Let’s be honest, lots has changed since the start of 2020, but for us, one of the most impactful changes is in the area of travel. We are a family of travellers, loving nothing more than exploring the world around us and we had big plans for this year which have already had to change with no clear indication of when things might be able to get back to something that even vaguely resembles the freedom we had before. This feels particularly relevant at the moment as we start to make plans for October half-term. Our August staycation was truly that with day trips out to relatively local spots rather than overnight stays anywhere else, be that in the UK or abroad. For G, M and me, our only nights away in recent months have been at my Mum’s house and even that has been filled with some stress as I had to adapt to more people in one place than I’ve seen for months as we ventured out on our daily walks.

Half-term will see more of the same, with a repeat visit to the arboretum already planned with my Mum and I’m hoping to find at least one other small day trip we can make whilst Mike continues to work. M has already muted the idea of an afternoon of bowling, or we might even consider a visit to a safari park as that was something we didn’t get round to doing during the summer. However, we’ve also bitten the bullet and decided on a night away from home so that we can fit in plans that were put on hold due to the lockdown.

G has been longing to go to the Harry Potter Studios for months, so part-way through Year 11, I decided to offer her a trip there as the ultimate incentive for continuing to practise her clarinet for her music GCSE, despite her longing to give it up. It seemed fitting that we included this destination on our list of things to do at half-term and, as it will see us heading towards London, we’ve decided on an overnight stay followed by a repeat visit at Chessington World of Adventures. Both children absolutely loved our day there this time last year and M has been asking if we might be able to go back again as he loved the experience of the Halloween extra hours. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look likely that they will be running those this year due to the changes needed to make the park a COVID-secure day out, but I have no doubt we’ll have just as much as fun.

These are realistically not the travel plans I’d really be like to be making, but it’s difficult to see when, or where, we might be able to go abroad again. Whilst many are back to travelling, the additional risk to me of travelling by plane is one that I’m not yet prepared to take and so we will continue to look to holiday here in the UK and explore this wonderful isle we live on.