July 8, 2015

Not going on holiday? Do this instead!

You don’t need to go abroad to enjoy the summer (especially when the weather’s this good!), you just need a bit of inspiration, your sunnies and our guide to the best UK staycation! Think we’ve missed something? Let us know how you’d spend your perfect staycation!

Beaches

If you’re a Londoner who gets the shakes just thinking about leaving zone 4 then Camden beach is for you! From Friday 17th July Camden Roundhouse are filling their terrace with sand, deckchairs and the best food and drink you could wish for (we’ve heard a rumour that cocktail popsicles will also be on the menu!) and if you’re feeling a bit flush you can even upgrade! Book a beach hut and get Prosecco, a fridge full of beer, fish and chips, popcorn, rock and loads more! Who needs the South of France?!

Having just been named 7th best beach in Europe by Lonely Planet, the remote Sandwood Bay in Scotland is definitely worth a visit. “This sweep of sand has cliffs around it, a freshwater loch at its back and faces on to waters that stretch to the Arctic. Tall tales of ghosts, shipwrecks and mermaids add garnish, but most people find a tramp around this beautiful place poetic enough,” according to LP and if it’s good enough for them…

Margate is a seaside town of two halves with the traditional sitting alongside the artistic modern culture which means that it’s not only great for a day trip but the perfect place for a mini retreat; once you’ve relived childhood seaside holidays with fish and chips and candyfloss you can part with your holiday spends at the vintage shops and cool cafés! Just don’t forget the souvenir rock…

Exhibitions

From the elegant to the eclectic, this summer’s top London exhibitions are a must for any fashionista. Get to Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty‘s first as it closes on 2nd August and if you’re interested in his life, work or just innovative and exciting design you won’t want to miss out!

You’ve got until mid-October however to experience the style that was Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon at the National Portrait Gallery. An icon indeed, this photographic exhibition showcases Hepburn from childhood to later life and gives a rare glimpse into her as an actress as well as style inspiration.

For anyone who’s ever bought something only to look at it an hour/day/year afterwards and wonder what possessed them to do such a thing (i.e all of us!), the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge has something you might like. Treasured Possessions looks at items from 1500 to 1800, how they were made and sold and their owners and may make you at least pause before you make your next impulse purchase!

Restaurants

Who needs the Eurostar to Paris when Aubaine is right here? If you’re heading to London this summer, you need to make a beeline to one of their restaurants that was built for summer. French cuisine with a stylish, continental vibe we challenge you to not while away a whole afternoon there!

Fancy something a bit more adventurous? It doesn’t get more so than Grub Kitchen, in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, where you’ll be served ‘delights’ including crickets, bugs and worms. Cricket grapes and bamboo worm fudge ice cream anyone?!

You know what? If you’re not going away this summer you should treat yourself and there’s no better way to this than to eat at the Shard. Either at AquaShard on the 31st floor or Oblix a little higher up on the 32nd for British cuisine in the former or urban casual dining in the latter. Whichever you choose the food together with the view will be a mini holiday in itself.

Books to read

If you haven’t read The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion yet then that should definitely be at the top of you list of easy but beautiful summer reads. It’s nerdy-scientist-tries-to-get-the-girl but there’s plenty of moments that make it way more than just another chick-lit romance. If something a bit more inspiring is more your thing and you need something you can dip in and out of easily, dive head first into Catlin Moran’s How to be a Woman and challenge why you do what you do and what’s expected of you. Then pass it on to every woman and girl you know. We promise you won’t regret it.

The deeper reads we’re recommending are Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns and Kite Runner. Yes they’re old but they’re just as relevant now and will make you feel forever grateful for the small things in life, like being able to get your hands on a book in the first place.