UK holiday Part One, The South

I love going on holiday even if the furthest I’ve been out of the UK is Ireland. I call it a holiday because it is just that, even though it’s not abroad. I get irritated by the term staycation to a UK holiday. To me a Staycation is a week off work when you stay at home. Day trips are included.

I thought it would be nice to write about some of the lovely places I’ve stayed in the UK. There are so many places I still have to visit, the UK is a beautiful country.

Devon

My aunt had a caravan in a park called Hele, which is pronounced heel, not hell 😉 It was close to Ilfracombe which is a beautiful place if very hilly. To get to the beach you have to go through tunnels which were mined (you also have to pay a fee!) The beaches are shingle but the best bit is the tidal pool. When the tide goes out you are left with a safe pool to bathe in. You can see why it was a popular place for the Victorians.

One of my first holidays which I had without my Mom was a trip to Torquay with my boyfriend and friends. We stayed in tents and had an awesome week. Torquay is known as the English Riviera because of it’s golden beaches and palm trees. It really is a lovely place to stay.

Our favourite place in Devon though, is Sandy Bay in Exmouth, where we stay at Devon Cliffs holiday park. We’ve been there a few times and will definitely go back.

Dorset

I also love Dorset and if there was ever a place I would move to it would be here. We have family who live not far from West Bay in Dorset where the Television series Broadchurch was set. There are some fabulous beaches in Dorset and we visited many during our visit to our family, you can see them all in my post in the previous link but here is a photo of the fabulous Charmouth Beach which is so good for fossil hunting.

This year we have a holiday booked in Poole, which is near Weymouth. The last holiday we had in Weymouth was 2017 and we are looking forward to going back. Again, there are so many lovely beaches around Dorset and Weymouth and Bournemouth are some of the sandiest beautiful beaches that the kids will love.

Cornwall

Move towards the western end of the UK and you have gorgeous Cornwall. I have only visited a few times as it’s a long drive for us, but it really is a beautiful place with so much to see.

You can read all about our last holiday in Cornwall, it was the last time we went away as we stayed home last year. We will have to go back to fit in all the things we wanted to do but couldn’t. We didn’t really have the best weather that week which was a shame, but the sunniest day we spent we spent at Paradise Park which was really beautiful.

Brighton

I’ve been to Brighton but not really on holiday. I did go to the University of Sussex for while and that’s very close to Brighton. And I’ve had a couple of day trips there, one was many years ago with my Mom and younger brother. The beach is actually a pebble beach but it’s still extremely popular.

Brighton has a fantastic pier with rides and attractions, it also has a Sea Life Centre and a Royal Pavilion. I last went there when Star was a baby and we visited the Doctor Who exhibition which is no longer open 🙁

I have also visited Southampton and Portsmouth but I’ve not taken a holiday there.

You can read all about Calshot Beach from Things to Do in Hampshire with Kids.

I did take a holiday in East Sussex, Camber Sands. It was the first time I had taken my older children on holiday as a single Mom. It was a lovely place, the beach was beautiful, but the tide was terrifying. I allowed my daughter in the water with and inflatable and the tide turned and she was taken out so quickly. Her brother wouldn’t let go of her so they were both drifting out further and further. I’m not a good swimmer and I was out of my depth and getting into trouble myself and there was no lifeguard at the time. There was, however, a lone swimmer, a complete stranger, who came to the rescue and got us all back to shore. I still have nightmares about that day. I believe that they now have lifeguards on that beach and inflatables are banned. (I have banned inflatables in the sea for all of my children ever since!)

When I was younger we always used to have camping holidays in the UK, you can read some of my precious memories of these here.

If you fancy a camping holiday then don’t forget to check out A Mum Reviews Family Camping Essentials Checklist.

If you like fossil hunting then you may want to check out this fabulous guide to Kent from Rachel Jess.

Do you holiday in the UK? Do you have a favourite place? I’ll be back with my favourite holidays further North and Wales later.