I used to be exhausted and I wanted a break. After my stint on Strictly Come Dancing I used to be heading off to the St James’s Membership in Antigua – and I used to be actually trying ahead to it.
This journey registered a lot of ‘firsts’: I would by no means been to the Caribbean and this was the primary time we would ever been on a household vacation in January. There was a household connection too – my father discovered to scuba-dive right here within the Eighties and I knew it had a improbable repute.
A well-deserved break: Sophie, with husband Richard, slips off her dancing sneakers at St James’s Membership, Antigua
Ordinarily we’re summer-holiday sort of individuals, however halfway by Strictly it grew to become apparent to me that it could be nice to have a household break on the horizon, simply in order that we might spend some correct time collectively.
Strictly was a beautiful expertise however completely draining. It simply appeared to take over all my mind cells. My stint began in August and I had no concept how lengthy I might be in it for. Because it occurred, I ended up collaborating proper as much as the weekend earlier than Christmas.
On high of all of the coaching, the rehearsals and the present itself, I had a brand new album popping out.
So issues had been full-on and it was a reduction to know that after New 12 months, the 5 of us – me, my husband Richard Jones, who’s a member of the band The Feeling, and our three kids Sonny, 9, Package, 4, and 20-month-old Ray – can be packing our luggage and heading off for some us-time.
All I needed was a kind of holidays the place the one factor it’s a must to plan every day is which restaurant you are going to eat in and the way lengthy you are going to spend within the pool or on the seaside.
The St James’s Membership is on a secluded 100-acre peninsula on the south-eastern coast of Antigua and it caters for households, singles and {couples}. The resort has glorious sports activities amenities and the energetic can select from six swimming swimming pools, six tennis courts and a health centre. For households, there’s a particular kids’s space and a kids’s membership.
There’s additionally a good selection of locations to eat, with 4 eating places serving the whole lot from informal to continental delicacies.
Rays of sunshine: Sophie encountered native wildlife at Stingray Metropolis – although not all her kids had been impressed
I used to be delighted to seek out there have been additionally two fabulous white-sand seashores: Coco Seashore, which has been described as an aquarium for snorkellers, and Mamora Bay, which is ideal for swimming.
After we found that seaside at Mamora Bay, the whole lot fell into place and our vacation actually acquired began.
It was in all probability probably the most family-friendly seaside I’ve ever been to: good for younger kids as a result of the ocean water is so calm. And the climate was simply beautiful – there was sunshine on a regular basis.
It made us ask ourselves why we would by no means been on vacation in January earlier than. The climate had been so dismal at residence and now right here we had been in Antigua having a superb dose of Vitamin D and getting sand in every single place!
Often our household holidays are an actual last-minute affairs. With two kids at college, we keep trustworthy to the college routine and really feel we’ve got to get away within the allotted six-week summer time vacation.
Our breaks typically contain staying with mates or hopping over to Europe.
And even after we do get away, one in every of us might should pop again to the UK for gigs or recording. It is the character of the way in which we earn our residing.
And, after all, Richard and I additionally should journey for work. I attempt to make my journeys overseas as brief as doable for the sake of the kids. I am going to take the final doable flight out and the primary flight residence.
Antigua was the primary correct household break we would had in a very long time – simply the 5 of us for seven nights, with no person disappearing in the midst of the whole lot to go to work.
What notably happy Richard and me was that issues labored out virtually precisely as we would hoped. The meals was a bit stodgy typically, however as a result of the eating places supplied buffet providers, it was all extremely simple. The kids beloved it. There was no problem – they only turned up and acquired plates of meals in entrance of them right away.
We additionally met some pretty individuals. One night time, one in every of our boys acquired a bit wheezy and we needed to name out a physician. He was fully pretty.
A bolt from the blue: St John’s, the capital of Antigua, is a reasonably place for a day journey past the resorts
Thoughts you, we had been warned to handle ourselves, as a result of there are solely three ambulances on the island and we had been advised that it could take them an hour to get to St James’s.
Leisure on the resort included a metal band and our expeditions took in a few journeys to the island’s capital, St John’s, and a go to to the port of English Harbour, which is an enormous yachting centre.
Maybe our greatest outing was to Stingray Metropolis.
This concerned a snorkelling journey with Southern Rays. You’ll be able to contact and feed the rays, and so they appear very pleasant. I picked up a stingray and I fed one, however I have to admit I needed to placed on a present of bravado in order that the kids can be fantastic – I could not assist considering of Australian TV naturalist Steve Irwin, who was killed in 2006 when a ray stung him.
All of us beloved the expertise apart from Package, who screamed on the high of his voice: ‘Kill them! Kill all of them!’ He did not just like the rays in any respect. Had our kids been somewhat older, they may have had a number of enjoyable having fun with all of the water-sports on provide. There’s crusing and scuba-diving, however we fortunately settled for one thing gentler – pedalos and kayaks.
The a part of the vacation we had been actually dreading earlier than we left was the eight-and-a-half-hour daytime flight out to Antigua. It is a very long time to maintain younger kids entertained and joyful, and we had a few furry moments. The Virgin Atlantic workers had been sensible. They saved very chipper and had been extremely easy-going. On the flight again, the kids primarily slept, apart from poor Sonny, who tearfully knowledgeable me that he hadn’t slept a wink and will solely watch movies the entire approach again.
Whereas there was a children’ membership on the resort, we did not use it. It was nicer simply to have the kids with us the entire time. In direction of the top of the vacation, Sonny met another boys to play with, which he appreciated.
Visiting Antigua was such a optimistic expertise for us that we’re considering we’d attempt another Caribbean islands subsequent time. I fancy Barbados, or St Lucia. Our break actually labored and was precisely what we had been searching for. We might stroll from our little villa right down to the seaside inside two minutes, so even our toddler was capable of toodle his approach right down to the sand with us, and that was actually pretty.
Saturday night time fever: Sophie, with dance accomplice Brendan Cole, did higher than she anticipated on Strictly
The nicest factor was that everyone on the resort was very relaxed about kids behaving as kids – they may run round and no person would inform them off.
Whereas the kids are small, we might be arduous pushed to seek out one thing that works for us in addition to Antigua did.
