Suzy, founder of Suzy Stories, is a British travel blogger who shares her adventures exploring incredible locations around the globe. A self-confessed ‘Kiwi-fanatic’, many of her travels focus on the Southern Hemisphere, filling her Instagram feed with mountain ranges and icy blue water.

While her ‘wanderlist’ is constantly growing (currently reaching 85 entries, ending with the desire to ‘honeymoon in Antarctica’), Suzy is someone who truly likes to get to know the culture of each destination. Inspired by her stories, we asked Suzy for her slow travel tips and recommendations.

Suzy Stories’ Slow Travel Tips

Which destinations would you recommend for a holiday to recharge and slow down?

The cliche will likely draw your mind towards white sand beaches and lapping waves. While such destinations are a great place to unwind, it’s not the only option! Personally, I love to head towards rural areas such as mountain villages and woodland cabins. It’s these places that you feel most disconnected from daily life, and a huge benefit is that it doesn’t matter if the weather isn’t cooperating, you can cosy up indoors anyway! 

You also don’t have to go too far to find somewhere to meet these needs. There are some beautiful parts of the UK which are perfect for enjoying nature, taking time for yourself, and resting without breaking the bank. 

What are your tips for really getting to know a new city?

Lots of research beforehand is a great start! There’s a wealth of advice and knowledge from blogs, tourist boards, guidebooks, and more. On arrival, I recommend walking with just one or two key spots in mind, but following your nose rather than a map to get to know the area nearby, and increasing that radius as you go along. Cities can feel overwhelming, compact, and one-dimensional at first. However, given the chance to walk the back streets, get a little lost, and find where the locals reside you’ll get a whole new perspective. 

Describe your travel style in three words.

Tough one! I’d have to say: cultural, holistic, enlightening. 

I enjoy taking time to explore local art galleries and museums, try to sample a variety of styles and activities in a destination, and aim to gain a new perspective from my travels as much as possible. 

How can people embrace the slow travel mindset when they are on holiday?

If you’re looking to follow more slow travel practices, don’t overwhelm yourself with a never-ending list of activities. Trying to hit all the most popular tourist attractions is a sure way to burn yourself out, and you certainly won’t be going at a slow pace! 

Remind yourself of why you’re visiting that destination, and what you want to gain from the holiday. If your focus is on meaningful experiences, then find unique, locally-run services to help facilitate that. Airbnb Experiences is a handy resource to start off with!

Where’s next on your list to visit? 

Where isn’t! I’m going to revisit the beautiful South Island of New Zealand next and head into the mountains for some peace and quiet, but high on my list is Japan. I love the complex mix of bustling cities and rural space, I think it would suit my interests and need for cultural and natural stimulation while travelling! 

This article is part of A Year of Living Slower – 12 monthly experiments in living better, not faster. May’s theme is Slow Travel.

In 2001, research that took place at New York’s prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art found that visitors spent, on average, just 27.2 seconds looking at a painting. In 2017, the research was expanded again with a second study of a larger sample size at The Art Institute of Chicago. The results, however, were fairly similar – the average time spent was 28.63 seconds. In over 15 years, little has changed in terms of time spent looking, yet the research remarks how a significant percentage of visitors weren’t just looking, they were taking selfies with the paintings.

It seems remarkable that after possibly queuing for some time to access a gallery, we spend less than half a minute enjoying each painting. Add this to the time the artist spent creating their piece and 28.63 seconds seems a poor trade-off. Are exhibitions and places of art merely places to tick off travel bucket lists? The researchers may be inclined to agree, especially given how we now take photos for evidence of our attendance.

On the other hand, The Tate (although not citing any study in particular), claims that visitors to galleries spend just eight seconds appreciating works of art. In a bid to help people connect more deeply with artworks, they are promoting the art of ‘slow looking’. According to the gallery, the approach is “based on the idea that, if we really want to get to know a work of art, we need to spend time with it.”

This mindful method hopes viewers will find a personal connection with the painting, rather than seeing what artists or historians are telling them to see. It also encourages people to look more deeply, rather than just taking for granted what one can see immediately or at first glance.

Shari Tishman’s book, Slow Looking (2017), explores the benefits of the practice in educating, stating that, “patient, immersive attention to content can produce active cognitive opportunities for meaning-making and critical thinking that may not be possible though high-speed means of information delivery.” Arguably, this is logical, but serves as a reminder that our constant connection and accessibility to knowledge (fact-checked or more dubious) is only a few taps away. When in a gallery, would you be tempted to google the meaning behind a painting (or the meaning decided by art curators), rather than find your own answers?

