Butlins, Fun & Disco with Derek, Phil & Wendy

All stations go and Butlins here we come!!  Our fantastic holiday began by driving through some beautiful countryside, stopping at a pretty village pub where we sat in the sunny garden and enjoyed lunch.  It was then off to Butlins to settle into our comfortable gold star lodges!  It was a was a bright, warm evening so we strolled along The Prom to a local fish and chip shop for a delicious dinner.  What a cracking way to kick off our holiday!

 

 

 

During our stay, we were zipped and zapped back through time as we watched some absolutely brilliant Tribute bands!  We saw The Beatles, Frankie Valley, Queen and a Motown band.  We boogied the nights away, singing to all the songs we knew.  Some of the acts even came to shake our hands whilst they were on stage - everyone loved the attention from the artists! 

 

 

We spent a thrilling morning at the funfair on site - what a fun time we had riding the dodgems, carousel, rocking tug boat and Mexican hat! We all won prizes for hooking ducks and throwing darts!  Some of us went swimming and had a great time jumping over the waves and splashing in the water features, whilst others had fun playing games of pool.

 

 

A truly lovely afternoon was spent taking in the beauty of Hotham Park, where we enjoyed ice creams by the pretty glittering lake.   We all loved watching the cute baby ducklings in the conservation area.  This was followed by a walk into Bognor town where we visited a charming old fashioned sweet shop where some of us bought some gifts and souvenirs.

 

On another of our glorious days we set off for the historic town of Arundel.  We stepped into the impressive French gothic-style cathedral with its wonderful stained glass windows. We also visited the smaller church of St Nicolas before heading up to the enchanting Arundel Castle.  The Castle gardens were in full bloom and it was lovely to eat our picnic lunch amongst the green oak pagodas and water features surrounded by such glorious colours and smells. We ambled through the gardens to the castle where we spent the afternoon admiring the well preserved splendour of the stately rooms.  They really bought history to life for us.  Our tired legs appreciated the fun ride back to the castle gate on electric buggies!  What an amazing holiday with some fantastic memories!

French Countryside & Coast with Adrian and Netty

 

In true French spirit, we took our 'petit promenade en bateau' over to France and had an exciting crossing! 

 

 We all shouted a big "Bonjour!" as we reached Calais and then drove the scenic drive to our luxury holiday home. C'était magnifique! 

With all the space and comfort that we could possibly want, we made ourselves feel at home and set out to explore!

 

Our holiday was filled full of wonderful days out visiting charming little French villages and towns.  We went to Monteuil-Sur-Mer where we tasted some beautiful French food overlooking the sea.  We took a leisurely amble along the promenade at the pretty town of Hardelot.  We had fun collecting the most interesting shells along the vast stretches of beach! 

 

We had the most amazing steam train adventure and were all bowled over at how stunning the journey was.  We travelled around the Somme and enjoyed the best views from the front carriage!  We could even see the men shovelling coal to make the train work! Our journey stopped at Valery-Sur-Somme, an enchanting medieval town (some of which dated back to the 1500's!) Everybody loved being so close to such amazing history! 

 

An excellent morning was spent at a famous chocolate factory. Everyone agreed how fascinating the chocolate making process is!  We saw it all from the cocoa bean to the finished product. We even got to taste it - C'était délicieux! 

 

A marvellous market morning was spent at the buzzing Le Touquet where our senses came alive with the sights and sounds around us.

 

The atmosphere was vibrant and colourful and we all loved looking at what everyone had to offer!  Delicious smells wafted past us, luring us in to try some local French produce. 

 

This was followed by a trip to Boulogne, where we went to the biggest sea life centre in Europe! Amazed by the sheer size of it, we ambled around and saw an incredible variety of sea creatures! From huge lobsters and giant crabs to gliding sting rays and fearsome sharks, we were truly in awe! We clapped and cheered at the spectacular sea lion show, impressed by their tricks. We then headed into Boulogne's old town and strolled around its charming cobbled streets, lapping up the historic feel.

 

We also visited Les Jardins De Valloires in the Authie Valley, where we saw its stunning five gardens and an 11th Century monastery. We learnt some interesting facts about the history of the place and all agreed it was lovely to be amongst all of the flowers.

We had shared some great experiences together on holiday and everyone agreed that they had a brilliant time. 

Butlins Fun & Disco with Phil and Mags

"Oh I do like to be beside the sea-side, Oh I do like to be beside the sea!"

With great enthusiasm and excitement, we headed for the Brilliant Butlins located right on the stunning Minehead coast.  We stayed in some very comfortable gold star lodges and made ourselves at home!  Throughout our whirlwind week, we did plenty of dancing and impressing people with our moves!  We saw a Beatles tribute band, a Robbie and Ollie Tribute act and many more wonderful shows! We met the recoats too, of course!  they were super friendly to our group and made us all laugh!

 We appreciated some beautiful views across the bay of Minehead, noticing all of the houses dotted into the Cliffside.  We strolled along the promenade with an ice cream and went down onto the beach.  We had a little look round the old railway station too, which was very interesting!

We had a cracking time at the fun fair at Butlins. From dodgems and rollercoasters to twisters and carousels, we all dared to be brave on the rides!  One morning some of us went swimming and had a wonderful splash around, whilst others tried their hand at air hockey and 2p machines!  Longing for a hole-in-one, we had a go at Crazy Golf which everybody absolutely loved.  Some impressive shots were taken!

 Zap! Boom! Kapow!  We all had a game of laser shooting in the dark which was fantastic fun!  What fun we had trying to navigate our way around in darkness trying to find our enemies!  We also had a good game of billiards and ten pin bowling, with excellent efforts all round!  It was an amazing week loved by all.