Would you believe it, all of a sudden I have ‘travel plans’. I’ve had the odd holidays and trips before, of course, and with family living abroad there’s always been a sense of adventure in just going home. But now I’m working freelance and have better flexibility with travel. No more holiday allowances, and no more of the ball-and-chain costs of London.

So, what’s on the cards?

September 

Devon 

September is going to be quite a busy month: my family are moving back to the UK after six years in France (for how long, no-one knows, least of all them. I’ve already heard talk of Greece in the near future), and I will be moving with them.

They’re moving to Devon, a county famous for its cider, its natural beauty and Dartmoor. I can’t wait to do some exploring in Devon: I fancy an adventure across Dartmoor, a few trips to Bristol, a chance to discover the gorgeous seaside (I’m looking at you, Dawlish), and a definite trip over the county border into Cornwall.

London 

I’ll also be making a few trips to London in late August and September to see friends and old colleagues. It’s my birthday in late August so I might gatecrash the city for some celebrations. Perhaps spend a night on a roof top bar, which I did at the start of summer for my leaving party. 

Prague 

In the middle of September, I’ll be off to Prague! I’m so excited for a long weekend in this beautiful city; it’s been one of those places on my radar for a while. The trip will be a late birthday celebration for my Mum and I. Our birthdays are within a week of each other and yet we’ve never really celebrated together, so this will be an excuse to take a cheap city break, drink some Czech wine and do some sightseeing.

Suffolk

I’ll also be taking a trip to beautiful Suffolk for a friend’s birthday at the end of September. Her parents own the most gorgeous Tudor mansion that they have turned into a B&B. With my friend’s parents away and no B&B guests for the weekend, a big group of us are descending to celebrate her birthday. From past experiences, I am counting on a lot of gin and tonics, some walks in the countryside, and dallying around with a croquet set.

October 

Copenhagen 

I am hugely excited about this! This will be my very first experience of solo travel, and I couldn’t be more thrilled that it’s in the beautiful Danish capital. I’ve been wanting to visit for years, so it’s fitting that this will be my first taste of travelling alone.

I’m staying in a beautiful Airbnb room for six days and five nights very close to the centre. Although it was a bit more expensive than those further out, I worked out the transportation costs and realised that being closer was just more economical. I’ll be writing a blog post soon on what I plan to be doing in Copenhagen, but safe to say there will be a lot of drinking warm drinks in cosy cafes, and a day trip (or two).

This will be my second Airbnb experience within a month (first being Prague) so will be interesting to see how I feel about the whole enterprise by the end of it!

Beyond 

Let’s face it, all of this travel is going to cost me money, especially Copenhagen which is notorious for being dear. So once I get past October my rather busy travel schedule may dry up.

However, I’m only a train ride away from London, and with my best friends living there I doubt I can stay away for long, especially as it gets towards Christmas. It’ll also be a chance to catch up with family in the UK, and having a few big family get-togethers after my parents and sisters have been away for so long will be wonderful.

But I think that once I start getting more freelance work under my belt, my mind will turn to saving for travel once again.

At first I thought of some winter sun, but that’s hard to get even in the southern most tip of Europe in January/February time. So why not embrace the cold? I have been longing to go to Iceland since I saw the impossibly-spelt city of Reykjavik on a map at school.

If I can’t scrape together enough for that, I might explore a bit more of what the UK has to offer. Maybe a trip to Skye and the Shetlands, or to the Republic of Ireland. 

What travel plans do you have for the next few months?

Anyone got any tips of any of the places mentioned above? I’d especially love to hear about Copenhagen!