A friend asked me on Wednesday where to go for a few days away with her boyfriend. They wanted lovely surroundings, rich, tastebud tantalising food, breath taking views, spectacular scenery - not much really then? I had two words for them. Great Britain.
It really got me thinking - why do we always bypass the country we live in? Is it because, unlike America, it's a relatively tiny one? Or is it because we are (and by 'we' I mean some of us) unfortunately quite ignorant to what our home land has to offer? Or, perhaps, it might be because we are always so desperately seeking SOME kind of nice weather?
It seems, whatever the reasons, our dear old England is somewhat underrated. I have some news for you, dear reader: not every city is full with stag and hen parties (only Blackpool), not every street is littered with Coke cans, cigarette butts and car fumes (Central London) and not all little towns, villages and hamlets have been hit with ugly commercialisation (McDonald's and, dare I say it, all the usual high street shops. Starbucks is of course welcome everywhere).
Are we scared of getting in our cars or on a train or on a coach and arriving at our destination without a check-in gate, up tight security guards and a passport control desk in sight? Doesn't that sound bliss?
I say we all try it. There's something strangely humble about seeing Mrs McCloud behind the counter at ye olde shoppe in the Lake District with a fire guard round her as protection or good ol' Ted behind the bar at The Queen's Head pub in Yorkshire who remembers every drink quaffed by the locals. There's a wealth of rural traits and out-of-town habbits that we know nothing about but which we could all benefit from. Equally there are so many pockets of complete amazingness we should explore - Cornwall, the Isle of Skye, the Dales...
The moral of this story, dear reader, is to forget the cheap flights and baggage checks and instead take full advantage of this gorgeous country we live in.
I plan to. I'm thinking remote Wales next.
The Very Simon G's purchase of the week: a United Kingdom road map and a tin of old fashioned travel sweets.
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