Where can I go on holiday for 3 days?

[ADCisntme]

I’ve messed up with the dog arrangements. My home boarding dog walker can only have the dog for 3 nights as he is super good, my dog loves him and he’s very popular. I should have booked him 6 months ago. Kennels are not an option.

He can do 3 nights from Monday to Thursday morning (not next week but a week in the summer holidays ).

I live in Northamptonshire so not too close to an airport. Also, I don’t want to spend one day travelling, one day sightseeing and another travelling back to make sure we’re home late Wednesday evening so that I can pick up the dog on Thursday morning.

Also, no local family to help out and my close friend’s son is allergic to dogs so no help there either (this is to stop the drip feed later on).

DH has already taken that week off work (he can’t change it so we’re limited to that particular week) so we can go away somewhere. Is there any epic U.K. city break to go to that is NOT

Edinburgh
London
Bath
Oxford
Cambridge
Newcastle
York

Not spa break
Not golf break

We have a teenager as well, done CentreParks, done Bluestone.

I’m totally stuck and am not sure what to do. We can book a U.K. holiday cottage with the dog later in the summer but I am so cross with myself. Teenager is doing A levels this year so I promised them a nice holiday and I’ve left it too late and feel I’ve fd it up.

Any ideas?

Im not sure why you dismissed a pp suggestion of Trusted Housesitters, we use them frequently to get away without our pets knowing they and our house are well looked after. Especially if you promised your daughter a good holiday.

Vienna is great for a short trip. The airport is some distance outside, but there is a train.

Hotel Sacher is a must for Sacher- Torte.

If flights don’t work check Bratislava, Budapest and Prague.

Eurotunnel to France with the car and dog, loads of lovely places within easy reach of Calais (even Belgium/Netherlands etc) Going abroad doesn't have to be by plane.

When we go away for a weekend (3 nights) I look for a combo of well priced flights and early out /late in timings. On that basis we went to Sardinia last year. Essyjet. Don’t rule out a flight.

I’d do Eurostar to Paris. It’s so easy

Might be because the dog is anxious. She’s used to staying with the dog Walker and OP said dog kicks off when she goes into a shop. I’m a house sitter and since it’s unpaid I don’t tend to do it for challenging dogs (that’s not to say others won’t but I think it reduces your chances)

Ireland or France.

Look up extreme day trips on face book. EDT
Some great ideas on there

Chester is a really good shout, lots of outside cafes for the dog and can visit Delamere forest as well.

You can. I’d be happy to never go back.

Im puzzled why you can’t go somewhere with the dog both times?

3 hour wait in Luton airport and 2 hours in Kerry airport tho, and bloody Ryanair drop landing in Kerry, we go all the time 🫥

Yeah, people go all over Europe for the day. Three days will feel like forever to them.

OP look on Google flights for Skyscanner for Luton, Stansted, Birmingham and East Midlands Airports for Monday morning to Wednesday evening, to give you a bit of resilience with your return flight.

You might have to play around with the filters a bit but you'll almost certainly find something where you can be there by early afternoon on Monday so have 2.5 days at your destination, which is great as an introduction to a new city.

What about Berlin, Gdasnk, Alicante, Lisbon, Malaga, Valetta? The possibilities are endless.

Barcelona, Rome, Girona have all been mentioned - New York would work as well, over there early and back on an overnight flight

Ooh, that's a good idea and I think there's also flights from somewhere closer to the OP , no need to travel up to Liverpool.

I go to the Isle of Man regularly for work and there's always a flight to 'London Airport that's not really near London but I can't remember which one' while I'm waiting for my Liverpool flight.

Second this. I went for a day after seeing a MN recommendation and it was lovely. Could easily have filled another day, and I might go again as its only an hour by train for me.

I hate how 'done' appears to have become a synonym for 'been to'. It makes it sound like people are ticking places off a list and they can't go there again because they have to go somewhere else.

We've been to some places many times and still find new things see and do, new restaurants, historical sights, interesting villages, walks etc.

I second basing yourself in Winchester. Lovely historic city with good walks. Presumably you have a car so Southampton and Portsmouth (with its historic dockyard including the Mary Rose) are in easy reach. Can also visit the beach and New Forest. We live here and there is so much for tourists within easy driving distance.

This - while I'd love a narrowboat holiday now, I would have hated it as a teenager.

What about coasteering, or hiking and swimming inland?

They are nice but they’re not in Chester (I live near The Hollies) and traffic can be a pain getting into and out of Chester. You’d have to drive and if you do I’d suggest doing the Boughton Heath park and ride into the town as city centre parking is scarce and expensive.

My suggestion would be Liverpool. It’s an incredible city and you could also get the train from L’pool to Chester or Manchester easily. Liverpool has loads to do and is easy to explore… Baltic markets are good for food and check out Bold Street for lots of nice places to eat/drink. There are a couple of galleries and of course a ton of Beatles stuff to do as well.

Eurostar to Lille? Less than 90 minutes from st Pancras and a lovely little city. I did it with my daughter a few weeks ago.

Liverpool. Easy drive from Northants. Lots to do, and close to the coast (Formby Beach), if that's also what you fancy.

Dublin or Belfast? Also
Isle of Man or Jersey?

The train from the airport into the city centre takes only 16 minutes and there are no other stops, so it’s very easy and impossible to get lost! And it runs pretty regularly.

This is what I was going to suggest. Taken the dog to Brittany before and she loved it.

I’ve always wanted to go to the Isle of Man
Isle of Wight
fly to Scilly from Penzance
clearly I have a thing for islands!