How to ‘travel’ even during lockdown

*Disclaimer* any travel restrictions and experiences in this post are related to England and the UK only. If you are from another area of the world you will need to check for your own restrictions!

Well, I don’t know about all of you but these last few months have been – interesting – to say the least. Back in March the UK government implemented a country-wide lockdown due to the coronavirus, preventing all but essential shops opening and enforcing strict social distancing measures. Since then, there have been many a policy change, but one things ALMOST for certain – no one is going on holiday for a while at least.

David and I have decided that we are not going to venture abroad for the next couple of years at least, but there’s still plenty of the UK for us to explore. This prospect has been made a lot easier by our recent investment in a van that we’re going to convert into a camper! (look out for posts on that in the near future).

Anyway, with no one really being able to go anywhere at the moment, I thought I’d make a little compilation of ways we can all still travel and learn right from the comfort of our homes. I hope you find something to curb that travel bug of yours!

Watch a nature/travel documentary

For all you animal lovers out there, nature programmes can be a great way to learn more about a place and the ecosystem it supports. Travel documentaries can also be interesting to watch, especially if you are thinking about adding a place to your bucket list but you’re not totally sure yet. We also like watching programmes of places we have been so we can re-live the memories!

Here is a list of the best nature documentaries to watch on Netflix, as given by the radio times:

• Virunga – about Congo and the struggles faced to properly regulate its rich natural resources
• Planet Earth I and II – this 2-series programme gives viewers a unique view of our natural world. It is narrated by Sir David Attenborough who is probably the most well-known broadcaster and natural historian in England. He specialises in nature documentaries so really any by him will be great to watch.
• Our Planet / Blue Planet / Frozen Planet / Life / Africa – these are also narrated by Sir David Attenborough – of course it’s going to be fantastic!
• Last Chance To See – in this documentary starring Stephen Fry, he goes wild camping all over the globe looking for endangered animals
• Wild Japan – this programme showcases Japan’s natural beauty in a fascinating way

Here are some fascinating travel programmes:

• Race Across the World – it kind of does what it says on the tin, basically 5 teams get given the amount of money a flight would have cost and they race against each other to get from A to B first – whilst not being able to fly. This year, they had to get from Mexico City to Ushuaia, Argentina, the world’s most southerly city. It is available to watch on BBC iPlayer
• Dark Tourist – TV presenter David Farrier explores the more morbid side of countries in this documentary series – a phenomenon coming to be known as dark tourism. He visits places like Chernobyl, Medellin and Turkmenistan which all have dark pasts in different ways. One season can currently be streamed on Netflix.
• Around the World in 80 Days – an oldie but a goodie, this programme follows Michael Palin as he tries to do just that – get the whole way around the world in just 80 days! This can be found on BBC iPlayer.

As I’m sure you are aware, this is just a small selection of what’s out there, so if none of these take your fancy just have a quick Google and I’m sure you’ll find one you’ll like in no time.

Watch a travel movie

Watching a movie that is set in different countries or is about travelling is another way to immerse yourself in front of the TV. Here are some recommendations:

• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) – Iceland, Greenland Watch on Amazon Prime
• The Way (2010) – Spain Watch on Amazon Prime
• In Bruges (2008) – Belgium Watch on Amazon Prime
• Slumdog Millionaire (2008) – India Watch on Amazon Prime
• Into the Wild (2007) – USA Watch on Amazon Prime
• The Darjeeling Limited (2007) – India Watch on Amazon Prime
• Lost in Translation (2003) – Japan Watch on Amazon Prime

Learn a new language

I don’t mean become fluent in another language in a month (if that’s a bit too ambitious for you!), but language skills at any level are invaluable when travelling. Duolingo is my personal favourite, and the best part is it’s completely free. They have so many languages to choose from, including Spanish, Korean and Welsh among many others. The lessons are bitesized and cover a certain topic, so it makes it a nice and logical way of learning.

I’ve also heard good things about Babbel, but I haven’t used it myself and it is not free.

Make your travel photos into something memorable

Photos are invaluable especially when travelling, as they prompt memories, provide inspiration and make great additions to homes. However, there always seems to be so many of them! How on earth do you go about finding a permanent home for over 1000 photos (that’s how many I took in Canada)?! Why is photo printing so expensive?! What if I don’t have the time to put them all together?? Here are a few examples of what we have done / are striving to do with our travel photos:

Make a Scrap Book

Scrap books are a great way of letting your creativity show through. You can add ticket stubs of attractions you went to, plane tickets and lots of photos and text – whatever you want really! Pinterest is a great way to get some inspiration for your scrap booking, so go and have a look!

