I always have a lot of questions about accommodati I always have a lot of questions about accommodation when we stay anywhere as a family so I thought I’d share this little tour of our room at @windjammerlanding which was a pretty perfect place to stay.

It’s the ‘Ocean View Two Bedroom’ which was like a little house, with an upstairs and downstairs, built into the hillside. Both rooms had outdoor space and their own shower rooms. Such a great option for a family.
A little photo dump from our holiday in St Lucia. A little photo dump from our holiday in St Lucia. We’ve been back a few days now but still miss the heat, the food, the pool, the constant sounds of wildlife and the lovely people. It was such a great holiday and I’m sure we’ll be back one day.
And just like that, Athena is 12! What a joy it is And just like that, Athena is 12! What a joy it is watching her grow and what a wonderful young woman she is becoming. We could not be more proud. Love you Pickle, have a great birthday.
We’ve just got back from two glorious weeks in S We’ve just got back from two glorious weeks in St Lucia staying at @windjammerlanding and it was just the holiday we needed. Two weeks of sunshine and relaxation in what must be one of the most beautiful islands in the world. 

We can’t wait to go back again in the future. Here’s just a little snippet of our trip.
AD - Press Tickets | We had such a nice day at @na AD - Press Tickets | We had such a nice day at @national_motor_museum despite the rain! The children loved the Little Beaulieu play area and we loved exploring the National Motor Museum and Top Gear exhibit before having a ride on the monorail! We went on an old open topped bus, explored the Beaulieu Manor House and loved the gardens. 
Beaulieu is always a great day out - whatever the weather. This summer they have a whole ‘Summer of Fun’ planned, with activities most days - parades, bird shows and hundreds of sculptures within the grounds too. If you’re looking for a day out this summer definitely think about heading to Beaulieu.
AD - Press Tickets | Tonight we took the kids to t AD - Press Tickets | Tonight we took the kids to their first concert - but it was so much more than just a concert! @abbavoyage is incredible. With CGI ABBA and a live band, it’s like being at an ABBA concert 40 years ago but with modern lighting, effects and sound. ABBA look and sound real, it’s a mind blowing experience.
The set includes all the songs you know and love as well as a few less familiar ones.
You can’t take photos during the show which actually made a refreshing change. A whole arena focused purely on the show and soaking up the moment. It’s definitely something the four of us will always remember.
Now, I’m off to sing Dancing Queen all the way home.
AD - Press Trip | We had such a great day at @phdo AD - Press Trip | We had such a great day at @phdockyard today. They have a fantastic Ultimate Explorer ticket that lets you visit all the attractions as many times as you like for 12 months - and after a day at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard we can see that you need more than one day to really do everything!

We explored HMS Warrior, HMS Victory and the Mary Rose Exhibition - which is incredible! We also saw where ships are built and restored and spent time in Action Stations where the kids climbed and did an assault course.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is such a fun, educational day out with something for all ages - we can’t wait to go on their harbour tours next time we visit!
AD | WIN!! Would you love to win a holiday? To cel AD | WIN!! Would you love to win a holiday? To celebrate #100YearOfARoads National Highways have launched their #ARoadsToSummer competition! It's all about celebrating summer holiday moments, time together, fun in the sun, days out and more.

So why not be in it to win it? To enter, all you have to do is send @nationalhways a DM on here with a photo or video of your favourite holiday moments. You can also comment on their Facebook or Twitter #ARoadsToSummer posts with your holiday photos. I've shared a few of our favourite photos to give you some inspiration.

The best six entries will each win a £500 @nationaltrust holidays voucher! SO what are you waiting for? Dig out your favourite holiday photos or take some new ones to share!

The #ARoadsToSummer competition runs from 24 July to 10 September 2023. Winners will be announced in September 2023.

Good luck!
Oh these two! Every day I feel lucky to have them. Oh these two! Every day I feel lucky to have them. As school draws to a close at lunchtime, I’m looking forward to a whole summer with them. My favourite people.

They’ve both had a great year at school this year. Troy’s first without his sister by his side and Athena’s first at secondary school. 

They both had great reports, always did their best and have made some really lovely new friends this year. I could not be more proud of them.

