Butlins with Phil & Jeanette

We all met up at a restaurant just outside Skegness and got to know each other over lunch. We then headed to Skegness to settle into our spacious Butlins accommodation.
We ate well all week, with a bountiful breakfast getting us started each morning. We enjoyed eating out at pubs and on our first evening we chose to go to an Italian restaurant.

Our evenings were spent making the most of the entertainment. We saw some very good shows during the week including a number of tribute bands including, Tom Jones, Tina Turner, Queen and the Blues Brothers. We all enjoyed the dancing and many of us not only got photos with the Red Coats but also got their autographs. Most nights we didn’t get to bed until after midnight.

The days were spent enjoying the amusements and rides on camp, some of us went swimming, we all played 10 pin bowling and we even managed to fit in the customary fish & chip lunch in Town where we also enjoyed a pleasure train along the sea front.

 
We even found time to fit in 10-pin bowling on our last day before journeying home. Another great week at Butlins with everyone saying that they couldn’t wait to come back.

Spanish Costas with Adrian, Jeanette & Owen

 

 

We were all in good spirits on the flight out to sunny Spain and were extremely excited about starting our holiday!  We were picked up by minibus from Barcelona airport and enjoyed a scenic drive through the Spanish Countryside to our hotel.  We dropped our cases off in our lovely spacious rooms before heading down to the bar/restaurant next door.  They served us delicious homemade pizza, which we enjoyed whilst listening to some wonderful live music! 

 

During our week we explored the beautiful town of Salou, taking in the exotic, relaxed atmosphere.  We ambled in and out of shops and paddled in the clear waters at beautiful beaches.  Some of us even built sand castles!  We enjoyed lunches overlooking the sea and relaxing by our hotel pool.  On one day we took a boat from Salou port to Cambrils which was a beautiful old fishing port, where we enjoyed some local cuisine and relaxed in the glorious sunshine.

In the evenings we watched some very entertaining shows, one being ‘Grease!’  The entertainment tem were extremely friendly and always came to say hello!  We had a fantastic time singing along and dancing to the music!

After a hearty breakfast one morning, we enjoyed game of ten pin bowling, where some of us scored fantastic strikes! 

The end of the holiday always comes too soon!  We packed our bags and made our way to the airport, once again driving through the beautiful countryside.  We had all made such good friends and were sad to be leaving each other, but looking forward to our next JollyDays holiday!  What a wonderful holiday we all had! 

Yorkshire Dales, TV Soap Country with Phil & Wendy

 

We stayed in a beautiful Farmhouse and converted stable block in the pretty Georgian market town of Masham. After unpacking and settling in we walked to a local pub for our evening meal.

 

Eager to see TV soap country, on our first morning we drove to the small village of Esholt to find Emmerdale’s Woolpack Pub. Here we had our lunch and enjoyed looking at the cast photos and autographs on the walls. We drove on to the spa town of Harrogate where we walked round the historic buildings before taking refreshments in Betty’s famous Tea rooms.  That evening we had a delicious home cooked meal.

 

Wednesday is Market day in Masham so we visited the stalls local shops to buy gifts before taking a drive through the beautiful countryside to the city of York. After a picnic lunch we visited the Jorvik Centre to see the fascinating recreation of the 1000 year old Viking city. We then walked around today’s city and sampled some local ice cream followed by a game of Ten Pin Bowling. Later discovered a lovely countryside restaurant where we had our evening meal.

 

The next morning we headed for “Heartbeat” country and travelled by steam train from Pickering to Goathland on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.  In Goathland we recognised the Aidensfield Stores, the pub, the station and of course the Ford Anglia Police car from the series. We drove on to the maritime town of Whitby with its old cobbled streets, picturesque houses and cliff top ruins of the Abbey. Our journey back took us across the spectacular scenery of The North Yorkshire Moors.We finished our day by walking to a local pub for dinner.

 

The Last of the summer wine’s filming location of Holmfirth in the North Peak District was our next day’s destination. We had lunch in Sid’s Cafe then took a guided tour in an old fashioned bus to the many filming locations in this area. That evening we enjoyed a fish and chip supper back at the farmhouse before joining the locals in a nearby pub.

 

We all had a fantastic week seeing the many filming locations from our favourite soaps and driving through the beautiful and varied scenery of the Yorkshire Dales, The North Yorkshire Moors and The Peak District. 

Out & About on the Isle of Wight with Phil & Wendy

 

We had a fantastic week on The Isle of Wight and the sun didn’t stop shining!

Our first trip out was to the Botanical Gardens at Ventnor which were looking particularly beautiful at this time of year. We even ventured into the Tropical Hothouse, a very brave thing on such a  warm day! We had lunch in a sea view café on the promenade in Ventnor and then did some shopping before driving along the stunning south coast.

 

Our second day was Alan’s Birthday, and after opening his cards and present we drove to Havenstreet for a trip on the steam railway. This took us through some of the Island’s lovely countryside. We then headed to Alum Bay to see the famous Needles. After lunch we visited the sand shop to fill shapes with different coloured sand for souvenirs to take home. It was a very warm afternoon so we had to eat our ice creams very quickly before they melted! Our next stop was The Donkey Sanctuary at Wroxall, it was great to see these rescued animals being so well looked after and we all enjoyed stroking them. At dinner that evening Alan had a surprise Birthday cake and everyone in the restaurant sang him Happy Birthday!

 

On our last morning we visited the local town of Yarmouth to look around the shops and buy some souvenirs. We stopped in a pretty café for a drink before having a drive through the countryside to Chessell Potteries. Here we all enjoyed an enormous cream tea.  We returned to our resort and spent the late afternoon on the sunny terrace having drinks and watching the boats on the Solent. It really felt like summer had arrived so some of us had to have a glass of Pimms!

 

As usual the food and entertainment at our resort were superb. Each evening we had a three course dinner and we then headed into The Mariners Lounge for Bingo followed by quizzes, dancing and fabulous shows. During the week we saw the Welcome Show, a Comedian, the talented, amusing “Piano Man” and on the last night a Rock and Roll 50’s Show.  We were on the dance floor every night and were usually the last to leave it!

We had a fabulous time and all made new friends. After packing  up on our last morning we took the ferry back to the mainland where we had our last lunch together in a country Pub. We then said our goodbyes before heading our separate ways home.