As of today, beach trips are allowed once more.
Though today’s relaxing of lockdown restrictions afford opportunities for outdoor social gatherings, outdoor sports, and travelling further away from home, some of the smaller details about what we can and can’t do had been left slightly murkier. Luckily, the Evening Standard set out to answer one of the burning questions, and they emerged from a confab with a government spokesman clutching an important pearl of wisdom: as of today, we’re officially allowed to hit the beach on a day trip.
Yes, if you’ve been aching for a sojourn on the beach for the past few months, you’re finally free to follow your desires – and the upcoming bout of Mediterranean weather this week is only going to make the prospect more enticing. As the ‘stay home’ guidance has been dropped in today’s easing, the government has a new slogan: ‘Hands, Face, Space and Fresh Air’. It’s now been established that there’s no limit to the distance you can travel to get that fresh air or reunite with loved ones, so long as you remain in England, do not stay overnight, and follow the other coronavirus guidance, including wearing masks and social distancing.
This frees Londoners up to head to the beach, visit one of the closer UK National Parks, or just travel further afield to sit with family and friends in a park. As the government spokesman confirmed to the Standard, “There are no legal limits on travel, but we ask that people exercise good judgment and minimise travel as far as possible.” In other words, the rules have been relaxed, but don’t wilfully abuse them just because the option is there. We’ll find out on April 5 if the next stage of lockdown easing can proceed on April 12, and here’s what will be returning at that stage.