If you drive, have you thought about doing a farmhouse B?B , in the Lake District , or in the Yorkshire Dales for that time, and then later in early september go away to somewhere else, where you would get that child free time. If you did the Lake District , or North Wales if that is nearer for you. With farms, you can choose outside a town or city easily, but if you have your car, can travel wherever you like and be guided by the weather . Buy the local paper and you will see whatever is happening , so often plant sales and gardens open. The NGS have yellow signs up for gardens open for the charity usually at the weekend. Lovely gardens to enjoy, and with luck plant sales etc. If you sail, you could also take a dinghy out on the lakes or go on a boat trip. Take your bus pass if you have one and travel around without having the problem of parking etc.
Depends on how much you want to spend but have you also looked at Fred Olsen cruises? They have trips starting in Liverpool and Newcastle and Rosyth, so no hassle traipsing down to Dover. I have been on a couple, they have smaller ships, which I much prefer. I get the cheapest inside cabin, as I dont spend a lot of time there. The food has always been very good, the staff very helpful. You can mix or do your own thing. They have a library, usually things like card games, bridge whist etc, quiz, good talks about where you are going, and you do as much or as little as you like. I dont sleep well, bad back, and have been able to sit up on the top deck and have a great panoramic view of the dawn rising, sat with a coffee and my binoculars. in peace and quiet. Nothing like the big cruisers and they can get into small ffiords etc. Have always done my own thing and not into group trips , so have never chosen this until I have had some mobility problems. If I book in advance I do my own homework and check up on places I am going to, and find out local buses etc and do my own thing. No waiting for groups and going to things that dont appeal to me., and of course much cheaper doing it that way. I only know how my back is when I get up in the morning, so I can make the decision on the day if I can go off or have a peaceful time on board. I have also kept my eye on their offers and actually booked one trip for the following week, which was of course a lot cheaper. The thing about these trips is that you unpack once and all your stuff is there , If you go for the cheaper cabins , if you just want to stay on board , it is actually not too expensive when you just stick to the basics and dont add on extras.
Another possibility is do you have friends who live somewhere that you might like to visit and see if they would like to do a swap with you? As friends you no doubt already know their home and the surrounding area. The good thing is that you can feed the cat, water the plants etc for each other, dont have to put millions of things away, but could lock one room or drawer or whatever . If you dont need to be shown specific things you could just meet up and swap keys halfway, or leave a note or of course you can always ring each other up if there is something you are not sure of. Plus side - no cost for the swap, a change to look at things in your friends area, which when you visit them you tend not to go to. Go to see things that are an easy journey from their house but not yours. Galleries and museums that are not near your home You can do your washing in their machine so not coming back to a load of work Minus side - are you similar in style? Will they care for your home as you do , or will they leave marks on your best furniture and not water your plants and let your best treasured plant die. But you will be in your own car and can make picnics up and sit in comfort in the evening and enjoy your music or that serial you were following. You could do the same thing at a longer distance if you added in a B/B on the way, perhaps where you and your friend could meet up and have a night together. Alternatively on a long distance , go by train, arranging to pick up keys at neighbours, leaving good instructions in your own house. Make sure you have your driving licence and bus pass with you. Then start by doing the local things and having some time peacefully at their home. Then look to see what you might visit by bus, and hire a car for one or two days to visit things that you really would like to do. Doing the friend swap thing, change over in the middle of the week rather than the weekend. For other trips abroad, I would start by thinking what you like to do, or places that you would like to revisit, if you enjoy the journey as part of the holiday, you might look at a long distance train journey. You can move about, I have always found trains more comfortable than buses for long distance, Used to work in communications for an airline, so have done plenty of airtravel but think it is much more hassle these days and you are not as in control as you are with your own car or making your own arrangements. If you plan to go abroad, again do your own research to check what local holidays would be likely to happen when you are there, as that will affect what is open etc . Hope this gives you some ideas .
Finally, there is the other little white lie you can tell! When my sister didnt want to spend christmas with anyone but have some peace and quiet, she didnt lie , but told one group that she was PROBABLY going to spend the holiday with the other group and vice versa. Then she stocked up with what food she wanted and enjoyed a peaceful time at home, doing just what she wanted and avoided all the hassle. In the same way you could do the same. Dont answer the phone, let people think you are away and just go out for days just as and when you feel like it. Drive where you like, keep a bag with basic change of clothes so that if you want to stay over somewhere you just take your pick. FREEDOM. No responsibility for anyone else , stay in , go out. Remember being a teenager? Do the same , stay up until 2am watching something on the box, eat cake for breakfast, eat lunch at 11 one day and 3pm the next. The only rule is , so long as what you do is legal and not hurting anyone else , have a holiday from all that you normally feel you have to do. No Guilt, enjoy it. Best of luck and let me know if you have a go at anything!!
