I am looking for holiday ideas as I think about what I want to do in 2020.
I don’t want to go abroad or to go away for more than 10 days.
I would like to visit friends scattered over the UK, but not to stay with them, but to book into a B&B.
I love Cornwall and spent many happy holidays there as a child board surfing on the North coast beaches, even the year I had a broken arm and had to put it in a plastic bag. The North and South coasts are so different and each have their charms and stunning coastal walks and moorlands.
I love city breaks, I visited Liverpool recently and was really impressed in how it has blended the old history and architecture with the new architecture and culture.
I also rather enjoyed the chocolate experience in York.
My most momentous holiday was 3 months after we got married, (I got married twice in the same Register Office, they call it ‘having previous’ !!) my husband had a 2 week business trip to Los Angeles so I went with him and our son (who was 15yrs old at the time) joined us for the 2nd week. My husband worked for a mining company and one morning before dawn we were taken right out into the Mohave desert to the mine and saw the enormous trucks, with tyres that were just as big, taking the ore from the mines. One day my son and I went to Disneyland and we just went on one ride after another all day. In the evening I went to a business dinner with my husband and I have never felt so disorientated and sick that I have no idea how I got through the evening.
What were and are your favourite holidays?
Hi Erica
Thanks for your interesting post. In terms of places to visit I would really recommend both Scotland and Ireland. For city breaks both In Edinburgh, Inverness, Belfast and Dublin are well worth a visit. All these cities have loads to do and have great restaurants etc. The highlands of Scotland have some of the most breathtaking scenery in the country and I really recommend Aviemore as a place to stay where you can then visit some of this amazing scenery. You can even go and feed the reindeer on Cairngorm which was always a big hit with my children when they were younger. The Highland Wildlife Park is also worth a visit. Around Loch Lomond is also well worth visiting. Belfast has loads to do as well from the titanic museum to the Ulster museum. There are also loads of really excellent and affordable restaurants. With Inverness you can get up to the Black Isle and see the Dolphins at Avoch. One of my favourite places is West Cork in the South West of Ireland, particularly around Crookhaven and Barley Cove. Amazing beaches and the weather is usually pretty warm from June to October.
I’ve been pretty lucky and travelled I’lla lot with my work from Pasdena to Tokyo and May places between. My favourite place outside the UK and Ireland is definitely lake Garda in northern Italy. Spectacular scenery, lovely people and great food.
Oooh I love a good holiday chat. My husband and I were lucky enough to have a few amazing holidays before children (Cuba, New Zealand, Hong Kong, USA etc). While Hugo was on treatment we were advised not to travel abroad which I thought would be really tough, but we actually had some fantastic UK holidays. I think it made us realise that it’s not all about exotic locations, it’s about being together. The boys love nothing more than a paddle in the sea and playing in the arcades. We love the North Norfolk coast which I would definitely recommend. We’ve also recently had a week on the Yorkshire coast which was also lovely and close enough to visit York, Harrogate etc. Having said all that, I think my favourite ever holiday was earlier this year when we went to Orlando. We completely soaked up the Disney magic and it was the perfect end of treatment celebration. It was so much more than a holiday, it was like recovery! Hope you get something great booked up, it’s always so nice to have things to look forward to.
Thank you for starting this thread Erica! 
wow! it sounds like you have all been on very varied trips across the UK and beyond! 
@Erica, I can imagine just how beautiful and peaceful the coastal walks must be! must be also nice to get some fresh air too?
And @MrsGriff, it’s lovely to hear that you have been able to join quite a few family holidays together! did you ever join the boys with the arcade activities and paddling in the sea?
@Dyslexicprof, that sounds so exciting being able to travel a lot for work, did you have a favourite destination?
Hi Su
That’s a tough question as I think different places had different appeals. Some of my favourites have been Hong Kong, Albuquerque in New Mexico and Kuopio in Finland. Lake Garda definitely my favourite holiday destination.
@Dyslexicprof I can imagine it’s a difficult choice! haha as you say, I bet every place has something different about it! Lake Garda looks so beautiful in photos, but must be even more so when you go in person! There must be so much to see and do there too! 
Hi everyone. Well @Erica, my husband is also celebrating that special holiday next May and we have booked a Great Rail Journey to the Highlands. It starts in Edinburgh, then 3 days in Ballaculish and 3 in Inverness before returning to Edinburgh. We might tag on an extra day or two in Edinburgh. We are going on the Jacobite, and boat trips are included. We will be on Loch Ness on his birthday.
The last two years we have done a week travelling and stopping at Wakefield, Beamish and Ambleside (our favourite hotels) where we have met with some friends and 3 of my siblings.
@Dyslexicprof I agree that the Italian Lakes are my favourite holiday spots. We stopped at Stresa this year, and at Lake Maggiore 2 years ago. Again, we went with Great Rail Journeys. I can’t fly anymore, but it is so much easier going via Eurostar, you get to see so much more of the country and have room to walk about, and having a tour manager means that they take care of everything (including when we got a fine on transport in Budapest)
@MrsGriff, Lisa, I love Norfolk and we went there when the children were younger. We stopped in holiday homes in a cul-de-sac village called Heydon, which has been used for filming (Love on a Branch Line and a sketch about a village idiot Monty Python). The Northumberland coast is also beautiful, with castles and links to Harry Potter.
@Erica we went to Galway and Mayo with my parents, sister’s family and our family 12 years ago. Unfortunately it was 4 months before my diagnosis and I was unable to get about like the rest of the family, but enjoyed a trip to Roundstone, where we all went to O’Dowd’s Bar (my maiden name). Last year we went by ferry to the Isle of Man. It is a beautiful place, and so easy to get around the island using the various historical forms of transport.
We look forward to hearing about your plans for 2020!