If there was no pandemic where would be a good place for us to go between christmas and new year?

[Pansypath]

I hate that week between christmas and new year so this year we thought we would go away. We have three primary school aged kids and due to potential lockdowns and quarantine don't want to go abroad. Wales and N.Ireland are out given restrictions on movement of people. Ordinarily my thoughts would turn to Scotland but I think those restrictions will be pretty strict too.

So where would you go? I have two thoughts. First is to stay in London (we live in the suburbs of London) but get a central London hotel for a couple of nights so we can wander and see the lights and book a couple of museum trips and go for dinner - the kids find hotels v exciting so this could be loads of fun.

The second is to go to a farm and cosy up in front of a fire and help with the animals and hopefully there would be a hot tub etc. Is this even viable in that Christmas period?

DH thinks we should go to the coast. I think the coast when it is freezing cold sounds a bit dispiriting.

All ideas welcome x

I'm with your DH, I love being near the sea in Winter. Somewhere like Dungeness would be amazing. There are a few places to rent on the estate. Rye would be closest for eating out options though there are a couple of local pubs.

London sounds like a plan, though personally I'd miss not being able to see a show so that would rule it out for me atm.

Regardless, I'd be looking for fully refundable bookings.

Good luck with what you decide and I hope you get away.

We've been around Bath then and its lovely - we go to Longleat for the safari and Festival of Light - NYE includes fireworks as well, go to trampoline park by Bristol, go into Bath for lots of nice meals and ice skating, glow in dark golf, Roman Baths etc. We did also drive down to coast from there one year just for the day.

Bath sounds nice. I’ve lived in & now near London and find the after Christmas period there a bit dispiriting tbh when I’m still feeling all festive still and all the Christmassy stuff disappears from the shops virtually over night! Also I’d probably avoid the coast - DH loves it too and we’ve had a couple of breaks down in Devon & Norfolk in cottages with inadequate heating & DH fanatically fiddling with log burners 24/7. Walking along seafronts with gusty winds and rain coming off grey seas doesn’t make me happy either!