How to improve holidays with children

Hey mum, Let's go on a big adventure

Take my younger son, Stan, who really doesn't like staying still at all. If he can't bounce up and down or swing from a rope, he's not interested. The strange thing is, while he's happy to walk a tightrope 50 feet in the air (which he did only a couple of weeks ago) he doesn't like going to bed with his light off. (Don't tell him I told you.) He's the exact opposite of me.

When Stan grows up, he wants to be a mountain rescuer. He plans to climb to the top of the highest mountains and rescue "all those silly people who go up there and get stuck". My elder son Patrick, meanwhile, wants to boldly go where no man has gone before. And all I want to do is lie down in a quiet room.

But my kids are evidently more "happening" than me, because derring-do is definitely de rigueur. A whole host of intrepid family holidays has sprung up - and what's more, you don't even have to leave the UK. You can go sky diving in Skegness, abseiling in Anglesey and even windsurfing in Wittering.

Thinking of going on a safari? Then look no further than Kent, where you can organise a bespoke off-road Jeep tour at sunrise, or sleep under the stars with some of the world's most endangered species. Starting in July, Port Lympne Wild Animal Park (0870 750 4647; totallywild.net) near Hythe in Kent is offering safari adventure days, and is even opening a camp with luxury tents, bush tucker and songs around the campfire. If you've got younger kids, you'll be accommodated in the four-star Hythe Imperial Hotel (01303 267441; marstonhotels.com).

Freefalling fanatics, meanwhile, should head for Milton Keynes, home to the UK's first "leisure wind tunnel". Its airstream of up to 150mph allows anyone between the ages of five and 105 to experience the thrill of falling from the sky, without even really leaving the ground (0845 331 6549; airkix.com). If you're staying the night, the Quality Hotel (01908 561666; hotels-milton-keynes.com) has good deals on freefall packages.

For nicer views and lots of adrenalin-pumping things to do, Activities Abroad (01670 789991; activitiesabroad.co.uk) has just launched a new family holiday in the Lake District. Try one of its Active Lakeland breaks and you and your mini-adventurers get to do everything from gorge scrambling to Canadian canoeing. Or take them to Cornwall's Watergate Bay and sign them up for the Extreme Sports Academy (01637 860840; extremeacademy.co.uk) where they've got buggy kiting, power surfing and mountain boarding to name a few. You can either join in all the scary things or lounge by one of the pools at the Watergate Bay Hotel (01637 860543; watergatebayhotel.co.uk). Three guesses what I'll be doing.

Katy's top tip

Internet Outdoors, a new tourism business on the Gower, Swansea, launches next week. It features family sleepovers in tepees or yurts as well as lots of full-on activities (01792 232074; www.internet outdoors.com).