Planning the perfect family staycation

A staycation is a perfect opportunity to spend quality time with family — where memories are made and treasured for a lifetime. To celebrate our local holidaying options opening up, we teamed up with our friends over at Barbour, along with parenting, wellness and lifestyle expert Coral Golding to bring you some handy hints on planning and packing for the perfect family staycation.

The perfect staycation

I love staycations because I absolutely love exploring Britain. I feel like we’ve got so much versatility here, from beautiful beaches to magical woodland and countryside and then such cool, vibrant cities too. We really do have it all here (minus the good weather).

1. Be ready for everything

When it comes to packing, I think it’s completely dependent on where you are visiting and what kind of staycation it will be. Layers are always an absolute must in this country, thanks to the unpredictable weather where we can sometimes have all the seasons in one day.

2. Tune out with the right tools

I always, always take a good book with me on a staycation, as there is nothing nicer than slowing down and finding the time to curl up and read, and a yoga mat for those early morning workouts and stretches.

3. Always overpack

Always overpack and make sure you’re covered for all occasions. I always pack some wellies - just in case. That’s another great thing about staycations — you don’t need to worry about the baggage allowance.

4. Find a theme

I try to stick to a certain colour palette or theme so I can mix and match all my pieces with each other. Then if one item gets unexpectedly messy, you will always have others as a backup that will work together.

5. Pack with the Summer Shop

I really love the nautical theme of the new Barbour Summer Shop collection — it’s perfectly suited to British staycations. It’s such great quality, with lovely fabrics and great attention to detail. And the embroidered logo just gives all the pieces that extra special touch.

I especially love the Barbour Tern Dress as I think it's such a great throw-on piece that would work for almost any occasion, and the fact that it’s linen makes it such a good cover-up for summer as it’s so airy and comfortable. It’s such a classic that you just can't go wrong.

The mixture of styles included in this collection also make it just perfect for a family staycation. It has versatile pieces that can be worn for so many occasions, including great basics that all complement each other; a gorgeous chunky knit for colder evenings; and of course some lovely summery dresses for those sunny British beach days.