insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 02 - April 2015 | Page 73
GETAWAYS
UK Half Term Breaks cont.
Butlins
Feather Down Farm
When Billy Butlin started
up his holiday camps for
ordinary families to be able
to enjoy something
affordable, and to get away
from it all, it was 1936. Holiday camps had never been heard of before,
and this new and exciting concept meant that families could take their
children for a getaway, and treat them! The good news is, the ethos at
Butlins is still the same: it is still exciting (a fairground, circus, evening
entertain, kids’ game, pools, beaches, games and more); it is still affordable
(even in the school holidays); and it still means you and your children can
spend some quality time together, either at Butlins Skegness, Bognor Regis,
or Minehead.
www.butlins.com
Haven Holidays
Taking a break isn’t always about taking it easy – it can be about learning
new skills and enjoying some healthy exercise too. So imagine being able
to stay on a real working farm and pitching in with mucking out the animals,
feeding them, milking cows, harvesting crops, using a tractor or perhaps
even working in a farm shop. This is exactly what companies such as
Feather Down Farm set up for you and, to really make the most of your
time away, they offer superb camping opportunities on the farmland too.
However, these are not ordinary tents – with wooden floors, a wood burning
stove, separate bedrooms and cosy dens, these are tents with style and
comfort. What a way to spend a week!
www.featherdown.co.uk
Canopy and Stars
Canopy and Stars offers a wide range of exciting and very different ways
to spend half term. One of its packages is all about living the high life,
literally; your accommodation is up in a specially designed treehouse! Some
even come with hot tubs, and one of their fabulous places, the Lost Meadow
Treehouse at Broom Park Farm in Cornwall, is a ‘ball of quirkiness suspended
in the air between two trees’! If treehouses aren’t your style, then what
about a traditional Gypsy caravan, a shepherd’s hut, a cabin, a yurt, an art
studio, a thatched cottage, or a tipi? With plenty to do on the doorstep of
each of these too, you’ll be able to have a full and fantastic break away.
www.canopyandstars.co.uk
There are 35 Haven Holidays' locations around the country, and they all
offer something special, at reasonable prices (even during school