Holiday in the heatwave, would you go or hold off a few days?

[ScarlettOHaraHamiltonKennedyButler]

Due to go on a UK break in the peak district at the weekend. Temp to be around 34 from Sun - Tues. We are in the West of Scotland where it has also to be hot but not quite that hot (27 i think).

We are booked Sun - Sun in a lodge (no air con). We are torn about whether to miss the first few days and head down after the worst of the heat or just go as planned and deal with it? It will be too hot to be outdoors for too long and don't want to be stuck in a lodge with two bored DC (9 and 5). All of our planned activities are outdoors.

What would you do?

Nice thin white long sleeved cotton tops, hat, sunglasses. Cool box in your panniers full of frozen bottles, stop under the shade.

As you cycle along the breeze keeps you cool, youre covered up so wont get burned.

Then you get back in the car and go swimming somewhere.

Make sure you sit under the trees near the lodge or take a parasol.

First ever heat warning (yeah, because they've only been doing them since last year )

You'll drive past me to get there and it's windy and rainy and now forecast not too even hit 30 here. Don't lose out on your holiday for that!

I still wouldn’t, even with all that. Maybe I’m over cautious but 5 year olds are different from adults and can’t regulate their temperatures as well. Shade temperatures in the high 30s are just fundamentally not something I would take my 5 year old out to cycle in, even in long loose clothes and with water bottles.

For me, holidays are meant to be relaxing and fun, if it becomes a military operation to avoid overheating it’s not relaxing or fun so you might as well have a couple of days at home where it’s 10 degrees cooler and start the holiday after the heatwave has ended. I don’t think that’s an overreaction but clearly others disagree so they should crack on.

Hi OP, just wanted to say that a few years ago, we stayed in an eco lodge in France in a heatwave over there (40 degrees). Because it was an eco lodge there was no air con (don’t know what possessed me to book it!). Kids were about 5 and 8 at the time and my eldest has downs and finds it hard to regulate her body temp but it was actually absolutely fine. Uk lake/river swimming is nicer when it’s hot so I think you’ll be fine if you do go.