I always remember being set an assigment at school that asked us to describe our favourite place in the world but I don't think my teacher was expecting me to go into significant detail as to why my bed was my favourite place!! The assignment was more to do with the places that make us happy and this is was clearly what that teacher was hoping to find!

According to recent research, eating a pub lunch in the Cotswolds has been voted the nation’s ultimate "happy place", with hiking in the Lake District coming in a close second, followed by eating an ice-cream on Brighton Beach. Interestingly, the researchers from SACO, The Serviced Apartment Company, polled UK holidaymakers and revealed one in four Brits believe there is "no place like home" when it comes to holidays.

We recently went on a trip to London to see friends for the weekend and had an amazing time taking in the sights of London, which is apparently number 10 on the list! 

We were really lucky and got a brilliant day of sunshine to walk around and be tourists for the day. Although hilariously, the research found that 27 percent said it was a must to get blown about on a windy beach and 24 percent said you haven’t experienced a true British holiday until you have been caught in torrential rain.

You forget how amazing London is and how the history blends with the modern buildings at every turn. I "may" have mentioned in a previous blog post that I walked 20,400 steps that day and while it would have been good fun to go on an open top bus, walking was the healthier option! 

Happy Places are not just something that researchers created for marketing purposes, Professor Christopher Peterson wrote a book explaining that when we are acutely aware of the moments in our life that give us pleasure, we can extend these experiences to maximize the amount of pleasure we get from them. Finding our own happy place is good for the mind, body and soul. 

So last weekend as we sat in a rooftop bar, looking over St Pauls it is such a shame to think of all the tragedy that London has seen recently because it not only has the ability to inspire happiness but to inspire curiosity, impart historical knowledge and give a sense of patriotism that is rarely found in any other city in the UK.

For me, my happy place will always be wherever my friends and family are. As long as we are laughing, we could be anywhere on this list.

How about you? Where is your happy place?

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