Getting away on holiday can be difficult for single parents, who often have their work cut out just to make a living and care for their kids. Taking a weekend break, however, can be all that’s really needed to enjoy some amazing family time and discover exciting places. Within Britain there are many great places to go where children can have an exciting time and learn as they play – and where the prices don’t go up during the school holidays. It’s time to start discovering.
The undiscovered country
Many people assume that most of Britain is built-up, and looks much the same as the areas just outside their own front doors. In fact, it has a rich variety of landscapes waiting to be discovered. There are rugged mountains in Scotland and Wales, emerald glens in Ireland; there is wild open moorland in Yorkshire and there are stunning views and beautiful beaches to be found along the south coast. You can catch a train up into the highlands, book a flight to Ireland or hop on a bus to the Lake District at a very low cost, and it costs nothing at all to enjoy these landscapes.
Great places to take kids
There is a wealth of great places to take children in the British Isles, whatever their interests. These are just a few of the best:
- Natural wonders – go looking for Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest and see his famous oak, clamber across the pillars of rock at Giant’s Causeway, explore White Scar Cave in the Yorkshire Dales or see the spectacular Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfall in Powys.
- Timeless locations – from the prehistoric majesty of Stonehenge to the elegant engineering marvel that is Tower Bridge, the stunning Glenfinnan Viaduct made famous by the Harry Potter films or the Roman Baths in Bath, which you can still use today, there’s lots to see.
- Beaches – go fossil hunting along Blackpool Sands in Devon, explore the dunes in Dorset’s Studland Bay, build sandcastles or meet the ducks at Sandsend in Yorkshire, or go bird watching beneath the Red Castle at Lunan Bay in Angus.
- Weird and wonderful – there’s nothing quite like the futuristic botanical wonder of the Eden Project in Cornwall, but you can have a thrilling time panning for gold at Wanlockhead in Lanarkshire, monster spotting at Loch Ness or driving giant machines at Diggerland in Kent.
The importance of travel
Travel is a wonderful way for children to learn about the world and build up the confidence they will need to move around independently within it. Going abroad gives them the chance to meet speakers of different languages and people from less familiar cultures, so is well worth doing if the household budget will stretch to it. It’s relatively easy to find a cheap fight to France nowadays, and from there drive or take a bus or train into Germany, Italy or Spain.
Travelling with children can be a real treat and an excellent bonding experience – a chance to infuse them with enthusiasm about the world.
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