Why Staycations Could Be The Best Reasons For A Log Cabin

A year on from the announcement of the first lockdown (March 23RD), the Coronavirus pandemic is still very much with us, something that is increasingly likely to impact on the summer ahead.

All this provides a good reason for Britons to invest in garden log cabins. Though spring has now sprung, any optimism about falling case numbers, vaccinations and the gradual unravelling of the third lockdown must be tempered with humility because of what is now known about the virus.

A year on from Boris Johnson saying the lockdown could “send this virus packing”, he was being flanked by chief medical officer Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, who both declared that the virus is very unlikely to be eradicated.

Mr Whitty correctly noted that smallpox is the only virus yet successfully eradicated through vaccination, and that over a very long time.

In the long run, this is likely to mean the focus will be on keeping numbers down to reasonably low levels across the world to help prevent more mutant strains arising. But for now a key issue is likely to be the threat of numbers soaring again through a third wave arriving from Europe and, as Mr Johnson put it, “washing up on our shores”.

With Britain likely to clamp down on entry and now set to fine anyone holidaying abroad £5,000, it seems holidaying in Britain will be the way of things in 2021. This likelihood is strengthened further by Britain’s huge lead over its neighbours in vaccinations, meaning the UK could open up as hoped this summer while Europe still struggles.

The idea of a staycation in a rustic, wooded log cabin appears popular, with the papers full of such suggestions. Whether it’s a shepherd’s hut in Yorkshire, a secluded treehouse or a remote log cabin in Argyll, the suggestions have been coming thick and fast. All offer a compelling combination of fresh air, greenery and a chance to shut out a world continually filled with the same bad news story.

All this is understandable as people want to get away from their homes and would welcome an escape from it all.  But if Covid really is here to stay for the long term, it may be that a cabin in one’s backyard could provide a more accessible and permanently available bolt-hole.

Among the fears are that the coming winter could see a new surge of the disease, perhaps driven by a new variant, while the fact that curbs on international travel and social distancing prevented any flu at all has been tipped by many to make the next flu season much worse due to reduced immunity.

In short, although the evidence of vaccines in both trials and the real world has been hugely encouraging, there will still be dangers and possibilities that holidays overseas could be restricted and, in some cases, impossible. Life at home may still not be plain sailing even with a population much better protected against the virus.

For all these reasons, having a place you can always escape to could be invaluable.