People say road trips are the greatest memories of their childhoods

One in three people are set to hit the road this summer with a surge in road trips, according to Roadchef. A new study shows a shift back to nostalgia-fuelled travel, with 62% planning to recreate a childhood holiday.

When asked about their most cherished childhood memories, family road trips topped the list, above birthdays, school milestones, and even Christmas. For those hitting the road this summer, whether that be on the continent or classic British seaside destinations such as Blackpool or Cornwall, stop offs remain a key part of the road trip experience, and come in the top five triggers of road trip nostalgia.

Top triggers of road trip nostalgia include:

• Taking in the scenery (24%)
• Songs from the era (18%)
• In-car games (15%)
• Backseat conversations (11%)
• Service station snack stops (10%)

The 1970s emerged as the ultimate decade for road trips, with 23% listing the decade as their ultimate soundtrack, beating the 1980s and 1990sr.

Tim Gittins, CEO of Roadchef, said: “There is something undoubtedly special about a family road trip, for millions of us these journeys with the sandwiches, backseat games were the soundtrack of our childhood and it’s fantastic to see so many people looking to recreate those memories this summer.”