THE THING ABOUT STAYCATIONS

A staycation is defined as a holiday spent in one’s home country rather than abroad, or one spent at home and involving day trips to local attractions.  Living on the UK mainland, it is almost ridiculously easy for me to hop on an Easyjet flight and be in any number of European countries in less than three hours.  I have therefore given little thought to the concept of a staycation.  However, when some friends of mine from the big bad city wanted to get away from it all for a few days, somebody suggested a little cottage on a little farm in a little village in the Welsh Valleys.  I immediately typed the postcode into Google maps… it was ten minutes down the road from where I live!

The price was right for a converted barn slightly off the beaten track and I made my way along the eight miles of progressively bumpy roads to our new home for the next few days.  Our long weekend was filled with takeaways, walks and wine and by Monday I felt as refreshed as if I had been on a mini-break to the South of France.  In fact, my familiarity with the area and not having to worry about forgetting to pack something (after all I could just nip home and get it if I did!) removed a lot of the stress associated with international travel.  It was all just so easy!

Some of the more mercenary of you might ask why I would fork out the money to pay for accommodation when I have a perfectly good bedroom in my own home, but I still experienced that feeling of excitement and anticipation when you first open the door to a shiny new hotel room or Continental villa.  I am also fortunate enough to live in a region where the scenery and landscape change dramatically from mile to mile so I was just as awed by the panoramic views as my city-dwelling friends.  If we are being really thrifty, there is also the fact that I saved a lot on petrol.

I hope you enjoy my pics and that you do not dismiss the staycation concept out of hand.  While I cannot see myself relinquishing my beloved exotic holidays, I have definitely been converted to dedicating a weekend here and there to exploring my homeland.