WHETHER you’re slogging it to Cornwall like writer Ellie O’Mahoney, or journeying to Scotland like Editor in Chief Sinead McIntyre, find a sleepover fit for a king en route.
Living in London, we dread the long drive back from my mum’s in Cornwall – on a bad day, it can take eight hours.
So, for a half-term treat, we check into historic pub The Crown, sitting on Chertsey high street in Surrey, not far from the M3.
Tucking into pea, wild garlic and ham soup with house focaccia, £8, and pork, honey and mustard sausages with mash and greens, £16.50, soon melts away memories of roadworks and brake lights.
As does a rhubarb rosé aperitif, £11, while the kids wolf down the pub’s signature cheeseburger and fries, £9.
Delicious sticky toffee and banana pud with salted caramel ice cream, £6, almost defeats us before we stroll over to the pub’s modern extension.
While the exterior has the air of a municipal building, our room is fab.
The bed is huge and the kids’ sofa beds are, according to my eight year old, the “comfiest in the world”.
A jar of insanely good brownies, Cadbury’s hot-choc sachets and the “borrow box” full of age-perfect reads, including Percy Jackson and Diary Of A Wimpy Kid, plus playing cards and mini Jenga, also go down a treat.
The kids even have their own TV!
The decor is anything but childish, though, with an air of 1950s university lounge, complete with a cream Roberts Radio.
The only thing to improve?
The skylight with no blind directly over the kids’ beds means we all wake up at sunrise.
French toast with mascarpone and raspberries, £10, soon hits the spot, however, and with Thorpe Park just five minutes’ drive away, there’s really no excuse not to drop in.
It’s just a good job my husband left some time after brekky before braving 80mph coaster Stealth!
Family rooms at The Crown, Chertsey, cost from £150 B&B (Crownchertsey.co.uk).
Entry to Thorpe Park for adults and kids over 1.2m costs from £32 (Thorpepark.com).
Lake District Layover: The King’s Arms, Cumbria
Half an hour off the M6, in the tranquil Lake District village of Hawkshead, this pub offers a top-notch reset on our way to Scotland.
The eight beautifully decorated bedrooms are all named after kings.
Ours, the King Charles, has a super-king-size bed, window seat and ensuite, where a drench shower and local toiletries are a welcome refresh.
Across the hall, my 15-year-old twins sprawl out in the twin King William room, digging into home-made biscuits.
The pub is as traditional as they come, and we enjoy drinks and card games before dinner, which is royally good.
All ingredients are locally sourced, so the menu changes with the seasons.
We loved the smoked haddock scotch egg with curry alioli and puffed wild rice, £12, and king scallop with kashmiri sauce, £13, while the fisherman’s pie with spinach and asparagus, £24, makes for a delicious main, as does beef cheek with confit chateau potatoes, £27.50.
The beef suet sticky toffee pud with spiced whisky sauce, £12, is also a delight.
Come morning, yoghurt, muesli, mini pastries and an incredible full English leaves us stuffed all the way to Aviemore.
Double rooms cost from £113 B&B (Kingsarmshawkshead.com).