Our Little Holiday

So we just got back from what can be considered our first family holiday. We took a trip to Southport, which is only about an hour and a half away, and spent a few days at the Pontins resort there. Now, I've never had any experience with Pontins/Butlins/any UK holiday park, because it's not a thing in America. Basically, for those of you who don't know, it's a sort of apartment complex for families by the sea - there are several big companies who have multiple locations across the country - and they're a sort of budget self-catering (thumbs up for the "budget" part) working class family destination.

Was it a bit run-down and pikey? Yeah. But it was a bundle of fun - for all of us, but especially for Chloe. Everything from soft play to the swimming pool, live music and a walk along the beach - it was great, though I expect it's better in peak season when the outdoor attractions and seaside can be enjoyed more. That being said, we made the best of our accommodations - which honestly, weren't terrible, but turned me into a Nervous Nellie because it wasn't quite clean/safe enough to let a little toddler run around and get into everything. Pack n Play to the rescue, right?

We loved Southport too; it's the first seaside town/city we've been to (aside from Southampton, I guess) that isn't derelict. It still had all of the seaside-y charm, but managed to stay modern and continue to grow outside of the tourist trade, which seems promising given... like, everywhere else.

So, we loved it. Steve and I both had totally different plans on where we'd like to holiday as a family. As it turns out, our definition of fun has been completely turned on its head by the happiness of one little miss Chloe and the amount of joy that we all took out of our short little vacation. I guess you could say we're planning to do it again next year!