hall hotel in South Yorkshire that night and then spent the following day at Clumber Park. We walked our socks off and October proved to be a superb time of year to visit Clumber as it was a riot of autumn colour.

Considering the weekend all came together at the last minute (we booked the morning that we went) as we weren’t sure what tiers we were being placed into, the itinerary was a resounding success. It just goes to show that spontaneity in regards to travel can really bring about great things.

20. Houghton Hall, Norfolk

This may well be my absolute favourite U.K. day out of 2020. It was a mix of all things I love – land art, sculpture, the great outdoors, an historic house and estate, blue skies and sun.

The fascinating Sky Mirror by Anish Kapoor may have been the hook, but the permanent sculptures, including many works by one of my favourite land artists – Richard Long, is what really sold a day out at Houghton Hall to me.

It was also unusual during Covid times that a couple of the stunning rooms of the Hall were open to visit too. Inside there were some astonishing circular concave installations by Kapoor that reflected the beautiful hall interiors and architectural features in their mirror like surfaces.

The whole day out was just such a treat and one I’ll hang on to, to get me through the winter and lockdown 3.0!

Get in Touch!

So, there we have it – my favourite experiences of 2020. I’ll be writing more of them up soon for the blog – but tell me, which would you like to read more about first? Drop me a line in the comments below and let me know!

Did you manage to fit any holidays in 2020 before Covid took hold? And did you do many staycation day trips later in the year? Which were your faves?

I wish all of you lovely readers the best for 2021. Let’s raise a glass to life returning more to normal this year. I don’t know about you, but 2020 has really reminded me to cherish all the little things that in life that bring you joy, whatever they may be.

Thank you so much for following along with my travels and for all the likes, comments and shares on social media. Each and every one is so appreciated and means so much to me, here at my tiny little space online.

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