When will non essential domestic travel be allowed?

[Cheeseandbiscuits89]

My parents live on the other side of the country. We want to meet in the middle somewhere outdoors once it’s allowed. But currently obviously it would count as non essential. We haven’t seen them since August and they miss their grandson terribly.
Both parties would travel a couple of hours and meet at a neutral place in the middle for a couple of hours, then drive home again.

When do you think a trip such as this will be permitted? It’s too far for us to go to theirs with our DS without staying overnight and same problem for them coming here , they’d have to stay over , so we thought meeting in the middle was a good idea.

I know nobody has a crystal ball, but just wondering when people think something like this might be permitted?

No idea 🤷‍♀️

But my guess would be Easter

For the reason 1st lockdown was 3 months
We will have over 20 million vaccinated by easter

I'm really hoping by March but I don't know. Surely outside mixing will be the first thing to come back

I am thinking April

No idea but I would think maybe after Easter. April/May.

DH hasn’t seen his mum mid 80’s since January 2020.

I dont know, but I desperatly want to see my parents too, and we need to do something similar. We also need the weather to cooperate, because cold, muddy, kids in the car is miserable.
Be lovely if we could during the school Easter holidays. I suspect it might come in after the schools are back from Easter to prevent us all mixing in the school holidays

Hopefully march!

Thanks for the replies.

I am hoping March, especially as we’ll only be meeting outdoors.

My guess is after Easter.

I really hope it’s before Easter. All I want to do is see them outdoors, but it’s the travelling there & back that’s the issue.

I am hoping Easter too.

For the April school hols I reckon. But restaurants could be later.

Early April/Easter would be my bet. Don’t worry, as much as mumsnet would like you believe we’ll not even by allowed a U.K. holiday this year, they clearly don’t know Boris 😂 no-way we are keeping fully locked down for much longer, he’ll be chomping at the bit to get everything back open!

No idea, as you say we don’t have crystal balls. But bearing in mind lockdown is to 8th March and then my guess he will open everything up very slowly it will be late March, early April

I think meeting others outdoors will be one of the first things we're allowed to do. My guess would be mid March. Last year, groups of six were allowed to meet up outside at the end of May, two months after we went into lockdown on 23 March.

I’m guessing late March for outdoor meet ups with rule of 6 enforced. Can’t imagine it will be more than rule of 6 for a while.

Late March / early April is a reasonable assumption.

However i have doubts about whether overnight stays (in either private residence or hotel/rented accommodation) will be allowed straight away.

Personally I'd go now, before the schools reopen. Just meet up for a walk outside (and possibly a takeaway hot chocolate!)

Unless you have a particularly risky job, I would have thought that school is the most likely way one of you is going to get covid.

Sod da roolz, do your own risk assessment.

Easter is too early, I think as most of the top 4 priorities will not have had second shots, and all the rhetoric so far is vaccination does not permit change - need to see hospitals much emptier.

Also first priority is schools, so we need to see who goes back on 8 March, and then wait a couple of weeks to see what effect that has on transmission and how much room there is for further change. Easter is quite early this year, and I think it'll be too soon for much in the way of relaxation, though some increase in local social contact might be possible. Local, because there are clearly concerns about spreading new variants between regions and I doubt they'll recede

My guess is some time during the summer term - they won't want to unleash a tsunami of pent up demand just in time for half term, so perhaps some relaxations a couple of weeks after schools are back?

I reckon April, that is also when they have mentioned non essential shops might open.

I don't know, but almost everyone has family they haven't seen for a long time. My parents live relatively locally and I haven't hugged them for over a year nor seen them in any significant way since the summer. We're all in the same boat. We all want outdoor meetings to be permitted again.