Holiday activities for families (all robustly tested by three energetic, lively brothers!)
As you know our family time is really important to us and we have just got back from two fabulous back-to-back holidays.
We thought it would be nice to share our experiences with you incase it’s something you’d like to do, especially as staying in the UK is more of an option these days!
Part 1: Haven Haggerston Castle
For our first five days we stayed at the Haven Haggerston Castle resort, close to Berwick-on-Tweed on the Northumberland coast.
We found Haggerston Castle a great base and it had everything the we needed to keep the kids busy! We did horse riding, making slime, swimming, pedaloes on the lake, bike rides, reptile encounters (where the kids got to see and touch loads of cool reptiles, and a huge snail called ‘snot’!), arcades, indoor soft play, train ride… Yes, it was basically an action packed all systems go kinda holiday! We were really impressed with the facilities and organisation and it really covered a range of ages which, with children aged 4, 6 and 11, was perfect for us. The horse-riding and reptile encounters were booked separately but everything else was through Haven (some did have an extra charge but were well worth it).
We did venture out on one of the days and visited Alnwick Castle where the famous Harry Potter scene where Harry takes his first broomstick lesson was filmed there and the grounds are stunning. You can take broomstick lessons too which were brilliant. The people giving the lessons are all dressed in full Harry Potter gear and were fabulous actors. We also saw the Jester show which we would highly recommend. The show was amazing, and the Jesters took their time to speak to us after the show and they let Chris have a go at doing some of the tricks which was really kind of them and the kids absolutely loved it.
Part 2: Butlins, Skegness
After coming home for one night we travelled to Butlins in Skegness and stayed there for a week. We had a crazy time there, it is literally like entering a different world! It was full of shows, activities and non-stop fun all day for everyday! We saw loads of familiar acts such as Fleur East, Diversity, Twist & Pulse, Reggie & Bollie, Harlem Globetrotters, Brainiac Live, Peppa Pig Live, PJ Masks Live and we even saw a Queen tribute Act (called Platinum Queen) who were just incredible! And all for our no extra charge. We were astounded! One of our favourites was an act called Superstar DJ which was basically like a ‘mini rave’. It was an amazing experience for us and the kids too and especially to have that shared experience. Max absolutely loved Superstar DJ and got his picture taken with the DJ, and the singer (who toured with Calvin Harris). We also managed to see the Gandey’s Circus (honestly, the itinerary was crazy!) and for free too (we just paid extra to ensure we had tickets for that night rather than risking queuing and not getting in.) On top of all of this, we swam everyday in the fabulous waterpark (which is the best one we have ever been too) and it only took us between 5 and 20 minutes to get through the queue each time. The staff were all so helpful and friendly, they really made the holiday special.
Miraculously, after all that we did actually find time to leave Butlins too, well just twice! We visited Natureland Seal Sanctuary which is a must if in you are in Skegness. It wasn’t as big as we expected but we still had a great time there. We spent about 2hrs there in total, and managed to see the seals and the penguins being fed too. All the entry money goes directly to helping the seals there who are either sick, or recovering from illness awaiting to be released back into the wild. They do amazing work, and without them many seals would have died.
We also went to Lincolnshire Wildlife Park which was another great day out. Just one thing to be aware of, they use peanuts to feed the birds and allow visitors to feed the birds peanuts too. We didn’t know this before going, and if we had we wouldn’t have gone as Jayden is allergic to nuts, and if ingested he is anaphylactic. In the end we made him wear gloves and he didn’t touch anything as it is so easy to touch a railing where nuts have been, and then put your hands in your mouth which could have been fatal to him. That aside, we did have a great time there and they have so many amazing animals to see… we did rush around it and did the whole park in 2 hrs but could easily spend the day there… but we rushed as Jayden was understandably anxious with all the nuts around so this is something to bear in mind.
This is most definitely a streamlined version! Our whole holiday was just incredible and we had the most amazing time! I could probably write a book about everything we did and saw as we did so much!
One thing you might want to bear in mind is that if you book a private caravan at Butlins (like we did) you won’t be able to pre-book any of the shows but we got into every single show we waited for and we went to 2-3 a day (as you can tell!) and never got turned away once.
It wasn’t a beach holiday abroad but Chris and I have both said that it couldn’t have been any better and as a family holiday we spent such quality time together and created more memories than we could have hoped for.
As family holidays go, Haven and Butlins really have it sussed. Without a doubt, we will be back!