For our 2 year anniversary this April just gone, I decided that I wanted to give David a book. I guess it was a kind of photo album but I chose 1 photo of us per excursion along with the date and a little bit of text. The book also had blank pages after so we could add more photos of our adventures in the future.

Use a website to make a photobook

This isn’t something David and I have done yet for our travels, but it is definitely something we want to do. They look so sleek and professional, but they definitely don’t have to cost the earth. We will probably end up doing 1 per country as then we will know exactly where each set of photos is. I can’t wait to see them all lined up perfectly on a shelf in the future 🙂

I have used Printerpix before for a photo book (of my dog for my mum!) and the photos came out really well! And I think I paid like £12 for it which really isn’t too bad!

Pin them onto a map

This is something that David does, and I really like the idea of it. Basically he has a huge canvas of a map of the world mounted on his wall which is surrounded by cork tiles. Every time he goes somewhere new he puts a drawing pin in the map and pins up his favourite photo (normally a landscape) on the cork board. It looks really great actually, I just wish I’d thought of it!

Just look through them!

If you genuinely don’t have time to make photos into an album, just looking through them either yourself or with others is a great way to reminisce about the past in a positive way. This can be especially helpful if you are feeling a bit lonely as it can be a talking point to engage other people too.

Cook an exotic meal

Can’t go to X? Make it come to you instead! This was actually my mums idea that I’ve stolen (thanks mum), she made our living room into a Mexican-themed affair. Complete with cacti, sombreros and Mexican music, it was lovely way to spend the evening on my birthday and eat tacos when we couldn’t go out for a meal.

I have also seen the idea of a classical Italian candlelit dinner with lasagne or pizza to eat.

If you don’t want to go the whole hog with making the atmosphere of a certain place, why not try cooking one of their traditional dishes instead? Here are some ideas:

• Vietnam – Pho
• Japan – Sushi
• Morocco – Tagine
• Thailand – Pad Thai
• Spain – Paella

Go on a virtual cultural excursion

I think this is just brilliant – so many museums and other cultural places are offering free virtual tours during lockdown. Here are just some of the places I have found:

• Natural History Museum
• Langley Research Centre, NASA
• National Women’s History Museum
• Aquarium of the Pacific

Google has an Arts and Culture Collection which is the most comprehensive list of virtual cultural tours I have seen. So why not have a look?

Watch a webcam

Similar to the last point above, but live webcams can be a great way of feeling as though you are actually there. There are all sorts of webcams to try, from watching the sunrise on Carbis Bay in Cornwall to hearing the deafening crash of water tumbling over Niagara Falls. Again, here are just a few suggestions but a quick internet search will give you almost limitless possibilities!

• The Northern Lights
• Niagara Falls
• Yellowstone National Park
• African Safari
• Carbis Bay, Cornwall

Listen to a travel podcast

Podcasts in general have seen a huge rise in subscribers over the recent years. They are a great way of learning just about anything, and can be easily listened to on the move. There are so many different types of travel podcasts out there, but here are just a few I have come across:

• Armchair Explorer – “adventure storytelling set to music and cinematic effects. Each episode one of the world’s greatest adventurers tell their best story from the road. No long-winded interviews, just straight to the heart of the action”
• Zero to Travel – “packed with inspiration and advice for everyone from travel newbies to nomads”
• We Travel There – “helps you get the most out of your vacation by sharing insider tips and tricks from locals who know the city best”
• Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet – “features dramatic readings of one-star reviews written by people who just need to have their voice heard”

Camp in your living room / garden

Although UK tourism is starting to open up again with hotels and caravan parks allowed to open, you still can’t camp as shared toilet and washing facilities have to remain shut.

But some of us love camping as it is inexpensive and simple, so why not just do it at home?

Pitch up a tent either inside or outside. Find calming bird chirp sounds on YouTube such as this one. You could even find a beautiful landscape and pop it on a TV screen just outside your tent to pretend you’re somewhere far away from home.

In the evening you could light a BBQ, or even just a v=candle and roast some yummy marshmallows. Who can think of a more perfect evening than that?

Read travel blogs – like this one!

I may be a bit biased but reading travel blogs are the best way to get a proper insight into a place. There are also some pretty niche specialities, such as frugal; with a van; as a couple… or with this one you will get all 3!

Here’s a few of our pictures if you haven’t already seen them…

So that’s a small list of travel ideas during lock down. What have you been doing to keep the travel bug at bay? Please let us know in the comments / direct message us and we will update this post with your recommendations (giving you credit of course)!

Happy “travelling”!

Zoe and David x

Written by Zoe