BUCKETS AND SPADES ARE OPTIONAL
Heading to the UK for a family holiday? Sophie Butler finds the best short breaks with something for everyone, featuring thrills, wild animals, ninjas and more.
1 Burning ambition
Wicker Man, a newly unveiled wooden roller coaster that hurtles towards a sixstorey-high burning effigy at top speed, is the latest in the line-up of high-octane experiences at Alton Towers. There’s plenty for younger children too, including less nail-biting rides in CBeebies Land. Family accommodation on site is equally wideranging and includes Enchanted Village Lodges, Treehouses and the Caribbeanthemed Splash Landings hotel.
Two weekend nights cost from £557 ($1086) in a Woodland Lodge, sleeping five, including breakfast, two-day theme park tickets and evening entertainment. altontowers.com
2 We are most amused
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s favourite family retreat, Osborne House — near Cowes on the Isle of Wight — has plenty to interest younger visitors. Attractions include two playgrounds, an adventure trail and interactive activities available in the property’s miniature Swiss Cottage chalet. Stylish gatehouse selfcatering is available at the estate entrance for a minimum stay of three nights.
Three nights cost from £665 staying in No. 1 Sovereign’s Gate, sleeping four. The price includes free access to Osborne House, plus discounts in the on-site restaurant and shop. english-heritage.org.uk
3 Stately staycation
Families with small children should make a beeline for the farmyard at Chatsworth House, near Bakewell in Derbyshire, to find such attractions as the guinea pig village, trailer rides, milking demonstrations and animal handling. There’s also an exciting woodland playground with a rope park and zip wire. Accommodation on the estate includes a collection of eight family and dog-friendly holiday cottages sleeping between three and six people.
Three nights cost from £900 staying in Pingle Cottage or Russian Cottage, both of which sleep four. Longer seven-night stays include admission to Chatsworth House and garden. chatsworthstays.co.uk
4 Wild weekend
Tigers, lions, bears, gorillas and black rhinos are among the 700 rare and endangered animals that roam Port Lympne Reserve near Ashford, in Kent. The best choices of family accommodation are the Hog Deer Creek, Rhino Lodge, Bear Lodge and the Treehouses, or the newly opened Wolf Lodge — a refurbished gatehouse sleeping four, right next door to the wolf reserve.
Two weekend nights cost from £798 staying in a Hog Deer Creek shepherd’s hut, sleeping four. The price includes free admission to Port Lympne reserve and use of a golf buggy for transport throughout the stay. aspinallfoundation.org/port-lympne
5 Eco domes
Shelter from a tropical storm, learn about bees and bask in the aromas of the perfume garden inside the giant biomes at the Eden Project, near St Austell in Cornwall, which combines educational activities with lots of fun. Shipping containers have been ingeniously converted into snug, bunk-style rooms for families who want to stay on site.
Two weekend nights cost from
£128 staying in a four-person, en suite Snoozebox at the YHA Eden Project. A family ticket to the Eden Project costs from £64, valid for all-year entry. yha.org.uk edenproject.com
6 Gothic glamping
New for 2018, Warwick Castle’s Avenue of the Kings glamping tents (sleeping five) are furnished with four-poster beds and thrones. Woodland lodges and more opulent tower suites are also available. Leaving no medieval stone unturned, this attraction offers daily jousting tournaments, birds-of-prey displays, bowman shows and demos of the world’s largest siege machine in 25ha of gardens.
Two weekend nights cost from £660 between July and Sept in a Warwick tent, based on a family of four. The price includes breakfast, two-day priority admission to the castle and evening entertainment. warwick-castle.com
7 Regal retreat
It’s primarily the Queen’s private retreat, but the grounds, gardens and exhibitions at Balmoral Castle, near Ballater in Aberdeenshire, are open to the public until July 31. Special events include birds of prey displays, walking and safari tours, open-air theatre and pipe bands. Holiday cottages in the castle grounds are booked up well
in advance and require a minimum stay of one week, so perhaps one to look at for next year.
Seven nights cost from £765 in Colt
Cottage, sleeping five. The price includes access to the grounds. A family ticket to the gardens and exhibitions costs £32. balmoralcastle.com
8 Luxury lodging
Six safari-style glamping lodges, with showers and flushing toilets, open this month in the spectacular surroundings of the Snowdonia’s “dark sky” reserve, at Llechwedd’s Slate Caverns in Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales. The on-site activities include deep mine tours and rides on a 4x4 quarry explorer, plus a vast underground adventure playground of zip lines, bouncy nets and slides.
Three nights cost from £595 for a glamping lodge sleeping four. The price includes fast-track access to the slate caverns. Family tickets for the deep mine tour cost £30 (one adult, one child under 16 years). llechwedd-slate-caverns.co.uk
9 Who dares rides
Opened in May, Icon — Dare to Ride is the spectacular new roller coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Lancashire. Built at a cost of £16 million, it offers thrills such as drops of up to 25m and Formula I-style acceleration. Afterwards, stagger back to the nearby 157-room Big Blue Hotel, which has direct access to the theme park. Those seeking lower-octane rides should head to the children’s park, Nickelodeon Land.
Two weekend nights cost from £360 in a superior family room at the Big Blue Hotel. The price includes breakfast and a one-day entry wristband. bigbluehotel.com blackpoolpleasurebeach.com