Search Results for: holiday

Travelling holidays in the UK

September 17, 2020 by Anne Sweet 3 Comments

We are not big fans of travelling but love the UK for holidays and were so sad that we couldn’t go away this year thanks to the COVID virus. Our holiday in Dorset was booked just after the lock down ended and we could have still gone, but it felt a little too scary so soon. Plus a lot of the facilities were still not open. We re-arranged our holiday for next year, so fingers crossed we’ll be able to go then.

This got me thinking on how we have a different kind of holiday. We avoid hotels because with three children we have to book two rooms. Plus it feels to impersonal sharing a building with others. We generally go for caravan holidays and admittedly we spend a lot of time in the caravan, especially if it comes with a lovely view.

What I would really love is a motorhome so we could travel wherever we wished. Buying one is out of our budget though, and we would have nowhere to store it while not on holiday so we’d definitely consider Freedhome Motorhome Hire. But where would we go. Here are a few places I’d like to visit.

Places I’d go Travelling to in a Motor Home

England

Dorset is one of my favourite places to visit. You have the stunning Jurassic coastline and so many lovely beaches. If you are lucky you can find somewhere really quiet. You can see some of the places we visited in Dorset a few years ago, including West Bay where they filmed most of Broadchurch. (TV Drama.)

jurassic coastline in Dorset, taken in Charmouth. Image shows cloudy sky, cliffs and the sea

Cornwall. A little further south you have gorgeous Cornwall, which has many places to stay in a motor home. You can go surfing at the wonderful Newquay, visit the Eden Project, or travel to the most south westernly point of the UK, Lands End.

Norfolk. Go East and visit a beatuful area with an incredible coastline and the fabulous Norfolk Broads. There are several places to stay in a motor home and plenty to see and do in Norfolk. Don’t forget to smell the Norfolk lavender.

The New Forest is in Hampshire and is a haven of wildlife, pleace and tranquility. It’s easy accessible but you’ll have to move out of the forest to stay overnight in nearby places like Brockenhurst.

Wales

I love Wales, but my husband was not so convinced until we took a trip through the amazing Elan Valley last year (seems like a lifetime ago.) It was so beautiful and peaceful. The roads can get pretty high but they are wide and safe enough for a motor home.

Pembrokeshire is just one part of Wales that is really worth a visit, it is has everything you need from beaches, nature and outdoor adventures. The coastline is stunning, and you can also visit the castle town of Tenby or family favourite holiday destination of Newport.

Snowdonia is another place in Wales I’d love to visit. Whether you feel like a little mountain climbing or just a beautiful view. Plus there are some amazing camp sites

Scotland

Head North to the beauty of Scotland and enjoy the open roads and fantastic motorhome routes. There are some fabulous places to visit like Loch Ness, where you may even see a monster, or maybe Inverness Castle is more your style. Or head to John O Groats right at the top of the UK. You many even be able to see the Northern lights from here.

The route from Glencoe to Fort William is one of Scotland’s essential road trips and a great places to go when you are touring Scotland in a motorhome.

Spend some time parked by Glencoe’s awe-inspiring mountains if you really want to feel some peace.

Where Would You Go on a Travelling Holiday?

I’ve touched on just a few places in the UK here, you could even go to the Peak District or the Lake district. When you have your home on wheels then the country is yours to explore. Let me know where you would visit, I’d love to know. (My cruise may be exchanged for a motor home holiday instead!)

This is a collaborative post

Word of the Week 32 – No Holiday

August 7, 2020 by Anne Sweet 4 Comments

Hello and welcome to the home of Word of the Week. A nice and simple weekly linky, with everyone welcome to pop by and share. The idea of the linky is to reflect back on your past week and share it with us. It’s great if you can sum it up in a word or phrase, hence giving us your Word of the Week. My word this week is ‘No Holiday’ and you can read more about that below.

I’m not totally strict on using just a word or phrase. But please try to stick to the theme of summing up your week.There are not too many rules with this linky, just remember to read at least another couple of posts in the link up after adding your link. I will read and comment on all posts and tweet them out for you. I also have a Pinterest board devoted to Word of the Week and I will add posts to Mi xPlease add the badge below to your post so that others may find us and join in. If you comment or tweet then please use the hashtag #WotW

Word of the Week is open from 6am on Friday Morning to 12 noon on Monday. Plenty of time to join in!

If you are unfamiliar with the Word of the Week linky then please feel free to ask any questions. New linkers are always welcome, we love to hear what you have been up to in the past week.

