Now usually I’m more an international travel kind of girl, in the last couple of years I’ve cycled around the coast of Taiwan, hiked ancient Lycia and eaten enough Thai street food to feed a small village but after reading about the ‘great British staycation’ and the reasons for its growing popularity I've been thinking about how I haven’t really seen much of the UK and started asking myself if I’d been missing out.

It is not uncommon to head into winter knowing you’re going to miss summer. An awesome autumn long weekend could be exactly what you need to keep the bad-weather blues at bay.

They are teeny tiny, a pin prick size so much less dangerous and violating than the mosquito, but they pack a serious punch when it comes to enjoying the great outdoors.

The promise of adventure closer to home and the simplicity of a British holiday rather than all the inconveniences and stresses of air travel is usually what leads us to pack up the family estate, but with one major hurdle... the car journey to get there and back again.