With February already in our sights (where did January go!) we have already completed a top-line travel plan for 2018. This would make our Italian friends who we met skiing in December in La Rosiere laugh – they don’t go in for forward planning. We didn’t used to, but with school holidays giving us a ready-made timetable, and so many top spots getting booked up so quickly, we have turned into ‘those’ people, booking holidays months in advance!
So this coming year sees us revisiting lots of places, though new adventures are promised in all of them…
- It will see us spending a bit more time in London than usual, staying with grandparents while the builders make a mess at home. We plan to hit some of the big museums, make the most of kid-friendly workshops at the wonderful Picked Pepper Books in Crouch End, and catch up with old friends.
- We’ll be exploring my husband’s home county of North Yorkshire, taking the kids to favourite old spots, seeing old friends and excitingly experiencing the new Alpamare waterpark in Scarborough.
- The family home in France will provide the base for our main summer holiday
- In October half-term we’ll be taking the kids to Venice. This will only be a revisit for me – a brand-new adventure for the husband and the kids.
We asked the kids which city they’d like to visit, and they said Italy – Venice! Why, I asked. Boats they said. And who can blame them.
We can’t wait for another city break. Berlin was such a success, I can’t believe it’s taken us this long to make a plan for another one. We’ve already booked our flights and our AirBnB accommodation. 10 months in advance. That’s got to be some kind of record!
I wonder what else we’ll be able to fit in. I’m keen to get out camping again this year and get back down to Cornwall. In the meantime we’ll continue to have adventures closer to home. There’s a long list of more local places we’d like to tick off still including
- National Trust’s The Vyne
- Millett’s Farm in Oxfordshire
- The Wolf Sanctuary near Newbury
- The ruins of Donnington Castle near Newbury
- Blenheim Palace
Check back often to see what we’ve been up to! What are your plans for 2018 – far-flung or close to home?
I would definitely recommend the Vyne, we went up to see the roof restoration last year which was really interesting. Millett’s Farm and Blenheim Palace are also worth a day out. My partner and I ran an adventure group for 12 years, we used to organise trips to the Wolf Conservation Trust at Beenham and I’ve just posted one of our photos. Happy days.
Thanks for the tips. We’ve been to Millets but not the others.
We’ve done some out-of-character advance travel planning, too! We got crazy cheap flights to Paris, and will be heading there in April, and then London. I’ll have to read through your London posts, because we’ve never been. We have lots of Harry Potter nerd stuff planned, but we’re not sure what else to do!
Both Paris and London will be amazing. Happy to provide recommendations closer to the time!
That sounds like some great travel plans. I homeschooled so I always planned travel outside of the school holidays.