Now, let’s go and enjoy the next six weeks before school starts all over again!
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Holidays & Accomodation, Reviews · July 27, 2018

Learning to Swim with Swim Inns {Springfield Hotel, Holywell, Wales}

I apologise in advance for the lack/quality of photos in this post. I completely switched off from blog mode for the week (apart from catching up on some work) and didn’t think to take decent photos of the hotel and facilities BUT I really wanted to write about this experience – so excuse the photos!

A few months ago I decided to do something completely out of my comfort zone – I decided to learn to swim. I looked everywhere for a course, private swimming classes or swim school and ended up deciding on a residential course away from home.

I knew if I did regular adult swimming lessons at a local swimming pool or even an intensive course somewhere local I wouldn’t be able to focus on swimming – I would do the lesson and then forget about swimming until the following lesson. So, instead, I found what I think is one of the only residential swimming courses in the UK – Swim Inns at the Springfield Hotel in Holywell, Wales.

Learning to Swim with Swim Inns {Springfield Hotel, Holywell, Wales}

Swim Inns have a five day course of residential swimming lessons in small groups that runs throughout the year. Alternatively they offer private lessons on a one-to-one basis. The residential course includes bed and breakfast – and you can even pay a supplement to have someone else stay at the hotel with you if you want to.

I arrived on the Sunday afternoon, ready for lessons to start on the Monday morning. The Springfield Hotel is three star but lovely. It’s family run with amazing views and had everything I needed for the week – included really good quality wifi.

My room was really comfortable, I had tea and coffee making facilities and the bathroom was nice and modern. Plus, my room was spruced up each day – a lovely novelty of staying in a hotel.

Learning to Swim with Swim Inns {Springfield Hotel, Holywell, Wales}

Breakfast each day was a cooked and continental buffet. It was all fresh, well cooked and a great way to start the day. Plus, we had access to the pool from early in the morning until the evening – perfect for swimming practice.

The lessons started at 9:30am and ran until 11:30am – it was the same each day but it finished at 10:30am on Friday – giving us extra time to check out and head home. The first lesson was also our introduction to Steve, our swimming instructor.

He was so friendly and we could tell instantly that he knew what he was doing. He has over 20 years of experience as a swimming instructor and throughout the course he taught us so much – it wasn’t just the swimming strokes and what to physically do in order to swim but also about the science behind swimming. It was so educational and I felt at ease right from the start.

Learning to Swim with Swim Inns {Springfield Hotel, Holywell, Wales}

I was in a group with four other people and we all had varying swimming abilities but we were all very much in the ‘I can’t swim’ camp. Our age range was from about 30 to 60 – and we were all just normal people who had got to the point, for whatever reason, of really wanting to swim.

The first lesson was mainly about building confidence. Steve spoke to us a lot about science and gravity – and about how water really wants you to be at least partly out of it – and how it’s actually really hard to sink in water.

We spent time putting our heads and faces under the water, holding our breath and floating. It was really simple stuff but it showed us all how to be calm and confident in the water and was a great start to the course.

The day ended with us being able to glide from one side of the pool to the other with our faces in the water and after that I felt amazing. I could get from one side of the pool to the other pretty gracefully and I could put my head in the water without panicking. I felt like I had come so far and, more importantly, I was finally happy in water.

The second day was spent with us learning basic breast stroke – and we learnt how to do breast stroke legs properly later in the week. We went from doing breast stroke with our head under the water to doing it with just our mouth under the water, to doing it with our face completely out of the water.

The next day taught us how to push off from the side of the pool properly – putting our faces into the water, arms in front of us and doing a little kick up and then off the wall as the water brought our body up. From there we learnt to go into a front crawl, keeping our faces in the water and doing a length of the pool.

At every stage we learnt the science behind the stroke and about what our bodies would do if we moved in a certain way – if we put our head down then our legs would come up, if we put our head up then our legs would go down. Learning the theory and then putting it into practise really helped reinforced the learning and I really felt like I learnt so much through the week.

On Thursday we learnt how to swim on our backs in elementary backstroke which must be one of the most relaxing things I have ever done in water. We were told that this stroke is a great way of having a break and getting your breath back and I know I could happily go some distance on my back like that.

We also learnt how to stop swimming and stand up from being on our front and back, how to change direction or move between strokes in the pool and Steve even showed us things like forward rolls and cartwheels – but I’m quite far from doing those at the moment!

