Why suffer the indignity of foreign travel when Britain is so appealing?

For all the talk of “air bridges”, airlines resuming routes next month and people fed up of lockdown booking holidays abroad, there’s no getting away from the fact that travel is going to be horrible for the foreseeable future; a right pain in the rear end.

From tomorrow, there’s a two-week quarantine for anyone returning to Britain. And last week, it was announced that masks will be mandatory for travel on trains and buses in England, and on planes, too – a guarantee of an unpleasant experience.

Add to the hours of being cooped up, oozing beads of sweat behind a mask, there is the indignity of a new slew of ghastly sounding attempts to make the best of a bad lot.

Greece has announced that travellers arriving from 16 UK airports will have to undergo a coronavirus test on landing, waiting a day for the result. Even if they test negative, they still have to quarantine for seven days.

I don’t blame Greece for trying to make it work, but I’m going to save myself the bother of travel.

After all, we are lucky to live in Britain, which is in itself a holiday destination for millions – and for good reason. We have some of the most gorgeous countryside and swimming options in the world.

I was reminded of this when, pre-isolation, I decided to escape London for a day – driven largely by the strong desire to swim.

With a friend, I took an entirely empty train to Hever in Kent and walked seven miles through pasture, wooded glades and fields, past castles, ancient (closed) pubs and through beautiful Medieval churchyards.

We ended the excursion with a swim in the River Medway, near Leigh.

It wasn’t Greece or Spain or the United States. It was Kent. And it was one of the loveliest escapes I’ve ever had.