Exploring The Old Station, Tintern, Wye Valley

We love the Wye Valley and feel very lucky to live close enough to enjoy day trips to this beautiful part of Wales with quaint towns and plenty of countryside to explore. During the summer we wanted to keep our family days out as simple as possible and get outdoors at every opportunity. As my youngest is obsessed with trains we came across The Old Station in Tintern and after a little research we thought it fit the bill for fun train inspired day out. The drive there through the winding roads from Chepstow is really spectacular especially as you pass the impressive Tintern Abbey (highly recommend you visit this Cadw site) along the river Wye which eventually leads you to the Old Victorian Station. We didn't really know what to expect and if there would be enough to do to full up a whole day, we had checked in advance that the narrow gauge train was running which we knew would be a hit with both of the boys. This train is run by volunteers and you can find out ......

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How to Stay Connected While travelling

We travel a fairly regularly, usually on city breaks or to self catering staycations or further afield with at least one or two glamping trips thrown in each summer. What I have learnt is no matter wether it's a luxury hotel or a yurt in the middle of nowhere you really cannot reply on wifi, reception or being able to efficiently charge your phone and laptop. There have been countless amount of times when I have not been able to access both free and paid for wifi at hotels (queue major frustration) or we have been on long train trips and the plug at the bottom of the seat doesn't work. The thing is especially when it comes to phones they are no longer just a phone it's a Map, GPS, our main source of communication as well as the ability to search, change or book accommodation while on the road so having a full battery and preferably some wifi is always key. We recently went to a festival, we had been to this same one two years ago and despite there being a char......

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Encouraging your kids to love swimming

My eldest fell over in a shallow pool when he was about 2yrs old, I was right next to him at the time, he was splashing and laughing and then slipped, he was only under the water for a matter of seconds but that little incident scared him, after that he wasn't so keen to get back in the water. Since then our journey of getting him to love swimming has been a bit up and down but now with his 7th birthday fast approaching it's all changed, he much more confident and has mastered swimming under the water, jumping in and swimming unaided its made for a fun and splash filled summer. Learning from the things that have and have not worked with our eldest we have approached the topic of swimming in a different way with our youngest who at 2.5 and absolutely loves it and together we now have two boys who are equally enthused about the water as I am and it's becoming a family activity we can all do together. My mother and my eldest on holiday in the South of France  S......

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Getting school ready with Debenhams

 I seriously cannot believe how quick the summer holidays have flown by and school is starting next week! My son has shot up and of course nothing from last year fits him this year, plus on top of that he is changing schools, which we are all really excited about. His new school doesn't have a strict uniform as it's fairly small but they still ask all clothes be practical, durable and long wearing which Debenhams does really well. We stopped into our local store to check out their back to school range which has a fantastic price point as well as quality When it comes to clothes my eldest simply won't wear anything that is not comfortable but he has been wearing this navy jumper for two days straight so I know that is a hit plus its tumble and machine washable and easy to iron making mornings less stressful. Their Uniform collection has been designed to make things as quick as possible, all the shirts are easy care and iron, plus the jackets are shower-proof ......

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