Stadium Tours - Premiership Football Clubs (North) with Oli & Ayshea

 Stadium Tours - Premiership Football Clubs 

We're football crazy, we're football mad! Jim Bob was very excited and wore his Manchester City top with pride. The Etihad Stadium is one of the newest stadiums we had visited, built to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games. It was then converted to seat 48,000 football fans. We had soon immersed ourselves in the tour, visiting areas that are not usually available to the public. The guide told us what happens on matchdays in the Home Team dressing room before we got to feel what it’s like to walk down the famous glass players tunnel. 

Pitch-side was another great experience as we got a ‘Pep’s-eye view’ of the stadium from the dug-outs. Next, we got to walk through the multi award-winning hospitality suite The Tunnel Club, but the best bit was yet to come. 

We got to interact with a hologram of Pep Guardiola in the press room and pretend to ask him questions. It was a truly memorable experience. The souvenir shop was a must and Jim Bob gto his dream come true by purchasing the latest City shirt.  

As we drove to the Theatre of Dreams we sang some football chants such as ‘Glory, Glory, Man Utd’. Upon arrival we took in the impressive stadium that holds a massive 74,000 spectators. Photos in front of Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law statue was a must. They scored 665 United goals between them. Of course, the trio were some of the most high-profile footballers of their era, each winning the coveted European Footballer of the Year award between 1964 and 1968. 

Soon we were introduced to our tour guide who gave us a warm welcome and started telling us all about the history of the team and how it all began. We were told everything about the different managers and were shown their special seats around the grounds. There really was still a lot of love and respect for them still. The next part of the tour gave us goosebumps as we walked down the tunnel and onto the pitch. There were cheers from the noise of the crowd and we felt like we were football stars pretending we were about to play the most important game of our life. It was an overwhelming feeling to be standing on a pitch that so many legends have done in years gone by. We also felt very privileged to be sat in the Sir Alex Ferguson stand. The groundsmen were hard at work keeping the pitch pristine, it really does take a lot of work! 

Next, we headed into the players changing rooms and to our delight saw their shirts hanging up. Lots of photos were taken with our favourite tops. Our day ended in the trophy room, and it was incredible to see how many plaques, trophies and memorabilia were on show. There was so much to look at in the museum, steeped in history where we could read and watch videos of memorable goals scored over the years. A stop in the Mega Store was a must and Philip and David bought souvenirs to remind them of their time here. 

Our 3rd stop on our football tour was at Anfield. On arrival Ian couldn’t wait to have his photo taken with the statue of John Houlding, who was the Lord Mayor of Liverpool and founder of the club. In 2017 Houlding was commemorated with a bronze bust outside the club to mark the 125th anniversary. 

We got to practise our interviewing technique in the Press Room. Ian was full of smiles walking down the tunnel with cheers all round.  He had to touch the shield on the wall before walking out onto the pitch as this is what all players do before a game to bring them luck. Being able to sit in the managers dugout was a memorable experience, and we were wowed by the views of the pitch and city landscape from the top level of the Main Stand. 

Everyone was given a small tablet and headphones which told us the history of the club before we headed into the state-of-the-art players dressing room which again was adorned with shirts from old legends to present day heroes! We finished off visiting the club's interactive museum The Liverpool FC Story, with the six European cups and The Boom Room exhibition. Obviously, we couldn't resist buying some souvenirs from the shop.

With everyone picking their lucky club and ball it was game on at the crazy golf course! The fun but challenging course meant we really had to focus, and it was clear that we were a competitive bunch! There were some great shots, and everyone managed to get a lucky hole in one! 

Next on the agenda was archery where we were put into two teams and with a steady hand tried our best to hit the target. Our instructor was really helpful and gave us some good tips. Before long we all agreed we would give Robin Hood a run for his money! There were also some nail biting pool tournaments throughout our week, with everyone trying to hang on to their title.

It was time to visit the iconic Blackpool Tower. First, we learnt lots of information about the history and saw a fantastic metal model of the tower in a big glass case. There was a mixture of excitement and apprehension in the air because we were about to embark on the long journey to the top! We entered the lift, and it began to climb, higher and higher; all of us were very brave and the views across Blackpool and the surrounding areas as we made our ascent were fantastic. At a height of 518 feet, it's no wonder. At the top is the "walk of faith" which is a glass platform where you can look down right down to the ground. Some of our braver clients did this! Looking down through the glass made your heart pound but you also couldn't help but feel exhilarated. 

Everyone was in true holiday mode and looking forward to our next adventure at the Big Top!We knew that the circus was one of the longest standing shows in Blackpool and we couldn't wait for it to start. As we took our seats the Ringmaster, Mr Boo made his entrance followed by Mookie the clown and we later learnt that they both are responsible for the design of the props and costumes. The show was excellent, and we spent the next two hours, swinging between laughter and staring in awe at the amazing acts that followed. There were some dare devil stunts from amazing acrobatics to a lady juggling fire with her feet whilst laying on a motorbike! Then it came to the most dangerous part of the show; stunt motorbike riders racing round and round a metal cage. Our hearts were in our mouths as we watched them perform hair raising stunts within the globe. We couldn't believe what we were seeing! As the show drew to a close, we watched in amazement as the ring filled with water and smoke. Fire breathing dragons appeared, circling the ring as the acrobats put on more death-defying feats.

After lots of chatting about today there was only one thing still left to do. Everyone was keen to visit the Blackpool Illuminations, so we did just that! The 6-mile stretch of some of the brightest lights we had ever seen was magnificent. They’re on buildings, fairground rides, lamp posts and trams. The Tower itself looked even more amazing lit up in a kaleidoscope of colours.

Butlins, Fun & Dancing (Skegness) with Midi, Matt & Jamie

 Butlins, Fun & Dancing 

We were here for all the fun that Butlins has to offer and we couldn't wait to start our holiday! 

The friendly RedCoats always made us feel so welcome. They spent time chatting away and we showed them how we partied in true JollyDays style.

The funfair was a huge hit with our group and we tried our luck on the traditional stalls and were all lucky winners.  We crashed and bumped into each other on the Dodgems and got flown around on the Waltzer. 

We rode the graceful Carousel and raced around the  track on the Go-karts. It was so  much fun! 

The arcades kept us amused for hours as we collected tickets that we later exchanged for prizes! 

The evening entertainment was something we looked forward to every night. The tribute acts and magic shows were outstanding. A real highlight of our holiday.

A wonderful morning was spent at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park. This is home to over 1000 parrots and parakeets of all different colours and sizes. We were given a talk by the keeper about the five tigers within the park and were astonished at how much meat they eat. We posed for photos next to the glass partition with the tiger named “Skah”. Luckily, she had already had her lunch! Our next stop was at rare white Barbary lions who were happily basking in the warm sunshine. As we walked away, we could hear their mighty roar! As we entered a walk-through Aviary some of the parakeets landed on our arms and shoulders. Matty gave peanuts to Royston and Liam who happily fed them and we enjoyed seeing the beautiful colours and observed their friendly nature as they nibbled at the food on our arms. 

keen to make the most of the glorious weather and headed to Europe’s biggest market at Fantasy Island. We spent the morning wandering around the many aisles which were full to burst with fashion, gifts and toys. We shopped till we dropped