Yorkshire-based travel and lifestyle brand, Girl About, is celebrating phenomenal growth this year, having taken flight from one blog to a nationwide collective of travel-loving ambassadors and supporting thousands of women and families in its network through the Corona-chaos.
Girl About’s Founder, travel industry expert Lyndsey Thomas, has grown the community-focused travel brand from one blog, Girl About Yorkshire, to a thriving network of 35 Girl About… ‘ambassadors’ across the UK, all sharing reviews, recommendations and experiences in their own ‘Girl About’ patch.
She said: “It’s extraordinary to see how far Girl About has come in just four years. When I moved back to my home-county of Yorkshire from London in 2016 to raise my family, I simply wanted to share our adventures to inspire other families who might not want ‘run of the mill’ experiences, which is how Girl About Yorkshire was born!
“I’m a self-confessed travel addict, to me, life is all about experiences over things, and to know there are all these incredible women who also believe this and want to be a part of it is quite humbling.”
When lockdown hit and holidays were grounded, families saw their vacations turned into cancellations with no explanations. Many people found nowhere to turn with their travel troubles and had their questions left unanswered.
Girl About’s online community became the unofficial meeting place for these women. The camaraderie of the group and the honest advice from the brand’s Founder, Lyndsey, alongside her expert team, national travel journalist Rebecca Miles, and independent travel agent Kate Holroyd, resulted in explosive growth for the northern headquartered brand.
In the last three months, thousands of women have joined the travel-loving tribe, forming friendships which will last long after lockdown.
And, now that restrictions are easing, the brand, which has ‘make amazing memories’ and ‘experiences over things’ at its heart, is preparing to help champion the UK’s small, independent businesses as they reopen and recover, through each of its regional ambassadors.
The official Girl About… ladies will share their insights with other women and families, whether in their local area or further afield, by finding unusual places to visit and things to do which are ‘off the beaten track’.
And with the network already stretching from Kent to Glasgow and beyond, Lyndsey, who has the Girl About headquarters in Leeds, is confident the growing community will cover the whole of the UK within the next year.
“This year showed me how powerful it is when a group of women with a shared passion come together. We’ve truly seen women supporting women; people who’ve never met before supporting and helping each other through situations none of us fully understand!
“Coronavirus might have grounded us for a while but Girl About is reaching new heights and I’m so excited to see what comes next.”