Spontaneity in summer

During the summer, flight and hotel companies bump up their prices because of the expected surge in demand for holidays abroad. Whilst some families can afford these rare luxuries, many families, and students alike cannot. But fear not, there are things that can be done at a fraction of the price of a flight to the Big Apple.

From arts to sport, theatre and music, Brits are spoilt for choice. Here’s a list of casual spontaneous days out that you can arrange with friends at very short notice:

British Summer Time: Hyde Park is hosting events and festivals all throughout summer, from performances by Bruno Mars, to free cinema screenings of Grease, Matilda and The Greatest Showman to name but a few

Theme Parks: for those of you seeking a cheap day of thrills, visit one of the many theme parks dotted around the country:  Thorpe Park, Alton Towers, Drayton Manner, Gulliver’s Land and Chessington World of Adventures

Water activities: Whilst water sports might be off the cards because of our cold seas, why not be as close as you can to our waters, hire a boat or a pedalo, go rowing, paddling, or even kayaking

Scenic: We have some of the most stunning landscapes in the world, it’s free to walk along our sandy beaches, go hiking in the highlands or even mountain-climbing in Scotland

Desperate for a holiday: if you really want to go abroad, there are cheap ways you can do it…go via a coach, whilst slow and tedious, you can be in Paris for under £25 in some cases, take a ferry, the Eurostar or have a look at some last minute budget flight deals – there’s always something out there, as long as you’re flexible enough

Summer Bucket-list activities: learn a new hobby, go camping, watch the sunrise over a breakfast picnic, go bowling, watch a new movie release, host a BBQ, play some mini-golf, tour a city you’ve never been to

Days out: have a relaxing spa day, go zip-lining at a GoApe site, go on a cruise, visit a famous place like Cadbury World or Bletchley Park, visit one of our many museums like the Natural History Museum, or the Science Museum, go to a zoo or a safari park or even go and see a live football match

The bottom line is, you don’t necessarily need to jet off on a holiday abroad and blow hundreds of pounds for a few days of fun in order to enjoy your summer. You can have an unbelievable amount of fun here in the UK. With the weather that we’ve had over the last few weeks, just sitting in the garden, lemonade in one hand, a book in the other, music on in the background whilst catching a tan is a perfect way to enjoy yourself. If you need more of a thrill, try some of the activities I’ve mentioned above. We can still be spontaneous and enjoy ourselves whilst not needing to break into that perilous student overdraft.