In a little under two weeks it will have been an entire year since we moved to Bristol. I’d like to think we’re fairly well settled in our new home, but there are definitely times when I still feel like a tourist in my own city.

As the summer holidays drew to a close, we decided to embrace this by accepting the opportunity to indulge in a brief staycation at Mercure Bristol Holland House. Located just minutes from the vibrant harbourside, we were within walking distance of our favourite museum, Mshed, and the fabulous Wallace & Gromit From The Drawing Board exhibition.

After checking into our spacious family room, we headed out into the sunshine, strolling down to the waterfront beneath bright blue skies. We were so lucky with the weather! It rained solidly the following day.

I really love this part of Bristol. There’s so much to see and do, including countless museums, the Arnolfini, and restaurants galore. We always enjoy the Harbourside Market too.

The Mshed was actually the first museum we visited after moving, which seems particularly fitting as it’s dedicated to telling the story of the city and its unique place in the world. Entrance is free and you’ll find rooms packed full of local curiosities and cultural artefacts. The children are big fans of the double decker bus parked on the ground floor!       

For those of you that don’t know, Bristol is home to Aardman Animations. Their award winning Wallace & Gromit films seem to hold a special place in the hearts of many of the city’s residents. The children have always loved the hilarious stop motion double act, but after multiple visits to Bristol Royal Children’s Hospital during the summer, they’ve become even more important to us as a family.

Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal, established in 1995, has raised over £27million for the institution, supporting a wide range of life-saving medical equipment, family accommodation, and patient comforts, along with a programme of arts, music, education and play facilities.

The characters feature heavily in the hospital decor, even announcing each floor as you arrive via elevator, so they were a source of great amusement for the children during what were otherwise quite stressful situations. {I’ll be honest, we were the ones that were stressed, so maybe seeing the kids smile just made things easier for us grownups.}  

The From the Drawing Board exhibition focuses on the story making process behind the award winning films. We all enjoyed seeing the intricate film sets and Izzy was particularly interested in scribbling and sketching her own story ideas.

The £2.50 I spent on these masks in the gift shop was money well spent! The children wore them all the way back to the hotel while quoting well known lines from the films. I found it hilarious!

‘More cheese Gromit?’

‘We forgot the crackers!’

More than anything else, the children had been looking forward to trying the hotel pool, so after returning from the harbourside we let them spend an hour in the water. I always forget how exhausted kids are after swimming. For a while it was touch and go as to whether they’d stay awake for dinner!

Speaking of dinner, our meal in the hotel restaurant was incredible. It was one of those rare evenings where everything fell into place; the children’s behaviour, the food, the service. We enjoyed ourselves so much, I failed to take a single photo.

Mr. LA and I both ordered steak while the kids sampled the children’s menu. Jesse requested his sausage, beans and mash again at breakfast the next morning, so I think it’s fair to say the meal was a success in his eyes!

After another glass of wine in the hotel bar we retreated back upstairs to our room where we all slipped into our PJs and bundled into bed together to watch a film on my laptop. It felt pretty perfect, drifting off to sleep side-by-side.

Checkout wasn’t until lunchtime the following day. We had a leisurely morning with an enormous breakfast and a little TV before packing up and heading home.

A night away in our own city was such a great end to the school holidays and Mercure Bristol Holland House provided the perfect backdrop for our final summer adventure. I’d highly recommend it!

Have you ever holidayed in your own city? Did you enjoy a staycation this summer? We’re toying with visiting Bath during half term. Technically, it’s only down the road, but this trip has inspired us to keep things local when it comes to our next getaway!

Love Audrey xxx

We were guests of Mercure Bristol Holland House, but all opinions are my own and we’d go back again in a heartbeat!