The number of people planning a ‘staycation’ – holidaying in your home country – has risen by 6% from last year to 41%, according to a recent Travelodge survey of 5,000 British adults. But this hasn’t always been the case.
Living in Britain, it can be easy for us to take the dramatic landscapes and peaceful countryside that lies all around us for granted. In the midst of busy lives, we look abroad to what we see as sunnier climes and a more glamorous existence. The weather is a truly British obsession and plays a huge part in deciding many peoples’ holiday plans as we idolise cloudless skies and golden sands. The way we view the Continent is an important part of this so how do the British Isles look through outside eyes?
Chairman and CEO of Just Go! Holidays, Luis Arteaga, arrived in the UK with his family at the start of the new millennium, having grown up in Spain and having lived for a time in the USA. No doubt expecting blustering winds and lashing rain, he was soon charmed by everything Britain had to offer. His transition to British life was helped by how accepted he felt by the people around him as he found it easy to live in his new home.
“Everyone is so polite and friendly, no matter what age they are, and always seem to have such a great sense of humour. I’m also impressed by how proud everyone is of their heritage and their traditions. Spanish people don’t usually have the same reaction to our history, but here you can see that people take great pride in where they have come from.”
This fondness for Britain’s heritage, both natural and man-made, led Luis to become a member of organisations such as the National Trust and the RHS so that he could make the most of everything he saw as special to the UK.
“I just love the ancestry that I have found in every part of the country. The places I have visited are so steeped in history and it has been wonderful to be able to see how towns and villages have grown around impressive buildings such as medieval churches and stately homes. It is great to know how important these buildings were to local history and how significant they still are. Not only that, but there are so many naturally beautiful places in Britain to visit. I was amazed by the gardens I saw and you only have to take one look at some of the coastline to know just how stunning it is.”
As for many of us, the variety of attractions and lifestyles is something that Luis enjoys about living in Britain, from the bustle of cities to the quiet, relaxing nature of seaside resorts.
“I love to make trips to London. I find that it energises me being in such a busy environment and I enjoy that there is so much going on there. Conversely, one of my favourite places to stay is Falmouth because it is unlike anywhere I’ve seen before. There are no shops along the seafront and it is wonderfully unspoilt. It’s spectacular.”
So take a trip out in the UK. Who knows; you might even see a bit of sun.