MY WORD OF THE WEEK – No Holiday

A bit of a weird one this week. Were supposed to be in Dorset on holiday. In fact we would be coming home today. So this is our no holiday week. Back in March when the virus started to become dangerous and the lock down began, we didn’t know if we would be going on holiday or not. I had hoped it would all be over by August.

Four weeks ago I had a phone call from Haven saying we could still go on holiday but it was entirely our decision. And we decided to postpone it until next year. We have been so careful, staying home, keeping safe, being careful. I think we deserved a break by the sea. But as things have opened back up, I realise it’s not because the virus has gone away. It’s to keep the economy going. Which is vital. But it all depends on people using their common sense and being careful. If we were a fit and healthy family I would have still gone on holiday. But we are not. So I think we made the best decision.

I was happy with my decision, but I think this week it has hit me bad. The kids don’t seem bothered, they are still happy at home doing their thing. But I have felt sad that we couldn’t go away, see the the sea, enjoyed some time in different environment. I’m not sure if the sadness triggered my illness but I’ve been really ill for a couple of days this week too. Maybe if we had gone away I would have been okay? Maybe if we had gone away, I’d have spoilt it by having to spend a couple of days doing nothing at all?

So, how have we spent our ‘no holiday’ week? Well, I did get the pool back out, and the kids have had some fun with some games. But other than that it’s been the usual computers and screens.

Eldest daughter has gone back to work, which means the girls can’t stay up really late anymore so they don’t disturb her. That’s a good thing, they need to get back into their routine in time for school.

We have some exciting things planned for the next week. My baby boy turns 10 years old on Sunday! We are having friends around for a garden picnic on Monday, and on Tuesday we have a farm visit planned…where we get the farm to ourselves for a couple of hours! No need to worry about masks and social distancing! Fingers crossed I can stay healthy…positive thinking Anne!!

Now it’s your turn, what have you been up to this week?

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Our Holiday in Cornwall 2019

August 21, 2019 by Anne Sweet 16 Comments

This year we made the long journey down to Cornwall for our holiday. We started down last Monday and it was already late afternoon by the time we had settled in our caravan. We took a walk down to the pub restaurant and had our dinner while watching the sunset over sea.

An orange glowing sunset over the sea — *a beautiful sunset*

Day Two, St Ives, Cornwall

The second day we set off to visit nearby St Ives. We arrived while the tide was out and all the boats seemed stranded on the beach. We had our lunch and then grabbed some lovely cornish ice cream while watching the tide come in and in no time at all the boats were floating.

It was a nice day, not hot and sunny, but it was warm and at least it wasn’t raining. I think we had a mixed week weather wise. One minute it would be sunny, the next it was pouring down with rain. In St Ives we were lucky, not too hot, but not raining either.

I love this photo I took of Boo eating her ice cream.

little girl eating a tub of ice cream while looking out over the sea. — *I love her sunhat*

The kids had so much fun building rock towers on the beach, but I loved this photo of them all playing with dog at the water’s edge.

Three children standing on a beach with a black dog in the water. — *The little dog’s owner was nearby but I cropped him out of the photo.*

Day Three, Perranporth, Cornwall

I have a bit of a confession to make here. When I booked our holiday there were two campsites in Cornwall that we could go to, and one was in Perranporth. I really thought that this was the one I’d booked and it wasn’t until the day before the holiday that I’d realised my mistake.

It wasn’t a problem, the campsite we were on was nice enough and Perranporth was only a short drive away. We decided to visit on Day Three. I was keen to get onto the beach. We didn’t pick the best day, it was pretty blustery. Again it didn’t rain while we were there, but it wasn’t perfect beach weather. We borrowed a beach wheelchair and I managed to get right down to the water’s edge. I had to share a photo of my wheels.

A Woman sitting in a beach wheelchair at the edge of the sea. — *I’m looking quite windswept and I’m glad I took my cardigan*

Graham and the two youngest left me and Star at the pub on the beach where we could shelter if it rained. Luckily it didn’t, and even the sun made a brief appearance at one point making everyone a bit excited for while.

In the meantime, Graham, Boo and the Little Man enjoyed exploring the rocks and cliffs.

Image taken from a cliff side looking down on the beach where a little boy is standing looking up. — *Daddy, why have you climbed so high, don’t you realise the tide is coming in?*

In the evening we went back out hunting for a nice fish and chip shop and ended up in a nice quay side restaurant instead. The food was yummy, but they had no dessert menu for the kids. The desserts ended up costing more than the main meals!

