Off for a jolly!

There was a report in the media this week about the aim to get people in towns and cities to visit the coast and countryside, both to improve their health and well-being, and to encourage them to view our beautiful coast and National Parks as places for everyone to enjoy.

But this idea is nothing new, as this photograph from my family archives demonstrates.

It was taken circa 1932 on Tettenhall Station, as this lucky group of day trippers waited for the train to take them to Rhyll in Wales.

The man in the middle, holding a young lad in his arms, is my granddad and the little chap in the white hat is my dad. Standing next to them in a smart suit (and a slightly bonkers over-large flat cap) is my great-granddad. Over his shoulder, looking to the side in the dark hat is my gran, and at the far right on the edge of the picture, is my great-aunt.

It may have been outings like these that fostered my dad's interest in travel. When he joined the Scouting movement, he took an active part in their overseas jamborees, travelling to Norway in 1949 (centre photo below) and Switzerland (right) in 1953.

Even though I grew up in the Midlands, one of the regions in the UK furthest from the coast, we'd think nothing of having a day out at the seaside. Many times we'd set of really early in the morning and travel to places like Llandudno in North Wales, arriving around 10 o'clock.

After spending the day on the beach, walking along the pier, taking the tram up the Great Orme or watching a Punch & Judy show on the prom, we'd head home, with my sister and I falling asleep on the back seat of the car. When we got home, we'd be only vaguely aware of being lifted out of the car and carried inside off to our bed.

When I was 3, we had a holiday in Switzerland. Dad always intended that we should go abroad again, though it would be more than 10 years before we did, taking a coach trip to Austria.

But we didn't really mind, as we were lucky enough to have a touring caravan and I have many happy memories of our holidays visiting places all over the UK.

And holidays are on my mind again today... Which is a clue as to why there won't be a post next Friday. See you in a couple of weeks!

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