Four Weeks In Lockdown

Laura Brookes - 26 Jan 21

It’s a funny old time, as the days have no context, and the weeks pass in a warped blur.

Without question for me this past month has been the hardest part of this experience so far; the sadness of so many lost and still sick, the pressures of home schooling, the ache of missing loved ones and ‘normal-life’, the short days, and uncertainty of the Covid-hangover (from what has been a frankly terrible party).

HOWEVER, this article isn’t going to dwell on the crap…

As Florence says, It’s always darkest before the dawn, and we have so much to look forward to…

The day job for us is promoting events and activities for families to enjoy in their local area. For nearly a year now, that role has been a little obsolete, and instead we’ve been finding and sharing other ways that families can enjoy their time together, within whatever (ever-changing) circumstances we have found ourselves in.

In the hope that it might give others some ideas in this final furlong, here’s a breakdown of some suggestions for navigating four weeks in lockdown.

4 Weeks in Lockdown

Lockdown Week One:

Indoors: Every day, twice a day join Wild Earth as they take you on a 3-hour sunrise and sunset live safari. The safari guides are brilliantly informative, and they pay regular visits to wildlife so over time you get to follow the story of the animals’ lives as they unfold on the reserves. Watch live or catch up via the Wild Earth YouTube Channel.

Outdoors: If you’re looking to try a new route for your daily exercise, check your local My Town Rocks website (details below) or Discover Britain to find some new inspiration for walks near you. At My Town Rocks, we look to include important detail such as parking and pushchair access so you know what to expect before you arrive.

Lockdown Week Two:

Indoors: Get cosy and check out Gary Barlow’s Crooner Sessions to watch him duet with familiar faces on some classic songs. Enjoy the home-made brilliance of this and some cracking performances, streaming on Gary’s Facebook page and YouTube three times a week.

Outdoors: Spice up your walks with a Treasure Trail and learn some interesting facts about your town. Treasure Trail maps are available for towns and cities across the UK. Otherwise simply take a wander around the local area get Googling the history. You could be surprised.

Lockdown Week Three:

Indoors: Find live classes, museum tours, online escape rooms, wildlife webcams, art workshops and lots more on My House Rocks, a website built to help families find resources, classes and fun things to do at home.

Outdoors: Get set for a stunning home made garden display by planting some timely bulbs before spring. Lilies, liatris and summer hyacinth can all be planted in February, find out how on Gardeners World.

Veg-wise, if you’re keen to live the self-sufficient life come autumn visit RHS for tips.

Lockdown Week Four:

Indoors: Fancy something a little different for tea? Hit the kitchen, check the cupboards and visit the recipe generators on Tesco and Supercook.com. Both have great tools that let you specify what you’ve got, and then suggest some recipes to try. Not a banana bread in sight (unless you have bananas, flour and eggs of course!).

Outdoors: You don’t need to go far to find something wonderful. Get exploring the garden or neighbourhood armed with some tools and factsheets. Try the Great Garden Bug Hunt, complete a Wildlife Survey, or maybe collect a Scout badge or two from home!

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Hopefully there’s one or two things here to help with ideas these lockdown weeks.

Just keep swimming ♡

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My Town Rocks is a network of family what’s on guides for towns and cities in the UK.

You can visit Cheltenham Rocks, Cirencester Rocks, The Mendips Rocks, Guildford Rocks, Coventry Rocks, Farnham Rocks, Gloucester Rocks, Lincoln Rocks or the Isle of Wight Rocks to find great things to do with the family both indoors and out.

If your town isn’t represented already and you’d like to talk about launching a My Town Rocks site in your area, get in touch.

Laura Brookes

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