By Sinead Ryan, Prof. Danielle Sinnett, Dr Isabelle Bray, and Dr Yarden Woolf
During the UK’s Covid‑19 lockdowns, many aspects of everyday life were suddenly out of reach. People were separated from family and friends, routines were suspended, and familiar settings like pubs, workplaces, coastlines and swimming pools, became inaccessible. In an earlier analysis of a survey carried out in the West of England, we explored what people said they missed most during this time. Here, we take a different perspective by considering the importance of place in both what people missed and what they planned to do first once restrictions were lifted.
This reveals something important: people did not just miss activities or individuals in isolation. They missed places, and the ways those places enable social connection, physical activity and contact with nature. Lockdown disrupted not only movement, but the spatial conditions that support wellbeing in everyday life.
Missing people meant missing places
Across responses, social connection dominated what people missed most. Many spoke simply of “people”, “friends” or “family”. Yet these answers were often rooted in specific settings where relationships normally unfold, like visiting parents, socialising at work, meeting friends, or spending time with grandchildren. When asked what they would do first once lockdown ended, these same themes reappeared but now grounded in action and place. For some, this meant returning to family homes or hosting friends again. Others imagined familiar social spaces reopening. Typical answers included “Invite friends round” and “Go to the pub and meet friends”.
The responses show that places matter not because of what they provide materially, but because they are where every day social life happens. Homes, pubs, cafés and workplaces all function as social infrastructure, spaces where connection is created, maintained and renewed. Their closure represented more than inconvenience – a loss of social possibility. Physical distancing removed access not only to people, but to spaces where we can connect with others, whether planned or incidentally.
Places that structure activity and routine
Many respondents spoke about missing activities that take place in specific settings: swimming pools, places of worship, volunteer venues, support groups, sports facilities or classes such as dance and yoga. These were rarely described as isolated pursuits. Instead, they represented routines, shared practices and forms of purpose. Respondents wrote that what they missed most was “choir singing”, “meeting with friends at church” or “the social aspects of the office”. Pubs were missed for “seeing live music”, “eating out” and the “beer garden”.
What connects these responses is the role of place in enabling regular, meaningful activity. Lockdown removed access not just to leisure, but to rhythms of life that support physical health, social contact and identity, particularly for older adults. Within this, utility places featured more than might be expected – “getting prescriptions, “browsing shops”, “going to the hairdressers”. While these spaces rarely attract attention in discussions of wellbeing, their absence affected people’s sense of dignity, independence and normality. These answers remind us that everyday services are part of the spatial fabric that allows people to function confidently and autonomously.
Nature, movement and freedom
Nature and travel formed a third, closely related thread. Some respondents said they missed countryside walks, the beach, or simply going “down town”. When restrictions lifted, these were often the first places people wanted to go: “A walk in the countryside”, “Go to the coast” and “Go camping”. This aligns with the activities mentioned as the first thing that some of the respondents hoped to return to, such as swimming or surfing. Here, place appears not just as a destination, but as a form of release and a way of escaping confinement and reconnecting with wider landscapes. It seems that for many, access to green and blue spaces represented mental restoration, physical movement and a renewed sense of freedom.
Travel, whether local or further afield often meant visiting family, reaching valued outdoor spaces or regaining choice over movement (e.g. using public transport). For others, they had particular holiday destinations in mind, either in the UK or abroad.
A cautious return
Not everyone anticipated reopening with enthusiasm. A small but notable group expressed anxiety about restrictions lifting, saying they would remain cautious or delay returning to shared spaces. They said things like: “We won’t change much except meet friends at a distance” and “Will be too worried to do anything in close proximity to others”. These responses remind us that recovery was uneven. For some, places that once offered opportunities for socialising or restoration now carried risk. The meaning of place had shifted, shaped by health concerns and uncertainty.
Why this matters
Taken together, these findings show that lockdown disrupted more than activities, it disrupted access to the places that make social life, movement and restoration possible. What people missed most, and what they sought out first, were closely aligned. Both point to the same conclusion: places enable wellbeing through what they allow people to do.
Understanding this matters for future responses to social restriction, urban planning and public health. Protecting access to places that support connection, routine and nature may be just as important as restoring services. Lockdown made visible something often taken for granted, that everyday places quietly underpin how we live, relate and recover.
This work forms part of a wider collaboration between centres, drawing on a shared survey dataset also analysed in a companion blog by the Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing: What people missed most during the UK Covid pandemic: A survey in the West of England | Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing
Feature image caption: Everyday places such as homes, doorways and gardens became improvised social spaces during lockdown, highlighting how strongly social life is tied to place.
