With the weather in the UK being somewhat unpredictable to say the least, parents with younger children understandably look for family holidays in UK that will not be completely ruined should the weather start playing up. Indeed, what is normally considered foul weather can actually add to the excitement in an area like Cumbria – provided you take the right clothes with you and there are other activities and attractions close by to keep the kids in the party pleasantly occupied.  

Lake District

The English Lake District has been a firm favourite with native holidaymakers for many decades now, and whether it’s bucketing down, as often happens, or the sun is shining, the kids always love it here.

Even if you have no intention of tackling the summit of Helvellyn and neighbouring peaks to take in the view, just a short boat trip on the likes of Lake Windermere will be more than enough to fully appreciate the vastness and breathtaking beauty of this unique corner of Britain with its glacial lakes, soaring peaks and legendary fells.

Most of the best attractions here are also completely free, with plenty of walks along the lake shores and in the surrounding hills that have been especially designed for different levels of expertise, families included. You can take pleasure boats and launches onto most of the lakes, and there are picturesque towns like Bowness on Lake Windermere for shopping and refreshments. 

Cornwall

Cornwall has long been a popular UK holiday destination because of its world-famous beaches, sublime summer climate and wonderful scenery. It’s one of the most attractive parts of the British Isles and has a range of attractions for holidaymakers, with visitors flocking to the hotels, guesthouses, B&Bs, camping and caravan sites both in the winter and in the summer months.

The entire coastline is pitted with rocky coves and neat little fishing villages with fine views across the sea, and the beaches here are second to none. On the northern shoreline stretching away from Newquay it’s a veritable surfers’ paradise and as you move further towards Land’s End you encounter St Ives and other remarkably attractive seaside towns that have drawn visitors since Victorian days.

This is where many of the best beaches are to be found too, and further inland there are the wild and wonderful moorlands where scattered castles, abbeys and abandoned tin mines create a mysterious and atmospheric landscape to explore.

Scotland

Scotland has its own distinctive character, somewhat more rugged than you’ll encounter south of the border perhaps but no less welcoming, and there are plenty of things to do for families worried about the weather prospects.

On fine days you can get out and about on the roads to see the fabulous scenery of gorse- and heather-covered peaks, or stay in the great urban centres like Glasgow or Edinburgh when it gets wet and cloudy. There are wildlife parks, aquariums and zoos to visit as well as some of the best castles in the UK, and many urban attractions are free, such as Edinburgh’s National Museum of Scotland and the Riverside Museum in gritty Glasgow.

The Yorkshire Dales

The Yorkshire Dales has a rich cultural heritage and its great range of wildlife and extensive sandy beaches attract families whatever the weather. It’s an ideal region for activities holidays, with cycling and rambling particular favourites, and there are lots of local attractions such as museums and adventure parks that don’t depend on sunshine for their enjoyment. In Dalby Forest kids can swing through the trees like monkeys, or at Bedale visit Aerial Extreme for adventure rope courses that all the family can take part in. With steam railways bisecting the countryside and a landscape with its fair share of ruined castles and abbeys, there’s plenty on offer here for everybody throughout the year.

David Elliott is a freelance writer who loves to travel, especially in Europe and Turkey. He’s spent most of his adult life in a state of restless excitement but recently decided to settle in North London. He gets away whenever he can to immerse himself in foreign cultures and lap up the history of great cities.  

It is May and all three of my children have now spent time as inpatients in the local childrens ward this year, yes this year!  Chloe for breaking her ankle, Erin for grommets and now Dylan due to his hayfever and the infection it causes.  I only commented last week how we had a busy week with upcoming hospital visits and that was before Dyl threw his hat into the mix!

Friends joke that I should get a discount in the coffee shop. The nurses know my name. Only today one of Erin’s favourite health care assistants asked Dylan if he wanted lunch and looked to me, then said in a surprised tone, this is the third child! How is Erin?

It leaves me exasperated, what is it about my kids? My friends seem to avoid hospital stays and yet all three of mine are currently regular visitors. 

Dylan has allergies, as a baby he had bad eczema and had a dairy free diet which controlled it. Now he eats what he wants and hayfever is the only allergy he has. April is usually Dylan’s worst month, the tree pollen and first grass cuts are his nemesis.  Wednesday morning he awoke with tiny little bumps under his eye.  I know what these mean, I know the course they run.  After school I took Dyl to the surgery, we had no appointment but they also know that this has hospitalised Dyl twice already.  I thought we had caught it quick enough.  Yet Thursday saw no signs of improvement and by Friday the blisters were becoming infected.  I took him back to the surgery hedging my bets as to where we would end up next.  I was right and not surprised when the GP said Dylan needed to be seen by the paeds team.  Knowing the drill we went prepared we nipped home grabbed the iPad, DS, snacks and magazines before heading back.  I dropped Erin with a friend and headed to hospital. Initially the GP was concerned that the blisters looked viral more than bacterial, he suspected shingles.  As I said Dylan only gets this at this time of year but the doctors and peads don’t have a textbook answer that links this infection with hayfever.  Dyl has been on IV antibiotics for four days now and we are starting to see signs of improvement.  However no one is entirely sure what causes this.  It has been suggested that it is due to the MRSA he had as toddler (that was never actually confirmed as MRSA as they couldn’t admit that  – as he had just had an operation in the hospital – rather they have always called it a staphylococcal infection).  As this has reoccured he will now being a specialist – hopefully an eye specialist tomorrow. 

