Summer hasn’t exactly been a washout. Realistically, however, it wasn’t the best it could have been either. Happily, autumn’s looking set to be a lot brighter than last year. The UK sport calendar is filling up nicely and spectators are welcome. That’s a recipe for a great day out. Here are four tips to help make it the perfect one.
Be prepared with food and drink
It’s always good to be prepared. That’s particularly true just now. Realistically, COVID19 restrictions are likely to be in place for a while yet. This could make it challenging to pick up food and drink on the go.
The best approach is to prepare food which keeps well. That way you’ll have the option to buy food on-site if you wish and keep your own for another time. If you want to support the event, you can always buy snacks and drinks on-site. There will probably also be other merchandise for sale.
Organize all your transport in advance
Even without COVID19, if you’re planning on travelling any distance by public transport, it’s a good idea to book in advance. Assuming COVID19 restrictions stay in place, it’s likely to be essential.
The good news is that transport companies and local authorities try to do maintenance and repair work in spring and summer. This means that in autumn and winter, you’re much less likely to experience delays and diversions due to planned engineering activities. As always, however, you should still check.
If you’re going by car, be prepared for any kind of weather. Even in autumn and winter, temperatures can get high. That said, cold weather is likely so be ready for it. Have emergency supplies divided between your glove compartment and your boot.
Plan your travel entertainment
It’s probably been a while since you’ve been on anything more than a short, local journey. Going further afield might be a really exciting prospect. All the same, it’s still a good idea to go prepared with some form of entertainment. You might have forgotten just how tedious a long journey can be unless you have something to see and/or do (preferably both).
If you’re relying on technology for your entertainment, then remember to think about batteries. You might want to take something more analogue as well, just in case. A pack of cards, travel games, a puzzle book, a colouring book or a regular book can all be stashed in a bag pretty easily. In fact, you could probably get them all into a bag pretty easily.
Layer up
Outdoor events will have in-built ventilation. Indoor events will probably be taking ventilation very seriously. That means indoor venues are probably going to have lower temperatures than they would have had before the pandemic.
You don’t have to dress like you’re going to the arctic, but you might want to put on thermals. You might also want to carry extra socks, gloves, a scarf and a hat. You might be surprised by how much heat these add. As a pro tip, if you can wear a warm gilet under a loose-fitting jacket, you’ll get lots of warmth in your core but still have plenty of freedom to move your arms.
