Getting The Most Out Of A Staycation

I've spoken before about how I love a good staycation (who doesn't really?) and since I haven't had a passport for a little while, I've tried to explore more of the UK in the past year. Last week Ashton and I took ourselves away for the night to the dreamiest hotel in the cute village of Haworth in West Yorkshire and it was the perfect relaxing little break. While I was editing the pictures for this post I got thinking about the reasons why it was so perfect and thought I'd collate them all here so hopefully you can find yourself an equally idyllic staycation (and I can refer back to them for my next one, which will hopefully be very soon...recommendations?)

S T A Y  C L O S E  T O  H O M E  |  The worst thing about any holiday is the travelling (unless for some odd reason you actually prefer being in a car to being in a hotel - whatever floats your boat) and although it's nice to travel somewhere far away and unknown, it's a lot less stressful to stay somewhere a little closer to home (extra points if I can find a massage spa near me!) Haworth was only a 90 minute drive from Hull so it was far away enough to feel like somewhere fresh and new, but close enough that we didn't feel tired or bored from travelling. Less travelling also means more time to spend in the actual place, which is ideal when you've only got one or two nights there.

G E T  A  G R O U P O N  |  I love a good Groupon; you can get some amazing deals on there so if you think you can't afford to go away anywhere nice definitely take a look because you just might be able to. We bought a Groupon for Haworth and it means that you get to stay somewhere nice and fancy (and well equipped for some blogger-esque photos) while not breaking the bank. We stayed at the Ashmount Country House, which was absolutely gorgeous and it felt like a real treat. We had a feature bath room with stunning views across the Yorkshire countryside, we had a comfy bed for eating pizza on and we had the tastiest breakfast in the morning.

D O N ' T  P L A N  T O O  M U C H  |  I'm the type of person who usually has a jam packed itinerary for every holiday; generally I want to see and do as much as possible to make the best use of  the time I have. The perks of going somewhere close though is that there isn't any pressure. So we didn't make it to the Bronte Museum? We can always go back another time. We actually didn't plan anything for our time in Haworth apart from exploring, eating and taking pictures and it meant that the whole break was super relaxing. There were no time constraints, meaning we could spend as much or as little time doing, well, whatever we fancied.  There's something oddly calming about wandering around a place because you want to rather than because you planned to.

S P E N D  S O M E  T I M E  I N  Y O U R  H O T E L  |  If you've booked a nice hotel, make use of it! Again, this isn't something I ever really do when I'm on a proper holiday because I want to be out and about making the most of being there, but staycations are made to be relaxing so some time chilling out in the hotel room with the telly and pizza (how many times do you think I can mention that we got pizza?) is much appreciated. 

J U S T  W A N D E R  |   As we didn't have anything planned, this is exactly what we did for the duration of our stay. On our first day we wandered the cobbles of the main street then pottered down to the train station (and Spar to get cash out for fish and chips, obvs) then, after trekking all the way back up the hill, spent some time appreciating how flat Hull is. On our second day we went round the park and then up past the Bronte Museum into the countryside. Luckily, the weather was beautiful for our time there so we were able to just walk and soak up the sunshine. I love wandering around unfamiliar locations with no purpose; I find I stumble across sights and places I otherwise might not.

T A K E  P I C T U R E S  |  Sometime it is nice to put the camera down and just enjoy the moment, soak up the view and savour some time of calm. But sometimes I also find picking up my camera and taking pictures therapeutic. It's on holidays and staycations that I enjoy taking photos the most; I think because I just point and shoot at random views and objects rather than painstakingly trying to plan the perfect photo and then getting frustrated at 'not getting the right shot'. At the time of going I hadn't decided whether I was going to write a post about Haworth or not so I took these photos with absolutely zero pressure on myself and thoroughly enjoyed it. Lesson learnt = take photos even when they're not for Instagram, you'll enjoy it more.

What are your top tips for a staycation? Have you ever been to Haworth?

Amy x