If you’ve been planning a honeymoon in the UK, especially in London or in any of our other big cities, then the events of the past week may well have rather discouraged you. In fact, if you’ve paid much attention to a lot of the media reports, you may be under the impression that huge groups of lawless young people are lurking around every corner, ready to lay waste to entire cities and loot the contents of every single shop they set eyes on.
Now, I’m not condoning the riots and looting that have taken place – far from it; I’ve been horrified watching the events unfold, especially knowing how many people’s lives have been negatively affected. But in terms of tourism and visiting London, or elsewhere in the UK, it’s important to retain a sense of perspective about what has taken place.
I work right in the thick of central London – aside from a few quieter than usual tube journeys, and the sound of a few more sirens (though let’s face it, in central London there’s always a lot of sirens), I haven’t seen any evidence of the riots. The streets have still been as crowded with tourists as on any other week in the height of summer, the tube has been just as hot and unpleasant as always, and, if it wasn’t for the news in the papers and on the TV and internet, you’d think it was any other week.
It’s important to remember, if you’re thinking of honeymooning in London, that it’s just like any other city. There are places that you probably will want to stay clear of, but there’s little reason why you’d head to them anyway as they have little to interest tourists; the riots hasn’t changed this in any way, apart from perhaps making it a little more obvious. London is a huge city – vast swathes of it were unaffected by the riots, aside perhaps for a few shops being cautious and closing a little earlier than usual. Certainly, where I live, if you hadn’t had access to the news for the past week, you certainly wouldn’t have realised that anything like this was happening.
So, if you’re thinking of honeymooning in London – or in Manchester, or Birmingham, or Bristol, or anywhere else in the UK – don’t be put off. The UK makes a fabulous honeymoon destination, and has so much to offer tourists, despite everything that you may have read or seen over the last week.
Photo by Alvaro
