Caravanning with the Chapman Family in Blakemere

Published: 14th September 2019 Last updated 4 months ago

We were so lucky to be invited to spend a long weekend at Blakemere. Spinney sited a wonderful caravan for us to use and as if that wasn’t enough they also left us with lots of lovely treats to enjoy! Luke and Lottie really enjoyed being able to play in the open space and we all loved exploring the Blakemere village. We got up to so many activities including pig hunting, go karting, crazy golf, bug hunting and lots of ice cream eating! It was great having so many things to choose from that there was something for everyone.

Spending time together as a family is so important to us all and we never take for granted the simple pleasures in life. Luke, age 11, was born with very complex heart defects. He has spent his life in and out of Hospital having countless operations and procedures and overcoming many very serious infections. He has had four major open heart surgeries at both Alder Hey and Great Ormond Street but despite this is such a happy and fun loving young man. Luke is also fed via a tube into his tummy which can make travelling a bit of a pain. His sister Lottie is only 4 and struggles with her feelings around Luke’s condition. With hospital appointments most weeks she often worries that he may get taken into hospital and so nothing makes her happier than getting to do fun things with her brother. It was also lovely that Grandma was able to join us as she has always done so much for us all supporting us in every way.

We can’t thank Spinney enough for offering the When You wish upon a star families these weekend breaks. It really does give us the time away from it all that we so need in order to keep going and keep fighting. We went straight from Blakemere to an appointment at Alder Hey and instead of the usual stress and tears from Luke we only had smiles and laughter as he recounted the fun weekend.

Thank you

Kelly