London

EGGS & soldiers have been a favourite lunch time snack of mine for as long as I can remember, but until recently I had never been tempted to have it for pudding. Curiosity got the better of me when I noticed it on the dessert menu at the Pickled Hen restaurant in London, and two…

Brittany, France

YOU don’t need to catch a plane to bask on the golden sands of Tahiti. You can get there by boat – and in less than a day – from the UK. I kid you not. Of course, this isn’t the Tahiti of exotic French Polynesia in the South Pacific that has captured the imagination…

Llyn Peninsula, north Wales

Sitting outside the Ty Coch Inn, drink in hand, we could see why it was voted the third best beach bar in the world in a recent survey. The taste of our specially brewed 6.5% Ty Coch cider was enhanced by the views across to the Yr Eifl mountain range and Snowdonia beyond, as the…

Drayton Manor, Staffordshire

Move over Sir Topham Hatt, there’s another ‘Fat Controller’ in town – and his belly wobbles like a bowl full of jelly. Father Christmas has moved into Drayton Manor Park, the home of Thomas Land (Sodor), where you’ll find the famous blue train engine and all his friends. The Tamworth theme park’s moated Castle of…

Northumberland

It was like a scene from the classic but gory animated film Watership Down… A large family of rabbits were happily hopping about and munching the grass around our holiday home when suddenly a cat appeared. The rabbits scattered into the bushes but one baby bunny was too slow and was last seen flailing in…

Newquay, Cornwall

It might sound like the sort of place a stag party ends up at, but there’s nothing seedy about Newquay’s Lusty Glaze. In fact, as beaches go, it’s one of the classiest; where the ‘fashionable’ might go to top up their tans while sipping on a Mai Tai. And, I’m sad to report, nobody’s eyes…

Warwick Castle

A thrilling show at Warwick Castle is telling the story of the 32-year Wars of the Roses in just 32 minutes! The Houses of Lancaster and York clash in a medieval-style arena with a 2,000 capacity, which opened for the first time on Saturday. The Wars Of The Roses Live is Warwick Castle’s most ambitious…

Perranporth, Cornwall

The thousands of families who holiday each year at Cornwall’s Perran Sands resort probably don’t realise their caravans stand next to one of Britain’s earliest places of Christian worship. Back in the sixth century, so the story goes, tribal kings in Ireland grew afraid of the power and influence of a holy man named Piran (or Perran), who…

Liverpool (review published 2016)

For a truly Shrek-tacular Christmas there really is only one place to go this year. Liverpool has become the first UK city to host DreamWorks Lights, a Chinese lantern attraction featuring much-loved characters from the blockbuster animated films Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar. There are around 100 lanterns on display and our two youngsters,…

Paultons Park (review published 2016)

Pigs in blankets is an essential part of Christmas for many. But how about trying pigs in scarves, hats and winter coats for a change this year? Not on the dinner table, of course, but at Peppa Pig World, the family attraction near Southampton, in Ham-pshire. Porkers Peppa and her brother George are welcoming pre-schoolers…