UK and Europe have some splendid spots far from the madding crowd

It’s a grey, cold miserable day outside and I am reminded of London, UK, where that is the case more often than not – at least to someone used to the mild southern African climate.

Having been in and out of the British capital numerous times, for business and pleasure, for the past 12 years or so, I had always found that one could adapt to the damp and the chill – especially because like most European cities (sorry Brexiteers, it is one to me), there is an energy from the pressing crowds of people which seems to invigorate you.

These days – our own “Delta dawn” if you will – not so much. With the latest coronavirus variant being as infectious as it is, mask wearing and social distancing must be the order of the day. But, one of the best ways to reduce the risk – being in well-ventilated spaces – is not an option in places like London.

Ten years ago, visiting with my family, we were so crushed into a Tube train that only three of us managed to squeeze out at our stop … my son trapped aboard by the crowd. Fortunately, he used his
head, he hopped off at the next stop along and caught a train coming the opposite way, to find us waiting anxiously on the platform.

Looking at the images of near empty streets in London and other big cities and, knowing that the UK is about to open up again, I have one thought: Nope. Not for me.

The latest wave of Covid tearing through our country has meant we’ve been “cocooning” – said to be that state where you snuggle up at home, surrounded by your creature comforts and ignore the charms (or otherwise) of the outside world. But, of course, sooner or later, cabin fever will push you to travel again.

Will it be to the UK and Europe? Possibly, because it will eventually come to pass that those of us who
had the common sense to get vaccinated will be able to travel once again. I’d love to go to Europe – but it would, this time round, have to be far from the madding crowd.

Strangely enough, that is possible, in both the UK and Europe, where there are still surprisingly wild areas. And, if I was to go to Europe, still seeking to avoid people, there are a few places that would fit the soothing solitude bill. It’s all about timing and a little bit of local knowledge.

At the right time of the year – after the tourists have headed home around the end of October – the beaches of southern Spain are magical places. They are long, open, unpopulated … and the sea is still not that cold.

In central Europe, the best times to go are in spring/autumn, when the crowds have dwindled but when the frozen fingers of winter have not yet started to jab. I would hire a bicycle and pedal sedately down the bicycle paths alongside the Elbe, which runs through Dresden in Germany.

I would watch the 150-year-old paddle steamers moving steadily up or down river alongside us. I would possibly go on the biking equivalent of “slack packing”, where you pedal from village to village and your luggage precedes you to your overnight stay.

Another beautiful place is, surprisingly, northern Ireland. I know the southern stretches of the province well, because my father’s family hails from Enniskillen in Fermanagh. That is the site of one of the most scenic pieces of water in all Europe, to my mind – Lough Erne.. What it does have, in chunks, is space and solitude.

Even the Brits haven’t yet cottoned to the southern part of Northern Ireland and, of course, the Republic of Ireland is still the biggest tourist magneton the Emerald Isle. And, there will generally be enough of a breeze to disperse even the toughest virus variant.