Invitation to a stay-at-home playdate

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. Impossible? No. We've made memorable day trips to 108 countries - yay!! - without leaving the UK.  Just 88 more to visit. This post was made in Feb 2012 by Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about books and blogs). 


Just in case you are planning a summer holiday (or Easter break or May Day mini-break) I hope this blog post will inspire you to think about new ways of travelling the world without clocking up carbon miles on a plane. By staying in the UK you can get a taste of so many places in the world (thank you for being so multicultural Britain!). A very small happy result is that my 13 year old has now chosen to study geography at GCSE. 

How many countries has the aroundbritainnoplane blog visited without leaving the UK? 
A: 108

Quiz question - how many countries in the world? 
A: 196 (see www.geography.about.com)

How many countries in the UN?
A: 193(admission date 24 october 1945, fiji currently expelled)

How many countries  in the commonwealth?
A: There are more than 2 billion people living in 54 countries.


Below is the list of all the places this blog has taken you:

1.      afghanistan 2.      albania 3.      algeria 4.      america/usa5.      amsterdam 6.      antarctica 7.      arctic 8.      argentina 9.      Atlantis 10.  australia 11.  austria 12.  bangladesh 13.  belarus 14.  Belgium 15.  bosnia and herzegovina 16.  brazil 17.  burma 18.  canada 19.  caribbean 20.Chile21.china22.christmasisland 23.  croatia 24.  cyprus 25.  denmark 26.  DRC Congo 27.  easter island 28.  egypt 29.  england 30.  Ethiopia31.  fiji 32.  france 33.  French dom toms 34. galapagosislands35.  georgia 36.  germany 37.  ghana 38.  greece 39.  guianas 40.  gulf states 42.  holland 43.  hong kong 44.  iceland 45.  india 46.  iraq 47.  isle of man 48.  israel 49.  italy 50.  jamaica 51. japan52.  Kazakstan 53.  kenya 54.  kiribati 55.  korea 56.  la renunion 57.  lapland 58.  lebanon 59.  lesotho 60.  lithuania 61.  malaysia 62.  maldives 63.  mali 64.  martinique 65.  mexico 66.  montenegro 67.morocco 68.  namibia 69.  nepal 70.  new caledonia71.  new zealand 72.  northern ireland 73.  norway 74.  pakistan 75.  papua new guinea76.  philippines 77.  poland78.  portugal 79.  russia 80. samoa (oops no 81)  82.  saudi arabia 83.  scotland 84.  senegal 85.  serbia 86.  singapore 87.  slovenia 88.  solomon islands89.  somalia 90.  south africa 91.  spain 92.  st pierre et miquelon93.  sudan  94 sweden 95.  switzerland  96.  taiwan  97.  tanzania 98.  thailand 99.  tokelau 100.    tonga 101.     tuvalu 102.                      UAE 103.    uganda 104.   uk 105.      uzbekistan 106.    Wales 107.    wallisand fortuna 108.  zambia 109.  zimbabwe  (see above, no 81 so actally 108 countries!)


RESULT: A proper travel diary, but not a single air mile wasted on these journeys. 


Over to you
Saving air miles are not my first thought on these day outs - it's all about the pleasure of exploring home. Let me know where you've been, or where you think I could take my family to continue the adventure as there are still 88 countries to visit.