Butlins Fun and Disco with Colin, Jim, Pat & Mel

What a wonderful week we had at Butlins in Minehead! We did so many exciting things.  We visited a pony sanctuary which was right in the heart of the stunning Exmoor National Park.  We spent some time in the arcades where some of us played on the 2p machines and collected prizes!  Some of us enjoyed a leisurely swim and had fun in the wave pool!  We devoured lots of scrumptious food during the week and of course had a Jollydays cooked breakfast each morning!

We had a fantastic game of ten pin bowling in Taunton one morning.  We split into three teams and the competition was very close!  Pats team came out on top with some impressive scores! Some of us had a lovely afternoon at the fun fair and went on some brilliant rides!  We all enjoyed being out in the fresh air.  We took a little train that drove us along the sea front.  It was a lovely fresh day and we liked feeling the breeze on our faces!  

 

The entertainment all week was excellent!  We watched several tribute acts which included Tom Jones & Tina Turner, Take That, The Rolling Clones, The Beegee's and Il Divo. We danced and sang the nights away. What a wonderful holiday!

 

Blackpool with Phil & Candy

We met up excitedly and had a beautiful pub lunch on the way up to Blackpool.  When we arrived we unpacked and freshened up, before having a delicious dinner. 

We went to the wonderful Sea World!  What a fantastic place! We saw many varieties of sea life – flat fish, star fish, sharks, lobsters, turtles and many more!  We got to touch the starfish – but we made sure to keep our hands out of the piranha tank!  We then had a filling headed for Madam Tussauds.  We had our pictures taken with the stars which was a lot of fun!

 

We spent a day in the Blackpool Tower – what a wonderful place! We got the lift to the top of the tower and stood on the glass bottomed floor!  It made our tummies lurch a little, but we all had a go! We saw the circus and there were clowns, comedians, trapeze artists, magicians and much more! Everyone loved it. 

We took a trip to the largest indoor market in the region! It was huge! 

We watched the stunning ballroom dancing in the ballroom tower and even got up and had a go ourselves!  We had a spot of lunch in the ballroom whilst listening to the glorious music.  We then spent the afternoon on the North pier and went on the rides!  Some of us got wet on the log flume!

We went on more rides on the south pier and devoured some doughnuts and drinks and enjoyed the fresh sea breeze.  We ambled down the promenade and saw horses and carts riding by. 

And of course, we saw the illuminations! As always, the end of the holiday had come round too soon!  We packed our cases, boarded the ‘Jolly Bus’ and headed for home, stopping off at a delightful pub for lunch.  We all chatted about our favorite parts of the holiday. 

Out & About on the Isle of Wight with Colin & Jeanette

We met up and had a lovely lunch at the Rose and Crown at Brockenhurst.  We then caught the ferry over to Yarmouth where checked into our lovely resort.  We unpacked excitedly and then had a lovely dinner.  Each night we watched the fantastic entertainment, where the team put on stunning shows.  We clapped and danced along.

We visited the famous Needles, which we could see very clearly.  It was beautiful! Two of us were very brave and went on the chairlift down to the beach below.  We made our own sand shapes and watched the fantastic glass blowing.  We did a spot of shopping for gifts.  We had a  beautiful drive to Shanklin where we walked along the front and had an ice cream.  

 We had a beautiful day at Osborne House, the summer home of Queen Victoria. The house is stunning. We walked around the delightful walled garden. We then ambled leisurely along what used to be her 'private beach' and had a picnic.

We all enjoyed visiting the Donkey Sanctuary where we got to touch them and see how well they are looked after.  We then had a brilliant hotel garden party where we watched a Punch and Judy show and danced into the evening! 

On our final day we packed our things and stopped on the way home for a delicious pub lunch in at the Burley Inn. 

French Countryside & Coast with Phil & Wendy

 

We were all very excited as we boarded the Dover Ferry for Calais and on board we had a proper chance to get to know each other over lunch. We then had a short drive through the rolling French countryside to reach our spacious Club House Gite in the pretty village of Beussent. We unpacked and settled in before taking an evening drive to a French restaurant in Maninghem. We ate delicious food and had a go at speaking some French!

 

The next morning was warm and sunny and after a full cooked breakfast we ventured out to Hardelot Plage where we took a long walk on the prom, searched for shells on beach, and stopped at a pretty café for a drink.  We drove on to Hardelot Chateau where we had a delicious picnic before exploring the grounds. On our way back we called in at the local Chocolate Factory for a tour and demonstration. We especially enjoyed the free samples and then we all treated ourselves in the factory shop!  

That evening we played badminton swing ball and table tennis in the garden before having a sumptuous home cooked dinner. Later, in the games room, we had a pool competition and danced the night away to our favourite music.

 

Boulogne was our next day’s destination where we spent most of our time in the enormous aquarium with it’s amazing variety of fish and marine creatures. We especially liked tickling the giant rays in the touch tank and watching the huge sharks swim around the reef. The sun was still shining in the late afternoon for a walk along the prom and then we drove up to the old walled town of Boulogne where we found a quaint restaurant and dined al fresco right by the ancient cathedral. What a lovely ending to our day!

 

The sun was still shining the next morning as we headed for the town of St. Valery. After exploring the pretty town we had a picnic by the estuary then with great excitement we boarded the steam train that took us right around the Somme estuary to Le Crotoy. We sat in a shady café for a much needed drink and then on our way back we all had fun shopping in a French supermarket where we bought provisions for our evening barbecue.  Phil proved to be a great barbecue cook and we had a delicious meal in the garden enjoying the evening sunshine.

 

Thursday is market day in Le Touquet so we spent that morning wandering around the many stalls enjoying samples of local produce. We did some souvenir shopping and had a great time trying out our bargaining skills! After a picnic on the prom we headed for the huge sandy beach and while some of us cooled off swimming and splashing about in the sea the others lazed on the sand. Of course our afternoon by the sea wouldn’t have been complete without an ice cream! That evening we all got dressed up to go out to dinner. In Montreuil we found a lovely brasserie where again we were able to enjoy delicious food sitting outside on a lovely warm evening.

 

On our last full day we spent the morning in Beussent. We walked to the village and looked inside the beautiful church with it’s war time memorial then continued on to the picturesque mill. In the afternoon we returned to Montreuil for a chance to walk around the ancient cobbled streets and squares with it’s many interesting old buildings and churches. We finished our souvenir shopping and all choose a yummy cake from the patisserie. On our last evening we went to a favourite Auberge in H'aucqueliers where, as always, we were made to feel so welcome. We had a fantastic three course dinner and someone even tried the snails!

 

On our last morning we packed up the van and had just enough time to drive the scenic coastal route to Calais past beautiful beaches full of kite surfers. On-board the ferry we ate our lunch in the Brasserie where we had a chance to remember the fun packed days we had shared together. We all made new friends that we hope to see again and all agreed that we’d had the most fantastic holiday in France!