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…
Want the fun of a trampoline and a high ropes course without the fear of bouncing / falling to the ground? The answer to your prayers lies at a UK first attraction in the Lake District. Treetop Nets, near Windermere, is a mix of giant trampolines, bridges, walkways, slides and tunnels all made from ropes…
I was promised the “ultimate all over body experience” that would leave me “walking on cloud nine”. And it would last a mind-blowing 90 minutes. What man the wrong side of 40 could say no to that? My “Top To Toe Ocean Radiance” treatment took place in the wellbeing spa at the Macdonald Hill Valley…
It was full steam ahead on a journey back in time during our long weekend in Snowdonia. The Caffery clan spent both the Saturday and the Sunday enjoying the Welsh national park’s magnificent scenery from the gleaming carriages of two great little railways. First up was the The Welsh Highland Railway, a 25-mile track between…
It’s a tale to melt the heart of every dog owner. One day back in the 13th century, the Welsh prince Llywelyn The Great went hunting, leaving his faithful hound Gelert at the palace with his baby son. On Llywelyn’s return, Gelert joyfully sprang into his master’s arms – but his jaws were smeared with…
Whoever said you never forget how to ride a bike was a liar – and should be forced to sit on the thinnest of racing saddles for all eternity. When I got my leg over, so to speak, for the first time in nigh on 30 years I was as wobbly as a plate of…
After a tiring day running around after my two-year-old bundle of energy I felt justified in kicking back with a couple of beers. Not only were the drinks justified, they were highly appropriate because our Kent holiday home for the week was a converted oast house. A 19th century invention, oasts were designed for drying…
With kisses goodbye and a ‘‘be good for nanny and grandad” we set off for our first night away from our two-year-old daughter. Anticipating a little parental anxiety, we’d booked a hotel not a million miles away from our Droitwich Spa home. In fact, it was only 10 miles away. Yet the peaceful Brockencote Hall,…
In Pitlochry the locals call the police if their garden gnome has blown over in the wind. Residents also alert the local constabulary if their washing machine breaks down and if the X Factor phone line is constantly engaged. That’s because even the tiniest of problems seem like emergencies when you live somewhere that’s virtually…
The picture-postcard Perthshire village of Kenmore has more than one claim to fame. Tiny in size but big on history, it boasts the oldest inn in Scotland and the oldest tree in Europe and has welcomed both Queen Victoria and the poet Robert Burns. It’s an idyllic, 18th century model village that’s almost an island,…
