With Easter behind us and our thoughts turning to the promise of warmer weather, now is the perfect time to plan some family weekend breaks to start filling up your summer calendar.
Here are some of my favourites.
Living it up on a luxury boat
Let’s face it, days spent on the water, in whatever shape, size or style, appeals to us all and provides plenty of memories for the whole family. This is a fantastic weekend experience which should be firmly on your wish list of weekend breaks for this year.
Beds on Board is a brilliant new concept which allows boat owners to rent out their moored boats giving us non boat owners the unique opportunity to sleep aboard beautiful boats in stunning locations throughout the UK and Europe.
We stayed a weekend on the South Coast on a beautifully luxurious Sunseeker, decked inside with walnut finishes and deep blue velvet fabrics. We spent the entire weekend pretending we were millionaires, lounging around on the bow of the boat, or enjoying canapes and champagne on white leather seats! The experience was fantastic and I can’t recommend it enough. Follow #stayonaboat for special offers.
Enjoy the sea views, the boathouse restaurant, the change of scenery and the sheer novelty! This was one of our favourite breaks and we’re definitely going to book again this year. Check out the Beds on Board experiences section of their website as well – great inspiration!
Escaping to Europe using my secret Skyscanner Tip
I only discovered this trick recently and got really excited about it. Go to Skycanner and enter your departure airport. Hover your mouse over the ‘To’ box, but instead of entering a destination, and click on the ‘Everywhere’ button. Add in the month you wish to travel and bingo, up comes a list of very cheap flights.
When I looked today, I found return flights for £47 per person to La Rochelle, out Saturday, back Sunday at decent times. Paired with a cheap hotel, B&B or Airbnb, you could have a weekend break for 4, for around £400 plus spending money. It’s easy to play around with the search tool and even easier to get carried away and book up an escape in a lovely destination!
Back to nature at an Agricultural Show
We love disappearing into the countryside to visit an agricultural show then flopping out in a country hotel for the rest of the weekend. There are so many shows throughout the UK so look here to choose one. Make a weekend of it by combining the show with a day exploring the local countryside or rural villages.
The agricultural shows are filled with demonstrations of traditional craft skills such as wood work, ironmongery, farriers and weavers at work, as well as displays including sheep shearing, horse jumping, falconry displays and livestock competitions. Have your pennies at the ready for the local produce tent – in our family this usually means the cake stands, local cheese and bread.
Local growers will be exhibiting in the plant tents so it’s a good time to stock up on specialist plants or snap up some lovely cheap buys too. Top animal favourites are the chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep, cows and unusual animals such as ferrets, owls and hawks as well as exploring the craft tents. Lunch is usually hot dogs, burgers or steak rolls!
The military are usually there and let the children explore inside tanks, plus there’s tractors and old steam engines to explore.
I highly recommend the New Forest Agricultural Show in Hampshire or the Newbury Show in Berkshire.
Anyone for tennis?
There are a number of British Major tennis events on in June around the UK including Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, London and Eastbourne. We’re going to Eastbourne, at Devonshire Park, East Sussex on the South coast of England. It’s on between the 22nd and 28th June and sees world class players from around the world competing at this ATP 250 level tournament. This basically means that after the 4 Grand Slam tournaments, ATP tournaments are the next best thing. Adult single day entry Ground Pass tickets start at £7 and children’s tickets are £2 per child.
Tickets are cheap and it makes for a nice day out with a difference. Pack a picnic with lots of snacks and drinks, and I’m sure you’ll have a fun day out. The plus side is that we always come away feeling super motivated to play more tennis, so this day out is good for the mind and body! Remember to take autograph books for the children.
Adventure holiday in the forest
We’re big fans of forest breaks for the sheer beauty of the landscape, the fresh air, and the feeling of getting away from it all. Even better, they’re such an adventure playground for all of us as we’ve canoed, cycled, climbed, gone horseriding, zip-wired, walked, and even tried archery – there’s so much to do for all ages.
Our nearest forest escape is the New Forest in Hampshire, where the wild ponies roam freely across this ancient royal hunting ground where picture box villages are filled with quaint cottages that are hundreds of years old. There’s so much marine history in this part of the world, plus some of the best pubs we’ve ever visited, but that’s another blog!
We always book with Forest Holidays who offer log cabin and treehouse accommodation in a variety of locations in the UK. The quality of the accommodation is very high, the surroundings are beautiful and there’s always a wide choice of activities or local attractions that you can take part in. Some cabins have hot tubs and you can pre order welcome hampers or if you’re celebrating a special occasion, the staff go out of their way to help make it extra special.
Forest Holidays have locations throughout the UK and follow them on Twitter to hear of offers and promotions early. One word of caution – book an extra day off after your break – you’ll be so relaxed, it’ll take time to wind yourself back up again!
So that’s it, my top five weekend breaks to book this month. Don’t forget to check out my blog on how to plan 2018 like a pro, and by adding these weekend breaks to your calendar, you’ll be achieving pro status in no time at all!
Enjoy!
Susie