In the meantime I am yet again drinking hospital coffee and watching the clock.  This week will yet again be busy and dominated with appointments.  Erin is seeing the rheumatologist on Wednesday and we shall see what the consultant says for Dyl tomorrow.

It’s nearly my wedding anniversary. We will have been married for eleven years on June 1st and I can still remember the day so clearly. I loved my wedding day, everything about it was wonderful from getting ready at my mums house, to the ceremony and the party. My wedding dress is still my ideal dress.  Sadly it sits in the garage, I can’t bear to part with it but wont wear it again.  I would love to know what other people  have done with their dress.I think I would still choose much of what I did. I think if I were to do it now, I would have more added extras for the evening do. I would have a sweet shop I think and some giant games like jenga and connect four for everyone to play outside. We had glorious weather and Lee got burnt having the photos taken!  I seemed to drink enough Malibu to sink a ship except I remained sober.

We really should celebrate our wedding anniversary but we are quite lazy really – and circumstances have made it very difficult. Last year should have been one to celebrate, a decade of marriage. However Erin was in spica having recently had her big salters operation. We couldn’t very well swan off which is how I would have liked to celebrate.  This year neither of us have mentioned it so I guess we are doing anything!  This fun quiz though is set to see how much we agree about things like ‘what is our favourite experience together?’  I challenge you to ake the quiz with either your other half or the best friend!  See who you know the best!!

Disclosure: I have been entered into a competition to win a night away for posting the app. I need a weekend away and it really is almost my wedding anniversary!

Last Saturday I took a whole day for myself. I gleefully skipped onto a train at 8.30am heading to Birmingham to spend a day with fellow Tots100 bloggers at The Studio. Arriving at the New Street Station I was greeted by friends old and new, a gaggle of women set free from home for the day! When I started blogging three years ago I had no idea where Emmaand3 would lead. I jumped in without really thinking of a name or what I would blog about. Little did I know how important and life changing blogging would become. I was yet to meet bloggers that I now call friends. I was yet to have heard of DDH, yet to understand the implications. I was yet to realise how much writing would become an outlet for me as Erin’s treatment dominated our family life. Tots is important to me and whilst some bloggers say that the rankings mean little to them – I am too competitive to say that! The past couple of months have seen me in the top 100 blogs in the Tots rankings out of over 5000. I am seriously proud of this and hope that I am raising of awareness of DDH and also entertaining others with life stories of parenting a toddler, tween and teen.

I have shared and learnt so much online during the past three years but there is still always more to learn. Last Saturday was no exception. The first thing I learnt was that it really is a good idea to take your camera if you plan on going to a practical camera workshop! However I snapped away with my iPhone and actually won a prize so I obvously picked up a few tips!

I later went to a totally inspirational session on writing a book. The panel included Tamsin from ParentDish, Becky from Baby Budgeting whose book I read every night in the bath when expecting Erin (again this was before I blogged) and finally Rachel from tales from the village who has written fiction that is immensely successful.  This session gave some much needed advice about getting an publishing deal, getting a book cover and editor, tips on submitting to online publications and generally about believing in yourself and never giving up.

The top tips I gleamed were:

1. If you are wanting to get noticed for an online publication, send your pitch in during the afternoon – more chance of it being read.  Avoid Monday mornings – its a bit like ringing for a doctor I guess!  That is the busiest time!

2. Do link to other pieces of your writing.

3. Do look for a good angle – if the post could be written by one of their ‘established’ writers that is where they would go.

4. If writing  a book – a good cover is worth the investment.

5. Get an editor.

6. Use the Writers and Artists handbook to find out who specialises in your written area.

7. Rejection is not personal – Becky had 40 rejections before her deal and Rachel pointed out that when you write your second book the publishers will be falling over themselves and you can  reject those who rejected you – Karma!

8. Believe in your book. 

This advice was all realistic yet at the same time inspirational.  I have an idea and hopefully one day it will be realised as I certainly believe in it.

The final session was a really impressive talk by Andy Cope, some will know him as the author of popular childrens books – notably the Spy Dog series, however he spoke to us about being happy.  Infact he is studying what it means to be happy and how to be happy.  In a nutshell the answer is that you need to live in the now and celebrate what you have.  Being happy is a state of mind and so is being a mood hoover.  Only 2% of people are in the perfect place of being happy.  It made so much sense what he was saying.  As a sociologist, teacher and parent it really resonated with me.  I have sat through inset on happy schools and I want to raise happy children. 

I finished the day by heading for dinner and drinks with some epic bloggers I know and it was a great way to finish off the day!  The last thing I learnt though was to check your wine glass doesn’t have a leak mine clearly did as it kept emptying itself.  Luckily I found a new friend in Donna who was happy to prop up the bar with me and neither of us missed our train home – result!