The coronavirus crisis has left most of our summer holiday plans in tatters, with borders closed around the world.
But even as things slowly start to get moving again, more people than ever before are likely to shun holidaying abroad in favour of a staycation here in the UK.
And why not? As well as allowing you to check out some of the most beautiful destinations that the country has to offer, a staycation in some of the UK’s smaller towns and villages also allows you to safely keep your distance from any large crowds too!
With that in mind, we’ve ranked some of the best staycation destinations in the country based on the following six factors:
If your summer plans involved relaxing on a beach somewhere in the sun, then you could do a lot worse than a staycation in Cornwall!
Cornwall led the way in our ranking when it came to outdoor activities, as well as places to stay, with just under 250 campsites available in the county, with numerous pretty fishing villages dotted along the coastline, as well as slightly bigger towns to base yourself in such as Newquay and Falmouth, all within distance of some of the best beaches in the country.
Popular Destinations: Newquay, St Ives, Padstow, Falmouth
While it is the UK’s most popular national park, the sheer size of the Lake District, as well as the relatively low resident population means that you can very easily avoid the crowds in this beautiful corner of the country, with plenty to see and do while you’re there too.
Famed for its beautiful fells, including England’s tallest mountain, Scafell Pike, and the sixteen impressive bodies of water that give it its name, as well as countless stunning walking routes, the Lake District is packed with things to do and the only thing that really counts against it is that the weather can be somewhat unpredictable, with an average summer temperature of 14.3°C.
Popular Destinations: Windermere, Keswick, Ambleside
The Scottish Highlands are a vast area containing epic scenery, including the UK’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis, and one of its most iconic lakes, Loch Ness and much, much more to see and do too.
Other notable attractions include castles such as Cawdor and many whiskey distilleries too, and for such a large swathe of the country, the population of the Highlands is very low too, which makes practising social distancing nice and easy too!
Popular Destinations: Inverness, Loch Ness, Fort William
|
Rank |
Destination |
Population (least crowded) |
Green Spaces |
Child-Friendly |
Child-Friendly |
Campsites |
Average |
Overall Score |
|---|
We ranked each destination based on the following six factors and gave each a normalised score out of 100 on each factor. We then calculated a weighted average score across all six factors, with 50% weighting for the population numbers and 10% for each of the other factors, due to the need to maintain social distancing.
Population
The majority of population figures were taken from the Office for National Statistics’ Estimates of the population for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with figures for national parks taken from the most recent data published by the parks themselves.
Number of Green Spaces | Number of Child-Friendly Outdoor Activities | Number of Child-Friendly Restaurants
All taken from Tripadvisor.
Number of Campsites
Taken from Campsites.co.uk.
Average Summer Temperature (°C)
The average temperature for June to August, according to Climate-Data.org, using a major town or city within each area.
