When you’re travelling in the UK keeping contact with family at home is easier than ever before. Compared to when visiting places like South America and South East Asia where contact with loved ones at home can be few and far between, the United Kingdom is pretty well connected.

Travelling can get a little lonely and sometimes you might feel a little bit homesick. But, whether you’re pounding the bustling streets of London, exploring the valleys of the Lake District or punting down the river in Cambridge, keeping in touch with the folks at home is simple and stress free by telephone, internet and post.

By telephone, connection is pretty good with great signal in most areas apart from really remote and rural parts of the country. Even when in the countryside you’re sure to find a pub somewhere with some signal, although it may be limited or a landline you could borrow, You should also consider buying a pay as you go UK Sim Card (from any supermarket or corner shop) as this means you’ll be able to see how much your calls are costing and be able to manage your spending. Or find a carrier Like O2 which specialises in overseas mobile packages. If you’re really desperate, there are still payphones dotted around most towns and cities – remember to look out for the famous red ones!

FaceTime and Skype are great options as using the internet is really accessible too. Again, you may struggle in the countryside but all major cities have plenty of Wi-Fi hotspots and the majority of restaurants and bars now have their own free Wi-Fi which you can connect to. Central London now has Wi-Fi covering 95% of the square mile so you shouldn’t struggle. Although remember there is no signal on the underground, where you’ll spend a lot of your time whilst in the city.

If you’re want to post something back overseas there are plenty of great courier services you can use too. Services like TNT UK even offer international next day delivery by 9am to over 40 countries so if you’ve forgotten to post your Mum’s birthday present, there’s no need to worry. Posting smaller things oversees such as postcards/birthday cards is also simple, although you need to ensure you have the correct stamps so it’s best to ask someone’s advice before popping one in the post-box.