Not every backpacker travels the world full time. Sometimes travellers are caught in between gap years or career breaks, and spend time at home either to work, study or simply just save up some money for their next adventure. The problem is how to deal with the inevitable wanderlust that hits you between trips, how to cure the withdrawal symptoms of itchy feet and cabin fever. The answer is closer to home than you think.
I am not a full time nomad. Unlike some people who follow their dreams and travel full time, I take the middle way and travel for around half of the year, and spend the other half working on my career as a nurse. These aren’t always in consecutive blocks, sometimes I take a month off, sometimes, six or even longer. Sometimes I simply take a weekend break abroad in between my normal shift patterns. I have of course taken full gap years and travelled for long, indefinite periods in the past and as this site increasingly becomes a profitable business I imagine I will do again at some point in the future. For now however the way I fit my life around travel and not the other way around allows me to not only travel as much as I want when I want, but also have a great, fulfilling career and home life too. I have the best of all worlds!
The problem is when I am at home I do get insane cabin fever sometimes. If I am at home for too long I genuinely get a physical need to just get away somewhere and travel. It’s almost like a physical addiction in many ways. I won’t lie, it is not easy to resist.
How To Deal With Travel Fear Of Missing Out?
Planning For Your Next Trip.
One thing that does ease the symptoms is planning for my next trip. Reading travel blogs and destination guides and looking at pictures on social media of places I want to visit, all of this helps to inspire me and – for a short time at least – satiate my itchy feet. Knowing I will be on the road again before long helps me deal with the times I am not.
But This Is Only A Short Term Solution.
The most helpful solution I have found is to travel locally. Visit places in my own country that I have never seen before and always wanted to, or simply go to another city for a city break and just enjoy it as a tourist would.
The United Kingdom is a fantastic place and there are plenty of very good reasons tourists from around the world are visiting here in record numbers.
So why not take advantage of the resources on your own doorstep? I love the fact that I can explore the UK’s cultural heritage with the plethora of castles, cathedrals, museums and historical sites right on my own doorstep. The history and heritage of the UK spreads right back to the neolithic period, and has so many fascinating stories to delve into and explore.
Take A Staycation.
The UK is a stunning destination and there are guaranteed to be some of the worlds most stunning countryside views all within a short distance of wherever you happen to be, and surprisingly to some people some amazing award winning beaches and some dramatic and awe inspiring coastlines. I can even enjoy great shopping, world class gourmet restaurants, fantastic shows and attractions in some of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world!
As I said, there is a lot to see and do in the UK, and it makes a lot of financial sense to sate your wanderlust by exploring your own back yard. You don’t even have to go very far, try and look at your own home town or city with the eyes of a tourist, see the attractions that you have always overlooked or not taken much notice of in a new way! It is shocking how much more you can appreciate the area you live when you do this!
Just Hop On A Train!
If you do decide to visit a little further afield, the UK has a great public transport system that means that there isn’t anywhere you can’t get to within a day. Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that the public transport system has a lot of problems, it is aged, run down and often extortionately expensive, but the fact that you can live anywhere in the country and decide to visit London, Edinburgh, Swansea or Newcastle on a whim and be out exploring them the same day is fantastic.
If you want to avoid the trains, which is completely understandable, then cheap budget flights will get you anywhere you want very quickly, and if you are time rich but cash poor then the cheap but slow long distance coaches such as National Express are great options too.
So if you have the urge to go travelling or backpacking but don’t quite have the time or the money to do so at the moment, or you are in between big trips and just need to take the edge of your eternal wanderlust before you set off on your next big adventure, then exploring the sights and attractions of your local area may be just the answer you are looking for.
Remember, tourists from all over the world are taking long haul flights just to see the sights that are only a short distance away for you! So go and se the glorious United Kingdom through a tourists eyes.
Did you enjoy this article? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below or on my Facebook or Twitter pages and please feel free to share it with any or all of the social media buttons. If you want to get more great backpacking tips, advice and inspiration, please subscribe to updates via email in the box to your right.
Related Articles.
40 Of The Best Days Out In The UK.
15 Awesome Things To See And Do On A Newcastle Upon Tyne Staycation.
A 48 Hour City Break In Manchester, England.
Fall In Love With Liverpool On A 48 Hour City Break.
Is Backpacking Just About Travelling The World?
Study, Work, Career And Gap Years, The Middle Way.
The Best UK Staycation Ideas For An Ideal Summer Break.
Why You Should Make Shropshire Your Next Staycation Destination.
Michael Huxley is a published author, professional adventurer and founder of the travel website, Bemused Backpacker. He has spent the last twenty years travelling to over 100 countries on almost every continent, slowly building Bemused Backpacker into a successful business after leaving a former career in emergency nursing and travel medicine, and continues to travel the world on numerous adventures every year.
Bemused Backpacker 
Yes! Totally agree with this! It is all about your mindset I think, travel is more than just going abroad.
Absolutely, travel is travel, regardless of where you are. 🙂 Thanks for commenting.
The problem I find with traveling through England (and Wales, Scotland and Ireland too) are the extortionate costs of the public transport! Buses and Trains in particular. It is a real barrier to a lot of people.
I don’t disagree. The prices (and the taxes you pay on them) really are punitive. I have said for a long time that if the government wanted to promote UK tourism they would get a handle on the prices. But they are what they are for now, and there are ways to budget well and get good deals which can make it affordable for anyone to travel anywhere in the UK. Book online and in advance if possible for example, sign up for email alerts for flash sales and deals, it really can be done. Don’t let the prices stop you from exploring some of the worlds best tourist spots!
What a great article! I’ve never really thought of just heading to a new city near me and viewing it as a tourist, in fact the amount of times I’ve travelled the UK with blinkers on and not really seen what is around me, but you’ve really made me think twice about it! Come to think about it, I’ve always dreamed of seeing Stonehenge!
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Well, Stonehenge is just a train ride away! ;D What’s stopping you? Take a long weekend and go! Tick it off your bucket list!
This is so true! We’ve lived in London for 5 years and never really appreciated all it had to offer, until we went away to Asia for a few months. Since coming back we are not only discovering so many new and exciting places in London, but also in the UK. It’s funny how one can spend so much time and money going to all these far flung destinations, but yet neglect what their own country has to offer. Not to mention how much more sustainable it is to visit places just a train or bus ride away, but that’s for another discussion!
Totally agree Fabio, it is so easy to do that! I did it myself for my whole life before I started travelling! ;D Thanks for commenting.
I really loved reading this and I totally agree! I had my gap year last year and am now settled in a job, but I have been getting more and more wanderlust lately and I think you are so right, a short UK break may help me with that until I can take another sabbatical! I have always wanted to see London, which is quite shocking when I think it is only a couple of hours away by train! Time to book a long weekend I think!
Haha, I know exactly what you mean, it is shocking how much of my own country I hadn’t explored until the last few years too. I’m glad I’ve inspired you to hop on a train and tick an item off your bucket list! Hope you have a great time in London!
Hi there! Great post.
Thank you. 🙂
I live in New Zealand and think it’s a shame train travel has become an expensive tourist exercise to see the scenery rather than being an accessible mode of transport to get from place to place. Would decrease the amount of traffic on our roads as well.
I agree. It is a huge shame and short sighted too in the long run.