Making the Most of Bank Holidays

You are aware that there are a certain number of bank holiday Mondays and Fridays scattered throughout the year like chocolate chips in your biscuits. But you couldn't tell when, and you have not, in all honesty, made any effort to find out. Sound familiar? Well, this is the story for most of us and with a little bit of planning (and a little bit of cunning) you can do an awful, awful lot better. Here's how.

First things first: there is an old farmer's phrase that you probably tell to your children (if you have children) every now and then: the early bird catches the worm. This well-worn piece of advice is often misused – it is actually about rushing to get to the prize before anyone else – but when it comes to bank holidays, it's very much appropriate! If you can be organised enough to get to grips with where and when these days off are, then you can find or engineer some reasons for requesting them off early. Get that out of the way, and then the real fun can start.

If you have managed to book your slot, then the next item of concern to you should be getting other responsibilities dealt with. You can be really clever here – why not, for instance, arrange to have those kids (unless you don't have any) looked after by relatives or gently suggest that they stay with friends on the all-important long weekend you have won yourself? Then, if you are really sharp, why not call some domestic cleaners in Pinner Green or wherever you happen to be and arrange to get the house cleaned when you are out? What better way to finish off a 'free' weekend's holiday than to come back to a sparkling clean house?

This cunning plan taken care of, you can plan your trip. You don't necessarily need to think of getting on a plane (why make things stressful?) How about a train to a national park? Or a city break somewhere like Oxford, Bath or Edinburgh? The UK actually has a surprising amount to see and an impressive ability to entertain tourists for the weekend – even if those tourists are only coming from an hour's drive away.

Then again, if you are not convinced by the domestic trip, you can find plenty of websites comparing cheap flights and, having set out to do all this well in advance of the glorious weekend, you should be able to get yourself out to somewhere sunny and exotic for a very reasonable sum. That all being done, the only big mission you have left is to be extra careful not to annoy all your colleagues about it when they eventually find out what you've beaten them to...