I’m not sure if your childhood was the same but every year I was taken camping around Britain.
A band-wagon of children and adults would pack up endless supplies for a weekend of being at one with nature. It was cheap and a lot of fun, but as soon my cousins and I reached ‘that age’, camping with your olds wasn’t really cool anymore.
You would end up in the laborious adult party where you could help out with the boring stuff but not drink. This put me off and as soon as I got a job I saved up and went abroad each summer. From then on I have always shunned spending the summer in Britain, setting my sights instead on faraway lands.
I’ve seen some real wonders of the world; exploring Cambodia’s temples to walking the Great Wall of China, I love great weather and an even better scene. This year is a little different what with the Jubilee and the Olympics; our country is putting its all into these events so I thought I would make the most of what Britain has to offer this year.
Image created by okokitsme
First I took a look at when best to go. At present the weather is awful so I’m holding off until the end of August. I’ll still pack my sun cream, shorts and armani glasses in hope of some fun in my own back garden but I may have to accept there is no guarantee. As the saying goes, ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only poor clothing’. Waterproofs and wellies will be packed too.
I’ve had a look at the Gaurdian’s best beaches list and settled on taking my bike around the UK coast. Wembury Bay in Devon is teeming with wildlife, Norfolk’s Great Yarmourth offers a nine-acre Pleasure Beach full of childhood memories and finally Pembrokeshire’s Dale Beech will give me my surfing, sailing and power-boating kicks. Over two weeks I’m hoping to travel our coast for a good beer, fantastic photos and hopefully meet some new eccentric characters. Who knows, this may change my view of escaping England to relax.
To get me going I have dug out the old photos from family holidays and spoken to cousins about old memories we share. Two of them have decided to join me and there is already talk of racing each other to the next destination. Reminiscing over the fun we had and planning to enjoy Britain in my own way has me excited to explore it.
There may not be sun and heat but there will still be relaxing, water sports and fun. There’s always the bonus that I won’t embarrass myself with my attempt at the language too!
Are you planning to stay in the UK this summer or are you pro-flying?
James Duval is an IT specialist who would rather spend his days roaring around the world on his motorbike seeing the greatest architecture the globe has to offer. He lives for the sound of a great guitar riff, and a well written blog from Valley Optics.