A winter weekend guide to Tenby

Every year during the winter we head off to Tenby for no other reason than to slow down, enjoy the moment and step away from things like social media for a few days and just enjoy the simple pleasures that are abundant in this beautiful West Wales costal town. We purposely go off peak because this small village becomes incredibly busy during the summer months but in stark contrast can be the perfect slow and mindful weekend staycation at other times of the year, which is why we keep going back. If you are not familiar with Tenby it's a pretty harbour town on the Pembrokeshire Coast and is famous for it's colourful houses that line the shore as well as the boats that sail from the harbour to Caldey Island which houses a working Monastery. Tenby is also steeped in history with the earliest recording of a settlement there from the 9th century with various remains from past years left behind such as stone-wall fortification on Castle Hill, 13th century medieval town walls ......

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A weekend guide to Historical Durham

Following on from my review of Hotel Indigo Durham I thought I would put together a little weekend guide to the beautiful and historical town of Durham as we had such a fantastic time and I was really surprised at how much there was to see and do and all very accessible by walking making it a great weekend destination. Firstly Durham is well connected by rail and road and we arrived into Durham by train from Cardiff and with it being a small station you don't have to pull luggage very far, in fact within about 2 minutes we were into a taxi and on our way. Yes you can walk down into the town but with the station on quite a steep hill we decided to take the easy route to the hotel via taxi (only cost £4). As Durham isn't the biggest city is the perfect place for a weekend break so here are a few ideas of what to do if your planning on visiting. What to See 1. Durham Cathedral The UNESCO world heritage sight that is Durham Cathedral simply cannot be left out, even if......

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Medieval Glamping at Warwick Castle

Like many young children, my two boys are knight crazy and are fascinated with anything historical from that era and jump at the chance of being able to dress up like knights at every opportunity. We had heard fantastic things about Warwick castle so when we had the chance to stay a night in one of their Kings Luxury Tents we were incredibly excited and just hope it would meet expectations.  With all overnight stays in the Knights Village you get a two-day pass to the castle which means you don't need to rush and can take your time getting there. We arrived in the early afternoon and with the parking located only a minute away from the Knights Village and quick check-in meant we still had time to get to the castle after checking out our accommodation. We have done a lot of camping and glamping over the years and we always go in with an open mind as the amount of comfort can drastically different from one glamping experience to another but staying in the ......

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My Ultimate Pre-Holiday checklist for families

A relaxing and enjoyable family vacation can be one of the most rewarding experiences anyone could ever hope to share with loved ones. Or it can prove an unmitigated disaster that you almost immediately regret. Often, whether your vacation is a success or sinks depends largely on your preparation for it. So, to make sure your next family vacation gets off on the right foot, check out this definitive list of everything you need to do –– before you hit the road: Get the Papers in Order If you’re taking your family on an international adventure, then you’ll need to ensure you all have the proper paperwork first. Visas, identification forms, and/or passports all need to be up-to-date and correct, otherwise your dream holiday could get stalled at the starting gate and it's surprising how many people don't check the expiry on their passport and especially with children's passports which need to be renewed more often than adults. Take some time a few months before to get ......

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5 Family Friendly things to do in Liverpool

We are really long overdue a trip up north as it's been a few years since I visited Liverpool to see my brother who was at University there at the time and I really enjoyed exploring this northern city and have always wanted to go back with the kids in tow this time. So we are planning to spend a weekend in both Manchester and Liverpool later this year and can't wait as they are both full of culture and creativity and a great destination for a weekend city break. We would most likely only get a day or two in Liverpool and being the planner that I am I thought I would share with you our 1 day Itinerary I have put together for when we visit. Some of the sights I have already seen but it was so long ago (pre-kids) that attractions like The Beatles museum is still a must. 1. Visit The Tate Having visited the Tate Gallery St Ives a few weeks ago and the kids really enjoying immersing themselves in Art and getting hands-on with creating some of their own, visiting Tate Liv......

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5 Great Destinations to Teach Your Children History

Travel is very important to us as a family, it's something my father was passionate about and growing up we luckily had the chance to travel to quite a few places, always visiting the major museums to take in the history and culture. Travel really is a form of education and is a chance to bring history to life, as much as we love to read there is something special about seeing things like the Mona Lisa in person. Becky from Baby Budgeting did a fantastic post recently on destinations to take your kids to educate them and with my two obsessed with Castle and historical landmarks I thought I would share  5 great destinations to teach your children history. 1. South Wales, United Kingdom I feel very lucky that I live in a country that offers such an array of historical landmarks, you may be surprised to hear that Wales has more castles than any other country in Europe! So you are really spoilt for choice if you decided to visit this small but action-packed part ......

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6 Incredible Reasons to visit Sri Lanka in 2018

Sri Lanka is one of those far flung places I have always dreamed of visiting, so different to life in the UK and a place I would love to share with my kids as it's such  a beautiful country  a holiday here will be filled with visiting cultural attractions, stunning beaches, and exploring the beautiful nature of the surrounding areas. Here are 6 incredible things to do in Sri Lanka and why you should visit in 2018 Explore World Heritage Sites There are 7 UNESCO Heritage sites in Sri Lanka. Visit the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa that has monuments built by the Chola dynasty, Hanna from Hanna Travels has written a really good review of it. The Ancient City of Sigiriya is 180 metres high and has a series of staircases and a step well. The Golden Temple of Dambulla is a cave temple complex with Buddhist mural paintings. Old Town of Galle and its fortifications were built by early European settlers in Sri Lanka. The Sacred City of Anuradhapura was built around a ‘tree of ......

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Exploring Basingstoke with Made in Basingstoke Festival

We love nothing more than exploring somewhere new, close or far we always have a blast so when Made in Basingstoke got in touch to ask if we would like to come and see all that Basingstoke has to offer during their month long cultural festival we couldn't wait. We didn't know much about Basingstoke, a large market town in Hampshire, so we did a little bit of pre-trip research and were excited to here that Jane Austen was born only 7 miles away and of course is iconic to the area as well as their industrial Victorian past. The Made in Basingstoke festival has a different theme each week - Create, Taste, Discover and Make and each offering an array of activities for both adults and children. We arrived into Basingstoke around lunchtime and luckily the carpark was 30 second walk from the peaceful Glebe Gardens which is a lovely green oasis right in the heart of the town and it meant the boys could stretch their legs and run around for half after our car trip. R......

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