Bloody hell Kris, life is hard aye, decisions decisions decisions....lol

Me personaly mate need to keep busy, the thought of giving up the workforce unless i could live very comfortabley for the rest of my time on this planet just doesnt cross my mind.
Yer i hate working, but would go nuts without it unless i could afford to do what i want when ever i want.

Yes you got a payout but consider your curent budget per annum and est how many years left in such an old bloke like yourself lol, then do the sums, bet the payout doesnt meet lifes expectancy aye.

We own our house to mate, but with no income coming in and the cost of maintaining the home, kids, living expenses, edumacation and lifes unexpected moments, it soon gnaws away at the savings acc. so unless you got around 800k+ have a real good think mate.

You could invest, property, shares, buisiness, what evr but do your research first. You could travel the country again picking up work on the way to fund the trip so you didnt have to dip into the redundancy unless it was an emergency, but dont let everything become an emergency.
Take time out for a bit, travel or just do nothing, then re assess but remember the longer you are not earning, the more of your future you are spending.

I got a payout a few years back, prob' not as much as yours, but if i were smart we could of lived for 12 months comfortabley without worrying about bills and work. Guess what i was back at work in 3 months. If you got it you will spend it.

IMO i would lock away a large portion of it in a high interest acc for as long as possible 5-10 yrs, keep a portion to enjoy, pick up some work to support your current needs and hold on to it as long as you can.

What ever you decide mate, i hope you have a great time ahead.