Ideas for a holiday to celebrate turning 50

[BooseysMom]

Next year I will be 50 and I've toyed with having a party but now I think I just want to go away somewhere different. We have one DS who's 7 and none of us have passports. Me and DH haven't been overseas for 15 years due to illness and redundancy. So just wondering if anyone has any ideas. I'm keen on somewhere like the Isles of Scilly but having DS with us is a huge factor as there has to be stuff to interest him and really all he wants is adventure and games.
Thanks in advance.

My two loved the Isle of Wight when they were younger. You feel like you're going abroad with the ferry trip, but no passport needed.

We’re heading to Auchrannie resort on the Isle of Arran this summer. Looks fab and loads of activities, bike hire, archery plus 2 pools.

I'd also go with the Outer Hebrides. To make it magical, fly from Glasgow to Barra - the plane lands on the beach. It's something that will stay with you for the rest of your lives.

You could hire a car and explore the islands, ferry hopping. Just travelling from Island to island is part of the adventure. There are so many amazing things to see and the beaches are Caribbeanesque (though sadly the weather isn't!) with white sand and turquoise water.

I'd go for Northumberland....beaches are fantastic, you can go on birdwatching boat trips, go to Bamburgh castle, Alnwick castle etc.

Scillies are gorgeous and self catering is not bad value. It's quite swallows and amazons and pretty much traffic free. If you are happy to go crabbing/fishing/kayaking/cycling and sandcastle building then he will love it. The boat journey there is an adventure in itself.
We have been to the Hebrides many times and I would say the Scillies are far more child orientated. I would also recommend Cornwall for the wealth of visitor attractions and tourist activities. Falmouth area might suit as it has 2 castles, boat/fishing trips, sailing lessons, beaches and Flambards theme park just up the road.

We are doing the Isles of Scilly for part of our holiday this summer and I think there's plenty for a 7 year old. We are getting the helicopter over and the small plane back which DS is super excited about but there's also a boat over which is cheaper. You can also do helicopter out, boat back.

On/around the islands there are boat trips, lots of wildlife like birds, red squirrels, dolphins, seals etc, activities like canoeing, beaches, horse riding on St Marys, swimming with seals on St Martins (though not sure on age limit). A lot of the accommodation is very pricey especially on Tresco but if you book around a year in advance there is some of the self catering reasonably priced, well around £100 a night for a family of 4 in summer, sometimes a bit higher like £1000 for week but going up into eye dropping figures if you say want Tresco for a week. If you research and book early you can probably get something suitable and I think there would be plenty to do.

We are also doing North Devon which is cheaper and last year we went over to Lundy - you can stay there with Landmark Trust and that has lots of birds / wildlife but no wifi. There's boat trips along coast, to see seals, swimming with seals, canoeing, beaches etc around there as well so similar activities and generally cheaper.

Thank you for your suggestions.
@Aurorie11. .thanks for your post. Sorry for the late reply. Just catching up after a time away from mumsnet. We are looking at the Scillies self catering website which has just opened bookings for next year. I hope we find something before it all gets booked up!

Thanks for your posts.