Taking 3 dogs (and 2 children" on holiday)

It's no mean feat finding somewhere suitable to take 3 dogs and 2 children.

We settled on a week in the Lake District. Actually we were in the South Lakes which meant that we had access to both the Lakes and the beaches of the Lakeland penninsula.

We stayed in a static mobile home on a campsite near Kirkby in Furness.  It had separate bedrooms which was an improvement on last year's holiday which entailed making up beds in the lounge every night. Also we had real plumbing which was quite a luxury!!!

Due to Darcy's problems after last year's holiday, we decided to take water for him to drink.  We took 20litres in a plastic container. It lasted most of the week but it added a lot of weight to the car. 

Our car was fully laiden.  We had the dogs in the cage in the boot of the car (Estate a necessity).  The children were on the back seat so the luggage all had to fit into a roof box.  Because of this we were limited in what we could take.  In addition to Darcy's water we had to take enough dog food for a week in case we couldn't get the right food when we arrived.  We did our own food shopping in Asda when we arrived!

One of the worries is what to do with the dogs when we go out with the children. The cage in the car helps a lot. We were able to cover the car up with silver sheets to reflect the heat and leave the back of the car open with the cage doors locked.  Alternatively, we have a "Ventlock" which locks the tailgate of the car in a open position, leaving about 12inches of space to ventilate the boot area.  As long as we exercised the dogs before we went out, and left them with water in the cage, they were happy to sleep in relative comfort!

The beaches were great for dog walking.  It is not really the sea but more of an estuary so there are few waves. The beaches are very flat and sandy when the tide goes out so there is loads of room for the dogs to run.

Ellie discovered that the water is great fun and she loved every minute of the time we spent on the beach.

There was loads to do with the children and, with tired out dogs, it was a very good holiday - despite the typical Lakeland rain!