Said teen is a studious soul and currently studying for her GCSEs so I fear she'll be revising a fair bit but I'm hoping I can lure her out for some fun at least once or twice.
I have a few things that I have been wanting to do for a while, and while I know I won't be able to do them all I thought I'd list them so I don't forget and also so that if you had input on whether they were good or bad ideas you could tell me! Ditto if you have reviewed any of them in a blog post - please share! (You can't share here, I switched comments off, but let me know via Twitter or my Facebook page - that would be great - thanks)
First choice for me is Marwell Zoo. We have visited several times now as a family and always love it - even in the cold and rain, though I admit it's better on a dry day so the weather may play a part on this decision. We always learn something new, the cages and environments for the animals are really nice, I especially love watching the giraffes. It's about a 2 hour drive, so takes a bit of planning, but now that we no longer have the dogs at least we don't have to rush home to them.
I am sort of tempted to make the even longer drive to Longleat to drive the safari park, but I'm not sure that DH would stay sane all day in car with DD and me. I do love to watch the large carnivores in the park, particularly the wolves, but DH tends to get twitching and want to be getting on with things, I imagine we would be ill-matched on a safari park visit. I think that might need to be a trip we do when we visit family (who live closer to the park) or when we can camp or stay nearby so we are in the car less of the day.
Next is the Winchester Science Centre. DD and I were there for a blogging conference and so had no time to explore but enough time to whet our appetites. It's easy to get to, has lots of parking and is spacious inside. It didn't look too busy when we were there, but I'm not sure that would be true during a school holiday. Still DD really wants to go, she loves experimenting with stuff, I do wonder though if there is enough there for a day with a teenager? Maybe I could combine it with a trip into Winchester? Have you been? What did you think?
I would also love to make a trip to London. That's a 2 hour train ride away and therefore expensive, I may have to buy a railcard to make some sort of saving, especially since now that DD has turned 16 she counts as a grown up and has to pay not only on the train, but on London transport too - gone are the days of cheap days out to London. If we all go, and if we want to be in London before lunchtime it will cost us over £100 on tickets alone, so anything we do there will have to be free! I have thought about Tate Modern, DD and I have visited and really enjoyed it, DH has yet to experience it so that would be nice. If the weather was good a walk in the parks or by the river would be nice too. I am also looking at driving a large chunk of the way and parking just outside the centre, have you done that? I need to investigate parking and where is cheap, easy and safe! What other free London activities can you think of?
It's been a while since I've been to Brighton as a tourist and so I might think about doing the 'seaside day visitor' thing, with fish and chips on the pier, a walk along the promenade, a trip to the Marina and maybe the Pavilion. I could even squeeze in some shopping in the Laines or Churchill Square - particularly if I don't spend all my money on a trip to London! I know that lovely DD aka the teen, needs some new clothes for college in September and we did promise her a new 'college capsule wardrobe' (ooh there's a blog post just waiting to be written) so that would take up a day by itself.
During the entire week of course I will be drinking more alcohol than usual, staying up later, sleeping in longer and eating more chocolate than usual. It is a holiday after all. What will you be up to?
Come and chat over on Twitter or my Facebook page I'd love to hear from you
