EXCLUSIVE: Not wanting to risk the blazing temperatures of Sardinia, a heatwave fatigued mum wapped her dreamy Italian holiday for a milder ‘coolcation’, and has no regrets
Monica Krenner chose a ‘coolcation’ over a dreamy Italian getaway(Image: Monica Krenner)
A mum of one has shared how she swapped Mediterranean sun for a ‘coolcation’ and why she’ll do it all over again next year.
Monica Krenner and her husband, Peter, were on the brink of booking flights to Sardinia, Italy, on what was to be their young son Lewis’s very first holiday.
However, as the blistering heat took hold, the concerned parents didn’t fancy braving the 39-degree scorcher with a three-year-old, and so had a last-minute change of heart. The fatigue of parenting during the relentless London heatwaves this summer meant she couldn’t face more sweltering temps abroad.
Monica, 57, tells the Mirror: “It was the best decision we made.” Instead of dashing to the airport, the family made the five-and-a-half-hour journey from London to St Ives, Cornwall, back in June, where the relatively mild temperatures of between 16 and 24 degrees felt much more appealing.
Explaining how she came to the decision, nutritionist Monica says that after speaking with a few friends, as well as some clients from Sardinia, she began to worry about just how hot the famously beautiful Italian island would get.
“After talking with a lot of people, searching all the weather apps, I then said, ‘I cannot imagine going there, because then we have to be indoors the whole day, because it will be too hot to go outside’.
“And for the little one, the skin is very sensitive still. He’s also not an amazing sleeper yet. Then I thought, ‘Oh my God, if it’s then hot on top because the weather, and he’s not sleeping great, I’m already tired when I’m getting there, it won’t be better when we stay somewhere where it’s too hot this summer’.”
Once in Cornwall, Monica, Peter and Lewis were able to sleep comfortably at night after spending their waking hours walking in the fresh air and exploring the breathtaking Cornish coastline.
It was little Lewis’s very first time at the beach, and although Monica joked that “the seagulls didn’t make it easy”, it proved to be a very special, memorable trip.
Monica, who is originally from Vienna, Austria, says: “It was just relaxed, and in the evening, there was a nice breeze in your face. It felt like you could really breathe properly.
“We had a few drizzles, but even that was perfect. We had a very nice spacious room, so even if we didn’t want to rush out, we could stay inside and have the windows open looking at the ocean. It was just lovely.”
Monica says that the trip “completely changed” how the family now consider their summer holidays. Going forward, they’re far more interested in exploring a different options, “rather than chasing guaranteed sunshine.”
Next year, the family intend to head off on another ‘coolcation’, and they are already planning their adventures. Currently, Monica and Peter are eyeing up trips to the coast of Denmark or Sweden, while bonny Scotland is also a top contender.
And the couple aren’t the only ones looking for a crisp getaway. During the late June heatwave, Brits searches for cool-weather city breaks surged by as much as 33 percent compared to the previous week, according to online agent Opodo. Stockholm, Geneva and Gothenburg were the most coveted spots – world’s away from sunny Spain or Italy.
With four heatwaves in the UK already this summer, many holidaymakers are longing for gentle breezes rather than piercing sunbeams. So could it be that ‘coolcations’ are the new luxury in our climate change age?
Ahead of the fast-approaching August Bank Holiday weekend, Airbnb has revealed that a number of UK destinations are seeing a surge in interest this summer, with bookings in Scarborough up by 30 per cent.
Picturesque Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland, which has seen bookings soar by 29 per cent, has emerged as one of this year’s top ‘coolcation’ destinations, offering refreshing sea breezes and shady forest walks.
As for Monica, she’s noticed this trend within her own social circles and reckons it makes perfect sense, especially for parents of young children looking for an easier trip.
She explains: “People are looking for some cooler areas where they can breathe and enjoy being outside, not to cover up with 10,000 creams, and also with the little ones, not to cause them any sunburn.”
The term sunny escape has taken on a whole different meaning in recent times. Awaze, the European holiday rental brand behind cottages.com and Hoseasons, found that searches for “escape the heat” rose by 300 per cent over the last three months alone. Online searches for ‘coolcations’, they say, were up by 420 per cent.
Matthew Price, Awaze’s chief executive, notes that rising temperatures are “creating a new category of holidays”, adding that they are “increasingly seeing holidaymakers look further afield to destinations known for their cooler climate, such as Scotland, Yorkshire and the northwest of England”.
Heti Morus, Marketing Executive at StayCotswold has also picked up on this trend, telling the Mirror: “It’s no wonder ‘coolcations’ are growing in popularity here in the UK. I recently flew back from Bordeaux and saw the wildfires firsthand from the air.
“It just showed how quickly these situations can escalate, and it’s made me think twice about flying to that part of France again anytime soon. Cooler staycation destinations are certainly looking even more appealing this year.”
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