Back in May last year Glaswegians were left scratching their heads after a family from London were caught by police in Cumbria trying to flout strict lockdown travel rules to head for a 'three day break' in Motherwell.
But it seems they might have the last laugh after the North Lanarkshire was named among the best places in the UK for a socially-distanced staycation in a new - controversial - report.
The Safecation report, conducted by money.co.uk, ranked the top places in the country for based on factors such as free activities, space, safety, park entry fee, dog friendliness, visitors per year and number of caravan parks/camping sites within a 50km radius.
It also took a list of the UK locations that are home to the largest public parks (according to Ordnance Survey) and compared them against the UK’s most-visited staycation destinations to reveal the safest staycations.
And having Strathclyde Country Park on its doorstep found Motherwell named in sixth place in the list, behind places like Armagh in Nothern Ireland, Gower in Wales, Keswick in the Lake District and Kilwinning in North Ayrshire - which was listed third.
Money.co.uk’s consumer spending expert Salman Haqqi said: “Campsites, holiday parks and hotels all over the nation are ready and waiting to welcome guests back, but even with social distancing guidelines in place, overcrowding can still be a problem in tourist honeypots.
“Our report shows that a destination like Glasgow can only host around eight per cent of the usual annual visitors to the area taking one metre social distancing into account, whereas there is plenty of space for everyone in Motherwell.
“It’s not just wide open spaces that need to be considered when booking, the report found that 52 per cent of the new destinations had contactless payment options available for parking, food and drinks, shopping and leisure activities.”
To view the Safecation report, click HERE.
