Ben Goldacre has just launched his new website Nerdydaytrips jammed full of great sciencey, techy and strange places to visit on a weekend jaunt for those not thrilled by a trip to your local multi-hectare shopping facility.
For me, Goldacre's site launch is one of those 'why didn't I think of that' moments, because nerdy day trips made me who I am.
From childhood until now, my weekends and holidays have been punctuated with trips to petrified forests, hydro-electric systems, rather tall towers, solar eclipses, unusual rockpools, stone-aged burial mounds and standing stones. Ask me about the Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme and I'll tell you a merry tale, friend*.
Just this weekend I made my dutiful husband escort me to the Greenwich observatory and the new National Maritime Museum tucked behind the naval college. Naturally he loved it**.
One of my favourite nerdy day trips in the UK will take you a few days, unless you live in Durham or Carlisle. It's the Kielder Observatory in the Northumberland national park, where you'll find the UK's darkest night skies. At Easter we went to observe saturn's rings - it was on the right angle and with the observatory's telescopes, we could see right through the rings, and observe their shadow cast onto the orb. Nerdy much!? Told you.
While it's technically a night trip, you should get there before dark to see the magnificent ship-like building. It's magnificent and one of the main reasons I went all the way to Northumbria to look at saturn. Architecture observing is another perfectly nerdy and enjoyable passtime.
Some of my favourite London nerd haunts are the Crystal Palace dinosaurs, the Honour Oak on Honour Oak hill where Queen Elizabeth sat to rest, the plague pit of Old Street, the London stone and the coal holes (location: everywhere, under your feet).
The UK has a proud history of national nerdishness. To wit, train and plane spotting, which gets you arrested in some countries, but here is a perfectly respectable excuse to sport an anorak and jot ceaselessly on a notepad. (Also, just seen the Dominion of New Zealand at Victoria, spotters.)
You're now thinking I'm a truly fascinating individual. In fact, nerdy day trips have made me pretty useful on a pub quiz team. I look forward to more people adding to Goldacre's site, because I've just about exhausted every plague pit, standing stone and glass-filled edifice I've found on my own and the Wenlock quiz is constantly clawing for more.
*Possibly terribly boring tale. Bring wine if you want to ask questions like this.
** Naturally, due to nerdy day trips being part of our wedding vows.