There are lots of things to look forward to this year – babies, weddings, honeymoons and holidays amongst others. 

I have chosen to blog about mine and David’s first proper holiday together which will also be our first as a family of 4.

In the four years I have known David we have been away each year with his family to Ullswater, Wales, Brittany or Devon and we always have a lovely time.  We have also been out to Spain together to stay with my family.  We have had a few weekends away with friends and even a couple of short breaks together to Cornwall.  What we have never done is go away on what I would call a proper holiday together,  and this year we will be doing that twice.  Once an activity holiday in the UK and once for a week of relaxation in the sun. 

As we have not yet planned our week in the sun (recommendations for all inclusive destinations with twinfants very much welcomed!) I thought I would share the details of the holiday I am planning for us in the North of England.

First we will drive to Skipton where we are going to stay over night in a B&B.  The  following day we are going to go for a walk in the dales and do some wild swimming.  I bought David two wild swimming books for Christmas a couple of years ago, one coastal and one fresh water and we are going to use them as starting points for family holidays over the years as we both love the water and hope that our children will love it too. 

The place we will visit on this day is Grassington Weir and Ghaistrill’s Strid.  We will have a picnic lunch and play in the water.

In the afternoon we will drive on to our holiday cottage near Alnwick, Northumbria where we will be spending the next 7 nights.

During our 7 days we are going to explore the local beaches and castles.  We are going to go on a boat trip to see seals, dolphins and puffins.  We are going to do sandboarding on the massive dunes and David I am sure will be out on his wave canoe most days.  We are going to visit the island of Lindisfarne and have lunch at a place with ‘Goats on the Roof!’  I am really looking forward to our holiday and spending some quality time together as a family.  This was my Christmas present from David, William and Esther and it really is a wonderful one.  I think I have enjoyed planning the week almost as much as I will enjoy being there and doing it!

I am also looking forward to all the firsts that this holiday will hold for all of us but mostly for Esther and William.  What a wonderful experience for them in their first year!

And best of all, we get to go to Hogwarts!!

Alnwick Castle was used for exterior shots of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films so we are going to see it.  It was also the castle used for Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.  I can’t wait to see it and I am also looking forward to seeing what David thinks of Harry Potter when he reads it for the first time this year!

I am the luckiest of all the ducks with all of this to look forward to.

It’s a wonderful life!

ps – This holiday is now just 2 weeks away as I repost this article for Show Off Show Case!