Day Four, Meeting Friends

We had arranged to meet some friends so stayed around the camp site for the day. The camp site had boasted a view of the sea from the balcony cafe. So, we went up there for lunch. The lift wasn’t working so I had to go all around to the back of the building to be let in the fire escape door. It was nice up there and you could see the entire camp site. If you looked real good, you could just about make a slim view of the sea in the distance.

The kids played in the park for a while and then we headed down to the local beach to meet our friends. We sat outside the pub we’d spent the first evening in. This beach is the same one I took the sunset photo on.

a blue sky, the sea and a beach, lined by grass at the front of the photograph — *a sea view is bliss, I would love to live somewhere with a view like this.*

We stayed on the park all day and in the evening we headed off for some campsite entertainment. The kid’s played in the arcade for a while but came back to the club and watched the singer. It was a nice evening, my husband even made a video of all the kid’s joining in with a song they knew.

Day Four, Rain Spoils Play

The plan for day four was to visit a local attraction, Paradise Park. But the day started pretty grim. We didn’t have waterproof coats so we went off to the local Asda to see if they had any pac-a-macs. We bought a couple and some umbrellas and also some food so we could eat in the caravan later. When we came out, the weather was abysmal. Our moods were not much better, so we headed back to the caravan. Where we stayed most of the day. At least we had food to cook. The kids were happy because they had lots to play with, including the Switch. It was quite relaxing to sit back and do nothing and I managed to get through some of my audiobook.

Day Five, Paradise Park

I’m so glad we didn’t try to visit Paradise Park in the rain, we’d have missed so much. It really was a lovely place and we got to see lots of birds in flight because it was such a nice sunny day.

My kids love animals so they were in their element. There was also a huge playbarn with slides and soft play. Some of the slides were sheer drops!

We were lucky to see some big birds flying right above our heads. Then we headed into a tropical rainbow paradise where there were colourful lorikeets flying around. They were so pretty and you could get little tubs of nectar to entice them to come and sit on you. Star was in her element, she loved this best of all. The Little Man was also enjoying himself, and I loved how he was wearing the same colours as the birds.

Little boy with orange and blue t-shirt holding a little lorikeet bird on his hand. The bird has a blue head and orange chest, while it's wings are green. — *Lorikeet – “wow, you’re a big bird, but where are your wings?”*

Finally, we got to see some more birds flying over the picnic area. By this time the weather had become really lovely and warm and the bird show was just perfect. Boo even got to go up on the stage and have a bird fly to her hand and retrieve some food.

Litttle girl on an outdoor stage with a bird feeding from her hand. — *The perfect bird trainer!*

Day Six, Go Carts and Swimming

Day six was our last full day on the camp and the sun was shining bright. All week Boo had wanted to hire a go cart to ride around the camp and it seemed like the perfect time. I waited outside the cafe with a cappucino while they explored the campsite on the go karts, Graham went with the Little Man and the two girls went together.

Two go karts from behind. One with a man and a young boy, the other with two young girls. They are in a caravan park. — *And they’re off!*

Afterwards, it was pool time. Star couldn’t go in so I sat with her around the sun beds and we both read while the others splashed around. The outdoor pools were heated, but they were under the sun today too. I even managed to catch a little sun on my arms.

A girl and a boy floating in a small outdoor pool — *Practicing floating*

We then went back to the caravan to pack and have a late lunch. When we were ready we went back up to the campsite entertainment venue for our last night of music and arcades. We left a little earlier though, so we could have a chip shop tea before settling down for some television. (I managed to catch the finale of Marvel Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D) then bed.

The next day it was sad to leave behind such a beautiful place, we’d had such a lovely holiday.

It took us even longer to get home, seven hours, with two stops on the way. We just about made it home for the shopping delivery.

The last time I had been to Cornwall was 15 years ago. It’s such a beautiful place I’d love to go again. I just wish it wasn’t such a long drive! Next time we might visit Southern Cornwall, I’d love to see Mousehole and Lizard Point.

I’m also dissapointed that we didn’t get to visit the Eden Project. It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to go, but I couldn’t face the long journey there and back from where we were staying.

Have you visited Cornwall?

Linking up to That Friday Linky

Also linking up to Country Kids which I miss linking up to regularly now my kids are older and we don’t get out so much.

