Lake District Holidays

One thing that I love to do is go on holiday with a good group of friends. 

Something that is important when arranging these types of getaways is that you choose a great location that has something to cater for everyone’s different tastes and needs.

When holidaying in the UK, one of my favourite places to go is the Lake District.  There are many options available for both relaxing with friends and having an action packed time with the family; you really can design your holiday to perfectly suit your needs.

Whether you want to explore the shops, have a look around a historic house or go walking and see some of the spectacular scenery, there is something available for everyone with activities to suit every taste.   Even if you are not much of an explorer but still want to take in the picturesque views of the Lake District, there are lake cruises available where you get the best of both worlds.

Last time I visited the Lake District with my friends we arranged a day per person so that everyone could do something they wanted.  My day involved pitch and putt followed by a cool glass of wine at a local pub!

There is a fantastic competition being run at the moment by Ullswater Steamers where you can win a seven night holiday in the Lake District.  The prize includes staying in an exclusive Pullman Camping Coach, a private ride on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Steam Railway and also a trip on one of the famous Ullswater Steamers!

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You can find the link to the competition here

Even if you don’t win the main prize there are also some runners up prizes up for grabs such as days out at Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, Ullswater Steamers, Muncaster Castle, Lowther Castle & Daleman Historic House & Gardens; shopping vouchers for Rabbit Rabbit Gifts and vouchers against breaks at Waterfoot Park, Woodclose Park & Hill of Oaks!

When the sun is shining there really is nowhere better than England for a holiday so why not try your luck?

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Why I'm Still Proud to be British

They are some things that will forever be known as quintessentially British.

Sunday lunches and afternoon teas; our reserved nature and under playing our achievements.   We all seem to love a good moan yet we have an innate inability to complain and of course, there is the famous stiff upper lip.

Surely the term quirky was surely made for the British.

The trait that makes me very proud to be British however is the way in which when times get back, differences are forgotten and the old war time spirit of “We are all in this together” comes into play. 

In times of the EDL, BNP, UKIP and Britain First; sometimes it can be hard to remember that feeling.  Now and again though, even when you have lost hope that we can all join together in a common cause again, that spirit remerges.


The clean up campaign that was organized on Twitter after the London riots is one of the recent examples I can think of.  Hundreds of people joined together to clean up the streets.  It didn’t matter who you were or what you believed in; it was British people coming together for a common good.

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 A year later we hosted the Olympics and the roar of support in that stadium and all across the country when Jessica Ennis was running the 800m in the final stage of the Heptathlon will always stay with me.  I have never heard or felt anything like that in my life. 

Over the past couple of years however the vitriolic ranting by parties like the BNP, the thuggish and frankly terrifying nature of the recently formed Britain First and the thinly veiled racist and homophobic nature of UKIP seemed to have fractured our society into such a state that I didn’t think that it could be mended.
Yesterday however a little ray of hope appeared.   You may have recently seen the news about the Blackley Jewish Cemetery where dozens of headstones had been damaged and covered in swastikas by two teenagers.

Rather than letting such a blatantly anti-semitic attack pass them by however, the local community got together to help.  So many people turned up to help with the clear up that they had to be organised into shifts.  These people were from all walks of life and from many different religions; there was no “them and us”.  That didn’t matter.  They just wanted to come together as a community to help.

It is things like this that makes me remember that I am indeed proud to be British.  When times are hard we stand shoulder to shoulder as one.  When we are one as a nation there is nothing that can take us down.  Adolf Hitler couldn’t break us and I am damned if I am going to see parties like UKIP tear us apart.

So yes I am proud to be British, in the true sense of the word; not like it has been commandeered by Britain First.