Childhood travel was the making of me

Do the places we visit and the holidays we take as a child influence the person we become? I’m convinced they do.

Even if you have very vague memories of your first weekend way from home or trip abroad you will have soaked it all up like a sponge.

I had some great travel experiences as a child. Here’s some of them and how I think they made me into the person I am today.

Being empathetic

My first experience of foreign travel was when I was two years old. My Dad was in the Royal Navy and got a two year draft to Hong Kong, which was still a British colony in those days. We were able to go with him and lived in a tower block overlooking Victoria Harbour.

Hong Kong (1982-85)

A weekend on Stoncutters Island, Hong Kong

I wish I could remember more about our time in Hong Kong but my parents have several albums full of amazing photos of the places we visited. I’m sure that living in a foreign country and being exposed to a mix of cultures so young has helped me to become a more empathetic person.

Appreciating family

When we returned from Hong Kong we went on the road to visit family in Kent and Yorkshire. The sights weren’t quite as dramatic as in the past two years but it was the people we shared our time with that were the main attraction. As I’ve grown up family has become one of the most important things in my life for many reasons. I can’t imagine going more than a few days without seeing, speaking to or emailing our parents.

On Broadstairs beach in Kent with my grandparents (1985)

A fan of the UK

We didn’t have bags of cash when I was growing up so foreign holidays were off the cards. Instead we spent our summers visiting a lot of different places around the UK.

‘Hovis hill’, Shaftesbury (1988)

There’s so much to see on our small collection of islands and at the ripe old age of thirty-odd I know I could spend the rest of my life finding new and interesting places without the need to hop on a plane. This makes me excited and sad all at the same time. I want to see it all!

A caravan lover

It’s no secret that I’m partial to a caravan holiday and I have my parents to blame for that. They started out with a trailer tent. I was apparently not more than a few weeks old when I went out for my first weekend away in it. Washing terry nappies with just a bucket and camping stove couldn’t have been much fun – well done mum!

Holidaying with cousins on the Isle of Wight (c1987)

A caravan with all it’s luxuries – a hot shower, solid roof and far fewer pegs – came along when I was eight. We spent hundreds of weekends and school holidays in our caravan, travelling the length and breadth of the country. I continued to drop in on my parents’ caravan weekends right up until I got my own with Mr Tin Box in 2012.

How did your childhood travels influence you?

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Maja @ Mumma Hack

Friday 20th of November 2015

Loved reading this. We're taking our 2yo for an extended o/s trip next year. It's going to be tough, but can't wait to instil the travel bug in him nice and early :) #coolmumclub

Talya - Motherhood: The Real Deal

Thursday 19th of November 2015

Lovely post hon - I was really lucky to have travelled a lot as a kid, and even though I may not have appreciated it at the time, I know it has left many of the above marks on me and appreciate it now. Great to have you in the #coolmumclub at last! Hope you'll be a permanent feature xx

Eat.Love.Live

This is such a lovely post. You have some wonderful childhood memories. We didn't do a huge variety of travel but once a year we would visit the same remote town about 5 hours drive from Melbourne Australia and I have such fond childhood memories. I can't wait to show my Baby Girl the world. I am taking her home to visit Australia over Christmas! x #coolmumclub

Claire Hall - Tin Box Traveller

Thursday 9th of July 2015

That sounds so like my own childhood. How wonderful x

Thank you x