Post Lockdown adventures
Lockdown is over, where are you heading?
We are free. The trouble last summer when lockdown was over was that this tiny island suffered with people not being able to go abroad easily and cheaply, that meant everyone was enjoying the best of Great Britain. The downside to this was that the opportunities to enjoy that instagram moment without a hoard of other tourists was impossible.
What though if we don't all go to Snowdon, Ben Nevis, The Peak District, Windermere or Isle Of Skye. What if instead we head to Sandwood Bay, one of the best beaches in the UK or the Elan Valley, known as the Dessert of Wales, or maybe do the Kentmere loop rather than Helvellyn.
For some reason we are like lemmings, all drawn to the same place. There is nothing wrong with this, of course everyone wants to do Snowdon or Helvellyn at some point, but what if we start encouraging people to look beyond these tourist hot spots and to be honest not even that far from them.
The thing is when you are up Snowdon you can not see the biggest best mountain in the area as you are stood on it. What if you head up Carnedd Dafydd and enjoy the views of Tryfan, Snowdon and the surrounding coast? Now you will still see people up there but there will be no one in flip flops, nobody taking a selfie round every turn and no queues at the top.
For clarification I have been to all these tourist hotspots and you should too. But what if, as lockdown finishes we don't all head to these places, what if we look just a little further a field. The benefits are obvious and many, easier to park for a start, less pressure on small towns and villages and better for the mountains we all want to visit.
I will go as far as guaranteeing a better day out for you, your friends and family if you do look just a bit further than these places we all want to go but would be better off giving a break.
At Sidetracked Adventures we would be more than happy for you to contact us for a recommendation.
There is so much of this Country to see. Scotland was widely referred to as the last true wilderness in Europe, now we are out of Europe I'm not sure it can still legitimately hold that title haha. Still there are stunning places across the UK that most of us will never get to see.
Our free time is precious and heading to somewhere deemed the top 5 walks, summit or whatever it is makes sense for our precious free time, but what defines it being the best? There are definite contributing factors and expectations, the weather, the company, the coffee stop on the way, dinner in the pub after, whether you got a view at the top, so many different things. What though if you get a sunny day with good friends on a never heard of summit might beat a crowded well trodden summit path to a top UK peak.
Equally some of my best days out have been those where we have to the top of a summit in the worst weather and seen nothing, obviously you need to be prepared for days like these, but then sometimes you are rewarded with a glimpse through the clouds or a close encounter with some wildlife.
With this lockdown easing wouldn't it be great if we could all show some consideration for the beauty of our country, those that also want to enjoy it and those that live there already.
Grace, River and I will be out, looking for new routes and undiscovered beauty spots, if you find me in an instagram hotspot you have permission to give me a poke in the eye.