Just about everybody looks forward to holidays, short breaks and even day trips. They punctuate our lives with fresh experiences, new sights and sounds, and enrich memories over the years.

You don’t always have to travel to far-flung, exotic-seeming lands to experience something new. If you’re pondering your next great escape, and are concerned about the health implications of travelling abroad while the pandemic is still active, here are five good reasons to consider staying within our own borders and booking a staycation.

Benefits of a staycation

Home from home

With shorter travel times, everyone arrives feeling fresher and ready to start exploring straightaway, especially if you’re travelling with children or older friends or relatives. There’s no time difference so you won’t spend a couple of days getting over jet lag at both ends of your holiday, and no language barrier either.

If you always feel a little frisson of worry over the security of your home while you’re away, you could rent a self storage room or locker and tuck your most valuable items away for the duration. Short term self storage units in Gloucester are easy for us to find, and it’s bound to be the same wherever you live.

Because you’re relatively close, if anything should happen it’s much quicker to get back and sort it out. You could even nip home to take care of a minor emergency, then head back to finish your holiday with peace of mind.

The local tourist

The UK is a popular tourist destination, and there’s no reason we shouldn’t appreciate it just because we live here.

We have a wonderfully diverse coastline, amazing wildlife, glorious forests and open countryside, as well as historic cities and a rich history.

Very often we don’t go to our local tourist attractions because we figure we can go anytime. The closer an attraction is, the less likely we are to visit.

So be a tourist in your own town, and visit all the museums, art galleries and places of natural history or beauty that are right on your doorstep.

Quick trips and mini breaks

We often complain that the UK is too crowded and built-up, but this does give us the advantage of never having to travel far to find a new city, town or lake to experience.

No matter where in the UK you live, there’s a wealth of adventure waiting through day trips, weekends away, city breaks or seaside adventures. Being a relatively small island, just about everyone is within striking distance of the sea.

Take pets with you

Staying on our own side of passport control also means it’s easier to take pets on holiday. Many people worry about their furry family members when they’re in kennels or catteries, or even if they’ve hired a pet sitter to watch over them.

Lots of UK holiday rentals let you take pets, from camping and caravan sites to country cottage rentals and log cabins. You’ll save on boarding fees without worrying about your pets missing you or suffering while you’re away.

Something new for the whole family

Staycations aren’t short on adventure.

Whether you fancy learning something new such as windsurfing or sailing, or you want to learn coasteering safely, it’s all here within our own borders. You can also learn to canoe or take a cycling or hiking holiday.

If history is your thing, we’ve got it in spades from castles and stately homes to ancient monuments and interactive museums. In just about every town and city you can find a great mix of adventure, education and entertainment for everyone in the family.

Holidaying close to home opens the door to appreciating just how rich and diverse a country we live in. Having four nations living closely together, you’d think we were all pretty much the same!

But a little exploration of Wales, Scotland, England or Northern Island soon reveals just how different our cultures are. At the same time, our individual countries are familiar enough for us to feel quite at home. You already have a pretty good idea what the weather will do and what you need to pack, you already speak the language and you understand the travel system.

There’s a real wealth of experience and adventure right here in the UK, and this year is arguably the best time to get out there and enjoy it.