Boris Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds to go camping as couple take UK staycation
NEW mum Carrie Symonds is preparing to go camping with Boris Johnson as the couple take a UK staycation.
The PM will head to Scotland this weekend for a “paternity holiday”.
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Fiancee Carrie, 32, their three-month-old son Wilfred and dog Dilyn will be joining him in a remote location.
Sources close to the family say they will be north of the border for six days, which will include a “couple of days of camping”.
It comes as campsites around Britain are full thanks to a surge in late bookings from people opting to holiday in the UK due to coronavirus concerns.
The PM is still set to work and make crucial calls on Covid-19. Officials are expected to deliver his red box each day.
But a source said the Premier will take a slower pace, as “since recess began he has been working every day”.
Last month Mr Johnson, 56, declared that he planned to stay in the UK for his summer break.
He said: “I would encourage people still to think of wonderful staycations here. All my happiest holiday memories are of holiday vacations in the UK, bucket-and-spade jobs or whatever.”
‘The great British countryside’
The couple’s short holiday follows their Christmas break on the paradise island of Mustique.
Despite going to Scotland, Mr Johnson will not be able to make the PM’s traditional August visit to the Queen at Balmoral. Her Majesty is still isolating because of the pandemic.
However he will hope to have a better time north of the border than his sister Rachel, 54.
Last week she complained that her holiday home on the west coast “was so cold I kept my coat on at all times, even in bed”.
In a dig at her brother, she added: “If anyone suggests another patriotic staycation next year, they can take a hike.”
With uncertainty over quarantine rules for trips abroad, families are turning to the great British countryside.
Many people are sleeping under canvas for the first time.
Demand has led to a shortage of camping equipment and pitches, which have been reduced to comply with social distancing.
Sally and Lee Stone, who own Broadhembury caravan and camping park in Kingsnorth, Kent, have had to turn people away after selling out of August slots.
Sally said: “It’s really, really busy.
“There are lots first-time camping, who maybe wouldn’t have picked it as a first choice of holiday but the weather’s been glorious, so they’re loving it.”
Laura Benaggoune who runs Welsummer Camping in Harrietsham, Kent, said: “We haven’t got a spot left until September.”
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WM Camping, a specialist store in Herne Bay, has seen an 80 per cent increase in sales of tents and other outdoor equipment.
Owner David Warrington said: “As soon as the Government announced campsites could open, business went through the roof.
“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in new customers wanting all the advice on camping holidays.”
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