I’ve had a notional travel list in my head for as long as I can remember; my pre-pandemic ideas being quite different to the ones I have now. This post was actually inspired by Helen who writes the rather lovely blog: https://thingshelenloves.com/ Helen blogs about ‘Life Outdoors, Vintage Love & Travel Adventures’. Helen’s post ‘10 Places For 2021: My Wish List‘ struck a chord with me. Do have a look!
Top of my previous travel list would have been India. It is a country I have never visited even though I have Indian heritage. I’m not saying I will never spend time there but a visit is temporally on hold.
My current travel list, in no particular order, is as follows:
- London is relatively close to where I live in the UK, the fastest train journey is 35 minutes to Waterloo, although I do have to add in the drive from our village to the station. I think I take London for granted because I lived there for many years and it’s so easy to access. Now that I haven’t been able to get to the city because of lockdown, I imagine how much I’d love to catch the train and, on leaving Waterloo Station, stroll eastwards along the South Bank. I would be happy just to take in that wonderful London skyline. I outlined a fabulous walk beside the Thames here: A London walk – Rotherhithe, the Mayflower and more
- Brighton and Hove I’ve loved Brighton and Hove since I was a teenager. I like the quirky, bohemian, cosmopolitan, atmosphere of this city beside the sea. There are students, pensioners, artists and a range of different cultures to be found here. Brighton has long had a reputation for being liberal and accepting of alternative lifestyles and is well known for its LGBT community. For shopping, I love the North Laines where a variety of individual, interesting and unusual shops can be found. However, what I am longing to do the most is to take Zeph to Hove where he can make his first visit to the seaside. When we were staying in the area, as Trusted Housesitters, we discovered so many dog friendly cafés and I can’t wait to visit them again.
Stockbridge The next place on my list would be Stockbridge, the one in Hampshire, not Edinburgh! There is lots to love about this charming little town but the main reason I have this on my list is because it’s where I regularly meet one of my closest friends. If there’s one thing lockdown has brought home to me, it’s how much I miss seeing my family and friends. It’s nearly a year since I met up with this particular friend and I can’t wait until we can meet up for one of our long walks and a face to face chat.
The Gower Travelling a little further afield, to another country – Wales! I have long loved this part of South Wales, ever since my first introduction to the area, as a young teacher in South London. We used to take our very urban pupils, on a field study strip, to this gorgeous part of the world. I have continued to visit this beautiful peninsula ever since. If you like walking, I’d be hard pushed to think of another place with such stunning coastal walks, Rhossili being one of my favourites.
France I’ve had to compartmentalise my thoughts concerning France. I have no idea when we’ll get back to our house, so I try not to focus on it. We’re lucky enough to have a local couple who take care of everything when we’re not there, being especially brilliant after the break in. It’s been unusually cold in Castelnaudary this winter, with snow and ice. Even parts of the Canal du Midi have frozen!
Gran Canaria is one of my happy places. We first went there over twenty years ago, on a winter break, one February half-term. We ended up there by pure chance when one wet, grey Friday afternoon, I contacted lastminute.com to see if there were any available holidays, starting the following Monday. I was asked if I would be willing to travel from any airport to any resort, anywhere. I took a massive risk and said ‘yes’. I then phoned my husband to let him know what I had done! This is how we ended up spending a week in Gran Canaria, returning to the same place for the following twenty years! (I feel a future post is needed about our travels to Gran Canaria!) We stay in the same area, but the accommodation has changed over the years. It is an opportunity for rest and relaxation in the sun, an escape from the cold, grey damp winters in the UK.
- Lisbon, Porto and the Azores I have visited Portugal several times, it has always been to the south. Lisbon and Porto are in the north and the islands of the Azores, although Portuguese, are in a different location altogether. These are my ‘aspirational’ places I would like to visit when we can travel again. None of them are that far afield.
I already had these places in mind but, after reading more on another one of my favourite blogs, ‘Love Travelling’, I was convinced! Day 1. A week in Porto, northern Portugal – Love Travelling Blog After all, we can dream!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my list. If you could travel anywhere, where would it be? Perhaps, like me, your priorities have changed? I’d love to know!
Enjoyed your list, couple places I haven’t heard of! If you ever get the chance, look into Norway. It was the last trip my husband and I ventured on and it was an adventure of a lifetime! 🙂
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Thanks for dropping by and I’m pleased you enjoyed the list! I’ve never visited Scandinavia but I’ve always wanted to go there. When we can travel again, I’ll definitely look into Norway
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Thank you so much for linking to my blog June, it’s much appreciated. I also follow Helen’s posts and enjoy them very much too. My eyes lit up when I saw Stockbridge listed as I did indeed think it was going to be the Edinburgh one. A part of the city I’ve spent lots of time in, and love dearly. You’ll probably be surprised that with my connections to the south coast, I’m yet to visit the other Stockbridge! I’ve driven past signposts to it umpteen times, so when we are back down there, I’ll be inspired now to stop off and take a look. Marion
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Stockbridge is the quintessential English country town. It has plenty of individual, independent shops, as well as cafes, pubs etc. I’m sure you’d enjoy a visit.
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I love your list! My travel wish list includes Portugal and Greece (I’ve never been). I’d also like to visit Canada again, as well as explore more of my home state of California!
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Thanks, Darlene! I’m pleased you like my list. I’ve never been to Greece, either, but hopefully one day… Canada and California; great choices!
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Great list. When we can travel again we are away to Portugal for sure. In 2017 we had a great holiday taking a train ride from Lisbon to Porto and stopping off several times on the way.
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Thanks! I like the sound of that train ride, I’ll pop over to your blog as I’m guessing you’ll have written about it – hope so anyway.
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Be good to see you there.
