What Is A Staycation and Why Should You Consider One?
The summer is just beginning and while I’m missing the cozy nights spent reading by the fire I’ve also been enjoying the transition to seemingly endless days of clear blue sky, balmy evenings and the welcome feeling of the sun on my skin. The change in temperature isn't the only thing I had noticed either as I kept on coming across the phrase ‘staycation’ and eventually my curiosity got the better of me.
A quick internet search tells me that a ‘staycation’ is a holiday spent in your own country and as it turns out there are a lot of reasons why holiday makers are turning away from their usual european package deal. I’ve learned that staycation tourism is a rapidly growing market as more and more people are being drawn to the simplicity of the planning process, or even not having to plan at all, the relaxed pace of travel and the promise of quality time spent outdoors. That is why you too should consider a staycation.
Now usually I’m more an international travel kind of girl, in the last couple of years I’ve cycled around the coast of Taiwan, hiked ancient Lycia and eaten enough Thai street food to feed a small village but after reading about the ‘great British staycation’ and the reasons for its growing popularity I've been thinking about how I haven’t really seen much of the UK and started asking myself if I’d been missing out.
Wondering about the benefits of keeping it a bit more local I ended up jotting down my own top five list, in no particular order;
Turning off your phone and reconnecting with nature
Make more eco friendly travel choices
You can make the journey part of the adventure
A myriad of experiences
Embrace spontaneity
Switching Off And Spending Time In Nature
We all know that we are spending too much time connected to our screens and social media, which is taking precious time away from our hobbies and interests, preventing us from getting a good night's sleep and as researchers at San Francisco State University have also found, exasperating symptoms of anxiety and depression: Is-It-Time-to-Put-Down-Your-Phone?. I've found all of these things to be true but luckily I’ve also found there's a simple fix for it and for me the remedy has been turning off my phone, incorporating simple mindfulness techniques into my everyday life and spending more time outside breathing in the fresh air and moving my body.
Now I’m probably biased having lived here for years but I truly believe Scotland is the best place to put this into action. A country with more sheep than people and a population of just 5 million means there's so much undeveloped, wondrous land to discover. Scale epic mountains, play a game of eye spy as you drive through the moorlands or island hop through the hebrides and walk along fantastical beaches with the azure ocean so brilliant you’ll ask yourself if you've been transported to the Caribbean. There is no reason to carry your phone other than to snap some postcard perfect photos.
There is also simply no better way to reconnect with nature than camping and with that in mind one thing I love most about Scotland and of course Tiree, is that if you're travelling light (thanks to the land reform act 2003) you can wild camp on unenclosed land meaning you can experience breathtaking nature on foot or from the seat of your bike and when you’re ready to set up camp you can rest easy with the waves lapping the beach nearby, lulling you to sleep.
This is just one of many reasons why I think everyone should be considering a staycation as there are so many incredible green spaces to discover for yourself and your family letting you experience a wholesome, educational and technology free break from normality.
Making Travel Plans With The Planet In Mind
I make a lot of conscious choices throughout my day to be kinder to the planet; taking my own tote bags with me when I go to the shop, buying plastic free produce whenever I can and even growing my own food which I’ve found to be well worth the trouble, but it wasn't until I read about ‘flygskam’ that I calculated the impact the co2 emissions generated from my flight habit was having in comparison to my lifestyle choices and it's fair to say I was rather alarmed.
‘Flygskam’ is a swedish phrase that translates to ‘flight shame’, literally feeling shameful or embarrassed about the effect that flying has on the environment and the movement is really making people change the way they travel. According to a Swedish WWF survey, 23% of Swedes in 2018 reduced their air travel with their number one reason being the impact it has on climate change.
There is a growing feeling of flight shame in the UK too, reflected by the launch of a multitude of similar campaigns with Flight Free UK being just one. Launched last February it asks that people abstain from flying for a year and explore other ways of travelling. Which is an idea I can really get behind as booking travel abroad can be a real hassle! Organizing flights, calculating the cost of taking luggage and even just trying to work out how to get to the airport can be truly mind numbing and uses up a lot of your precious free time.
Environmentalism and staycations really do go hand in hand and as I try to make greener choices in my everyday life, staycations will definitely become part of my regular travel schedule in future.
