Summer holidays

Anna

Parenting specialist

Hi all

The message board is exceptionally quiet this last week :?

What are you up to these holidays? Are you enjoying them and ignoring the weather? Do they seem to be dragging and you can't wait for school to start up again? Are you broke and stuck at home?

Keep me company and let me know what you are up to! ;)

Posted on: August 13, 2008 - 2:48pm

ficurnow

I'm taking my girls to North Devon for a week on Friday. Searched the internet and managed to book the cheapest thing I could find that WASN'T camping!

The weather is pissing me off, tho'. Would love to be able to holiday somewhere hot (or just DRY!) - wish I could afford it :(

Have been quite good at entertaining the kids for little money so far this holiday - saved up my Brit Trip and Tesco Clubcard points to do things, and making the most of my English Heritage membership which lets me take me and up to 6 (if I happened to be so mad and well provided for in the vehicle dpeartment!) kids into one of their properties for free. Okay, so they and their friends spend most of the time running round the moats, climbing on the walls and the history bit gets ignored but they're out in the fresh air, getting exercise and away from their Nintendos! Fi x

Posted on: August 13, 2008 - 4:42pm

Anna

Parenting specialist

Hi Fi,

The weather has been pretty bad for days now, maybe its time for it to cheer up for a while?? :roll:

Have a super holiday, if you are not camping, what are you holidaying in, I am always intrigued to hear of holidaying bargains. As last time I looked, a week in Cornwall in a mobile home was going to be £800, crazy prices.
I went to Mallorca in the spring for a week and spent £500 for both myself and my daughters flights, accomodation and car hire, the sun was shining too! :ugeek:

When you get back please log on and share where you went, what it was like and any places of interest you found.

Also if anyone else knows of any gems in North Devon, so share here before Fi goes on holiday!

Have fun Fi! :)

Posted on: August 13, 2008 - 4:57pm

ficurnow

Thanks, Anna!

I'm staying in a chalet on a very small holiday park and I found it via http://travelsearch.yahoo.co.uk/c-100020613-cheap-holidays.html in case this is of use to anyone else in the future. It cost me just under £500 which was £500 more than I have spare but I thought what the hell, max out the credit card cos I so need the break!

The annoying thing is, just after I'd booked it we got a thing round at work (I work in a school) offering discounted holidays in the school holiday time for any school staff (nice someone recognises that low paid support staff are affected by the constraints of term time contracts, too!). It's at the Woolacombe Bay Holiday park group and you just have to quote 'school' when booking, in case that's any use to anyone. Might give that a go next time!

Fi x

Posted on: August 14, 2008 - 2:28pm

SadieTwins

Hi ladies...that place sounds good....

We were very lucky and got invited (whilst at a birthday party with school friends) to go to France, I checked out the ferry prices... £50 each way and thought yeah, lets go for it.....as you do..... Luckily I had a work cheque come through for £240 so I was ecstatic and was going to enjoy myself rather than worry how much overdrawn I was going to be....So no accommodation costs, just petrol, my mum gave me £20 and the boys 20 euros each... I made a picnic for the ferry, we set of around 9.30 on the Monday and by 7pm and lots of driving with a few stops on the easy french roads, we arrived at a very pretty, very quiet rural french hamlet.....

How lucky were we, it was a gorgeous place with a rather large pool, enormous garden with a trampoline... Well done to Oscar for having such a good friend, I hardly know them, we've had 1 play day after school so only went for 4 and a half days...

The best thing was that I didn't have to do anything, no cooking, no cleaning... so I had a proper holiday... (sorry to everyone who never got away and who still had to do everything if you did go away...)... It was so nice for me, after 7 years I actually got to relax... miracles never cease to happen....and I thank my lucky stars...

Then it was back to England and the rain (yes, we even got some sunshine there too)....and no money...hurrah.... A giro from the DSS arrived after I phoned them and they got the paperwork wrong so I went shopping and we did some fun stuff like bowling and the cinema..... but I've now had 32p for the bank holiday weekend which wasn't so much fun.... they have messed up the claim and I have to go to see them tomorrow as they owe me 2 weeks income support... I borrowed £2.50 for parking the other day and £4 today to get some bits.... so we went to the common today and had a great time feeding the horses, with a picnic and a bottle of water from home...

All in all a good summer ( I worked for the last 2 years through the holidays) and it was horrible, at least I've had a great time with the kids even if we are totally broke we have some good memories....

Posted on: August 26, 2008 - 7:09pm

ficurnow

Wow - sounds like you landed on your feet with that holiday, Sadie! And sounds like you deserved every minute of it - well played!! :D

Me - I had a pretty wet time in North Devon so came back feeling quite frustrated and not like I'd had a holiday at all, really! :(

Fi x

Posted on: August 28, 2008 - 7:17pm

SadieTwins

Thanks Fi...yep...landed with my bum in the butter as they say :lol: and yep too... well deserved!!! As we all do... England is hard when its so wet all the time...at least you got away, just that can be refreshing from the everyday routines.... still I agree, most of the time you need a holiday when you get back from the holiday... :|

I looked at the single parent holidays...they just seemed really expensive... I know that the youth hostels YHA now do family rooms and they look like a good bet, cheap and simple, with big kitchens for group cooking etc....

My friend went to Swanage and was shocked at how expensive everything was!! The worst thing is how the holidays cost 3x as much when its the school holidays... I want to petition the Government because I think its criminal they way they hold us all to randsom and on the other hand is the school saying don't take time out from school days or the educational welfare officer will be round.... too mean.... something needs to be done about it ..... After all, when we get a decent break we can be more effective parents so its all good, everyone benefits..... anyway thats getting political and its a bit late in the day for that!!! ;)

Posted on: August 28, 2008 - 9:37pm