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HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS
Avoids flying > Horse riding lessons from the original stables at Ickworth > Mucking around in the gardens of ‘Toad Hall > The ‘playzone’ barn at Calcot Manor > Delicious seafood, including oysters and mussels fresh from the Fowey River

Sometimes the thing you’re looking for can be right under your nose (as you’re no doubt tired of telling your children). This is true of family holiday destinations too: it’s not always necessary to go jetting off to foreign fields when our own country – too often underrated and overlooked - has so much to offer. Staying in Britain has certain other advantages too: no struggling through crowded airports, no forgotten passport dramas and a cleaner conscience when it comes to your carbon footprint. Original Travel has scoured the country for some of the best family-friendly hotels in our own green and pleasant land…

ICKWORTH
Ickworth is a historic country house in rural Suffolk, one of whose wings has been converted into a hotel, while the rest is a National Trust property. Surrounding the hotel are 1,800 acres of parkland, where horse riding lessons, cycling and nature trails are among the activities on offer. Other facilities include an adventure playground, indoor swimming pool, tennis court (with coaching available), supervised crèche and a games room with table football, ping pong and computer games – all of which should keep junior citizens entertained while parents enjoy the spa or a guided tour of the main house.

Ickworth makes an ideal base for exploring East Anglia. Good family days out include visits to the aviation museum at Duxford, the Colne Valley steam railway and various local castles, while the beaches of the Suffolk coast are about an hour’s drive away.

FOWEY HALL
Fowey Hall is a luxury family hotel on the south coast of Cornwall. The 19th century mansion was the inspiration behind Toad Hall in The Wind in the Willows and is surrounded by five acres of walled gardens. For young children there’s a crèche offering supervised fun and games; older children have a games room with ping pong, table football and computer games. Outside, children can enjoy a variety of lawn games including croquet, badminton, mini-cricket, soft tennis and a large trampoline. Other facilities include an indoor pool and, for parents, a spa.

A small sandy beach is ten minutes’ walk away, and there are several other good beaches within a short drive from the hotel. Things to do in the area include sailing, for which Fowey is a renowned destination, and boat trips along the coast discovering former smugglers coves and looking for wildlife such as dolphins. Also within easy reach are the Eden Project, Blue Reef Aquarium, National Seal Sanctuary, Crealy Adventure Park, Dairyland Farm World and the Lost Gardens of Heligan.


CALCOT MANOR
Last but not least, Calcot Manor is multi award-winning country hotel set in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds. The hotel occupies a former English farmhouse and a cluster of stone barns, all surrounded by 220-acres of grounds, and is consistently rated one of the UK’s top hotels for families. Facilities include specially designed family rooms (housed in a converted barn) a crèche and a ‘playzone’ for older children. Outdoors there’s a pool, tennis court and cycling trails. Parents will appreciate the excellent spa and the fine cuisine or ‘gastropub’ fare of Calcot’s two restaurants.

Good family attractions close to Calcot Manor include the Cattle Country Adventure Park, with its herd of American bison and ride-on mini tractors; wildlife watching at Slimbridge, home to the world's largest collection of swans, geese and ducks, as well as all six species of flamingo; and a variety of watersports at the Cotswold Water Park.

PRIVATE COTTAGE RENTALS
Alternatively, Original Travel has teamed up with leading providers of holiday cottage rentals in the West Country, Norfolk and Scotland. Please contact us for further information.