Help me find somewhere to go for a week this Sunday!!! (1 July)

[Honeymoonmummy]

Hi all,

I should have known better but at the weekend I booked a holiday on ebay for a really nice apartment on a 5 star estate in the Lake District. She's now sent me a message saying she's cancelling because she promised it to her friend first

Anyway, I now need to find somewhere to go this Sunday or Monday (we can't go on Saturday because DH has Stone Roses tickets!), for up to a week, within 2.5 hours of mid-Cheshire - we went to Devon the other week camping, and can't cope with either the trip to Devon or camping again at the moment!

I need something for £450 or less. A caravan/ cottage/ chalet would be ok. The main priority is things for the kids to do (DD is 3.7 and DS is 15 months) especially as the weather is not great.

An indoor swimming pool nearby is essential as I've already told DD this and she loves swimming. Otherwise it needs to be a 6 berth if possible. Anything on a farm or with farm animals nearby would be good.

Help!!

[goes off to frantically Google]

Durham is lovely. As a native Cestrian, I was about to say Chester till I reread your post! York? Newcastle? Primrose Valley?

Durham and Newcastle are a bit too far. York is nice but i can't see us finding anything within our price range. Have just looked at Primrose Valley, it's too expensive. Thanks anyway!

BUMP!

www.yarmcottages.co.uk/welcome-p-1.html
Just off the A19, situated between York and Durham, just up the road from our home. Teesside is not the most obvious destination but maybe these or similar? Forty minutes to Durham, an hour to Newcastle, near Saltburn and Whitby, loads of family farms/soft plays/swimming pools/nice restaurants/shopping. If you fancy it, I'll give you a list of great places.

It is a tad further than we were thinking but it does look really nice. When you say family farms do you mean farms which you can visit? And is there a really nice warm swimming pool?

I used to do Chester to home in 2.5 hours via the M62. Farms to visit with nice playgrounds, warm pool at Coulby Newham, 15 mins away, which is where my kids go. Other pools at a short distance. Soft play about 10 mins away. Yarm is nearby with lots of family friendly restaurants. Tesco 10 mins away. Two nice parks with big playgrounds nearby. Eaglescliffe, where we are just the other side of Yarm, has a butterfly museum and a huge playground. Newcastle can be reached by road or train and has several kids' museums. Saltburn and Whitby for beaches and fish and chips. Am I selling it yet?! We are natives of Oxfordshire and Cheshire and we love it here.

Thanks very much for the info Dr Seuss. I've actually now persuaded DH to go further afield - it was more DH against this than me - and we're going to go somewhere in the New Forest and going to go to Peppa Pig World which DD will just LOVE. Seems a nice area too and one we haven't been to before, and it's just over 4 hours in the car so we'll drive at night both ways when the kids are asleep and stop in a travelodge type place overnight going there.