Best summer reads - win £400 of brilliant books

The long summers at university. They gave plenty of time to read

When my daughter was young and I took her abroad to the first time, everything was exciting seeing it through her eyes (even though we were in benidorm!)

My best summer was last year when we took our bikes and toured the French Vendee and the Isle de Re. Lots of cycle routes off road leading to amazing beaches, castles and through scented Pine Woods.

For over 30 years every summer has been fantastic. Relaxtion from a busy life teaching and juggling family life. We towed our caravan to Benodet in France and would spend 3 idyllic weeks, active by day(swimming, walking, cycling, exploring) relaxing by night reading. I used to take 2 or 3 box sets of fiction to last me in pre-Kindle days. So much more convenient when weight is an issue towing but as much as I love technology nothing beats the smell and feel of a real book. Now retired hubby and I have a motorhome and at 69 we decided to see more of the UK all year round but nothing else has changed. Lots of activity by day and reading at night. Can't beat it. Living the dream!

Best summer was the year I went interrailing with my two best friends from university. We had some real adventures. We slept on a barge in Amsterdam, on the floor of a circus tent in Munich and a couple of nights on trains, met some fun people and saw some amazing sights. I had a lovely boyfriend waiting for me back home too (he'd also been travelling with a friend while I was away). Happy days!

Summer of 1988 sticks in my mind. I'd just finished school and wouldn't be starting my new job until September. It seemed to be an endless bout of going out partying at night and then relaxing in the garden or long lunches with friends during the day. I think that was the only time in my life where I had no demands on my time, my friends were all in a similar situation (so up for partying)and though I didn't work I seemed to always have enough money :-)

Without a doubt this summer - we have downsized , taken up new hobbies, and our new bungalow is always filled with the sound of grandchildren. We have 9 under 10 and another one due in the Autumn. I always feared getting older. I have changed my mindset and embraced it instead. My OH has health problems but together we're a formidable team. OH has a workshop filled with tools for his ne hobby of woodcraft. All the family enjoy the fruits of his labour. He sings in a male voice choir and haas given up his commitments that were making him weary. I too have a shed and I write often. We have a collie, just a year old, full of bounce and I walk for miles each day. Life is good. We have our bad days of course, but they are few and far between. Acceptance of age has given us both a new outlook. Family is everything.

When I was a child the long school summer holidays.

Summer 1985! As DH was 40 that year he took 3 weeks off work and we travelled through Europe to Venice, had a week there and came back a different route. We had wonderful weather (or so it seems) and camped mostly but had occasional nights in hotels. Unfortunately, DD3 wasn't born until 2 years later so she missed the fun.

Summer of 1996 we celebrated our silver wedding big time - early booking meant we got a good deal and with early retirement we were able to go on safari to Kenya followed by our anniversary in The Seychelles. Absolutely amazing ?

Summer 1981. I got married that summer and had a great honeymoon in Jersey.

Every summer is special when it is spent with family. We book some lodges and everyone is welcome to come from great grandparents to the youngest who is nearly 2 now. A fun time is had by all and except for my son and family who live in New Zealand we are all in one place for a week.

1996
Sailing our 29' foot boat round the Brittany and Normandy coasts in the company of my darling ( now deceased ) husband.
Magical blue skies and seas. Pure tranquility with the occasional sightings of dolphins and porpoises. Sheer excitement on a sighting of a pod of pilot whales.
Visiting small French ports and either eating at lovely small restaurants or shopping in the local street markets and cooking our purchases back on board washed down by local wines!
It was all pure heaven!

In the summer of 2012, I celebrated my 60th birthday, retirement from work and our Ruby wedding. Having lived in the same place for 37 years, my DH and I sold our house and moved to London. A memorable summer!

It has to be 1976, because having finished my degree there was a wonderful world of possibilities and opportunities opening up to me, all helped by the most memorable summer, filled with sunshine

On reflection, I think, perhaps, my best summer was 1967. We were in our early twenties with two young daughters and were permanently short of cash. My darling late husband got the opportunity of a job in Zambia (which could have been on the moon for all we knew!) and it was offered family status, which meant that we could accompany him. Despite the misgivings of our families, we were so excited. Our first summer in Zambia was fantastic. The girls had the best time ever. They soon adopted local dress - no shoes and minimal clothes- and lived a life of walks in the bush, swimming in the Company's swimming pool and dining al fresco. Quite a change from what we had been used to. It was a magical summer and created so many happy memories.

The summer of 78 spent working on a farm in France - fantastic days

Summer of '94 - newly married and everything was great

My best summer was my first time away from home when I worked in a hotel in Ilfracombe at the age of 16. I enjoyed the work and spent time exploring the area. I met some lovely people, both residents and visitors.

Either any summer when my children were small and we had wonderful pre-school unhindered country picnics (at the bottom of the garden with a drink and a jammy doughnut) or slightly later, taking the children out of school (with the Head's permission) for a fortnight's holiday in France. The children were thirsty for knowledge of everything plus we had blissful sunny days on beaches. I am trying to recreate such events with my grandchildren but it is not so easy to co-ordinate everything these days! Times have changed!

My best summer was a few years back, we went to Cornwall and hired a cottage for 2 weeks with the family, it was fantastic. The cottage was in Perranporth and we would stroll to the butchers and bakers to get supplies for breakfast, spend days on the beach or in surrounding areas, and while away the nights either in pub gardens eating lovely meals, sitting eating chips on the beach, or watching the sun go down from the benches in the garden of the cottage, which was elevated with fantastic views.

1988 - The summer of the Glasgow Garden Festival. Our daughters were 7 and 4 and we had a magical time in this vast area of garden. We had season tickets so we were there at least 3 times a week for the duration of the summer. I cried when it was over - such special memories.

I remember being young and going off to a lake every summer with my friends We had to go through a field and it took roughly 30mins to get there. One day I swam in the lake and really tried hard to reach that island in the middle of it. Unfortunately just over halfway there I got super tired and tried to swim back. Realised I couldn't and tried to wave for help No help came so I just had to calm down take a moment then swim. Must admit I never tried to reach that dam island again. Lol

The summer of 2015 - when our first grandchild joined our family.

my best summer was 3 years ago when I had a very bad accident, and was in hospital for months because of it, thankfully I had lots of wonderful books to read, thanks to all the staff in the hospital bringing me books to keep, so that was a wonderful summer, as I was bedridden, so the books kept me sane!!! I could have died in 3 minutes and was so lucky to live, so now although it has left me disabled, I enjoy every moment of my life, realising how precious life can actually be!! I still have lots of friends who bring me books, because they know my books are my best friends when I am alone in the house, they are my link to the outside when I have to be inside so much. Without books to read, and keep me calm, when I get stressed about my situation, I would have lost the plot a long time before now!!!!