Yes, the title is sarcastic. Kind of.

We got back a few weeks ago from a break at Ribby Hall Village. We were only supposed to be staying for four nights but we must have enjoyed ourselves because we decided to stay longer!

Ribby Hall Village is up near Preston, less than an hour away for us. We went on a toddler break, deciding to make the most of our last week off together as a four before we are in the realm of school terms and holidays for the next couple of decades!

I’d heard good things about Ribby Hall and, upon investigation, saw that toddler breaks include unlimited swimming and soft play in the price. As we spend a lot of time at soft play and swimming when we’re away anyway, we thought we’d give it a go!

We went for the basic accommodation, and it was really quite nice. I’ve no complaints. It didn’t have the same amount of love that our usual holiday cottages have, but how could it? Still, the kitchen was surprisingly well equipped, the beds were super comfy, and we were in such a good spot, very close to the centre of the village and all the action.

We quickly settled in with our traditional first night tea of pizza. We then went out to check out the children’s entertainment and Sophia absolutely loved it.

Dizzy the Duck led the dancing, and there was even an an opportunity for a photo! After that, there were family games and competitions where Sophia won a balloon. She was very pleased with herself.

It was at this point that I decided to torture Nathan with photos of some of the fun we used to have when we first got together. I got up the photo of that seven course tasting menu, us on a tour bus in Edinburgh, at a formal at college in Durham… all a very long way away from the wheels on the bus rave we were sitting through at that moment in time!

Anyway, we went to the family entertainment every day, and the other activities throughout the week were fun too. We made puppets and went to shows. We learned about colours and played with a parachute. We went on a woodland walk around the site and had a picnic. We made friends with other kids in the playpark.

We came across fractious parents, who were seemingly also a bit overestimulated. Nathan and I had a few tense words with each other in the changing rooms at the baths one morning after a bad night… but all was forgotten when we found ourselves taking in turns to splash with Aidan in the toddler pool and go down the big slide with Sophia.

I was surprised one evening to win a balloon for Aidan because I apparently did the best dancing to Agadoo! The Sweaty Mama crowd would be proud.

By the time we were heading home, Sophia and I had won three of these big bouncy balloons between us. We couldn’t fit them in the car, so we suggested Sophia give them to some other children during the entertainment that night. She was unsure at first, but we found one little girl to give a balloon to, and then she was keen to give the second to another child. A third little one was watching hopefully, and eventhough we might have been able to squeeze the last one in the car with us, Sophia clearly liked the feeling of giving away the balloons because she walked over to the last child without being prompted and gave away the last one as well.

A couple of things to watch out for, though, if you’re thinking of going: food and drink is pricey! We’re talking £6.25 for a Guinness ZERO! Secondly, if you’re thinking of booking an experience with some animals at the zoo, read the small print about how old children need to be to partake. It’s very clear on the Ribby Hall website which children can do which activity, and you’d think it would be the same at the zoo, but it’s not clear at all. The tickets are nonrefundable and none transferable, so if you do make such a mistake, you can’t even gift the tickets to another family who could make use of them. We learned this the hard way.

Anyway, it was a nice break, and it was lovely to get away, but, as it always is with little kids, it was very full on. The weather was glorious, which helped. We also squeezed in a day trip to Lytham and a mooch around Preston market. Overall, I’d definitely recommend, even if a toddler week is a world away from the kind of break we had a few years ago. Nevertheless, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard as when I saw Sophia teaching Nathan the moves to Chuchuwa!