“Are you going anywhere nice this summer?” It’s a question I was recently asked by someone who’d just returned from an amazing holiday abroad.

I paused for a split second before answering because I was embarrassed to admit I had no fancy plans to soak up the sun in the Med, or drive across America or cruise in the Caribbean.

Exotic summer holidays have become the norm for many families; it’s regarded an essential part of annual expenditure. They have become yet another status symbol along with having a new car every couple of years or an ever-larger flat screen TV.

I felt a social failure to keep up with the trend for expensive foreign holidays hence my initial reluctance to admit I wasn’t planning to leave Cornwall this summer, or indeed anytime this year.

There are several reasons why I am not going away for a holiday this summer, chiefly the cost. I cannot justify spending that sort of money when there are other big bills to pay.

I am about to see more than a thousand pounds go down the drain. That isn’t a metaphor by the way; I literally have to spend a thousand pounds to get a drain repaired. I was on the verge of tears when I was told how much the bill would be.

So, it’s a good job I am not spending the equivalent of the cost of a small car on a holiday.

But it’s not just the money. Call me a grumpy old so and so, but increasingly I cannot stand the hassle that comes with travelling anywhere.

Getting from A to B in this country is a nightmare at the best of times, that’s before getting to an airport and negotiating your way to the correct terminal and then the correct check-in area.

Maybe I have just been unlucky, but in recent years I have had some terrible experiences when trying to travel abroad for a holiday.

It seems every stage of a journey is fraught with uncertainty. No matter how early you leave for the airport you will hit a queue of traffic for road works or an accident. Panic will set in; will you make it in time to check-in?

If you’re lucky enough to get to the airport on time you will then join a massive queue of fellow travellers walking zombie-like through a zigzag of barriers through check-in and security.

Then you will be told your flight is delayed or cancelled.

One of my worst experiences was trying to go on a half term holiday to France from Bristol airport. We battled our way through all the various stages at the airport. Already thoroughly exhausted by that and our very early start, we found a seat and waited for our flight to be to be called.

Then, to my horror, the display boards asked passengers on our flight to go to the customer service desk; this could only be bad news.

We were told that our flight was cancelled because a recent air traffic controllers’ strike in France meant that crews were in the wrong place. They must have known about this for sometime, but still let us travel to the airport and check in.

Alternative flights would mean an overnight stay in the Netherlands, or we could wait until the following Thursday, giving us just two days in France instead of a week.

We had no choice but to abandon the holiday, then had to wait for another two hours for our luggage to be returned to us.

On another occasion I was going to see my sister in Canada for Christmas. I was planning to take a train to London then on to Heathrow. A flooded rail line at Exeter put pay to that.

I didn’t want to drive in the bad weather, so instead booked on an overnight coach.

I waited at the stop near the Tamar Bridge at ten o’clock at night in the pouring rain. The coach driver apparently didn’t see me and carried on even though he had a booking to pick up a passenger at that particular stop.

I had no choice but to drive through the night to Heathrow; I have never been so close to falling asleep at the wheel.

So, the cost and the hassle are big factors, but there’s also one other reason why I am not bothered about going on holiday: I live in a holiday hotspot!

I am right on the border between Devon and Cornwall. People pay thousands of pounds and queue for hours on the M5 to come here for two weeks a year. I am lucky enough to be here all year round.

A day or two after I was asked if I was going abroad this year, I was at home on a sunny day. I was planning to spend the day in the garden, but decided I should make the most of the weather.

I took myself off to a quiet spot on the banks of the River Tamar. Under the shade of a tree I watched the high tide slowly recede through the afternoon with just the sound of the birds and the gentle lapping of the water.

It was glorious! It was less than ten minutes’ drive from home, so no queues. No luggage to check-in and worry I might never see it again. No sudden cancellation due to circumstances beyond my control. And best of all: it cost me nothing.

Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against holidays abroad. I would be very happy to be snoozing on a sun lounger on a Greek Island right now. It’s the getting there and back and the cost that puts me off.

So, far from being embarrassed about my lack of an overseas holiday, I am embracing the fact I am living in one of the best areas to have a holiday. The unpredictable weather is a small price to pay.

Happy holidays, whether you’re at home or going away.

Bye for now.