The last morning was spent putting everything we had learned together – doing lengths of the pool first in breast stroke, then in backstroke, then front crawl and then backstroke again. At that point I was just so proud of myself – and the four other learners on the course. We all did so well – and we had all come so far in those five days. I really was an incredible experience.

Learning to Swim with Swim Inns {Springfield Hotel, Holywell, Wales}

The last thing Steve taught us was how to breathe properly during front crawl – by rolling from our fronts towards our back like proper swimmers do. Steve made it look so simple and by the end of the class we had all managed it – and now we just need to practise it.

My week at the Springfield Hotel has changed my life. It has made me open to being in water – and even happy in water. I’m now looking forward to swimming lengths at the gym, to going on holiday with the children and being in the pool with them and even going snorkelling with them at some point.

I am at the point where I know I can float. I know I can swim at least a few lengths before getting tired – and that I can do backstroke at that point to rest a while. I know that I won’t drown and I am really excited for a future that has swimming in it.

The Swim Inns swimming course costs are as follows: Single swimmer £399.00, Two swimmers sharing a twin or double room £599.00, Single swimmer and non-swimmer sharing a twin or double room £499.00. The hotel provides a towel each day and we were given googles if we didn’t have them. You can find out more over on the Springfield Hotel website.

Learning to Swim with Swim Inns {Springfield Hotel, Holywell, Wales}

In: Holidays & Accomodation, Reviews

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Comments

  1. Jennifer Jain says

    July 27, 2018 at 8:43 am

    Thank you for sharing, I enjoyed following your progress through the week and I wanted to say really well done for going for it, you’ve done brilliantly!

    Reply
  2. Lucy Bishop says

    July 27, 2018 at 12:59 pm

    It sounded amazing and such good value too – I bet it was a nice ‘break’ too – a bit of you time eh? Good on you Donna! xxx

    Reply
  3. Hilda Wright says

    July 27, 2018 at 1:52 pm

    Brilliant! What a great thing to do and what a great way to do it! I’m just pushing my comfort zone by learning to run at last. It is so good to keep challenging yourself and you get so much out of it!

    Reply
  4. Kim Carberry says

    July 27, 2018 at 3:43 pm

    Well done you! It sounds like you learned a lot and gained so much confidence in the water.
    Staying in a hotel and just focusing on the swimming must have really helped. x

    Reply
  5. Tasha says

    July 27, 2018 at 9:12 pm

    I had no idea that such a thing existed! Loved following your progress and to be honest it might be worth relearning to swim just for the break on my own…

    Reply
  6. Vicki says

    July 29, 2018 at 10:20 am

    I would love to do something like this. I can swim a little bit but I hate putting my face under water.

    Reply
  7. Emma T says

    July 29, 2018 at 2:45 pm

    Well done for doing this and coming so far. Once you’ve got over the scared feeling, there’s no going back.

    Reply
  8. Plutonium Sox says

    July 29, 2018 at 4:44 pm

    I’m so pleased for you Donna! Brilliant that you’re more confident in the water now, that will make swimming with the children so much easier. It sounds like a really impressive course, they got you doing everything really quickly. I might recommend it to my husband’s aunt who has tried swimming lessons on a few occasions but can’t get to grips with it at all.
    Nat.x

    Reply
  9. Steve Cutt says

    November 29, 2018 at 2:16 pm

    This is so nice of you Donna and totally unexpected.
    I am so glad you enjoyed the week and your enthusiasm to carry on is wonderful.
    Many thanks, Steve. (Swimming instructor.)

    Reply
    • Donna Wishart says

      November 29, 2018 at 7:25 pm

      Thanks so much for commenting Steve – I really had the best week and have now swam out of my depth and snorkelled with tropical fish and rays in Florida. It’s changed my life. Thanks so much!

      Reply
  10. Merlinda Little says

    March 13, 2022 at 4:21 pm

    I don’t know how to swim as well. Learning is always on my bucket list. Hope I can do this in the future.

    Reply

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Hi everyone! I'm Donna. Mummy. Blogger. Social Media Manager. Traveller. Lover of stars, rainbows and gin. Firm believer that tea and cake can fix most things.

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