Honey bees drone in a glass-sided hive; great ripe cheeses fill the air with a pungent tang; fat tomatoes and floppy lettuces teeter on overflowing stalls. This is market day in the charming French port of Dieppe, just two hours from Sussex.
Hopping over the Channel for the day is hardly new, but it takes on an extra dimension when you take school-age children along. While most of them (rightly) want to forget the classroom during the holidays, it gives them a wonderful opportunity to try out the French they have laboured over all year and discover to their delight that they can make themselves understood.
All that time devoted to money, numbers, weights and measures suddenly becomes real, and a market such as Dieppe's offers all sorts of opportunities to buy tempting things to bear home as trophies from those faltering triumphs over a foreign tongue.
My son Nicholas, 14, plunged straight in, ordering grapes (' demi-kilo, s'il vous plait ') and cheeses (Neufchtel, Camembert and un petit peu of fresh goat's milk) before tackling the hardware stalls (10 cigarette lighters for 10 francs - a present for mum; elastic straps for a camping trip). But his adolescent appetite soon had him back amid all that food, this time ordering savouries for lunch from the delicatessen stalls.
Throughout all his transactions the traders showed a kindly patience, helping him with occasional words and encouraging him to stretch his vocabulary. The Saturday market opens early and fills the two main streets of the town and the open spaces that lie under the stare of the fifteenth-century gargoyles of St Jacques Church.
After a couple of hours shopping you deserve a stop in one of the many enticing pavement cafés. Les Tribuneaux is a favourite, frequented in the past by Renoir and Oscar Wilde, who fled to the town after his release from Reading jail.
Head for the beach and broad promenade to enjoy a picnic made from the spoils of the morning's shopping (plus obligatory baguette) and then stroll around the pretty harbour or visit the excellent town museum and gallery, perched on the cliff in a fine chateau and housing works by Boudin, Renoir, Pissarro and Turner.
So how do you get there? Hoverspeed has introduced a Superseacat on the Newhaven-Dieppe route this summer which whisks 700 passengers over the Channel in two hours (the old ferry used to take four). Its 80,000hp engines push it along at 40 knots, and while it can get a bit rocky in a high wind, the crossing is generally very comfortable. Give yourself a treat and go first-class.The food and service in the quiet restaurant/lounge are excellent and well worth the £20 supplement.
Hoverspeed's Newhaven-Dieppe Superseacat service costs £28 per person for foot passengers (£15 return for children). Bookings on 08705 240241 or visit www.hoverspeed.co.uk
France
Getting there Planes, boats, trains and automobiles are all options. Eurostar (08701 606 600 and www.eurostar.com Eurotunnel (0870 241 2938 and www.eurotunnel.com and most budget airlines should be able to help. For day trips to Calais from Dover, prices for a car and up to four occupants start from £39 with SeaFrance (08705 711 711). P&O Portsmouth (0870 2424 999) sails to Le Havre and Cherbourg - the Fast Craft takes less than three hours to Cherbourg from Portsmouth.
Things to do Book with Eurostar Holidays Direct (08701 676 767) by 14 August for the 'Lunch It' day trip offer to Paris, Lille or Brussels. The price, from £60 per adult and £57 per child, includes return Eurostar travel plus a restaurant lunch with optional kids' menu.
Cresta Holidays (08701 610 900) is offering day trips to Paris with Eurostar for £99 per person. The price includes a one-hour Bateaux Mouche river cruise, a Dorling Kindersley guide and probably some utterly exhausted children.
Ireland
Getting there The car ferry is a sensible option - Stena HSS is more expensive but quicker than the Superferry. Routes include Stranraer to Belfast (105 minutes), Fishguard to Rosslare (99 minutes) and Holyhead to Dublin or Dun Laoghaire (99 minutes). Call Stena Line on 0870 570 7070 or visit www.stenaline.co.uk
Irish Ferries (0870 517 1717) operates services from Holyhead to Dublin and from Pembroke to Rosslare. Competitively priced rail-sea packages are available from Stena Line for travel from London, Reading, Bristol Parkway, Cardiff Central and Swansea with special prices for advance booking.Call 08705 455 455. Daily coach services to Ireland are also available through Stena Line to Fishguard, Waterford, Cork, Dublin and Belfast. Alternatively the following airlines fly from regional UK airports to Ireland: Aer Lingus (0845 973 7747), British Midland (0870 6070555) and Ryan Air (0870 156 9569 and www.ryanair.com
Things to do Dublin offers a wealth of entertainment and activity. Within half an hour of the city centre there are mountain walks, stately homes and gardens, sandy beaches and fishing villages. See Dublin Castle (00 353 167 77129, open daily, adults £3, children £1) or take an Irish City Tour (00 353 145 80054, adults £14, children £7).
Wexford offers coastal villages and Blue Flag beaches at Curracloe and Kilmore Quay. The Irish National Heritage Park (00 353 53 20733) is a life-size reconstruction of Irish settlements since 7000BC. For more information contact the Irish Tourist Board on 020 7493 3201 or www.visitdublin.com
Belfast is home to one third of Northern Ireland's population. Head 10 miles south to Hillsborough to find Carrickfergus Castle (01960 351 273), Henry II's Irish stronghold, which was built in 1180 and was Ireland's first castle.(Northern Ireland Tourist Board - 0870 155 5250 and www.ni-tourism.com
Western Isles and the Inner Hebrides
Getting there Caledonian Macbrayne Ferries operates services throughout the islands. There are usually day trip deals. Call 08705 650 000 for reservations and inquiries, or visit www.calmac.co.uk
Things to do The emphasis is on outdoor activities. Skye is the largest of the Hebrides and plentiful castles and forts on the coastline remind visitors of the island's past. Most visitors use the road bridge. From Skye you can take speedboat excursions with Seafari Adventures (01852 300 003 and www.seafari.co.uk to Rhum and Canna and spot rare white-tailed eagles, seals, dolphins and even the odd whale. Don't miss out on Inverie, Britain's most remote pub.
Approach Ardnamurchan peninsula via the Corran ferry from Nether Locharber. The lighthouse and visitor centre (01972 510 210) are at the most westerly point of the British mainland: on a clear day you can see 23 islands. The natural history centre (01972 500 209) is also highly recommended. Children will find the Tobermory Chocolate Factory (01688 302 526, open 9.30am-5pm Monday to Saturday) on the nearby Isle of Mull irresistible. Whisky has been a mainstay of Islay for centuries and many distilleries are open to the public. Laphroaig Distillery is open Monday to Friday with free tours by appointment (call 01496 302 418). Arran joined the kingdom of Scotland in 1293, after the Battle of Largs, and there are numerous ancient ruins on the island. Fishing (for salmon and trout) and golf are well-established pastimes. Bute has been inhabited for 6,000 years and the family residence of the Marquess of Bute, Mount Stuart, is well worth a visit, though not quite so old.
Jersey and Guernsey
Getting there High-speed ferry trips from Poole, Portsmouth and Weymouth take about two and half hours (Condor Ferries, 01305 761 551). To fly, try British Airways (0345 222 111) or British European (0990 676 676).
Things to do Since 1959 endangered animals have been reared at Jersey Zoo,which was set up by author Gerald Durrell. The gorillas and orang-utans are perennial favourites: call 01534 860 000 for details. Although cycling is the best way to explore Jersey (Zebra Cycle Hire 01534 736 556), admirers of sports cars won't be disappointed since you have to have at least a million pounds in the bank to move to the island. Sark and Alderney are easily reached from Guernsey, but may be too much of an odyssey for a day trip. The German Occupation Museum on Guernsey highlights a traumatic period in the Channel Islands' history.
