I am totally guilty of doing this. In fact, as someone who moves house all the time you’d think I’d be slightly more aware and driven. But I’m not (always). That is, just like many of us, I have been guilty of ignoring the travel opportunities on my doorstep, in my local area.
I’m talking about local travel. Or maybe it should be called home travel? Or even hey-look-what-is-right-in-front-of-you travel?
For example, I used to live in a village in Warwickshire for about 4 years. Just down the road was historic Coughton Court and have I ever been to visit it? No. It’s been on my doorstep for years, my mother has lived just a few miles away for 17 years and still we’ve never been there. (EDIT: we did finally visit Coughton Court a few years later. Got there eventually!)
Coughton Court is a National Trust-owned Tudor House. It’s set in beautiful gardens and is a fine example of Tudor style. As a big fan of history, architecture and culture it’s totally my kind of attraction.
So why do we ignore the travel opportunities on our doorstep?
Is it that we only switch on discovery mode when we go on outings, holidays or travels?
Or is that we simply take for granted that something local will always be there?
That is, are we being lazy or spoilt?
Maybe a little of both.
It’s easy when you’re back home living the ‘normal’ life. You get bogged down in routine. Work and family commitments take up all of your time. Whereas when you’re on holiday or travelling you have a concentrated amount of time to see, do and experience whatever you can in that specific destination. You have to seize the opportunity while you can.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could adopt this attitude at home?
5 Ways to appreciate the local travel opportunities in your local area:
1. Schedule in at least one weekend a month dedicated to solely exploring your local area.
2. Check out Visit England (or your local tourist board) for inspiration.
3. Pretend to be a tourist for the day. Where would you want to go?
4. Invite friends or family from afar to stay with you and be their tourist guide.
5. If you’re a blogger, think about the blog potential of exploring and seeking out hidden gems in your local area.
And with that in mind, we started a local blog all about Birmingham.