Blackpool with Adrian & Netty

 

Wow what a blast we had on holiday at Blackpool!  We were busy bees all week as we set off for our adventures in Blackpool.  We visited the famous Blackpool Tower and had a whirl around the dance floor to the magnificent organ.  We went into the deep dark tower dungeons and learnt some gruesome facts about medieval torture devices!  It was brilliant fun.  We zoomed right to the top of the tower and stood on the glass bottomed floor and looked down - we were brave souls indeed!  The views were spectacular and we looked through the microscope at the world below!

We had the most wonderful morning in the Sea Life Centre looking in awe at all the different varieties of sea creature!  The sharks swimming over our heads took our breath away!  We saw giant lobsters, massive crabs, starfish, sting rays and many more fascinating animals!  We also said hello to the horses on our lovely site. We were given a tour of the stables and told a little bit of information abut each one.

 

A visit to Madam Tussauds left us feeling like celebrities ourselves as we had our photos taken with all of the stars!  It was great to be up close to our favourite TV, film and music stars, past and present.  We strolled along the Blackpool Pier taking in the buzzing and vibrant atmosphere! One evening we saw the tower circus which was incredible.  We saw trapeze artists, acrobats, magicians and many more talented act!  We had enjoyed a brilliant holiday and had made some good friends.  Everyone said how much fun they had had!



Peak District Walks with Adrian, Steve & Michaela

Our journey was well worth it as we arrived at our luxurious lodge set amongst huge pine trees in the Darwin Country Park. It was a truly beautiful spot.   The first morning we awoke to find we were not alone! The lodge was surrounded by the local wildlife including a cheeky squirrel that we named Cedric. He joined us for breakfast along with all the birds, so a trip to the pet shop for nuts and seed was planned. We went on a beautiful 4 mile walk and everybody enjoyed the wildlife that we came across along the way.

 

We spent a whole day at Chatsworth House and gardens which was a fun day, with a lovely picnic in the grounds. We spent the afternoon in the house where we saw the bed that King George 4th actually slept in!   We had a great time walking in the gardens spotting all the different birds and smelling and identifying all the different herbs grown in the kitchen garden. We completed the day by a visit to the Chatsworth farm shop to get supplies for a barbeque!

 

On one day we planned a high peak walk. Firstly we headed to the beautiful town of Buxton where we had a wander around the market for a spot of shopping for presents and souvenirs. From Buxton we headed to the village of Bollington where we started the high peak walk to White Nancy. The walk offered some of the most spectacular views in the Peak District. Along the route we came across a farm where we chatted with the farmer who kindly sold us some Duck and Goose eggs.

 

On another day we all set off to the Criche tramway village where we spent the majority of the day riding on trams and enjoying the many delights that Criche has to offer. There were many vintage trams, some horse drawn but mainly motorised. They were in fantastic condition. We visited the workshop where they maintain the vintage trams. We were lucky enough to nip into the olde fashion sweet shop and stocked up for a feast.  Later in the day we visited the ten pin bowling alley where we all had a fantastic time.  It was a cracker of a holiday loved by everyone! 

 

 

 

Butlins, Fun & Disco (Bognor Regis) with Phil & Melanie

Time for another blast of a Butlins holiday as we all set off eagerly to our holiday destination, stopping for lunch at a delightful pub for lunch along the way.  What a lively and exciting holiday it was as we danced the nights away to several wonderful tribute acts!  We saw Jessie J, Olly Murs, Robbie Williams, and a Blues Brothers Show. 

During our week away we took an invigorating train ride along the promenade, just steps away from our resort.  Melanie took the girls down to the sea shore with the satisfying sound of crunching stones under foot! How lovely it was to be beside the sea.  We had a cracking game of crazy golf on the sea front where some brilliant holes-in-one were scored -  some had quite a talent for it!  

 

We spent some much loved time at the Funfair on the resort, with some of us going all-out on the rides!  Chris looked after Melanie on one of the big rides to make sure she didn't get too scared!  We had a go at 'Hook the Duck' and we all won prizes to take home with us. 

 

One morning we headed into the beautiful city of Chichester and went inside the stunning cathedral.  Everyone was in awe of the rich history, and we learnt that it is nearly 1000 years old!  We had a lovely morning coffee and cake in an amazing patisserie - there were so many wonderful cakes to choose from!  We enjoyed a picnic in the impressive castle grounds before heading into the town itself.  We dipped into a very old sweetshop where some bought gifts to take home - all of the traditional sweets on offer made our mouths water! 

 

A few of us went swimming one morning whilst others spent time in the arcade playing on the variety of games.  We had a game of ten pin bowling which everyone loved - the competitive spirits were running high with some great strikes being scored!  It was an absolutely super holiday and we hope to see everybody again next year. 

 

                                     

Norfolk Broads and Seaside with John & Wendy

Our truly lovely holiday started off with a delightful lunch in an authentic farm shop café in rural Cambridgeshire.  We then excitedly set off to our newly refurbished and spacious bungalow situated right on Barton Broad. 

 

Glorious sunshine made our days warm and bright.  On a few occasions, our instructor for the week, Peter, took us out to explore the broads on an impressive sailing boat.  Under full sail and strong wind, we picked up quite a speed and all enjoyed the challenge of steering the vessel around Barton Broad. At one point we let the experts guide us through the narrow bridge at Ludham!  It was wonderful to spot the numerous bird life which included kingfishers, herons, swans, geese and ducks.  We moored the boat to stop off for refreshments in some beautiful broad-side pubs.

 

 

We took out canoes with 4 of us in each and had great fun racing each other and trying to avoid any trees!  One afternoon we set off to the greyhound races at Great Yarmouth - oh what a blast it was as  we made lots of noise cheering on our favourite dogs and many of us were very enthusiastic winners!  One another morning we drove in sunshine to Blakeney on the stunning Norfolk coast.  We walked the coastal footpath and everyone loved being out in the fresh sea air.   Some of us brave ones even paddled in the sea!  A wonderful holiday loved by everyone.