My Word of the Week #33 2019 – Holiday

August 16, 2019 by Anne Sweet 5 Comments

Hello and welcome to the home of Word of the Week, a nice and simple weekly linky, with everyone welcome to pop by and share. The idea of the linky is to reflect back on your past week and share it with us. It’s great if you can sum it up in a word or phrase, hence giving us your Word of the Week. My word this week is holiday and you can read more about that below.

I’m not totally strict on using just a word or phrase but please try to stick to the theme of summing up your week.

There are not too many rules with this linky, just remember to read at least another couple of posts in the link up after adding your link. I will read and comment on all posts and tweet them out for you. I also have a Pinterest board devoted to Word of the Week and I will add posts to Mix Please add the badge below to your post so that others may find us and join in. If you comment or tweet then please use the hashtag #WotW

Word of the Week is open from 6am on Friday Morning to 12 noon on Monday. Plenty of time to join in!

If you are unfamiliar with the Word of the Week linky then please feel free to ask any questions. New linkers are always welcome, we love to hear what you have been up to in the past week.

MY WORD OF THE WEEK.

Holiday

I’m away this week, hopefully enjoying some sunshine in Cornwall. I’ll write up all about it when I get home, but in the meantime, do link up your posts and I’ll read and share them when I can.

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Post Holiday Reflections

August 29, 2018 by Anne Sweet 11 Comments

Devon

Each year we take a holiday with Haven simply because Star is happy to do so because it’s something she is used to. We can go to different camps, but they all have similarities which help Star.

This year we went to South Devon, near Exmouth. We have been to this camp before but it was eight years ago. Star was four, Boo was two and the Little Man was a bump. We were so excited to go back as we had such lovely memories from there.

Relaxed

I would so love to live near the sea, it was visible from our caravan. I loved waking up, opening the curtains and seeing the wide blue ocean. I would watch the huge ships making their way to Plymouth harbour in the distance, and the little sailing boats bobbing along.

The holiday camp had access to the beach, but unfortunately it was a very steep decline and I just couldn’t make it in my wheelchair. There was a cafe right on the cliff edge where I could grab a coffee and watch my family explore the rocks. I would have given anything to be able to join them, but it was enough to be able to relax and look out at the sea.

The Beach

Of course we did get to go to the beach at Exmouth which was only two miles away. I was able to get out of my wheelchair and sit on the steps with my feet on the sand. The tide was in and the water close. I know with help I could have walked to it and maybe have a paddle. But the water is cold and a sudden cold shock can make me ill. I didn’t want to take the risk, I was happy where I was, and the kids played on right in front of me.

We visited the beach a second time and found a place where I could drive my wheelchair down the ramp directly to the beach. I then got out and sat on a rock. I was really on the beach! And Boo was really buried in the sand!

a little girl buried in the sand on the beach while her brother digs more sand

Fun Activities

Each day we planned one activity and then just did whatever we felt afterwards. This meant we didn’t miss out on anything we wanted to do, but were not stuck to a particular routine. We spent a whole morning painting pottery, which was relaxing and fun. We had to wait two days to get our finished pieces but we were all happy with them.

four pottery figures, a mermaid, a cat, a fox, a poo emoji and an areoplane

We also went swimming, bowling and had a night out in the club where we saw an Abba tribute. We ate out a lot but also cooked in the caravan, which had a full size oven and fridge freezer.

We spent some time just chilling in the caravan, reading, watching television, playing games and the girls even baked cup cakes. It was fun and relaxing, and I loved that I could see the sea all the time.

We also spent a day at World of Country life which was so much fun and we’d definitely go again.

Holiday Success

Our holiday was just what we needed. The chance to chill out in a beautiful location. There was very little screen time and the kids played outside a lot. We managed to fit in a lot of fun things while still taking time to relax. We had no tantrums or meltdowns, no tears or fighting. There was the odd little moaning, but we are only human. I would definitely call it a holiday success. We didn’t even have any hassle on the journey which was amazing. We had our favourite songs on and sang along, to both old and new tunes. It was funny though, Boo asked Graham how far we had to go and he said, we are half way there now. Then the song ‘Living on a Prayer’ came on immediately afterwards and we were all singing ‘ooooh we’re half way there, oooooh Living on a Prayer.’ I did video it but I’ve promised not to share it, sorry.

Home

Since getting home we have also been relaxed. There has been a ton of washing to do, but that’s normal anyway. We’ve not been out much and it’s been nice to continue chilling out, although, I do miss the sea views.

My word of the week this week covers last week too and it has to be ‘relaxed.’

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