UK Family Travel Round-Up: Six of the Best Adventures at Home

Bloggers are a great source of information about how to have an adventure in your own backyard according to Imogen Hall from Lonely Planet Kids. And she should know; her role at @lpkids keeps her informed with what parent bloggers in the UK and worldwide are writing and tweeting. She also tries quite a few of the tips at home with her own growing family. Here she picks out six travel blogs that have caught her eye recently on the subject of travel at home..  

At LP Kids everything we do is about bringing the world to life for children, with books, apps, events and lonelyplanetkids.com: we’re unashamedly trying to kickstart the travel bug young. We believe that travel is a good thing whatever your age, but the sooner you start to learn about the wonderful world we live in the better. We also believe that travel is a mindset and while we love love love reading about far-flung destinations and all the fantastic things you can do around the globe with kids in tow, it’s also really inspiring to learn ideas from bloggers on how to explore the world on your doorstep.

1. Family Adventure Project

It’s no surprise that one of the best bloggers for encouraging you to have an adventure close to home with your kids is The Family Adventure Project. This post has ten great tips for breaking out of your comfort zone on a daily basis. My favourite is probably ‘do something new every day’, but from a travel perspective simply taking a different route to work or school is a great idea for expanding your local horizons. http://www.familyadventureproject.org/2015/05/adventure-lifestyle-adventure-habit/

2. Lonely Planet

Long-time Lonely Planet author and mum Etain O’Carroll wrote this great piece on being a traveller close to home and it is one I return to again and again for ideas that not only save you money but will create family bonds and memories in the same way the bigger trips do. Ideas include camping in your back-garden, letting the kids plan the route and creating a bucket list for your local area. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/off-the-beaten-track/best-of-off-the-beaten-track/content/travel-tips-and-articles/how-to-be-a-traveller-close-to-home

3. The Quirky Traveller

From here it’s a short step to a ‘staycation’ and surely one of the benefits of having young children is that you rediscover your home country – at least we certainly did. Zoe at the Quirky Traveller isn’t a family travel blogger but her useful tips make planning a staycation as fun (well, nearly) as planning that big trip. I particularly like the idea of getting yourself a new outfit for your staycation. Any excuse… http://www.thequirkytraveller.com/2010/06/top-10-tips-for-planning-a-staycation-day-out/

4. Living Well, Spending Less

Still on the staycation theme, I really liked this huge selection of ideas (and rules!) from American blogger Ruth Soukup who writes on having the good life on a budget. While most of the ideas can be applied wherever you live, the traveller in me liked reading the American-specific suggestions such as a Minor League sporting event or exploring a local National Park. http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/2014/03/07/staycation-ideas/

5. Kiddie Holidays

Actually staying at home for your break is all well and good but let’s not forget that ‘staycation’ includes holidays in your home country. I love a good practical list and Jo at Kiddie Holidays inspired me with this comprehensive list of places to stay and things to do in her 10 amazing places to visit in the UK in 2015. http://www.kiddieholidays.co.uk/10-baby-and-toddler-friendly-holidays-for-2015/

6. A Family Day Out

Lastly, a break from the weekend routine to have a fun day out or weekend away is brilliant for encouraging a love of exploring in your kids. Some bloggers provide a round-up each month which is really useful. Having just taken our kids on a walk through a beautiful bluebells wood, this list particularly resonated. There’s a great mix of ideas here. http://afamilydayout.co.uk/may-2015/

Imogen Hall has three children aged 7, 5 and 1, and tweets for LP Kids at @lpkids; there’s a dedicated kids website from Lonely Planet at www.lonelyplanetkids.com and lots of useful family travel inspiration and practical advice at www.lonelyplanet.com/familytravel.