You may or not have noticed, but I’ve not been posting to this blog much lately – over 6 months in fact. Around August last year we embarked on a house move which turned rather complicated, resulting in us being ‘transient’ / between-homes for nearly 3 months. We finally moved in on Valentines Day.
A month ago I was thinking about writing a post about the whole messy affair – I could probably fill a book to be honest. But events in the past few weeks have rather overtaken us all, and now the whole thing seems rather trivial in comparison to the Covid-19 crisis we’re all now living.
I’ve been working from home for 3 weeks now, and probably experiencing similar frustrations to the rest of you. But I’m not going to bore you with tales of woe – as I keep reminding myself, I’ve got it a lot better than a hell of a lot of people at the moment, and am counting my blessings regularly.
One thing all this time in (relative) isolation / at home has got me thinking about is things we can do during the summer – particularly if ‘social distancing’ measures continue. Obviously holidays abroad are out of the question for the time being, and most of the summer’s festivals and events have been cancelled too.
But the question I’m curious to find out the answer to is this: where will camping with your family fall under the new rules? After all, there’s no better place to socially-distance yourself than in the middle of a massive field!
I should clarify: I’m certainly not suggesting anybody flouts the current rules and heads off on a long camping trip right now. But I’m assuming that, at some point, restrictions are going to be eased and we’re going to be able to travel round a bit more freely – taking all the usual precautions into mind of course.
So when that time comes, could camping be the ideal get away we all need after being cooped-up in our houses for a few weeks/months?
Aside from the question of wash blocks, a camp site / field really seems like the sort of place you could safely spend some time with your immediate family. Provided you’re not camping in the sort of place where the tents are all crammed together so you’re getting on top of each other, it gives you the opportunity to enjoy some fresh air / countryside, avoid big crowds and hopefully get some exercise.
I for one am hoping that camping may be one of the things we can look forward to when this is all over. In an ideal world, with a group of friends and family – but if not, even a trip with the immediate family would be a lovely break to look forward to.
In reality, while camping could well be a great way for some of us to shake off the cobwebs this summer, it’s all going to depend on when the current restrictions are lifted – and how far.
Those of us lucky enough to have gardens might have to resort to pitching the tent on our lawns for the time being. It might sound stupid, but as the weather improves and we head into Spring, it might be just the thing you need to have some time out of the house for a night or two. Plus, you’ll never be far from the shower…!
Only time will tell on the wider question, but I reckon I might start gathering the camping equipment together anyway, just in case.