Wow, it’s baking hot out there and has been for weeks; if you’re something of a sun worshipper that’s great and we shouldn’t grumble, but for some it’s a little too much. That’s the English weather for you – unpredictable! Things tend to get a bit more steady after August; we can still rely on some sunshine and decent temperatures, but it’s a little cooler and more manageable, which is one reason why September breaks make sense.

You see, the roads are quieter then because all the holidaymakers have gone home and the kids are back at school, so if you’ve got pre-school age children even more the reason to have a large group break in September. Get together with friends and their children and have a whole week away, a midweek break, or just a weekend, or go with all the generations in your family – grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins; the more the merrier.

You’ll find that most of the tourist attractions are still open and some of them even drop their prices after the summer rush. And isn’t it nice to just get away somewhere secluded and peaceful after the busy holiday period, to spend the days idling by the pool, soaking in the hot tub, happy hours in the games room, evenings in the BBQ lodge, and most of our large group holiday homes have play equipment too so the little ones will be more than happy.

Spend the days out walking in the beautiful countryside; we’ve got big country cottages in Somerset, Devon, Wiltshire, and the Forest of Dean that sleep 8-30 people; that’s quite a gathering. Stroll through fields and woods and up hills where the trees are starting to turn colour; have fun catching leaves as they swirl to the ground, find interesting ones to take home and get busy on the internet and see if you can identify them all; press them between the pages of books or make leaf pictures with the children.

A wander along the shore of a quiet beach is good soul fodder anytime of year, but it might still be warm enough to play on the beach and make sandcastles, or go rock-pooling and fossil hunting. You’ll find plenty of good beaches on the Somerset and Devon coasts, and many of them are dog friendly so you can take the family pet too.

Find a cosy country pub where you can have lunch or stroll to the local farm shop and buy meat and vegetables to make a hearty warming stew with; get some sausages and set them sizzling in the BBQ lodge, have hot dogs and toast marshmallows. If the evenings come in chilly light the wood-burner and gather round all cosy with hot chocolate; sometimes the simple things in life really are the best.