2024 was another great year of travel for us. We perhaps would have liked a couple more weekends away in our Mazda Bongo campervan but it just wasn’t to be for various reasons but we still had lots of great trips away both in the campervan and without it in the colder months!
February half term – Center parcs Whinfell forest
Out first trip of the year was to Center parcs Whinfell forest in Cumbria for February half term. We were fortunate that our half term was a week later than some areas so we got a good deal on a Monday to Friday stay.
Center parcs isn’t somewhere I thought we would go as we love to get out and about exploring however for February half term it was perfect. We spent our days exploring the forest and in the swimming pool (which is fantastic).
In the evenings we did a mix of cooking and eating out and we explored the Winter forest light trail. We loved the winter forest lights and I wrote all about it on North West for kids – Winter forest lights at Center parcs Whinfell Forest.
I’ve also written on here about why a Center parcs winter breaks are great for families.
May day weekend – Cumbria campervan weekend
We had our first campervan trip of the year at the beginning of May. We stayed on a small site in Cumbria that we love and visit most years either at the beginning or end of the season (hard standing pitches and EHU are a must early and late season for us).
We visited Mrs Dowsons farm park on the way up which the kids loved especially the huge indoor adventure playground.
We also did lots of walks around Ulverston including climbing to the Sir John Barrow monument.
May half term – Somerset campervan trip
For May half term we stayed on a fantastic campsite in Somerset. We’d booked it not long after coming back from Center parcs which is probably why we chose a campsite with an activity centre!
Mendip basecamp was a great family campsite and I have written a full review here – Mendip Basecamp review. We loved the pavilion at the centre of the site with a shop, small cafe/take out and charging and freezer pack freezers.
We spent some days completely on campsite which is unheard of for us! We enjoyed frisbee golf, orienteering, taboggans and live music outside the onsite pub.
It was also a great base for exploring cheddar gorge, Glastonbury tor, Wells and Weston super mare.
We also visited Shugborough Hall National Trust on the way back which is a national trust I’ve wanted to explore more for ages.
July – campervan trip to the Netherlands
It’s become a regular trip for us now to book the overnight ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland each summer. We pack our campervan up and enjoy two weeks exploring different areas of the Netherlands.
This year we started by heading north and getting a short ferry over to the Island of Texel which is a UNESCO world heritage site. The whole island is less than 24k by 10km but we spent 6 days here and loved it.
It’s a beautiful island and we enjoyed lots of walks, beautiful beaches, a seal sanctuary and a really quirky beach comber museum. We also explored some of the villages and stayed on a gorgeous family campsite (De Krim campsite) with the best indoor pool!
For the second week we headed back to the mainland. Unfortunately, we didn’t like the second campsite as much or perhaps we’d been spoilt on Texel? We still had a lovely time with more beach trips, walks and exploring small cities. We loved our day in Alkmaar, especially the cheese market. We also loved our trip to Zaanse Schans windmills.
August – Cheshire, Cumbria & Anglesey
We squeezed in a further three weekends away before the kids went back to school. We had a weekend on the other side of Cheshire on a small farm first. The weather was fantastic and we even watched fireworks from the van on the Saturday night.
We spent the Bank Holiday weekend in Anglesey where we enjoyed a National Trust day out and a trip to Beaumaris.
For the final weekend of the school holidays we headed up to the Lake District. We stayed on a small campsite again but this one wasn’t my best find! However we had a great day at Lowther Castle and another exploring Acorn Bank National Trust and Aira Force waterfall. Find out more about Lowther Castle Adventure playground here.
September – Southport
In September we had a press trip for North West for kids and stayed at Waterfront Hotel Southport. We had a fab weekend exploring Southport and watching the musical firework championships.
October – The Lake District
We spent October half term with my parents in the Lake District. It’s too cold/wet/unpredictable for me to want to camp at the end of October for a week. We stayed in Grasmere and had a lovely week exploring a mix of old favourite walks and new ones two.
Writing this post has reminded me just how many great trips away we had in 2024. We love exploring both the North West and the wider UK as well as Europe. I wonder how many trips 2025 will have in store for us? We’ve already booked 2 weeks in the Netherlands again. We’re going back to Efteling and Beekse Bergen as well as staying in a new area on the Dutch/German border.