Nostalgic Britons want to turn back time and relive the 1960s, poll claims

Moon landing and Beatles Shea Stadium concert among events people would have liked to attend

Richard Jenkins
Wednesday 24 October 2018 12:49 BST
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Winter Droving in Cumbria inspires people to choose their favourite decades

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Almost one in five people would love nothing more than to revisit the swinging 60's of The Beatles and free love, according to a new poll of 2,000 adults.

One fifth of those questioned wish they had been around to witness the moon landing in 1969, while 14 per cent would have loved to see England winning the 1966 World Cup.

The Beatles playing at Shea Stadium in Queens, NY was also a key event that Brits would love to have been around for.

The 1910’s and the 1920’s are among the decades respondents would most like to have experienced.  

But many also said they would like to visit England centuries ago, to find out how some of our longest-running traditions like Maypole Dancing, the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge, and Bonfire Night came to be. 

One in five also said they would like to travel back to the 1800's, and one in seven would like to travel back to the year 1500 or beyond. 

“Our research found many Brits long for a simpler time before many of the complications of modern life," said a spokesman for the Compare Cover Winter Droving Festival, which commissioned the role. “Living life in the 1960's seems now, almost 60 years later, to be such a carefree and innocent time.

“And going back even further to centuries ago, it would be an incredible culture shock to realise that your biggest day-to-day problems were simply avoiding predators and finding enough food to eat.”

One in five respondents said would like to travel back in time so they could invent something and become fabulously wealthy. But 35 percent simply longed for a simpler life than the one they currently lead and a fifth would like to get answers to historical questions that have so far remained a mystery to modern man.

More than half want to know how Stonehenge was built.

In recent history, the 1960's were overwhelmingly voted the decade that seemed to be the most "fun" and it also produced the best fashion and music – with the 1980's running it closest in terms of classic tunes.

However, a quarter could not bear being separated from their beloved TV, and 17 percent would be upset to lose their smartphones.

SWNS

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