I Tried the Ancestry® DNA Test - And Discovered A Side Of Myself I Didn’t Expect
Ever wondered where your story truly begins? Discover how this writer uncovered surprising family history – and discover your story too with 50% off Ancestry DNA Origins, now only £39.
I’ll admit it - I’ve always loved a good origin story. Whether it was my grandmother’s tales of post-war Scotland or just digging into my parents' stories from their early years in 70s London, there’s something magnetic about uncovering the stories written in our DNA. So when I heard about Ancestry®, I couldn’t resist.
I thought I knew my roots - a tidy blend of English, Scottish and Irish heritage with perhaps a rumoured whisper of French somewhere along the line. But the truth, it turns out, is rarely tidy. And as I learned, sometimes the past reveals more about who you are today than you’d ever expect.
Why I Decided to Take the Test
It all started when my father-in-law received it as a gift - and went on to discover a potential half-brother as a result! Not something you'd usually expect to find out in your late 50s. So when I stumbled upon Ancestry®’s DNA Origins kit, which is 50% off (now just £39), I thought it might make a great gift for my own mum. I ordered two kits - one for her and one for me - and soon after, a sleek little package arrived in the post - complete with simple instructions, a vial, and a prepaid return box to pop in the post. All it required was a small saliva sample (glamorous, I know) and a few clicks to register online. Then, the waiting began.
What You Actually Find Out
A few weeks later, an email landed in my inbox: Your results are ready. I opened the dashboard and was instantly transported across continents. Yes, there was plenty of what I expected - Great Britain, obviously - but there were also unexpected regions lighting up on the map. A sliver of Scandinavian DNA suggested Viking roots (who knew?). Even more surprising: a small but significant trace linking my mum and I to southern Italy. Potentially the reason we're so obsessed with good quality olive oil?
Worried it's all made up? Think again. Ancestry®’s test uses microarray-based autosomal DNA testing, which surveys a person’s entire genome at over 700,000 locations, all with a simple saliva sample. AncestryDNA® can also help identify relationships with unknown relatives through a dynamic list of DNA matches.
AncestryDNA® Origins Test (Was £79)
ANCESTRY
£39.00
How It Makes You Feel
I really hadn’t anticipated it to be so emotional. Embarrassingly enough, I knew basically nothing about my family beyond my great grandma on mum's side. But there’s something quietly profound about seeing generations of movement - people crossing oceans, surviving wars, starting over - and realising you are ultimately the culmination of all of it. Ancestry®’s test is ideal for anyone curious about their ethnic background or heritage, families wanting to explore their roots together or even just gift-givers searching for something unique and memorable!
So if you’re stuck for a thoughtful present - for your mum or dad, that friend who is obsessed with watching "Who Do You Think You Are?”, or simply yourself, this is it. It’s personal without being sentimental, scientific yet surprising. And at 50% off right now (now only £39), it's rude not to.