A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE FOR THE ANXIOUS TRAVELLER AS WE COME OUT OF LOCKDOWN

After so long at home and with minimal social plans, there’s no doubt that the roadmap out of lockdown is proving anxiety-inducing and overwhelming for some. Here, we try to break it down into what’s allowed and what you might want to think about booking now. From picnics in the park to all-out adventures, there should be something for everyone.

 

Garden party

GETTY IMAGES

29 MARCH

Garden parties a gogo

From 29 March we should finally be able to meet our friends and families outside. This rule will mean that two households can gather in groups of up to six people. The best bit is that we can meet in each other’s gardens again. So we’re looking at the coolest picnic sets and picnic hampers to order from restaurants, as well as the secret gardens and parks we can finally hang out in.

Becky Lucas, digital editor
‘My brother and his girlfriend are planning on erecting an open teepee on their farm, and bringing out the bunting and battered old dining table and chairs for a few careful, socially distanced celebratory picnics and ciders outdoors. We won’t even care if it’s rainy and cold (though they’ll have some blankets to hand just in case).’

 

Farmhouse – Fish&Pips

12 APRIL

Start thinking about a self-catering break

Not only could pub beer gardens and restaurant terraces be allowed to open, but UK citizens could be able to take domestic holidays provided that the accommodation is self catering. Take a look at our favourite UK holiday rental companies to book with and check out what our team is planning from 12 April. If it feels a bit soon to be booking a full-blown staycation, why not think about one of our favourite day trips from London instead?

Tabitha Joyce, deputy digital editor
‘I’ve booked this cute cottage in the Cotswolds as I was keen to take a holiday as soon as legally possible. And I’ve also booked a table at one of my favourite Peckham spots, Kudu, because they’ve got a cute garden out back.’

Sarah James, assistant digital editor
‘It’s been a long while since we last left London, but we’ve got a couple of sweet staycations lined up for when lockdown eases. First, we’re checking into this 200-year-old cottage in the Peak District’s pretty village of Castleton for a weekend of walking and outdoor pub lunches. And once campsites open in May, I’ll be taking off for the Lake District, pitching up at award-winning National Trust campsite Great Langdale.’

 

The Standard terrace

CHARLIE MCKAY

Rosalyn Wikeley, creative content editor
‘With little persuasion needed (just the legal green light), I jumped online and booked a table at the Canonbury Tavern, followed by a table at Double Standard, The Standard’s rather confusingly ground-level terrace in King’s Cross, for a toasty reunion (the blankets and heaters are a welcome feature during British springtime). I then pinned down this ludicrously cute cabin in Hampshire, tucked away in a forest in the Meon Valley, with a firepit and no Wi-Fi –heaven.’

Sophie Knight, digital picture editor
‘To avoid any disappointment we booked a few beer gardens for several weekends in April as soon as the roadmap was announced, including People’s Park Tavern in Victoria Park and Brixton favourite The Duke of Edinburgh. Now it’s fingers crossed for sunny weather.’

 

Indoor pool at Another Place

17 MAY

Restaurants, pubs and hotels are finally opening their doors and foreign holidays are potentially possible

All being well, from Monday 17 May groups of up to 30 people can meet outside and two households of up to six people can meet inside. Pubs, hotels and restaurants will be able to fully reopen. Check out our favourite UK hotels and think about the restaurants and pubs worth making a reservation for ahead of time. Here’s what our team are booking in advance. It’s also possible that international travel might be permitted from this date, so keep your eyes peeled – check out our regularly updated article on when will we travel.

Becky Lucas, digital editor
‘Fortunately or unfortunately, Tuesday 18 May is rather a landmark birthday for me, so the sheer serendipity of the timing has inspired me to take the plunge and book flights to Athens on Monday 17 May, with plans to stay on one or two Greek Islands. I last hopped on and off the ferry around the Aegean when I was 20, so it seems fitting to return now, this time with my husband and 21-month-old son. I haven’t had a chance to take him on a flight and make the most of the fact that his tickets are free while he’s still under two, so, again, I can’t help but feel that fate is urging me on to go abroad as soon as I possibly can.’

 

The Idle Rocks

Tabitha Joyce, deputy digital editor
‘I’ve been aiming to make it down to St Mawes in Cornwall for over a year now and hoping to bag a bedroom at the harbourside St Mawes Hotel, one of our top places to stay in the UK. And on my restaurant list is Big Jo in London’s Finsbury Park, one of our favourites of 2020, which sadly I never made it to between lockdowns.’

Rosalyn Wikeley, creative content editor
‘Staying on home turf, I’m heading to one of Aller Dorset’s lakeside cabins in the pretty patch of England I grew up in. The pubs in West Dorset are pure Thomas Hardy magic – rickety walls and crooked ceilings soaked in stories and the comforting whiff of beer; outside, lush bucolic spots crossed by a trickling stream, a mill or the odd lost lamb in spring. We’re putting down our anchor at the Acorn Inn’s garden in Evershot for a long lunch – hopefully in the sun – before heading back to London and rather lavishly checking into the Bankside Hotel for a city staycation. The bar is well-stocked and the beds are enormous.’

