My parents bought a motorhome five years ago and have been travelling Europe in it ever since (ok, they come home sometimes). They made it very clear when they bought it that we were free to borrow it (whilst also looking in horror at the mess Ebony makes when she eats any kind of coloured food). We borrowed it for a week once and went down to Brighton to visit friends, but we haven’t taken it anywhere else. This year we’re planning on borrowing it for two weeks over the summer so we can have a cheap holiday during the school holidays. With that in mind, I’ve been looking at family-friendly staycation destinations, here are some of the ones that made it onto my bucket list:
1. Guernsey
Guernsey is located just off the coast of Normandy so it’s a sneaky staycation and would probably feel a little more like a holiday than the other places on this list. It has beautiful beaches and sweet architecture and looks like an amazing destination for a family holiday. There is lots of family-friendly accommodation on the island, from self-catering apartments to campsites and luxury hotels. A quick search for summer holidays to Guernsey throws up lots of results to suit any budget.
2. Cornwall
I’ve been to Cornwall quite a few times but not since I was a child. My memories of those holidays include breathtaking beaches, amazing ice-creams and, um, rain. I have wanted to take a family holiday to Cornwall for a few years but the drive has been putting me off. It’s pretty far from Manchester, but this year we’re taking the plunge. We’re going to borrow my parents’ motorhome and make our way down there slowly, stopping in a couple of places along the way. I am desperate to take Ebony to the Monkey Sanctuary, she’s never seen a monkey in real life. We don’t visit zoos, but the Monkey Sanctuary is an ethical sanctuary that I’m excited to go visit. I also can’t wait to finally visit the Eden Project, it looks so beautiful.
3. Scotland
When planning our Cornwall trip, I did briefly consider Scotland. I would love to go and explore the islands around Scotland and visit the friends we have living in Edinburgh and Glasgow. In the end, though, the weather put me off. Maybe next year, when I’m not as desperate for sun, sea and sand (I realise Cornwall is probably not the best place for this either…). We’ve decided to try and make more use of my parents’ motorhome so Scotland is definitely on the cards at some point soon. Camping in Scotland just sounds a bit risky, doesn’t it? I’m not convinced our tent would cope well with Scotland’s summer (rain and wind).
4. Scilly Isles
I saw a blog post about Fritha’s trip to The Scilly Isles a couple of years ago and it looked amazing. There are no cars on the island so it sounds like such a perfect place to visit with young children. The photos were gorgeous and I think it would be so peaceful to get away from the hum of traffic. They’re located just off the coast of Cornwall so it would be a bit of a trek for us to get to, but it’s definitely on my wishlist of places to visit when the kids are young.
5. Ireland
I’ve only ever been to Ireland once for an overnight stay in Dublin back when we were young and carefree. We went to the Guinness Factory (obviously) and went for drinks in Dublin and that’s pretty much all we did, I think. I’d love to go and visit the country properly and spend time in the countryside. It always looks so beautiful and green. This would be another great place to visit in the motorhome because we could get the ferry across easily enough. It’s not exactly a staycation destination, but sort of… right?
This is a collaborative post.