20 totally wizard half-term trips to thrill the kids
FOODIE FUN
1: Mushroom hunting by the loch Where: Loch na Dal, Isle of Skye. What: There’s an abundance of chanterelles, ceps and birch boletes to be found in the forest surrounding the Kinloch Lodge. On October 27, expert Mitch Partridge offers a morning of foraging. Enjoy freshly picked nibbles and refreshing brews (bog myrtle tea, anyone?) made on an open fire.
Don’t miss: Ask for room eight – it has great views over the loch.
Price: £125pp (under-16s accompanied by a parent go free). Group foraging, a three- course lunch and a cocktail (or mocktail), dinner a nd B&B costs from £315 pp (kinlochlodge.co.uk). 2: Foraging in the Forest of Dean Where: Clearwell, Gloucestershire. What: Teach children where their food comes from with half- day workshops with foraging guru Raoul van den Broucke. Afterwards, enjoy a delicious lunch using your foraged ingredients.
Don’t miss: A family room (with double bed and bunk beds) at the Tudor Farmhouse.
Price: Families can book a group course in half- term ( starting on either October 20 or 27) from £ 60pp, including lunch. Family rooms cost from £ 210 a night (tudorfarmhousehotel.co.uk). 3: Coastal cookery masterclass Where: Carmarthenshire. What: Join woodland manager Craig Evens to scour rock pools and mudflats for shellfish and sea vegetables. He’ll then give a lesson in how to cook your finds.
Don’t miss: There is availability at the Broadway Country House Hotel in Laugharne – family rooms cost from £ 120 a night ( broadway countryhouse.co.uk).
Price: Courses start at £80 per adult and include up to six hours of foraging and lunch. Under-16s go free (coastalforaging.co.uk). GLAMPING 4: Yurts on a garlic farm Where: Newchurch, Isle of Wight. What: Four luxurious yurts adorn a field of a family-run garlic farm overlooking Newchurch valley. Each yurts sleeps six and has a kitchen, wood- burning stove and USB charging socket. An on- site restaurant serves breakfast and lunch. There’s also a tennis court, football pitch and games room.
Don’t miss: The education room plays a history of garlic video, and there’s a chance to sample homemade garlic-infused products.
Price: A two-night stay for four costs from £243 (thegarlicfarm.co.uk).
5: Cabin in the woods
Where: Blackberry Wood, near Lewes, East Sussex.
What: Quirky accommodation on a peaceful campsite, including a ‘curvy cabin’ featured on Grand Designs and a Hansel and Gretelstyle treehouse.
Don’t miss: If you fancy a night off from cooking, pre-order a Thai takeaway, delivered to the campsite (tinythai.co.uk).
Price: From £220 for four staying in the curvy cabin for two nights. Camping starts at £15 a night for one tent (blackberrywood.com).
6: Beachside safari lodges
Where: Thornham Bay, Norfolk. What: Go off-grid at a luxury safaristyle lodge in apple orchards within walking distance of one of the county’s quietest sandy beaches at Holme Dunes. Well-equipped kit- chens, comfy beds and showers await in accommodation that sleeps between six and ten people. There’s a farm shop, Eric’s Amazing Fish and Chips, and a cafe on site.
Don’t miss: Eric’s is licensed so you can enjoy a glass of prosecco with your meal.
Price: From £495 for a three-night break – a ten per cent discount is available to MoS readers who quote this article (wildluxury.co.uk).
ACTION PACKED
7: Broomstick training in a castle
Where: Alnwick Castle, Northumberland.
What: Harry Potter fans will love spooky goings-on at the castle where two of the movies were filmed. Activities include the chance to take a broomstick lesson in the same spot where Harry was taught quidditch, a potion lesson with a medieval alchemist, and a knights’ workshop.
Don’t miss: Local deli Tully’s delivers organic ready-to-eat meals if you fancy a feast without cooking (rothburydeli.co.uk).
Price: All activities included in admission price of £16 for adults, £8.50 for children (alnwickcastle.com). Burnfoot Holiday Cottages has availability nearby, including West Lodge, from £ 770 a week (burnfootholidaycottages.co.uk).
8: Bushcraft holiday camp
Where: Killinghall, near Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
What: Children aged eight and over can learn fire- lighting, shelter-making and wilderness cookery around the camp fire. One- day courses are available, or else camp overnight and learn how to navigate in the dark, plus tuck into supper and breakfast (hot chocolate and marshmallows included). Halfterm is a week later than the rest of the country in Yorkshire, West Midlands and the North East so these courses run from October 29 to November 3. Stay on a working dairy farm in the village.
Don’t miss: Home-made scones and milkshakes, served in glass wellies, in the farm’s coffee shop.
Price: Holiday camp costs from £25 per child per day or £30 for the overnight camp ( yorkshiredalesbushcraft.co.uk). Cowslip Cottage or Humblebee Cottage are available from between £530 and £730 a week (farmstay.co.uk). 9: Explore the Jurassic Coast Where: Warmwell, Dorset. What: Find Silverlake’s self-catering properties dotted among hundreds of acres of heathland with lakes where you can kayak and paddleboard or take a nature trail