Taking a year off work to travel tops Britons bucket lists

As part of our ongoing research into the aspirations and dreams of us Brits, our researchers have found that taking a year off work and travelling comes top of most people’s bucket list. We asked 1,000 Brits what was top of their bucket list, and the majority of respondents answered travel as their number one thing to experience before they die. Top destinations included travelling around America and Australia, with many wanting to visit famous landmarks such as the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China and the Grand Canyon.

Also high on people’s lists were experiences and activities ranging from skydiving and flight experiences to attending major sporting events such as the World Cup and the Super Bowl. Our researchers surveyed 1,000 UK residents over the age of 18 and asked, “What is at the top of your bucket list?” 40% of those polled said that travel was at the top of their bucket lists, with a third of those stating that they wanted to take a gap year to do so.

14% admitted that trying new things and enjoying new experiences topped their list with skydiving, swimming with dolphins and hot air balloon rides being some of the more popular choices. 7% said that changing their job or taking up a new hobby was high on their list, while 7% also said that being happy and living life to the fullest was their top priority.

Surprisingly, only 4% of respondents had money related things as their top choice, although the majority of people would have to be extremely lucky to win the lottery. 2% said that home ownership or buying a holiday home was a top priority, while 2% also said that they wanted to meet their idols.

Our managing director Jim Maitland had this to say about our findings:

“From our research we have found that people have a wide variety of different things at the top of their bucket lists. For many travel and experiences are most important, however for some, less materialistic things such as happiness and health as well as relationships with loved ones is most important.”

He added, “Although travel can be expensive, especially to some of the destinations mentioned by many of the people in our surveys, there are a number of simple and inexpensive things that can be done as we have found from our #BeMoreAdventurous campaign on social media.”

Our talented designers have created a great looking infographic showcasing some of the most popular things that top Brits bucket lists, check it out below: