Half-term havens to beat the summer crowds
The summer half-term break will be many families’ first chance for a holiday this year. However, with self-catering stays in short supply and a recent rush on hotels, some favourites might be fully booked. Here are five spots that make a worthy plan B.
THAMES TIMES If you like... Cliveden, Berkshire Try... The Runnymede on Thames, Surrey
That most glamorous of riverside hotels, Cliveden, still has a couple of rooms available this half-term, but if the price point proves a problem, row on down to The Runnymede on Thames. While the drab Seventies building might not thrill from the outside, the hotel is full of fun touches such as oversized deckchairs and toy ducks dotted around. Children are in for a treat with goody bags on arrival, an indoor pool, a playground and table tennis. Better still, families can hire one of the hotel’s three boats for a day on the river. As for accommodation, there are plenty of interconnecting choices or opt for a duplex room, which has a separate kids’ area with television.
Rooms from £185; runnymedehotel.com
OUTDOOR ADVENTURES If you like... Rockliffe Hall, County Durham Try... Tudor Farmhouse, Gloucester
Golf and spa resort Rockliffe Hall – already booked-up – is one of those rare hotels that is as suitable for romantic escapes as it is for family breaks. Special mention must go to its Alice in Wonderland-themed play cabins and nature trail. Though smaller in scale, with only 20 rooms, the Tudor Farmhouse in the Forest of Dean shares a similar shapeshifting identity and a focus on making the most of the great outdoors. Old farm buildings have been converted in country-chic style, with plenty of plaid blankets and exposed beams. For families, the hotel can arrange dusk wildlife safaris, where guests track the likes of badgers and wild boars, plus stargazing experiences and foraging trips.
Rooms from £130; tudorfarmhouse hotel.co.uk
BEACH IN REACH
If you like... Moonfleet Manor, Dorset Try... Bailiffscourt Hotel & Spa,
West Sussex
The Jurassic Coast’s Moonfleet Manor (along with the others in the Luxury Family Hotels stable) is unsurprisingly full over half-term, but there are still a few choices if you are after a blast of sea air. Bailiffscourt Hotel & Spa, a mock-medieval mansion near Arundel, is great fun for families with its castlestyle corridors, stone staircases and “secret” underground tunnel. More modern diversions include a pool and spa complex (with family times) plus a giant jenga set. A short woodland stroll will lead you to the coast, with Littlehampton beach further along. The hotel can organise beach picnics, otherwise stop by the Thomas Heatherwick-designed East Beach Cafe for a beer-battered fish sandwich.
Rooms from £249; hshotels.co.uk/ bailiffscourt
COUNTRY CLUB
If you like... Chewton Glen,
Hampshire
Try... Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire For an action-packed break at a grand country house hotel, Chewton Glen is hard to beat, offering an array of activities that include everything from archery to duck herding – no wonder there are no rooms left. Still, a little closer to London, the Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire is another estate with all the trimmings. Start sedately with a round of croquet, before amping up the adventure on the highwire obstacle course, complete with zip wires and tree-canopy bungee jumps. Bonus points for the complimentary rollaway beds (for children under 17), which easily fit in all of the spacious, immaculate rooms.
Rooms from £310; fourseasons.com/ hampshire
WELSH BREAK If you like... Penally Abbey, Pembrokeshire Try... Palé Hall, Gwynedd
Pretty Penally Abbey, with its cascading gardens above the sea, is packed in early June. That doesn’t mean your bucolic Welsh break is off. On the edge of Snowdonia National Park, Palé Hall is a Victorian manor with 50 acres of grounds and the River Dee running by. While padding around the gardens, be sure to visit the hotel’s three Shetland ponies, Bertie, Crunchy and Jet. Special meals can be prepared for children, while parents can try the tasting menu in the coffered-ceiling restaurant. Rooms have a real sense of history, not least the one where Queen Victoria once stayed – the bath and basin she used are still intact.