 

The Pump Station, Kent

Olivia Morelli, digital associate
‘The many staycations of 2020 rekindled my love for the UK. As desperate as I am to travel beyond British borders this year, I’m dipping my toe in the water with a few close-to-home trips. Taking inspiration from our guide to the best road trips from London, I’ll be driving down to Kent and East Sussex – my rock-obsessed inner teenager has been itching to have a look at the Libertines-owned Albion Rooms in Margate before retracting back into my shell to disappear into a self-catered property further along the coast, possibly hunkering down in this low-slung concrete holiday home in Dungeness.’

Katharine Sohn, PA to the editor
‘Somerset has been on my mind for months now, so I’ve got my hopes on spending a long foodie weekend here in the spring. Warm morning pastries from At the Chapel in Bruton followed by a lazy farm-to-table lunch at Osip and an evening of ciders at The Newt in Somerset are on the list, as will be a very long slumber at country bolthole Number One Bruton. And I’d been looking forward to making it to Hackney hotspot Silo in December last year so have quickly nabbed a reservation to finally visit the zero-waste restaurant in May.’

 

The Big Festival

GILES SMITH

21 JUNE

Festivals are officially back on the cards

As if by magic, we’re hoping that by 21 June all legal limits on social contact in the UK will be lifted. Parties and festivals could be able to go ahead without any limit on numbers, and nightclubs are also hopefully set to reopen. With this in mind take a look at our favourite festivals in the UK and London.

Becky Lucas, digital editor
‘I’ve booked tickets for Kaleidoscope Festival 2021 on Saturday 24 July. I went to the first one a few years ago and the unique setting at leafy Alexandra Palace, with views out across London (apparently it’s the city’s ‘highest’ festival), combined with the mix of trippy music and quirky details (I’m talking about the giant multi-coloured balls that bounced through the crowd during The Flaming Lips… or that could possibly have been a dream?), comedy, street food, silent disco and family activities made it such a memorable summer’s day. This year I’m excited to see that the lineup includes the return of Norman Jay MBE, with a talk from Irvine Welsh, headline set by Groove Armada and an appearance by the House Gospel Choir, who actually made me cry when I saw them perform at Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster Gospel Brunch (or maybe that was the Short Ribs Benedict).’

Abigail Malbon, acting audience growth manager
‘Festivals were a much-missed part of summer 2020 for me, so I’m booking as many as possible in 2021, starting with a must-do for all Londoners: BST Hyde Park. I’m looking forward to being surrounded by people, singing along happily to Duran Duran and Nile Rogers and Chic as the sun sets over the city. I’ve also booked the Mighty Hoopla; a fun, LGBTQ+ festival in South London’s Brockwell Park which will be hosting the likes of Cheryl and En Vogue. Lastly, I’ll be dragging my family and friends to Glastonbudget. While the real thing might sadly be cancelled this year, this tribute music event is three days of pure fun, with fancy dress, silent discos and cover acts aplenty (The Bootleg Beatles will be top of my watch list). Now, I’d better dig out my biodegradable glitter.’

 

Cape Arilla near Afionas, Corfu

GETTY IMAGES

Olivia Morelli, digital associate
‘I didn’t manage to make it abroad last year, so now I’m hedging my bets and booking as many holidays as I can fit in. Hoping to cater to a potential shift in Boris Johnson’s roadmap dates, I’ve planned trips towards the end of the year (I’m crossing all my fingers and toes for extra luck). I’ve tentatively booked a two-week break at this dreamy villa in Corfu, as I’m desperately in need of some serious vitamin D, followed by a long weekend away in Amsterdam staying at this super-sleek, moody canalside hotel.’

 

Scicli, Sicily

ALAMY

Rosalyn Wikeley, creative content editor
‘Cue raucous laughter from seasoned parents: I’m planning to take a three-month-old into Sicily’s tired splendour – Scicli to be more precise, whose sun-blistered walls and baroque buildings teeming with antiques and cannoli cast a spell on me when I last visited. As did honey-drenched Palermo, whose latest revamp, Villa Igiea, I’m itching to check out.’

Katharine Sohn, PA to the editor
‘I was gutted that the two festivals I had planned for 2020 were postponed – I had been looking forward to forest dancing and wild swimming practically all year but the wait has built the hype even more. First up is Gala in Peckham, a two-day DJ event celebrating independent soulful sounds and underground dance artists, with appearances from bigger names such as Horse Meat Disco. And in August, Lincolnshire forest party Lost Village will be back; with headliners yet to be announced I’m sure we can expect Bonobo, Folamour and Bombay Bicycle Club to make a return. I’m even more excited for the lakeside banquets and street-food pop-ups from some of London’s leading restaurants – 2019 saw Merlin Labron-Johnson (Portland, Osip), Jackson Boxer (Orasay) and Indian favourite Dishoom lead the pack.’

AND BEYOND

For more inspiration for holidays later in 2021, check out our editors’ plans for when international travel resumes. We’ve all got high hopes of making it to Europe, but for more staycation inspiration read about some of our favourite autumnal UK breaks.

 

Source: cntraveller.com