I know I’m late to this party, but the 12 trip challenge is such an awesome idea and I’m so excited about getting on board.
Claire from Need Another Holiday came up with the idea back in 2013 to motivate herself, and to inspire others to travel more by viewing travel differently (it doesn’t always have to be about jetting off to the other side of the world). The idea is to take one trip each month over the course of a year. A trip can be anything from a holiday or adventure abroad to a day trip to a local park, as well as everything and anything in between.
The 12 Trip Challenge is such a simple and utterly amazing concept, and the best bit is that anyone can do it.
Where will the 12 trip challenge take me in 2017?
I’m backdating the challenge to the beginning of the year. Here goes…
January – weekend in London.
In January, I spent a weekend visiting a friend in London. I love London. I flew to London from Scotland straight after work on the Friday evening and spent a few hours catching up with my friend in the cozy Drayton Court bar in West Ealing.
Saturday was a beautiful, sunny (but bitterly cold) day. We had coffee in Cafe Zee, before spending the next few hours meandering through Walpole Park and Ealing Common, ending our day with a quick visit to Ealing Broadway Shopping Mall, where i bought a hot water bottle. But that’s another story for another day.
On the Sunday it rained. So after spending a couple of hours researching things to do on a rainy day in London, we settled on The London Bridge Experience, The Clink Prison Museum and a leisurely, if wet, stroll along the South Bank from The London Eye, to Tower Bridge and back again.
A rainy day at Tower Bridge, London
February – Meikle Bin
In February, 7 years after climbing my first (and only) Munro, I decided I would give mountain climbing another go. Sort of.
My lovely friend Lucille and I spent an afternoon hiking Meikle Bin in Kilsyth, Scotland. With a summit 570 metres high, Meikle Bin is, to my absolute delight, designated as a Marilyn, because its not high enough to be designated as a Munro. It was definitely more of a hill walk than a mountain climb but that worked just fine for me.
March – Rouken Glen Park
Given that I’m knee deep in planning a 3 week interrailing trip through Central Europe and I had a wedding and 2 birthday parties already in the diary in March, my trip in March was always going to be short and local. Cue a spontaneous day trip to Rouken Glen Park in East Renfrewshire, on a rare sunny and surprisingly warm spring day in Scotland.
Rouken Glen Park
April – Central Europe
Did I mention I’m going interrailing through Central Europe in April and May? I’m starting my trip in Denmark and ending in Croatia, and I’m super excited. In April, I’ll take in Denmark, Germany and Czech Republic.
May – Central Europe
As part of my interrailing adventure I’ll be travelling through at least 6 countries. In May I’ll be in Austria, Hungary and Croatia. I might even manage a quick visit to Slovakia and/or Slovenia if I’m lucky.
Dubrovnik, Croatia
June -Who knows?
June’s my birthday month, so it would be rude not to go somewhere new and exciting to celebrate. It’s likely I won’t be venturing too far from home, but where exactly is, as yet, a mystery.
July – Amsterdam. Maybe.
It takes around 1.5 hours to fly from Glasgow to Amsterdam and there are plenty of budget airlines that offer great deals. So why have I never been?
August – London
I have tickets to see Bros at London’s O2 Arena in August. Please don’t judge.
Matt Goss (from Bros) and moi at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
September – Italy
I’m in the very early stages of planning (in my head) a road/train trip from Northern Italy to Sicily. I’m already fantasizing about driving an open-top rented car along Italy’s rugged coastline. Nothing’s set in stone yet but watch this space.
October / November / December
At the moment, I have no idea where I’ll go or what I’ll do in October, November or December, but at some point this year I hope to visit Ireland, Poland and Portugal. And if time (and bank balance) allows I’d also love to squeeze in another cheeky trip to New York and/or Iceland.
Ambitious? Maybe a little.
So, will you join me, and take the 12 Trip Challenge?
Check out Claire’s monthly link up on Need Another Holiday on the last Monday of every month or tag #Take12Trips on all your social media pages, to get involved.
I’ve never been to most of the places I’m planning on visiting this year, so please be sure to let me know if you have any hints, tips or recommendations.