For most of my life, travel to me meant going as far as I could for as long as I could. I was a glutton for international trips, ticking off European cities I could visit in a weekend, backpacking around swathes of south-east Asia and Central America, and road-tripping across New Zealand and California. A relentless neophiliac, I firmly believed that “away” was intrinsically superior to “home”.
It was a trip to New Zealand that planted the first seeds of doubt about my internationally-attuned travel palate. Campervanning around the islands, I realised that I’d been taking a lot of the delights of the UK for granted: our storied towns and villages; the fact that long country walks can be bookended by pints and pies in historic pubs; a public transport system that reaches into the peripheries; our shark-free waters and uncrowded beaches. When enthusiastic UK-bound Kiwis would ask me for recommendations, I desperately wanted to be able to share insider tips beyond the three cities I’d lived in so far: Belfast, Glasgow and London.
This experience gently encouraged me to view my homeland through the eyes of a tourist, and when I returned home, I launched Project UK. I began gently, with a day trip to the Somerset town of Bruton, where I wandered around the Hauser & Wirth art gallery and stumbled upon a restaurant, At the Chapel, which I would cheerfully eat at every day. Next was a camping trip to Dorset, travelling entirely by public transport and drinking cider at the Square & Compass. I swam off Shetland’s wild, deserted beaches; I cycled the Kentish coastline, I rock-climbed in the Peak District, and then I realised that much of what I thought I had to travel for was right here on my doorstep.
As well as pure pragmatism - saving time travelling, the absence of a time difference or jetlag, reducing my carbon footprint - there are a growing number of “pull factors” keeping me closer to home, stopping me from straying abroad.
Embarking on a meaningful relationship with my home country - rather than flightily flouncing off for flings with far-flung destinations - has enriched my enjoyment of history, literature, music and art. These days I track different destinations and bands via Songkick so I can plan UK city breaks around gigs I want to go to - because Cardiff, Liverpool, Leeds, Belfast, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh are some of the best cities in the world in which to catch a gig. I keep a rolling list of destinations that have, until now, only existed in my imagination – the Yorkshire moors that inspired my beloved Brontës, the lakes that I read about in the poetry of Wordsworth, Shelley and Coleridge, and, um, parts of the Northern Ireland coast that provide the backdrop for sex, blood and gore in Game of Thrones.
It’s rewarding to bump into a Glaswegian and enthuse about the burgeoning culinary scene in Finnieston. It’s been satisfying to join up some of the dots and understand why post-industrial Birmingham became the birthplace of heavy metal music. And now, when I read a Daphne du Maurier novel like Rebecca or My Cousin Rachel, I can visualise the Cornish scenery she renders through words. I’ll never lose my lust for long-haul international travel, but learning to see the UK through the wide eyes of a visitor means I’ll never take home for granted again.
Anna’s must-do UK bucket list
- Driving Scotland’s North Coast 500, the UK’s newest ultimate road trip.
- Sleeping with the tigers at Port Lympne animal reserve in Kent.
- Swimming in the River Dart in Devon.
- Eating, drinking and being merry at Abergavenny Food Festival – perhaps the UK’s most Instagrammable food event.
- Catch a small, but perfectly formed independent music festival, such as Doune the Rabbit Hole in Scotland or the shiny new eco-minded Shambala in Northamptonshire.
- Swim some of the bracing and beautiful Scottish beaches in Orkney or Shetland.
- Browse Barter Books, a blissfully atmospheric bookshop in Alnwick.
- Soak tired muscles overlooking Bath Abbey, at the Thermae Bath Spa.
- Shop the vintage stores of Glasgow’s West End, including Ruthven Lane and Hidden Lane.
- Immerse yourself in all things yogic, health-oriented and hippyish, in the pretty Devon market town of Totnes.
- Master the arts of the olfactory over a perfume making class in Cornwall.
- Channel your inner Ray Mears as you take part in a bushcraft masterclass in Kent.
