Looking for inspiration for somewhere to take a trip this autumn? Perhaps you’ve decided to hold off on a summer holiday this year because of all the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, or you didn’t fancy paying over the odds as demand for UK breaks soared.
Or perhaps you are thinking ahead and want to plan something to keep the kids occupied in the October holidays.
Whatever your reasons, autumn can be a beautiful time of year to explore the UK. Here are five great ideas for exciting things to do to suit the whole family.
Visit the Blackpool Illuminations
Blackpool is well known as perhaps the quintessential British seaside resort and a traditional summer holiday destination, a town of piers, donkey rides and fairgrounds. But as the nights draw in, Blackpool’s famous promenade is lit up by the Illuminations – six miles of colourful fun billed as the world’s number one free light show!
The classic way to take in the illuminations is by tram, which themselves are festooned in bulbs to become part of the lightshow. And for the rest of your time in Blackpool, there is no shortage of other attractions to keep you busy – the famous Blackpool Tower, for example, the fabulous Pleasure Beach fairground (home of the UK’s tallest rollercoaster), or why not take in a show on one of the piers or at the magnificent Victorian Winter Gardens.
Seek our the Northern Lights on the Isle of Skye
For a very different kind of illuminating autumn experience, head to the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides to see if you can catch a glimpse of the aurora borealis. Skye’s fabulously dark skies offer some of the best vantage points to see the Northern Lights in the British Isles, especially if you head to the north of the island. And even if you don’t see the aurora, on a clear night you will be treated to some spectacular star-gazing.
By day, Skye is a walker’s paradise, with some of the most dramatic and unusual geography found anywhere in the UK, taking in lochs, fairy glens, precarious cattle pens, waterfalls and stunning beaches.
Explore the ‘United Nations of Trees’ in Northumberland
Autumn is of course the time of year when landscapes are transformed by trees gradually shutting down food-producing photosynthesis, which turns the green of their leaves into practically every colour of the rainbow. So what better way to celebrate this magical time of year than visiting an arboretum?
Howick Hall in Northumberland has one of the UK’s most spectacular collections of trees, spanning more than 12,000 specimens gathered from every corner of the globe – earning it the nickname the ‘United Nations of Trees’. The hall is also the ancestral home of the Earls Grey of tea-making fame. And for history buffs, you’re only a stone’s throw away from Alnwick and its famous castle, while not far to the north on Northumberland’s spectacular coast, you can also take in Bamburgh and its equally renowned edifice, with Lindisfarne monastery close by.
Go dolphin-spotting in Yorkshire
Further south along the east coast, there’s a breathtaking autumn opportunity no nature-lover will want to miss – the chance to spot dolphins, porpoises and even whales as they migrate south through the North Sea following giant shoals of herring from their summer residences far to the north of Scotland.
A great place to catch this awesome annual event is to take a boat from the picturesque North Yorkshire fishing village of Staithes, famous as the birthplace of Captain James Cook. From here, you are within easy reach of the equally gorgeous Whitby, famous as a key setting in Bram Stoker’s Dracula with its imposing hill-top abbey ruins. A trip inland to explore the stunning North Yorkshire Moors is also strongly recommended, perhaps by taking the heritage steam railway built by none other than George Stephenson.
See the sights of London
Finally, there is hardly a bad time to visit the UK’s most visited destination, but there is something about a post-summer trip to London that just feels right. It’s probably down to the fact that there is just so much to see and do indoors once the weather takes a turn for the worse – museums, galleries, world-class shopping, and of course just an endless choice of restaurants, pubs and cafes to keep yourself well-fuelled (October also happens to be when the month-long London Restaurant Festival takes place!)
London is also an incredibly child-friendly city. Your kids will get as much pleasure from hopping from place to place on the Tube as anything, but look out for special seasonal events like the Warner Brother Harry Potter Studios special ‘Dark Arts’ Halloween spectacular.
And finally…
We don’t want to pour a damp squib on your autumn holiday plans, but it is still worth remembering that we remain in the middle of a global pandemic. Make sure you cover yourself should COVID-19 spoil your trip by taking out comprehensive UK travel insurance. Click here to find out more.
