Andrew Kay explains why holidays in the UK are the cool green choice for discerning travellers
I’ve been bored in Benidorm,peed off in Paris and gravely depressed in Gran Canaria. For years I thought that a holiday was only worth taking if it involved international air travel, funny money and exotic food. Strange really as I had never set foot outside the UK until I was 20!
Until then I had been on a long list of UK holidays, mainly in a tent and always fun packed, inspite of the vagaries of the pre-climate change British Weather.
The thing is, that almost wherever you land in the UK there is a plethora of things
to do. I have spent two weeks in Spain, most of the time lazing in the sun and reading airport fiction, punctuated by the odd outing to the odd historic site or modern complex, and I’m not denying that I have had fun. On the contrary, I have had great times abroad – but never as action packed as a UK break.
So how do I do it and what do I do you ask. Well personally I do it under canvas, my first camping trip was taken aged four months when my parents, seasoned
campers, but also skint, took me to Grasmere. It was the start of a life under canvas that I find addictive. For them it was what they had always done, for me it has become a life-style choice.
This year so far I have been on two camping trips in the UK, one to the Welsh borders where I kayaked on the river Wye, flew kites, walked on the black mountains and the Welsh Marches, cycled, took photographs, that still take my breath away, of the outstanding scenery, visited dairies, book shops, museums, cider mills, farm shops and an array of great places to eat. At the campsite we ate local produce, cheeses and Welsh lamb and drank local beers and ciders.
A few times we splurged on an expensive meal, a couple of Michelin starred outings, but when you consider that our accommodation, for two, was only £12 a night I think the odd gastronomic indulgence is more than justified. After all we were investing in the local economy.
Recently a week spent on the Wiltshire Somerset border gave me seven days packed with historic buildings, churches and heritage sites, more history per square inch, and I use imperial measure pointedly here, than anywhere else since my trip to Venice aged 22.
Armed with a good map, National Trust membership, one of the great British bargains, as is English Heritage membership, we spent a happy, if drizzly week pottering about the countryside, eating well, actually eating brilliantly, and soaking up a wealth of pleasures, whilst only occasionally getting slightly damp.
There was river swimming, hill walking, more kayaking, historic tours, even the lions at Longleat if you find that sort of thing acceptable and interesting.
Of course tents are not everyone’s cup of tea so why not try a holiday let, B&Bs, of which there are a staggering good number of ‘green’ ones now on the market. For a wide range of choices you can log on to visitbritain.com where they have masses of informed material about the great British resort, which I believe extends from the Lizard to John O’Groats and beyond. They even publish a books of hotels, guest houses and B&Bs where pets are welcome! Much of this is done for visitors to Britain from abroad, but it’s there for us as well so get involved.
I may not have come back with a tan, but given the hazards of the suns rays that can only be a good thing. I may not have a case full of duty free booze, but who does since the rules changed. I don’t have a list of mis-spelled menus and translation gaffs, which means that ‘‘patronise a foreigner’’ quota is well down on previous years. I didn’t get a gippy tummy, but I did get a cool box full of cool British produce including some really delicious artisan cheeses and tasty perry.
But above all, I didn’t get to sit in a metal tube for three hours breathing the recycled exhalations of hundreds of other tourists whilst worrying about the impact of my flight on the environment. I didn’t get to eat repulsive in-flight food or suffer long delays in sterile airports where a sandwich costs almost as much as third world debt.
Holidays in Britain hit the spot for me, I don’t think about the weather because I know I cannot rely on it. I simply make the most of what has to be some of the most spectacular scenery in the world, the most exciting cities, the greatest history and brilliant food. I combine that with a smattering of more robust activities from a huge range on offer, from scuba diving and surfing to mountaineering, heritage railways, historic homes and great art galleries. I never find myself nodding off on a beach, bored and wondering what next to do, hiding from the harsh sun and dashing to find the nearest lavatory.
Okay, I may well still do the odd the odd international trip, but until I have seen the whole of the UK I am under no pressure. I may well have seen great swathes of the British Isles from the Channel Islands to the Scottish Lowlands but as yet I have neglected Cornwall, the Highlands, Northern Ireland, North Yorkshire and a lump in the Midlands that I am convinced has more to offer than received knowledge would have us believe. Rule Britannia I say, cheap flights? who needs them.
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