Good places for family holidays in the UK?

paul

Can anyone recommend some good places for family holidays in the UK? Somewhere good for young children (think swimming pool, playground, etc.) I'm aware of the likes of Center Parcs and Haven Holidays... are there others? Without wishing to sound snobby, I'd prefer the more upmarket spots rather than the likes of Butlins and Pontins (I have 'Hi De Hi' in my head which is possibly doing those two a dis-service...). Are Center Parcs considered to be the best of the bunch?

Thanks

Paul
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Juniper · Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 2:18 pm Post subject:

When I was little I really liked going to Blackpool. The beach has lots of sand of good modelling consistency and donkey rides and everything. You can buy sandcastle flags and all sorts of beach things there if you forget to bring them. There are a few rockpools too, I think. It's not so good for adults, because adults tend to notice the dirt and the crowds, but beaches are always better when you're a kid.

Then in the evening there's the pleasure beach, which does have some things for little kids as well as the scary rides. I always liked going on the cable car that's held up by the giant and being able to see the whole park, even though that doesn't do anything exciting.

For rainy days there's a big swimming pool called the sandcastle with waterslides and a wave pool and a climbing frame that's supposed to be a pirate ship. The adults can sit in the jacuzzi or the cafe overlooking the pool while the kids go nuts if they're not into slides and stuff.

There are also trams, and very small kids can be convinced that trams are exciting.
Not relevant at this time of year, but if you go in Autumn you can see the illuminations, which are nice and brightly coloured and give you a strong shadow in the night time, and hence of interest to young children. It's a shame that adults just find them really tacky.

I think we started going to other places when I was 7 and my brother was 4, and my parents finally got sick of Blackpool when I was about 10. But the fact that they stuck it for that long means it can't be bad for parents, and we certainly avoided any 'Hi De Hi' type stuff.

paul · Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2006 2:48 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the reply, Juniper... out of interest, how long ago was this? And have you been back since?

I was last in Blackpool (for a stay, at least) about 7 or 8 years ago, and it was just full of hen and stag parties. You know the kind of thing, people pulling their trousers down to their ankles and 'doing a moonie' as they boarded the trams.

I am sure you are probably right in saying that adults will spot these kinds of things where children might not, but perhaps I should have emphasised that we would like to be able to relax too! I should also have mentioned that our eldest is just coming up to two years old, and the other is only a month old.

To give an idea of the kind of thing that suited us last time, we went and stayed at the Highland Hotel at the Aviemore Highland Resort in Scotland. A few good things were:

1. it wasn't that busy, so quite relaxing
2. there's a big swimming pool and slide (adults can go down it with very young ones on their lap) which wasn't at all busy (when we went, at least)
3. there's a good-sized playground on site
4. there's children's rides dotted around the place (you know, the kind of thing you put 50p in, hang around for a while, and then deal with the tantrum afterwards as you to try to prise your child away! Laughing

)
5. plenty of places for quiet walks
6. there's a kids club (although our children are a bit young for that just now)
7. dinner could be served in our room so we didn't have to worry about whether the children were settled
8. it's quite safe (well away from any busy roads)

Can you think of other places that might fit these criteria?

Thanks

Paul
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Safiya · Trainee Steward Joined: 10 Mar 2006 Posts: 27 40 ants

Hi Paul

We are lugging our young uns all the way from Australia to go to the Great Dorset Steam Fair - now THERE is a family holiday! Rides, animals, music, entertainment, displays and miles and miles of steam engines, carousels and huge, spectacular organs. We stayed for most of the five day event last time and I just know my children are going to have an absolute ball. Not everyone's cup of tea of course but certainly a lot to see and do.

Cheers!

paul · Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2006 2:43 pm Post subject:

Doesn't sound quite my cup of tea but I'm sure kids enjoy it... have a great time!

Paul

PS - Let's hope Jochen doesn't see this... I'm sure he won't be able to resist picking up on a comment about "huge, spectacular organs". Laughing

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Safiya · Trainee Steward Joined: 10 Mar 2006 Posts: 27 40 ants

Trust me I DID labour over that one but then it was about 2am in the morning here and I couldn't think of anything other than what they are - huge spectacular organs! We have a friend who had one in Australia and was always very careful about asking him about it...

Cheers!

Frank Wilson · Flight Steward Joined: 16 Jun 2010 Posts: 74 96 ants

London has always been the best for family holidays
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Oh dear... I was warned... but I still got myself banned, and so my sig has been removed, too.

paul · Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 11:00 am Post subject:

Frank... can you offer a bit more than just that? You've dug up a post from 4 years ago and added little. Anyone might be forgiven for thinking you've done it just to try and get your sig seen...

What makes London the best? Personally speaking, for very young children, I don't really think it is at all...
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bruswiliam

The Mirandasbeach UK Family holiday directory focuses on breaks & holidays that cater for adults and children of all ages. If the children aren't
happy it's no holiday for the parents and can be harder work than staying home.
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50dolars · Baggage Handler Joined: 13 Aug 2010 Posts: 7 10 ants

I still think London is beautiful and suitable for travel
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LianneL · Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:38 am Post subject:

In England there is many beautiful places to go too, one of the most common being the seaside. However there is a Holiday resort called Centreparcs, infact there is quite a few of these scattered across the country. They have everything you need for a fun, adventourous holiday, swimming pools, hiking, sailing, nightlife, resturants, shows in the evening and much more. Plus the accomodation is fantastic. It is expensive however, but worth every penny.
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