With grandchildren in tow, I have an excuse for new and unexpected experiences. I can spend the day at Legoland, drive a tube train at the London Transport Museum, go stargazing, try archery or let others take the strain at a dedicated Kids’ Festival.
Museums might not be a first choice but I remember very clearly my grandad taking me to see the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London, when I was six, so I know that golden masks and sparkly treasures are mesmerising to even the very young.
My generation of fit, active grandparents are more likely to whizz down a zip wire than snooze in a deckchair, hanky on head, like my own grandfather. My role model is instead my adventurous Welsh grandmother, who led my three sisters and I along the Gower cliff paths, like the Von Trapp family, rewarding us with ice creams and a bag of Pick n’ Mix, warning ‘Don’t tell your mother.”
So if you’re searching for half-term fun close to home, here are some ideas for outings that grandchildren and grandparents can enjoy together – and not a word to mum and dad.
20 half-term breaks with appeal for grandparents and grandchildren
by Sarah Baxter
1. Childcare with a sense of history
Lanarkshire
As you’re doing the day care, why not visit the first workplace nursery in the world? The pioneering 18th-century mill village of New Lanark is now a Unesco site; together you can ride a pod through history, visit the old classroom and Spinning Mule, lick New Lanark ice creams, stroll to the Falls of Clyde and burn off any leftover energy in the natural playpark. Stay at New Lanark’s hotel or cottages, which offer fine village and river views.
How to do it: Tickets £5 adults; children free (01555 661345; newlanark.org). Family rooms from £99pn; Cottages (sleep four) from £290 for two nights (01555 667200; newlanarkhotel.co.uk).
2. Entertain the crew
Portsmouth
Visitors from age six to centenarian will be moved by Portsmouth’s D-Day Story, an immersive look at the Normandy campaign where you can board the last surviving (and newly restored) landing craft tank and watch the half-term Super Spies show. Combine this with a Historic Dockyard ticket, which covers 14 maritime icons, from the HMS Victory to the Submarine Museum.
How to do it: Tickets £13.50 adults; £10.80 seniors; £6.75 children (023 9288 2555; theddaystory.com). Ultimate Explorer Ticket £39/£38/£29 (023 9283 9766; historicdockyard.co.uk). Premier Inn Portsmouth Dockyard has good-value family rooms from £88pn (0330 128 1342; premierinn.com).
3. Fun on a budget
Lake District
Want to make your pension stretch further? For bargain family fun, book into a youth hostel (note, ‘youth’ not required) – the YHA’s January sale is offering 25 per cent off. Consider YHA Ambleside, right on the shores of Windermere; basic but comfy private rooms have a mix of bunks and double beds, and some have lake views. It’s also well-placed for accessing lakeland activities that suit all ages, from Ambleside Climbing Wall and Beatrix Potter World to genteel cruises and varied walks.
How to do it: Four-bed room from £452.20 for four nights; use code JANSALE-22 for discount (0345 371 9620; yha.org.uk).
