It’s that time of year when many of us start thinking of new year resolutions.  I never make formal lists or even scribble down my resolutions but I do think of a few things in my head.  Recently I’ve been thinking that I’m not having enough family time even at the weekends as we are crazy busy with a house move, work and everything else.  So one of my top priorities for next year is more quality family time.

One way to ensure that we switch off and really have quality time together is to go away somewhere for the weekend which I want to do a lot more of next year.  But in the past whenever I’ve thought of getting away, I always think of going abroad.  It never occurs to me to get away within the UK which is so much more do-able even at short notice.  A little while ago we wanted to get away and of course I started thinking Berlin, Paris or Venice.  But as we had only a couple of free days and couldn’t manage a trip to the continent I almost gave up on the idea of going anywhere when I remembered reading about some wonderful UK breaks over at my my friend Honest Mum’s blog.  That inspired me to think closer to home and after a quick search I thought about visiting Woburn.  It’s not too far from London, has a lovely safari park which I knew Anya would love and some great places to eat which Richard and I would love.

We only managed an overnight stay in the end but that was fine.  We got there and had a quick but delicious lunch at The Black Horse.  We would have preferred a slightly more relaxed lunch but someone was desperate to get to the safari park!  So off to the park we went.  And it was fun; really fun for all three of us.  The park has a mixture of animals most of whom roam freely within very large enclosures that you drive through.  You have to stay in your car for obvious safety reasons but it was still so fun to see animals like tigers, bears and lions up close.  No photo’s of these as of course we couldn’t put our car windows down to snap any.  The highlight for me was definitely seeing the big cats which I love.  But for Anya it was the drive around the monkey area.  The monkeys jump on your car and sit there for ages which was really exciting for her.

The next morning we headed to Woburn Abbey and the surrounding gardens which are stunning.  We walked around the place enjoying the gardens and the beautiful architecture.  Anya got to run around, climb on rocks and just enjoy being outdoors as kids do.

After visiting Woburn I knew that next year I would make a conscious effort to get away within the UK more often.  Just quick weekend trips that really allow you to spend quality family time together away from the stresses of everyday life and you get to enjoy the wonderful sites that England has to offer.  With inexpensive hotels like Travelodge dotted around the country and so many wonderful places to see, eat at and relax, there really is no excuse not to.  This short trip really opened my eyes to getting away within the UK and having a burst of pure family time without any distractions.  I can’t wait to get away again and would love some recommendations on where to go as a family?  Where have you been that you think is a must go to within the UK?

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