Days Out Alone

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Singles holidays and holidaying alone within a larger group, with one or two companions or completely on your own is one thing. These are discussed on the pages shown in the links box below. Having days out on your own is another.

In one way it's much easier because the level of planning is so much less - you just do it, almost. All you have to do is decide where to go; there is no great planning and prior work involved. On the other hand, always going out on your own can be seen as too much effort (rather like cooking for yourself) and so people can get out of the habit of enjoying themselves on their own; that's a shame.

The places you can go to and the things you can see are no different to those that other people will go to together. However, if you go alone, you can be confident that there will be lots of other people who are also visiting your chosen location on their own, too. You will not be different or odd; on the contrary, you will be just one of many who has chosen to go alone.

There are many, many things that you can do on your own to have good days out. Almost by definition, we're talking about local things but, on the other hand, modern travel enables us to get quite a long way in a day (traffic jams notwithstanding) so, depending on where you live, here are some thoughts to get you out and about for the day:

• If you have a hobby or interest, join the organisation that oversees it. Almost certainly it will organise days out and so on where you will meet like-minded people
• Visit museums and art galleries
• Spend some time in your local court to see how the justice system works
• Join a local sports club - as a social member if you don't actually play
• Go on a city walk near you
• Join the University of the Third Age
• Do a part-time university course: look at the web site of your local University
• Go walking in the local parks or countryside; we always tend to ignore what's on top of us. You might meet new people if you join the Ramblers Association or go on a Walk The Way to Health Initiative walk.
• Go to a local zoo or safari park
• Go to an 'attraction' - Alton Towers, Thorpe Park etc
• Have a day by the seaside
• Visit a nearby cathedral
• Go to a day-time concert - particularly outdoors in the summer
• Do some voluntary work
• Join the National Trust, English Heritage, RSPB, or RHS. Or just visit their locations on a 'pay-as-you-go basis
• Explore the history of your local area

You can get lots more ideas for days out from your local council web site, from www.direct.gov.co.uk, from the web sites of the British Tourist Authority or the English, Scottish and Welsh Tourist Boards.

Clearly, there are lots more things you can do to enjoy your days out if you are going alone. Some of the ideas above are very obvious and you will have thought of them yourself, but they are designed to get you thinking about the possibilities so you can come up with some thoughts of your own.