Uk holidays for boys aged 12 and 9

[mummyof2boys30]

Thinking of another UK based holiday this year as DS 12 won't be fully vaccinated.
Travelling from Northern Ireland. Happy to fly and hire a car or drive and get boat.
Needs to have plenty to do but kids not interested in walks or playparks anymore.
Have already done Legoland, blackpool, alton towers and Chessington. Have done Longleat a few years ago which i loved. Have looked at haven and centre parks though know nothing about them.

Isle of wight. Great place for kids

Companies like PGL and JSA offer family activity holidays that can be fun ( if A bit school trip vibe ) there are sites on the Isle of Wight and Dorset coast so you could combine with some beach time

North Wales - loads to do. Zip lines, underground trampolines, gorge walking, surfing, ski slope, mountain biking….

Could you do a road trip to different places in the UK? See if there’s anything/where they want to go and just book it. A different place each day type thing?

You could do a city break or head down to Cornwall and have a week by the beach?

Having said that NI is a beautiful place - where are you now? I did a round trip in Ireland feom dublin across to Galway and back again, stopping in glendalough (May be a touch boring for your kids), but means no flight or ferry!

If your kids like Harry Potter, you could the north east coast/Northumberland. Beautiful scenery, Alnwick castle (Hogwarts) is interesting, the Farne islands for seals and you’ve loads of beaches which are lovely - there’s one with a fair next to it. I remember that particular one, South Shields, didn’t have the best reputation compared to the others, but it wasn’t bad and near a famous fish and chip shop!

I’d second the Northumberland coast. Amazing beaches and water sports like sea kayaking. Alnwick with the Castle, Craster and Seahouses and wildlife trips to the Farne Islands all super. Mine enjoyed exploring Lindisfarne too. Hadrian’s Wall and Roman stuff they loved. Kielder Forest for dark sky star gazing.

My kids loved narrowboat holidays. Learnt to drive the boat and do locks at that age. And you get to see cities from a completely different vantage point. Loved it.

Boys that age would love Center Parcs. Huge swimming complex and many ( expensive) other activities.

Aviemore area - loads of outdoor activities, highland zoo, steam train, mountains to climb if they can be persuaded. Mine liked the ski resort vibe in the town too.

Kids would really enjoy Center Parcs.
It's expensive for what you get, but there's a reason it's so popular.

Lake District.

Hire rowing and motor boats on Ullswater and Windermere

Go on the Via Ferrata at Honister skate mine

Go abseiling, gorge walking, climbing and other sports with a co called River Deep Mountain High , or Kong Adventure in Keswick

National Trust places, Wray Castle,

Many people find the Pencil Museum in Keswick surprisingly interesting

Get the steamer along Ullswater, get off at Aira Force for the 150m waterfalls

Picnics on the edge of lakes in beautiful surroundings

Watch for the red squirrels and osprey on Bassenthwaite at the observation centre

www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/things-to-do

Hoseasons do a brand of holidays called “go active” - they’ll have on site activities like archery, climbing, etc - which might be a good idea (and cheaper than centrepsrks)

At that age mine were really getting in to things like paddle boarding, kayaking, pony trekking - any holiday that had lots of activities nearby would be a go-er.
Caravan parks can also work well (book as many activities on site as you can before you go as can be disappointed)
Had one of my best ever holidays on the Antrim coast last year so maybe you could just stay at home