Guest Post: Top Five UK Locations For Families To Visit

Today we are lucky enough to have a guest post from Sykes Cottages with the top five UK holiday destinations for busy families!

When it comes to holidays, everybody wants at least one a year, but some people don’t realise how good trips around the United Kingdom can be. With places like the North Yorkshire Moors and Devon, there are so many places that families can enjoy every year.
Each place will boast activities that are great for children and adults. From exploring woodlands to learning about the history and heritage of a region, visiting Sykes Cottages
holiday cottages UK for your travelling experiences, can be a great way of escaping the hustle and bustle for a week or a weekend. Have a look around with these top locations to enjoy.

Dorset
Found on the English Channel coast, this is a beautiful place that boasts the holiday resorts of Weymouth and Bournemouth along with various landforms. Most famous for the aptly named Jurassic Coast, there is so much to explore and enjoy. Brilliant for walking, and getting unique photo opportunities, there is a great contrast of charming villages, vast countryside and seaside hotspots to take in. Whether you want to spend days on the beach, walk through the countryside or be interactive and take in some activities like quad biking, walking with llamas or adventure parks there is something here to keep you smiling for a weekend or week break.

Norfolk Broads
From the south-west we head to east Anglia, and the navigable lakes and rivers of the famous Norfolk Broads. Exploring this region has always been popular for boating enthusiasts and it boasts an area of 303 square kilometres, with two-thirds available to enjoy. The stereotypical view is reeds and windmills, and this is something you will see in this area of natural beauty. Whether you want to kayak on the broads, take boat trips, or head to the wildlife and animal centres there is something for you and your family to enjoy and remember forever.

Lake District
With a great variety of lakes and countryside to walk through and many other activities, this is one of the top places for an adventure holiday. Whether your children like Beatrix Potter, are studying William Wordsworth in school or enjoy taking adventure trails they will fall in love with this part of the world. Head to Windermere for a trip on the lakes, and to Stanley Ghyll Force to see a breath-taking waterfall . If time permits, why not visit some of the small market towns such as Keswick.

North Wales
From family activities to cultural festivals, North Wales has it all. Whether you want to show your family the picturesque landscape views that can be seen from the top of Snowdonia or the surfing and sailing beaches at the Llyn Peninsula – or both – then you’re in luck. With stunning hills and a variety of historical sites, you can enjoy so many things with a family holiday here.

Highlands of Scotland
It’s possible to enjoy a great touristy time at all five of these places and this fifth and final place is a beauty in itself. Last doesn’t mean it’s least, and with the Northern Highlands, Skye and Loch Ness all within this region of the United Kingdom, you’d be hard pushed to say that it doesn’t deserve a visit. Many people return many times and continue to get a unique experience, so head up with the family to explore castles, museums and the vast wildlife that there is on offer.

Photographs provided courtesy of Michael Edmondstone for Sykes Cottages.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Just a quick post to wish you all a very happy Valentine’s Day!

I’m not sure about love but frost has certainly been in the air of late and if that isn’t a good enough reason to snuggle up to someone then I don’t know what is!

Out and about the other day we took quite a few frosty pics near a canal. It was so cold that there wasn’t much time for hanging about to compose the perfect shot, but I think they are pretty none the less. It’s also a great opportunity to remind yourself that cold weather may be inconvenient at times, but it can also be very beautiful.

As ever I am looking forward to spring and all the wonderful fairs and events on the calendar. On that note, there’s still a couple of days left to win tickets to the Country Living spring fair, so make sure you’ve left a comment on the competition post to enter. I shall pick the winners later on this week.

Wherever you are I hope the weather has turned a little milder for you now. Even if you are not in the mood or position for romance have a wonderful evening whatever your plans!

Heart Coaster Tutorial

Apologies for the lack of blogs recently, I’ve not been very well. As such today’s tutorial is a little shorter than I would like. In essence though the technique is the same as in the previous tutorial for the Heart Badges/Magnets on card. I think these make the perfect coasters all year round, hearts are most definitely not confined to Valentine’s Day in our house.

You Will Need

Thin Cardboard

Old Newspapers

PVA glue

Acrylic Paint

Decorative Paper

Quick Drying Gloss Varnish

Step 1

Start by cutting out a large coaster sized heart from the thin cardboard (old cereal boxes work perfectly). As in the previous tutorial, if you want to make sure the hearts are even, fold the cardboard in half then draw half a heart against the fold before unfolding and cutting out. Four to six hearts makes a good sized set if giving as a gift.

Step 2

Using PVA glue, stick nine layers of newspaper to one side of the heart shape. Once dry,  repeat the process on the opposite side. Remember to cut away any excess paper to keep your heart shape neat. If the heart curls slightly when drying, place it under a weight to flatten out. If it has badly curled use a hot dry iron (place brown paper between the shape and the iron), be careful not to burn it.

Step 3

Once dry, paint both sides of the hearts with acrylic paint (I used a burgundy colour).

Next cut out a heart just slightly smaller than your original shape from decorative paper (I used old maps). Stick to the front; as it’s slightly smaller you should see some of the painted edge all the way around.

Step 4

Finally varnish both sides of your coaster with 3 layers of varnish.