Best summer reads - win £400 of brilliant books

Last summer was very special. Along with my daughter, son, his partner and all four grandchildren we spent two weeks in the Cairngorms, in two adjoining cottages. It was the first time we had all holidayed together and it was simply the best. The weather was brilliant, sunny and warm with light breezes that kept the odd midge at bay. (It was Scotland after all, but the midge season had only just begun!) The children, who ranged in age from 4 to 8, were on the go from morning to night: making dens, exploring in the woods, making dams in the nearby stream, collecting and painting unusual stones, climbing hills, with all of us involved. The setting was idyllic. 6 cottages grouped around a small lochan, complete with ducks and adorable ducklings, scrambling over one another to be first in line for food. Deer came down to the water’s edge to drink. To top it all, there was no wi-fi reception. Bliss!! We’ve booked again for this year

The summer of '68 - I was living in France about 12 miles from Paris. I was 17 and it was such a joy to be living away from my parents. I felt free at last and enjoyed immersing myself in French life which included the men. Best 18 months of my life.

Summer of 1969. Newly married in the Middle East. Deliriously happy. Just pregnant with first child, watching man walking in the moon which I found quite boring as couldn't understand the language.

The summer my son was born. I've never felt so many different emotions in such a short space of time - fear, happiness, excitement ... ! I don't think any summer will ever top the year I became a 'mum'.

Post O level blues. I loved reading as a young child but the trials of studying English Literature had dampened my enthusiasm. Dickens was hard work and gloomy. Julius Ceaser, one of Shakespeare's dullest. I don't remember the rest but we didn't get to read To kill a Mockingbird like some other classes.

My parents took us to the Isle of Mull where we stayed in an isolated cottage. No TV, only the family for company. There was a shelf of books but nothing very tempting. I picked up an Alistair Maclean and gave it a try. I was instantly hooked and worked my way through an entire shelf within the week. My joy in reading was revived. I actually did quite well in the O level and went on to to A level English Lit. I even got to like Dickens and reassessed Julius Ceaser. Thank you Alisair Maclean!

Best summer is any summer when the sun is shining, I'm by the sea and have a good book to read.

My First summer holiday was my best as it was my first holiday memory, I remember going on the ferry from Anglesey to Isle of Man, visiting the wonderful fairy grotto, I would have been about six and it was such a magic moment

I love to spend time with my grandsons. The year before we went together for holiday...first time together to the South of France. That was the best holiday I had and treasure. It was a nite of a shaky start but ends beautifully. Enjoyed tremendously. X

In 1962, when I was ten years old, my lovely aunt shipped my cousins outgrown bicycle down from Cumbria to Somerset, for me. I'd never had a bicycle before - or even learned to ride, but I'd watched other children enviously as they cycled up and down the country lane where I lived with my parents.

Suddenly, I had a bicycle - it was rose pink and by no means new, but I loved it with a passion. I learned to ride it with my father hanging onto the back of the saddle as I wobbled up and down outside our cottage, till finally I could ride it without help! I was ecstatic! I was allowed to cycle from our cottage into the nearby village, calling in on various friends en route...and we would go off for the day, with our lunch and a drink in our saddlebags, exploring rhynes and fields and hidden places...building dens and rafts from tin cans and bits of wood which we found along the way...no thought of all the horrors one hears of today - no mobile phones, just each other to rely on should anything go wrong. Nothing serious ever did and I recall that summer so well - the warm sunshine, me, my friends Louise and Grace on our bikes, transistor radios hanging off the handlebars, singing along to whatever was on at the time. It was so innocent and so simple but the memory of it has endured for 55 years and I still smile when I close my eyes and see my young self, tearing along on my beloved bicycle with not a care in the world. Such a happy time,

Camping in South West France with two small children for several years running in the late 1980s. The children often insisted on wearing matching clothes so we have many photographs of an excited brother and sister sitting in their cat seats waiting for the ferry from Portsmouth. Happy times!

Best summers are always with the people you want to be with the most - since my husband's death I look back at holidays we had - grand and not so grand but just spending time together in beautiful places which build up a store of memories to last as long as I have a memory! Walking in Glen Coe, the street market in Luxor, the Heights of Abraham with the grandchildren and the hilltop villages in Umbria - so happy!

When the children were small and we could enjoy a picnic and games in the park, then come home to snuggle up for a story before bed

My favourite summer was the first time I took my sons abroad when they were 8 & 6, it was lovely - sunny days every day and they snorkeled in the Mediterranean for the first time.

we hadnt been on holiday for a while due to my ill health, back and fro hospital, operations etc. a lot of family tragedy. we were strapped for cash as i no longer able to work. my husband booked a surprise week self catering in cornwall. he had been saving every penny. it was the first time our dog had been on holiday. we took our time travelling down, stopping frequently as i found car travel difficult. it was lovely. he had pre arranged all disabled aids to be delivered and in accommodation, plus wheelchair, zimmer etc. we had a fantastic time, he would take me for short drives, find somewhere for me to sit while he took dog for a walk on beach. sharing fish and chips, ice cream with husband and dog while looking at sea views. it did us both good to be away, take a breath of sea air and destress, at least for a week.

Summer of 76 all I can remember was glorious sunshine every day lots of long walks till late in the evening. We were married in the August and spent two weeks in Scotland didn't even take a coat!

Wow, love reading - hope I win the books! My best summer was 4 years ago. My first grandchild was born, a gorgeous blue-eyed blonde who is starting "big school" next term. I spend lots of time with her, she's a delight, and I so wish that my parents had lived long enough to see her, but I having great fun as a granny and love reading stories to her - must be the retired librarian in me!??

The summer of 2007- my friend an enjoyed a coach tour of lake Garda . our first holiday from our families having successfully seen both our families of four to late teenhood .

About 15 years ago we had a summer of fishing weekends that were really relaxing with nice weather, good books to read and puzzle books to do - we even caught some nice fish! Orchid Lakes in Oxfordshire was a favourite place to go as the bailiffs were helpful & knowledgeable, facilities good and the local Chinese restaurant delivered to the gates so we ate well too.

I think it was 1961. The weather was glorious and I spent the school holidays at the outdoor swimming baths at Harrison Drive, on the edge of the River Mersey.

My best summer has been this one when, at the age of sixty four, my two older sons descended on my younger son in Estepona and asked me to join them there. I can’t remember the last time I saw my three sons together in the same spot! What could beat that?

DeeWBW how wonderful for you! Magic memories to keep forever (((hugs)))

The summer my ex and I travelled round Europe in a Morris 1000 Traveller. We did a modern day version of 'the grand tour', but did it on the cheap, camping and living on packet soup cooked with locally bought tomatoes and onions.Our Moggie took us up and over all the mountain passes, to the surprise of the locals who used to point to the dear car saying 'baum' and scratching their heads. We did a similar thing with the children many years later, but they were teenagers and it wasn't quite as relaxing!

...but not in a Moggie, I hasten to add!!

The summer of 1971 i will always remember ,it was my first big music festival .Weeley will never be forgotten .I spent my time with my first love and saw so many great bands ..Quo ,Faces ,Trex,Barclay james harvest and many more !!

summer of'76, my boyfriend of the time [now husband of 40 yrs]borrowed a caravan, swapped his motorbike for his brother- in-laws car, and we went off for a weeks holiday in the Lake district - never forgotten! journey there was a nightmare, car trouble, traffic jams, [overheating engines], but once there, wonderful! did not want to come back home, although it did take us a few years to get back to thoughts of a caravan for holidays!