My Tiny PlotHoliday at Home
Okay so this post isn’t strictly about ‘my tiny plot’ but I wanted to tell you about something we’ve been doing this week that I feel comes under the same umbrella as growing your own, leading a more simple life and generally looking after yourself and the environment at the same time.
We’ve been on holiday. But we stayed at home – at least we used our home as a basecamp from which to go on day trips here, walks there, or just stay in and have a movie day. I’m calling it ‘Holiday at Home’ after the campaign, during the war in the 1940s, for more people to ‘holiday at home’ in order to conserve money and curb unnecessary travel for the war effort.
Holiday at Home is designed to give us more time together (very little traveling), with all the comforts of home (ideal when you have a small child), and the opportunity to explore in and around our favourite city (Bath).
This has been our schedule:
Day One: Exploring Bath and Geocaching (waaay too complicated to explain here so it’s best if you follow the link)
Day Two: Day trip to Glastonbury (officially full of weird things)
Day Three: Movie Day at home (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone still rocks!)
Day Four: Pig Hunt in Bath (with a map and everything)
Day Five: Trip to Blenheim Palace (wow!)
Day Six: Boat trip from Bath to outlying villages (we saw three Herons and a Kingfisher)
Day Seven: Walking on the canal and swimming at the Bath Thermae Spa
Day Eight: BBQ in garden
I realise this is not for everyone (nor am I suggesting it should be). But it’s been great for us.
The Pros are many:
It’s cheap. You don’t have to pack. You don’t have to travel. You don’t have to get someone to feed your cat. You can plan your days far in advance. You can cook your favourite meals and put them in your freezer to eat while you’re on holiday.
The Cons are:
The weather may be sucky (be prepared). You may have the urge to do the washing (resist). It’s easy to be sucked into ‘house stuff’ because people don’t really believe that you’re on holiday (ignore the postman).
But in general it’s a great way to spend a holiday. It’s not really an attempt to reduce our carbon footprint. I have to admit, Holiday at Home is not our only holiday. No, Holiday at Home is more an attempt to see if we can have a holiday on a low budget and near our home and still have great family time. So far, so good!
THIS IS AWESOME! I love it. Way to go. And what a fun schedule you had planned to!!
What a ace idea… Have a good one!
Staycations rock! We tried one last year. It’s great to get a maid in once or twice during the week…
I think that sounds like a great idea! I’ve tried the “stay-cation” as well, but didn’t go so far as to write up an itinerary and ignore household duties. That’s very smart! Now, if only on our next staycation we could venture to Blenheim…but we’re stuck with Jamestown and (American) Civil War battlefields… :)
What fun! Geocaching has introduced us to interesting areas close to home (& far away) too. At this house (with the garden and patio) it is the best place to vacation (with excursions as desired). So much longer with no travel needed. THis time of year, it can be sunny with beautiful weather. No other place I’d rather be. If it isn’t, then off to the library to explore books and magazines with NO timeline. Enjoy!
A bit spooky (is there a demographic that has gardening, geocaching (we’re “madcats”), cooking and worrying about the planet?). You need to put your “holiday weather” hat on. When you’re on holiday, you go out whatever the weather but when you’re at home and it looks a bit iffy you tend to “get things done”. Most times in the UK you don’t actually get wet.
I’m on a home holiday at the moment. It wasn’t a holiday to start with as we’ve been renovating our bathroom (far too stressful for a holiday), but now I’ll be kicking back for the next 8 days doing not much.
Geocaching is great fun, it’s a pity that there are none within 8 hours of my house!
We holiday’d just a stones throw from home in a friends house, it was great, the most relaxing, fun holiday in ages. We walked on the beach, ate local fish and samphire, hung out in the garden and watched the rain run down the windows…
Anything that sidesteps Heathrow or Gatwick has to be good. I had a Holiday at Home earlier this year, and it was one of the most relaxing weeks I’ve enjoyed in years. AND I got some serious weeding done.
Hi Gill,
We’re doing exactly the same in November for a week. It’s got a lot to do that baby no. 2 will be here. But I’m all for a week of day trips!
Cav
I read the bit about geocaching which I hadnt come across before. I tried it and now I’m addicted! It’s surprising how much fun this is and takes me and the dog to places we wouldn’t have found otherwise.
TFTC