Finally getting away ... to Lyme Regis in Dorset

Two cancelled overseas holidays since March (both booked pre-lockdown) and I was starting to think we’d never get away.

The first holiday would have taken me to Amsterdam on the new Eurostar direct service and the second to Iceland. It was especially disappointing about Iceland because, until just a couple of weeks before, we thought we could still go. Even when we heard you had to pay to be tested - not a problem. Then you had to quarantine for four to five days, that did make us wobble but then we found out that under quarantine you could go for one walk per day if you stayed away from other people and you could go for a drive so long as you didn’t go into any towns. So, we managed to convince ourselves that it would all be fine and that our main reason for going was to hunt for the Northern Lights and see the geysers, glaciers, mountains and landscapes. But … our flights were cancelled by the airline and our final hope disappeared. It was really disappointing and for the second time during lockdown I cried a tear or two. The first was one random day when something triggered me to think, we’ve got all this craziness going on and we’re not even going to be in Europe anymore. For a short while I felt lost and lonely! The harsh reality of not going to be able to go to Iceland was the second time. I wasn’t even crying for myself, that personal blow triggered something in me that released a wave of emotion thinking about everyone who’d lost their jobs in the airlines, the travel industry, hospitality and the arts.

Anyway, after a few days of letting it sink in, we booked to go to Lyme Regis. How glad I am that we did! It doesn’t matter where you go, that feeling of exploring somewhere new is always energising and exciting. At its most basic, you can feel it when you walk down a new street in your own area.

This photo was taken on a stormy. wet night at the Lyme Regis seaside which set off the twinkling lights on the pub nicely and created a warm atmosphere in the growing darkness.

Back home, and a few of our neighbours have already put up what I’m going to call “winter lights” on their balconies and it cheers me up to see them. I’m a sucker for the cheerfulness and beauty of bright lights so I might be following their lead soon!