The Joys Of Slow Travel
Being a good citizen of the planet is certainly one of the positives of skipping long haul flights but I’ve also found that the more I travel whether by ferry, bus, train or plane I do actually prefer a slower pace of getting around as it's more relaxed and there's always something to see. This past winter I was in Vietnam stuck between booking a quick flight to Ho Chi Minh City or a twenty hour sleeper train down the Vietnamese coast. Despite the convenience of the former I chose the latter because not only was it different to anything I had done before I also knew that at the end I would have a new story to tell.
This is a big part of why I think you should consider a staycation as the journey becomes part of the trip and extends the experience. The pace is completely up to you. You can stop as you go and see different parts of the country or if you’re just whizzing past you’ll see everything from unexplored cities to incredible landscapes that you would never have had the chance to see from 30,000 ft in the sky.
If you want to travel without your vehicle the british transport system makes slow travel easy too as its robust and organised with trains and buses moving up and down the country all the time to every place imaginable meaning that nowhere is too out of reach if you're willing to put in a little effort and if you're happy to wake up a wee bit earlier even seemingly far flung destinations like the Isle of Tiree are easily reachable by ferry.
Sometimes trying a new mode of transport can be a little bit scary but that’s all part of the adventure. That's why I love slow travel as by skipping long airport queues, overpriced coffee and that last minute rummaging through your bag to check your passport is where you remember, you’ll be rewarded with exciting stories to look back on and share.
So Much History, Culture And Activities To Experience
If you're anything like me then your will to travel is driven by the desire to try new foods, learn about another country's history or even try an activity that you wouldn't be able to normally try in your everyday life but choosing to skip a trip abroad doesn't mean you have to sacrifice fresh experiences.
No matter where you go you’ll find something different to fill your stomach whether its yorkshire puddings with your sunday lunch in the north of england or haggis and stornoway black pudding with your full scottish breakfast across the border, you won't be missing out on trying different cuisines. Feed your brain too as the UK is centuries old and having been conquered so many times whether by vikings or romans it has such a fascinating history that there is always something to be learned and a museum or an ancient abbey to be explored.
Tiree is a true hidden gem in the hebrides crown and whilst here you can do all this and more. I’m always trying to improve myself and being able to learn a new skill is a big draw of a staycation. Most people probably think of sunny California and Australia’s Gold Coast when they think about surfing but here there are so many awesome waves. Find yourself in the heart of the perfect a-frame barrel or pull on a wetsuit for the first time and book a beginner lesson there are so many opportunities to jump in the water.
On blustery days and on a wee scottish island there can be a lot of them you can learn to kite and windsurf adding another new string to string to your bow and you won't be short of inspiration as every year Tiree is home to the longest running windsurfing event in the world. Adrenaline pumping activities aren't for everyone however and that's fine too as I can also whole-heartedly endorse basking in the sun on the beach with a good book.
Embrace Your Spontaneous Side
One thing I’ve discovered through travelling is that making snap decisions has taken me places I might never have seen had I sat down and over analyzed every part of my plan. Maybe it's heading to a new place you've just heard a good review of from an acquaintance or a quick google search of ‘places near me’ or even being a bit bolder and heading to a station and hopping on the next train to find new adventures, the reason this is one of my top five for a staycation is that the unknown is always exciting wherever you may end up.
Travelling on a whim in your own country takes a lot of the stress of planning out of the equation. Now that’s not say that planning a staycation doesn't require brain power but being able to wake up, load up your car or your bike panniers or even just being able to put a tent under your arm and tie up your hiking boots and just go is incredibly appealing to me and I’m sure many other travellers would agree.
A few years ago I had never even heard of the Hebrides or Tiree or given any thought whatsoever to the wee collection of islands floating in the Atlantic ocean just off the west coast of Scotland and yet a week after I had first learnt of the island’s existence I was moving there, sitting on the ferry with a hand me down suitcase. It’s a decision that's brought me a lot of happiness and it only happened because I embraced spontaneity.
‘Adventure begins at home’
To learn more about some of our favourite UK staycation destinations in Scotland you can read this article.
Conclusion
I’m sure that everyone will have their own reasons for a staycation, I know I have mine and while I imagine that some of yours will match my own, some will be reasons I hadn't even considered but I think that ultimately you should consider a staycation as a way to experience somewhere new and unexpected, get to know the places closer to you a little better and maybe even discover an aptitude for an activity you had never given much thought to before. With a lower carbon footprint to boot. So whether it's a weekend getaway to break up the year or a couple of weeks getting a real feel for a place, it's easy to see why your next adventure should take the form of a staycation.