The John Griff Column: When staying at home might be the best way to go away

But do we have to go AWAY for any of that? Maybe not – or, at least, not always.

On Sunday of last weekend Lois and I took her parents and son to the Silverstone Museum to fulfil a Christmas present promise. The day might have been cold and damp but it didn’t matter because the venue itself was fantastic, providing a huge range of exhibits celebrating not only the endeavours of countless racers on the hallowed circuit, but also the place itself and its journey from being a home to monks through to the home of trainee bomber crews during WW2, and more. It was a surprise to realise that the space in which the museum is housed is also the last surviving and much renovated aircraft hangar from that chapter of Silverstone’s history. Outside the circuit and just across the Dadford Road, the multi-million pound Aston Martin F1 factory is almost complete. Cutting edge engineering is going on there, just as it is with some of the other business neighbours nearby – businesses which may have influence on all our lives in years to come.

The museum got me thinking – here was a top quality immersive attraction, sited at a world renowned venue. During the Grand Prix weekend in July, it will be inundated with temporary visitors drawing extra value from their brief visits to the county, perhaps camping in the adjacent sites and taking in an event in person which will have tens of millions of tv and online viewers spectating from around the world. The event is worth tens if not hundreds of millions of pounds to the local economy and exchequer (do the maths) as people make their way to Northamptonshire. Is it alone in its offer?

It isn’t. Geographically we sit at the centre of the country and accessible to all. Whilst it’s perhaps true to say that we could do with more hotels and places to stay (expert analysis bears that one out), there is no end to the attractions on offer to visitors, wherever they come from. The revenue visitors generate is vital to the local economy too. Be it heritage and history, live performance at a range of destination venues or simply wildlife and amenities to be found cheek by jowl with human settlements, there’s something for everyone here. Some attractions date back to before Roman times along the line of the Nene, or out into what is a notably rural county served, by fast road and rail. Truly, there isn’t a day in the year when you couldn’t find somewhere here to visit and something to do.

Is it a necessity to go to far flung destinations in search of relaxation when alternatives already exist on our doorsteps then? What could we achieve by staying here?

Amongst other items on a long list, might we not experience less stress from airport security, checking-in and border control - especially on the return journey into the UK? Less pressure in trying to pack a month’s items into a small bag so that they can be carried as hand baggage without penal cost? Less worry about delayed or cancelled train journeys? Less need to dodge the effects of climate change from freak weather conditions? Avoiding excessive exposure to the sun? Or a wasted winter holiday from there being too little snow unless it’s on the summit of the highest mountain? And we’ve not considered costs yet…

The old saying used to be that having the M1 & A14 running through the county gave residents a chance to get away from here. I’m not suggesting we should shun international travel – far from it. But it’s time to reframe the sentiment and proclaim that we are open for business right here from domestic tourism within as well as the rest of the world? Aren’t the M1 and A14 excellent ways to get INTO the county and what we truly have to offer?