Planning a sensational staycation: Tips for a holiday to remember

When people talk about holidays, we often envisage hopping on a plane and spending a week or two basking in the sun while lounging around a pool. While beach breaks are popular, you don’t have to flee the UK to enjoy a memorable holiday. Not only does this wonderful island boast fabulous beaches, but it also offers a whole host of activities and attractions. If you’re looking forward to enjoying a staycation this year, here are some top tips to help you plan a trip to remember. 

Coral Island Blackpool - review

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Blackpool holds a special place in our hearts. It was the place where Lee and I had our first holiday together when we first started dating back when we were in a long distance relationship. Fast forward nearly 10 years, 2 kids and a 3rd on the way and we recently returned to Blackpool for a family holiday.

We enjoyed a few days at Blackpool, exploring the sights and attractions it has to offer to families. Walks along the famous promenade, eating ice cream on the pier, riding the trams which the kids thought was really cool and visiting the iconic Blackpool tower.

We also had a wonderful family day out at Coral Island Blackpool.

Coral Island

Coral Island is a pirate-themed family friendly indoor fun park filled with arcade games, slots, rides and so much more. With views of Blackpool’s beautiful beach it sits in the heart of Blackpool famous golden mile at the center of the promenade. 

Located near the central pier, close to the iconic Blackpool tower and a short walk to the SeaLife centre and Madame Tussauds, Coral Island is Blackpool's largest indoor free admission family friendly attraction. 

Lightwater Valley - review

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Last week when we were on our summer staycation visiting Lee's side of the family in Leeds we took our thrill-seeking boys to Lightwater Valley Theme Park in Ripon, North Yorkshire.

Having never been to Lightwater Valley before we checked out their website beforehand to see what attractions the park had to offer. Much to their delight they saw a number of rides and attractions they couldn't wait to try including the Wild River Rapids and Jumpin' Jack's Pillows.

Summer of Fun at Lightwater Valley

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For our UK summer staycation we are visiting a number of family friendly attractions to have fun and make memories with the kids. As we will be visiting Lee's family in Leeds during our city hopping staycation up North we will be visiting some of Lee's favourite places and attractions from his childhood so he can recreate and share some of his cherished memories of when he was a young boy with his own children. Top of the list is Lightwater Valley Theme Park in North Yorkshire.

Kids Eat Free at Coral Island, Blackpool plus win a Mini Cooper

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This summer we are going on a little staycation. After visiting family in Leeds we will be holidaying for a few days at Blackpool. The kids are very excited about going to Blackpool and have been looking at the Visit Blackpool website for ideas of attractions they want to.

As the boys love pirates especially H as he has just been learning all about pirates and the sea at school, once they saw the iconic pirate themed logo of Coral Island they declared we HAVE to visit there when holidaying in Blackpool.

The kids have already had a GOOD old look at the Coral Island website to see what attractions and amusements they can enjoy when we visit. H is very excited that they have a number or ride on kids rides and loves the look of the pirate ships and Circus ride. T is hyped up about the fact that Coral Island boasts Virtual Reality arcade rides, which in his opinion is “super awesome”. They also both want to go on the Ghost Train and Pirate Flyer whilst I can't wait to give the Camel Derby a try.

Chester Zoo 2019

Chester Zoo is one of my favourite family attractions in the UK and holds a special place in my heart. As a child we often visited Chester Zoo whilst on family holidays and it was always a fun and exciting time, as such our visits there are some of the fondest memories I have from my childhood.  It was also one of the family attractions we visited when on our first family holiday with our eldest child when he was a toddler. He was so excited to see the amazing animals as we explored the expansive zoo. 

Fast forward a few years and we again visited Chester Zoo again during our first holiday as a family of four. Again we created many fun memories that I treasure during our visit to Chester Zoo. Back in the summer of 2017 during our first family holiday as a family of four the boys loved seeing the magnificent animals, adored the boat ride on The Islands and had lots of fun playing in the PLAY! Space.

As we are planning a UK staycation family holiday for this summer where we will be travelling from Pembrokeshire up to North Wales and then across the North of England, we have decided to stop in Chester for a few days. As we love Chester Zoo and have had many wonderful visits there it is no surprise that we plan on visiting yet again this summer. With that in mind as part of planning for our summer 2019 family holiday I have been looking at what plans Chester Zoo has for this year.

Staycation 2019

This year we are planning a UK staycation family holiday for the summer where we will be travelling from Pembrokeshire up to North Wales and then across the North of England visiting a number of locations including Chester, Blackpool, Leeds and Scarborough.

Whilst it is going to be lots of travelling we are going to breaking up the journey with a few days at various locations where we will be exploring the area and visiting local family friendly attractions. Not only is it a lovely way for us to see and explore more of what wonderful Great Britain has to offer but by heading North it allows us to also visit Lee’s family in Leeds.

Travelodge Manchester Birch M62 Westbound review

When I was a child my mum would take my sister and I on short breaks to explore various locations across the UK. We’d often borrow my grandparents caravan, hitch it up to the car and off we went on adventures. When we could not or did not want to use the caravan she would book for us to stay at Travelodge. We were a Travelodge holidaying family. Staying at Travelodge was ideal for us as it was cheap, had the basic necessities we needed and was a comfortable place for us to lay our head and get a good night’s sleep after a day exploring whatever location we had rocked up at.

Now a parent myself and the other side of 30 I have not stayed at a Travelodge for about 15-20 years since my childhood.