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My immediate travel desire is just as far as my children and grandchildren’s homes. I’m desperate to hug them. I’ll be happy if we can get to Devon this year and a planned holiday in Dorset with my daughter, though coincidentally we have just had a telephone conversation about that and are both of the opinion that it may not actually happen. . Husband and I had planned a return visit to the Norwegian fjords for my 65th later this year but that’s definitely not on the cards now; I wouldn’t feel ready to be on a cruise ship even if they have started sailing again by then. Although I’ve enjoyed Gran Canaria, my favourite of the Canary Islands is La Palma, small though it is. It was the first place we ever visited on a cruise and I can still remember how exciting it felt.
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I don’t have grandchildren but I can’t wait to hug my eldest son and my sister. Devon and/or Dorset sound perfect but everything is uncertain at the moment. My husband thinks we’ll get back to France this summer but I’m not so sure. I’ve never been on a cruise and a visit to the Norwegian fjords, for a special birthday, sounds fabulous but … I don’t know anything about La Palma, so I’ll have to do some research!
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The fjords is a quiet, relaxing holiday. It’s a different kind of cruise because most are about the destinations whereas the pleasure of the fjords is whilst sailing through them. Sailing into Stockholm along the archipelago of hundreds of islands is a wonderful sight too. I do hope you get to France but probably better to imagine that you may not, then if you do it will be a wonderful bonus.
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I think a cruise through the fjords would be wonderful. I imagine the ships can’t be too large and the scenery must be breath-taking. I’m not a pessimist but I am a realist! As you say, if we do get back to France it would be a fabulous bonus.
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Wonderful list – and great to see lovely Stockbridge rubbing shoulders with larger and better-known destinations. It will come as no surprise to hear that I have a HUGE list of places I want/need to visit in Britain. Beyond that, the priority when possible is a two centre trip to Salzburg and Rome, in either order, flying to one, getting the train to the other, and return.
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Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed my somewhat random list and that you appreciate Stockbridge, too. I’m not surprised that your travel
list is huge but I’m sure it would make for a very interesting read. I love train travel in Europe, let’s hope it won’t be too long before you are able to visit Salzburg and Rome.
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Great post, and thank you so much for the mention. I’d love to visit London again and the Teens have been asking for a trip to Brighton since we moved down South. A trip to France sounds fabulous as well, it must be a comfort at least knowing you have good hands to leave your house in until you can return.
I think I’ve actually hit the point where I’m just missing the spirit of travel, the feeling of going places and doing things. Hopefully soon!
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Thanks, Helen and for inspiring me! I think you’re spot on when you mention ‘the spirit of travel, the feeling of going places and doing things’. For me it’s also about looking forward to something, the excitement of planning etc. I was talking to a friend who has booked a cottage, in Devon, for a week in October and I had travel envy! If we can’t back to France, we’ll try to find a dog friendly place, in Wales, near to Zeph’s breeders. It would be great if he can see his parents again!
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Good morning June
What an interesting article. Thank you.
At the moment I don’t have a passport and haven’t had one for about fifteen years now! I used to adore France and Italy and then suddenly found that I had absolutely no desire to travel beyond our own borders. No doubt you and maybe your readers will find this strange; my fiends certainly do!
We watch the tv programme Escape to the Country and this has opened our eyes to many really beautiful and interesting places here on our island. The list of places we want to visit once travel inside the uk is allowed again is enormous. Walking along green lanes and deserted beaches, across moors and fells sounds idyllic.
Of course rewarding our efforts with coffee and cake afterwards is always welcome!
As long as this dreadful time goes away I think anywhere safe will seem like paradise.
Bon voyage to you and all your readers wherever you venture.
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Hello Sue. I’m pleased that you found the post interesting. I think we all have different attitudes towards travel; it would be quite boring if we were all the same. Some of my friends have decided to travel less as they get older and, without doubt, the pandemic will change travel for a long, long time, possibly for ever. I sometimes watch Escape to the Country as I like looking at the properties available, as well as the countryside. You are so right, when you say how beautiful the UK can be. Even where we are, in the SE, there are some fabulous walks and charming villages which I have mentioned in this blog. I just find that our island can be too crowded in certain places, with too many cars on the road but nowhere is perfect, in my opinion. Thanks for commenting and tea and cake is essential after a long walk!
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I like to compare my travel list with others. Right now my travel list is all about not leaving the US. Luckily there is so much I want to see here, with many of the national parks being on the top of my list, because who knows when we will be allowed to travel internationally again.
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Yes, it’s always interesting to compare travel lists. Being in the US there is so much opportunity for you to travel within the country. I visited California many years ago and I loved it! The National Parks look amazing. Thanks for dropping by. 😊
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Great list – our travel wish list has changed a fair bit in this past year too. At times it’ll be nice just to go somewhere! I’m hopeful that will happen this year (though my fingers are crossed!) Thanks for sharing with #PoCoLo
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Thanks, Stephanie. I’m pleased you liked the list! As you say, it would be lovely to go anywhere. My fingers – and everything else – are crossed but who knows? #pocolo
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Fun post, June! I miss the places in the western half of the country that I can road-trip to. We are scheduled to get back on the road in a few short months, and I can hardly wait! 🌞
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I’m glad you enjoyed the post Lisa and I hope it won’t be too long before you’re back on the road!😎
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Wonderful list! The experience of this last year has been so frustrating for travelling I have stopped making plans, apart from very local explorations. I hope the coming months will bring us back to the freedom we used to have to roam around as we please.
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I’m pleased you appreciated the list! I agree that it’s very frustrating when one can’t plan anything. I used to take my freedom and ability to travel whenever and wherever for granted – not any more!
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Let’s hope this summer will be different from the previous one and we can resume our travel plans. 🛫🏖🛣
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