Ok, so as promised (admittedly a little too late for Easter) here are a selection of a few of the places you could consider for your next bank holiday outing…

Chatsworth House, Derbyshire

Plenty to do at Chatworth, with it’s farmyard full of animals for the kids, farm shop, extensive gardens and of course you can pay to tour the house, which I can highly recommend.  A number of good restaurants on the site, suggest you book in advanceif you want something like afternoon tea.

Baslow, Derbyshire

If you like walking, then right next door to Chatsworth House is the little village of Baslow, which is a nice place to walk around. Follow the road a little further in the direction of Chesterfield and you will come to the Robin Hood pub, an excellent stop for lunch, but even better is the walk directly behind it on the small cliff faces of Birchen Head, with it’s peculiar Nelson’s monument, a small spire adjacent to three huge rocks each carved with the names of Nelson’s three ships.   Just over the way is the Eagle stone, and this makes a nice triangular route if you follow the lane back down into Baslow.

Keswick, Cumbria

Staying with the countryside scene, nestled on the shores of Derwentwater is the little town of Keswick, which hosts a huge amount to keep you interested for a long weekend. Catch the local bus to Seatoller and walk back over Castle Crag to Derwentwater, catch the motor launch that takes you to various drop off points on the lake.  Visit the Cumberland pencil museum, where the famous Derwent range of artists pencils are made.   It’s more interesting than it sounds!  The area is full of nice circular walks amidst various landmarks, the town and local park is pretty, and there’s a mean fish and chip shop in town too!

Windsor,  Berkshire

Home of one of the many stately homes owned by the Royal Family, Windsor is a nice place to centre a stay;  see the Castle, watch the changing of the guard, take a boat trip on the Thames, and don’t forget Legoland is not too far away!

London

You can’t go far wrong visiting the national’s capital of London.    There is just too much to see and do even in a long weekend, and I’m not going to try to list everything here.

My particular favourites are walking the Thames embankment, the area around Westminster, Covent Garden and St James’s park.

Highly recommended if you have never been, but stay over.   Our favourite is the Jolly St Ermin Hotel,  close to Westminster Abbey and about 20 mins walk to Harrods or the centre of the city.  Good tube connections.

Skegness, Lincolnshire

The obvious choice for a visit to the Seaside, hundreds if not thousands will flock each bank holiday to Skegness on the east coast, and the adjacent villages of Ingoldmells, Chapel St Leonard and Mablethorpe.    Good old fashioned seaside fun – the ambiance has changed somewhat over the years, and Skegness town has in my mind slightly over developed the seafront space, spoiling it’s old fashioned beauty, but the kids still love it.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park

There are lots of good zoos around in the UK, Whipsnade, Twycross, Dudley and of course London Zoo to name just a few, but Yorkshire Wildlife park is equally a good day out, and has a very good Polar Bear enclosure – in fact all the animals have plenty of space.

Crich Tram Museum, Derbyshire

Get transported back in time and experience working trams from different eras, in authentic environments – you are even given old coins to pay for the tram rides.  Nestled in the peak district, next to Crich Memorial, this is a fascinating insight into a long gone mode of transport.  Recommended.

Silverstone, Northamptonshire

Not much of a day out for the family, but a great experience for any keen drivers – the family get to watch while you do your three circuits of the track at speeds approaching 160 mph.

Something for the budding Top Gear fans. And, yes, that’s me driving the Aston Martin.

I hope this has whetted your appetite – stay tuned for more ideas.