Image: Rachel Kramer
The North doesn’t have a great reputation with its weather, which is harsh sometimes. While it’s true that we have more rain than other areas of the United Kingdom it’s by no means the worst part – the South West is just as bad in my opinion for rainfall!
The thing about us Northerners, however, is that we don’t let the weather get us down too much. Sure everyone else complains about the weather up here but we’ve learned to deal with it as best we can and we try and persevere come rain or shine (to a certain extent anyway).
Throughout the Summer we try our hardest to entertain ourselves – we don’t get a very long one no matter where we live in the UK so this is something that I almost enforce on my family. When we’ve got a rare day or two together it’s nice to get outside and to go somewhere. It might be somewhere we’ve been before, somewhere we’ve always talked about going to or it might even be something really random that one of us suggests and we just have to go and give it a go.
Sometimes it’s the kind of activity that only one of us can do at a time, in other instances it’s something we can all get involved in. Then, of course, there are the contingency plans for when we’re forced to abandon them and stay indoors (personally I like playing online bingo and have found some of the best online bingo offers in the UK to help me to either win or improve my chances. The kids like their reading, my partner likes music and we all enjoy classic board games).
As a family we all love going to the seaside, there’s just something typically British about it whether the sun is shining or not. When it’s a nice day it’s great fun to play on the beach and to go for a ride on a donkey – and there’s nothing quite like having an ice cream on the seafront (even if a “99” doesn’t cost 99p anymore!)
When it’s not as nice we try and go to the Pleasure Beach in search of entertainment or we go in the amusement arcades. There’s something for everyone in there and a portion of chips in a cone wrapped in newspaper is another beautifully British thing.
We’re a bit of a sporty family with interests in just about everything from football to golf, motorbikes to swimming; so a sporting option is an obvious one for us. We’ve found that watching the cricket down at Old Trafford cricket ground is a really good way to be entertained – especially in the 20 over games. There’s always plenty of action and you get a result in a few hours one way or another which appeals to those of us with short attention spans! Plus there’s often a fan park outside with live music, great for a sing-a-long.
Finally, the Imperial War Museum North down at Salford Quays is the ideal way to combine a day out with some education. Okay, the kids took some convincing to go previously but now they’re a bit more aware of what happened in the various wars they’re really interested in the exhibits and especially the way things have changed over the years from tin hats and whistles to the modern day lightweight but enforced equipment they have now.
