This website began, in a way, with my dad.
In the early days of the internet — all pop-ups, flashing screens and viruses — he found the web endlessly frustrating. I was working as a technical support programmer at the time, so I built him a simple site with everything he needed in one place: the links he used every day, plus all the fun things — theatres, cinemas, swimming, places to visit, things to see and do.
What I didn’t know was that he’d been telling everyone about it. After he died, I looked at the site and discovered it had quietly grown popular — lots of people were using it to find fun things to do with their family and friends. So I decided the site would be dedicated to exactly that, in his memory.
That site, UKSearchIndex.com, went from strength to strength. For four or five years it was one of the UK’s top sites for fun things to do, rarely out of the top results — a local newspaper even ran a feature about it.
Then life intervened, as it does. My wife became seriously ill, and caring for her — and afterwards, raising our son on my own — rightly took everything I had. The site was neglected, slipped down the rankings, and years later was lost altogether in a hosting move that went wrong. Rebuilding it by hand would have taken a year or more, and I couldn’t face it. For a long time, I thought that was the end of the story.
Retirement changed that. Out of curiosity I started exploring AI, and through one of those conversations I discovered something remarkable: my old website was still viewable in the internet archive — and its code could be recovered. It was far too dated to use, but it was the start I needed. Over several months, with AI as my tutor and assistant, I rebuilt everything from the ground up as the site you’re reading now: UK Holiday Breaks.
I’m entirely self-taught — no computer qualifications to my name, and I turn 70 next birthday — which I mention only to say that you’re never too old to learn something new. Building this site has been an education and an absolute pleasure.
The purpose hasn’t changed since the site I made for my dad: helping you find the fun things to do with your family and friends, all across the UK. I hope you find it useful and come back often — and if you like it, please share it with someone. That’s how the original site grew, one recommendation at a time.
David Wright
Start exploring: Family Days Out • Where to Stay • UK City Breaks • The Blog