Slow Looking and Travel

In many ways slow looking is a tool to use when embracing slow travel. To slow travellers such as Dale and Franca from Slow Vegan Travel, this means, “taking the time to embrace everything around us, to enjoy even the simplest things that aren’t necessarily the most popular or the most famous.” Rather than rushing from sight to sight to cram the most into your holiday, slow travel is about coming out from behind your camera lens to take your time to get to know a location.

Of course, it doesn’t mean skipping out the landmarks you desperately want to visit either. When visiting these, slow looking might be a way to understand and connect with what you’re viewing, rather than getting that shot for social media. Dale and Franca recommend taking your time, not trying to pack too many places into your trip and walking. Lots of walking.

Tips for Slow Looking in Galleries, Museums and Places of Interest

Much like with slow travel, The Tate make a valid point that slow looking must be selective. If you were to spend 15 minutes admiring each and every one of their artworks, you’d be there for 12 hours a day over four years. They suggest choosing a piece that you’re really drawn to, whether that’s out of intrigue, attraction, or even frustration. Once you have pinpointed your item of interest, be that a sculpture, artifact, or even an element of architecture, try these tips for embracing slow looking:

• Be patient: try to forget anything you already know about the item. No one is marking how profound your answer is!
• Try these focus points to get started: if you’re stuck, try considering the painting or item’s texture, colour, shape or symbols.
• Take another look: does the artwork or item look different on a different day? Or, when your mood is different? If you’ve returned from your trip and are looking at photos or online versions, have your thoughts changed towards the piece now that you’re home?

Slow looking is a technique to purposefully slow down during a leisure activity with the aim of gaining much more from the experience. In the hustle and bustle of the city, retreating into a quiet corner of a gallery for a while seems like a refreshing anecdote for our fast pace of life. And when travelling, slow looking could create memories beyond those posted online.

This article is part of A Year of Living Slower – 12 monthly experiments in living better, not faster. May’s theme is Slow Travel.

While some thrive on the buzz of the city – the pace, the sheer volume of people and urban sprawl – it can leave us feeling burnt out and seeking sea air or green space. Luckily, the rise of glamping and Airbnb’s quirky homes have revolutionised our short break options. It’s now easier than ever to find new locations to get off the beaten track and recharge for a weekend. And that’s all without having to pitch a tent.

A recent weekend spent in a converted horse lorry nestled in the Cotswold countryside confirmed that getting off-grid is good for the soul. From quiet and curious village walks to a digital switch-off, the benefits of a technology-free weekend and staying somewhere out-of-the-ordinary is not to be underestimated.

The Benefits of Off-Grid Escapes

Digital Detox and Reconnecting

Our digital devices are some of the most effective attention-seekers of our time. Designed to distract, their addictive features encourage us to scroll through constant streams of content and messaging. An off-grid escape offers the opportunity to switch off from our always-on culture and its FOMO-inducing tendencies. It’s a chance to embrace simple, analogue pleasures such as getting lost in a well-written novel, rather than another clickbait article. Without the pull of a screen, it’s also an opportunity to reconnect with the people you’re travelling with, or if alone, yourself.

A Change of Scenery and Finding Focus

‘A change of scenery’ has long since been used to describe going somewhere new after being in one place for a significant amount of time. It’s probably not a coincidence that so many books and films portray writers moving to beautiful, rural locations to find inspiration and beat writer’s block. A complete overhaul of your usual scenery (swapping inner-city London for the Cornish coast, for example) helps to remove distractions and may leave you better able to find clarity, inspiration and focus. This is possibly because in these locations, we’re doing less and allowing time for our minds to wander and explore. And for those who grew up in the countryside, it might also bring us back to a simpler time and present a fresh perspective on life.

Rediscovering Nature

Research and our instinct tells us that being in nature is good for us. As such, off-grid escapes aren’t just about going somewhere different, they’re about embracing and rediscovering the beauty of nature. A good walk releases endorphins, but a good walk within stunning natural scenery may have a longer lasting effect on your mood. As an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Cotswolds aren’t a bad choice when it comes to walking.

Slowing Down and Gaining Gratitude

If you’re truly off-grid, everyday tasks become more meaningful purely because they take longer to achieve. In the converted horse lorry, it was a pleasure stepping into the hot roll top bath after a hard walk, having waited 30 minutes for the gas bottled boiler to heat enough piped water. These simply tasks which not only act as an antidote to the speed at which we have become accustomed to living, they also encourage gratitude for the things we take for granted each day.

From yurts to lodges and treehouses, the options for an off-grid escape are constantly growing. Why not try something different for your next slow travel trip?

This article is part of A Year of Living Slower – 12 monthly experiments in living better, not faster. May’s theme is Slow Travel.