It’s Easter already. I don’t about you but me and J are still a bit dishevelled and wintered here in the wilds of Wales. It’s been feeling like minus 2 degrees and we seem to get one clear day a week on average right now. But alas, we know that spring will arrive at some point and unlike many of us, this bank holiday weekend isn’t waiting on the weather. Up against it, we may be, but we’ll still end it with a story to tell.
When we think of bank holiday weekends, they’re often associated with the crowds, the media stories of traffic jams, airport queues and general queues for things we don’t even see. Basically, all of this queuing and disarray means that many of us think, no thanks, I’m staying in. That’s fine, of course, but after a few wild bank holiday weekends of our own (that didn’t involve queuing), we wanted to share three simple things that we do to get the most out of them.
1. A very different place.
I’ve already written about social anxiety and bank holidays, so I’ll keep this one short. Be it Easter, Whitsun or any other bank holiday weekend, it goes without saying that some places do become extremely crowded. After all, for those of us who have these extra days off it’s understandable that we would want to escape the confines of home and the everyday. We’re all looking for a different place to give that sense of escape. That’s why me and J often find that we need to venture a bit further both geographically and creatively.
It was during a bank holiday weekend a couple of years back that we came across an empty woodland. There was a car park, it wasn't the sort of location where you would need to hike off-track to find it but it was also during a heatwave, and inland rather than anywhere close to the coast. That place was special because it wasn't somewhere we had visited before, and we came across it when trying to find somewhere else. It was a very different place from what we had been looking for but it was beautiful. We sat in this spot for a good hour or so, completely undisturbed.
What I would say about this is to have a rough plan in mind of an area, and then go explore it. It’s amazing what you find when you go beyond Google and get out there, and most of the time these places are deserted even on bank holiday weekends.
Our own very different place that we’ve decided on for this weekend is definitely not a bank holiday attraction (we’ll share more if it works out)…
2. Don’t let the rain keep you indoors.
Ok, we all know that for most of us it’s still pouring down and the wind is roaring. Me and J are both developing an unhealthy obsession with our weather apps right now, searching for our window to get out and ride. The thing we’ve found is that when we become so focused on the weather, we end up becoming consumed by it. I kid you not, we recently spent an entire morning triangulating a specific clear weather area on J’s app, only to arrive to torrential rain. So what I am saying is, that staying safe in weather warnings is one thing, but don’t let the rain keep you closeted.
Obviously, quiet places become more available during bad weather, but we've always found that once we're drenched (and this happens to me every time), there is a sense of f*** it style relief. And for me and J at least, this is when we find that the real adventure begins.
This was during summer '21 in Scotland. We'd been to visit Loch Laggan, one of our favourite lochs, but we'd parked up in a lay-by some way away and hiked down the A86 to the entrance to the estate. As I was waiting for J to get back with the car, the skies opened and it was just a matter of getting drenched. Did it remove the enjoyment? Not one bit, that's why the memory remains so clear.
3. Someone else’s neighbourhood…
If you are spending your weekend away from home, be it with family or elsewhere, there is a lot to be found in the unknown. Someone else’s neighbourhood means that you have an entire landscape of new routes, ruins, fields, parks and woodlands right there waiting. A few weeks back, we had a family thing that we needed to go to one Sunday, but it was one of those days when the weather was settled and we needed to ride. So, we took our bikes to their house and rode out from there. Obviously, it depends upon who you are visiting in terms of how this will go down, but even if you need to borrow the family dog and feign a favour, there’s often a way to escape for a while when visiting people.
Another thing about being in an unfamiliar neighbourhood is not only what you will find, but also what you will be while out there. There is a lot of calm that comes from being a stranger and knowing nobody. It really allows you to see a place.
So, that’s it. No big challenges, or voyages to the other side of the world. Just three simple things that we do to get a bank holiday weekend that doesn’t involve being stuck in a queue or cooped up indoors. Those things are only one story around bank holiday weekends, but you know as well as we do that others exist out there. So, without further ado, Easter weekend, let’s go. It’s time to get out there, explore and find our own stories in this wild wilderness.
Whatever your plans for the weekend ahead, we hope it's a good one. To see what we get upto on our road trips and rides, hikes, and urbexes, head over to our YouTube channel and subscribe for updates (including what happened earlier this month in Scotland, coming very soon).