Is social distancing really possible this summer?

With lockdown restrictions easing over summer, a sense of freedom has suddenly set in. Finally, we can leave our four walls and venture a little further than our town or village! In many parts of the United Kingdom, we can even get away for a holiday (to certain locations).

The bonus in all this has been the weather. With just a few intermittent wet days, we have been getting some wonderful spurts of sunshine and warm weather, which is even more reason to take advantage of this freedom.

My biggest concern whilst enjoying our time away, is maintaining our own well-being and safety, maintaining social distancing and staying far away from the crowds. I have no desire to sit on a crowded beach, or cram myself into the busy towns right now. In fact, I’d much rather find a rare and beautiful part of the country that I can feel is all my own, with no one else around to worry about.

We booked our holiday to Cornwall early January, before the Covid-19 outbreak really started spreading throughout the globe. Throughout the height of lockdown, we were fortunate to have held onto this booking, as now the prices for local staycations seem to have tripled whilst many UK citizens scramble to book somewhere to get away to locally.  My biggest fear in coming to this glorious coastal part of the country was always going to be the crowds. I questioned how much we could enjoy Cornwall (a VERY popular and busy summer vacation spot in normal times) whilst respecting social distancing and keeping clear of crowded places.

We were however pleasantly surprised to find that social distancing has been quite easy. We booked a lovely place just on the coast near Talland Bay, in Looe. We quickly discovered some scenic coastal walks that take you right down to parts of the bay. It wasn’t a difficult route downhill (a little more challenging walking back up again after though).  Some of the shores were a little rocky, but certainly not as busy as the main strip beaches, and the tranquillity of being able to swim without worrying about crowds, made it just such an enjoyable experience all round.  

Having discovered these places, it honestly seems to be a no-brainer!  There seems to be no reason why anyone needs to rush back to these popular beach strips, especially when it is highly likely you would struggle to find a space on the sand to set up for the day, any play or activities would involve navigating other families, and then if you tried to swim at a social distance, you’d be facing the choppy waves which would throw you about this way and that. Personally, it doesn’t seem appealing, and it certainly does not seem safe given our current situation.

It may take a little research, perhaps a slightly further drive/walk, but we can all do this together if we put in the effort. Surely the more we can distance ourselves from the crowds the more chance we have of avoiding this virus, and hopefully getting closer to normality? Here’s hope anyway!

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Oh, and just one final thought, and an ask for anyone who reads this. Please take your rubbish (bottles, wrappers, packaging from food items, etc) home with you. This earth we live on is beautiful. Nothing hurts me more than turning up to these amazing locations and finding rubbish strewn everywhere. We can all do this, and it takes such a small effort to find a rubbish bin or pack it up and take it home.