Into Motivation

The call of the great outdoors arrives with those long, summer days. Winter seemed ever so long and dragged over, week after week. No wonder we look forward to the summer holidays as much as we do! But the big economic downturn is still with us and family budgets are stretched. Now, it is a challenge to simply find the money to pay the mortgage or rent and to feed all the family, let alone to come up with funds to help pay for special trips during the summer.

Balancing a budget against family expectations can be difficult at the best of times, and professional coaching can take some of this strain away. Consult with your online coaching expert to find the best way to win this battle according to your particular circumstances. As you do this, we have called on our professional coaching expertise to look through the World Wide Web and find you ten excellent days out for you to think about this summer, each rather different from the other, but all for under a tenner.

Kids love models and grown-up kids do as well, so why not try Bekonskot Model Village in rural Buckinghamshire, where you can marvel at this “eccentric” recreation of a model Village, complete with mandatory model railway. Check it out online at: www.bekonscot.com.

Everybody is a fan of Harry Potter and you can see where they got the inspiration for Hogwarts at Alnwick Castle. This is the realm of dragons and medieval knights and can be a splendid place for children to release their imaginations. www.alnwickcastle.com/

Add a history lesson to your day out by exploring Hadrian’s Wall, where you will find some of the best preserved forts and artefacts from the Roman era. Visit www.hadrians-wall.org/ to get a list of all of the locations you can visit for less than a tenner.

You would never have thought that frightening dinosaurs could have roamed the countryside in such a pleasant place as rural Norfolk, would you? These beasts hold a fascination for kids and they are almost certain to love the Dinosaur Adventure Park, as they learn about how these ancient creatures interacted

www.dinosauradventure.co.uk

If you believe in Harry Potter, you have to believe in the legend of wizards and it is said that the caves at picturesque Alderley Edge were once a mystical hangout. There is something for all the family here though as well, at this national trust designated site. www.alderleyedge.org.

There was a time when the Welsh relied on coal as one of their primary economic drivers. While this may well have been a very long time ago, the Big Pit National Mining Museum can still elicit a sense of excitement amongst the children as they journey down into an old mine shaft, dressing up as one of the miners and seeing how they lived. www.museumwales.ac.uk

When it comes to music, we all speak the same language and during the summer, BBC Proms Plus is staging a number of free events for families. Now is your chance to make sure that the kids know what “real” music is all about! BBC Proms Plus http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/whatson/plus.shtml

Through the ages, trains have held a fascination for children and although the modern versions of today are hardly as evocative as those railway locomotives, with all their steam and action, you will be delighted to see the look on your kids’ faces when they come across 100 or more traditional examples at the National Railway Museum. www.NRM.org.uk

Walk down memory lane and bring the memories flooding back for you as well as giving the kids a glimpse of the past. You can get free admission at the Museum of Childhood. www.museumofchildhood.org.uk (East London).

It’s not often that you can find things to do in London for free, but at the Tower of London, you can even take part in a treasure hunt on the beach! www.hrp.org.uk.

If some of these trips inspire you, consider making your life as a working mum more fun every day, not just during the summer holidays, by checking out online coaching options.

Amanda Alexander is the Director of Coaching Mums and a widely renowned ICF-accredited coach who delivers professional coaching programmes to working mums across the globe who long for more time, balance and fulfilment in their busy lives. Download our free eBook especially for working mums with 5 easy ways to achieve balance.