Exploring Portsmouth

 If you think of Portsmouth and only think of beaches then I hope this blog post reveals everything hat Portsmouth offers!

I headed to the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth Harbour. The historic dockyard explores the maritime history of the area. There are a few options for tickets. You can either pay individually for the different museums or the ultimate tickets which includes all attractions including harbour tours which I bought for £46 and you can use it for unlimited visits for a year which was convenient for me as I couldn't visit everything during the restricted winter hours. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard spans over 2 sides of the water and there are water buses which can take you across. A few museums were closed hence why it is good to come back during warmer days. Here's what I visited:

-  HMS Warrior - this was the largest Royal Navy ship in the world and has 4 levels. It was immense! I wish there was information around to explain the different sections! There was a trail for children to do!

- The Mary Rose Museum was my favourite. This is where the shipwreck of the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's favourite warship, is housed and it is amazing! Fully accessible with well documented history of tudor objects found onboard! There's a 4D cinema to fully immerse in the history as well as special guided tour which takes you closer to the shipwreck. This must be pre-booked and are quite expensive.

-The Royal Navy Museum explores the history of the Royal Navy and was very child-friendly with interactive points for everyone!

- HMS Victory Musuem is a small museum attached with the HMS Victory ship which is being renovated and you can view the renovations. The museum is small but I really liked the figurehead bit!

- The Dockyard Apprentice Exhibition was outstanding. I didn't expect i to have so much information and properly details all the different jobs available at the dockyard!

On my next visit I will explore the other bits that I couldn't explore this time.

I also explored the outlet. The Spinack Tower was right nearby. There's an entry fee but apparently provides beaitful views of the area! More to follow!

A Dickensian Christmas in Rochester

 If you are looking for a different kind of Christmas celebration in the UK, Rochester offers a very unique Festival called the Dickensian Festival. The name comes after Charles Dickens' inspiration for some of his novels and even lived close by. The Festival is free to attend and usually runs the first week of December over a weekend. The festival's highlights are the parades with Dickens characters' costumed-people. It also has a Christmas Market on the grounds of Rochester Castle. However, there's many attractions in the area which makes it a whole day to spend in Rochester.

Here are the attractions that you can visit:

- Rochester Cathedral - free to visit

- Rochester Castle - free to visit if English Heritage member. It is not accessible as the lots of stairs to reach the different levels. If you go to the top you have beautiful views of Rochester! The grounds is where the Christmas Market and rides are. However, the queues to enter the grounds are long but there are 2 entrances which helps manage the crowd. Nevertheless, please be ready to queue for a while. The market had a lot of stalls and a wide array of rides were available which guarantees the fun element for the whole family!

- Eastgate House  - entrance fee applies. This house features 'In The Mystery of Edwin Drood'. It is currently a museum but once was Victorian boarding school, a hostel and a family home of a senior officer at the Royal Tudor Dockyard. In the back there's a a chalet which was a present for Charles Dickens.

- Guildhall Museum holds the history of Rochester including a part about Charles Dickens' life and  connecting to Medway and Rochester. It has a small entry fee. During holidays, there are arts and crafts for children. I particularly liked the  part about Hulks, old prison ships, which I was never aware of so glad to have learnt this part of history!

Overall, I loved the festive atmosphere and being part of this unique annual festival! Even if you go any other times, Rochester is great!

Betws-y-Coed

 If you want to see Autumn in its full glory and just want to be one with nature then the stunning, quintessential, alpine-like village then Betws-y-Coed is the place to be! It literally felt like stepping into a fairytale village right from stepping into the train station, which is the most beautiful UK station I have been to. We spent 3 days in Betws with the last day spent in Llanduno! We stayed at a B&B not far from the centre which was great for us. As usual, we didn’t have our own transport and so used Fliccsbus which is basically a bus in demand (there’ an app where you can request date and time and where to pick up)  which was so cool and very efficient. The only thing is that it stops running after 6pm. There were plenty of places to eat but I advice to book in advance as there were either no tables available or we had to queue which wasn’t ideal.

This is a paradise for hiking! There are so many hiking trails in and around the village with many waterfalls, which as you know is what I yearn for! Here are the hiking routes I did:

-            Pont-y-Pair Bridge to Swallow Falls via Miner’s Bridge in Gwydir Forest. Pont-y-Pair Bridge is the main defining attraction in Betws. With waterfalls cascading below the bridge was a beauty and loved sitting on one of the rocks and admiring the scenery. Afterwards, I took the trail through Gwydir Forest which was a nice stroll through picturesque forest. For me, I was in heaven while being surrounded by greenery and hearing the water and waterfalls I came across. The walk to swallow falls took about 45mins. You have to pay a £2 entry per person,  no mater the age. Swallow Falls is a beauty and worth the money for anyone who enjoys waterfalls. You have a few viewing platforms and highly recommend the one right at the bottom as it takes you the closest to the waterfalls and if you are lucky, you will be sprayed! I thoroughly loved it!

-            Conwy Falls to Roman Bridge. The walk around Conwy Falls is enough of a hike but a highly rewarding one as the views were indescribable. You had to pay £2 to enter Conwy Falls but I think it was worth it. I also extended the walk to the Roman Burdge which is behind Conwy Falls and came across more waterfalls. Absolutely loved it!

 

Below is what else we have been upto:

-            Zipworld – Since it was Halloween, we enjoyed the extra spookiness of the forest (Ffear Forest). You will need to book your tickets in advance. We enjoyed it but there weren’t as many rides as we would have liked. The alpine coaster was definitely  a hit!

-            Go Below Underground Adventure – this was the highlight of the trip. I went on my own. This involved a caving adventure which requires a lot of your energy as you will be abseiling, climbing up waterfalls, a short boat section, ziplining and a lot of walking! It was 5hours of great fun. Here were moments where I thought I was going to give up, especially walking up the waterfalls but it was so rewarding to finish the course! There’s 3 levels and I did the beginner ones suitable for anyone aged over 10years old. You will need to pack lunch and snacks as you will have time here and there to grab a bite. The entry to the cave is quite  steep walk through the forest but the guides will take you through a nice pace so you don’t really feel the steepness. I thoroughly enjoyed it. You will need to wear waterproofs as you will get wet! Boots and other equipments will be provided. The guides are total experts and do not rush you. They give you clear guidance and where applicable, give you history lesson as you are going an old miner’s cave.

-            Llanduno – on our last day, we spent a day in this town before our train back to London. We went to Great Orme mine, the world's largest prehistoric copper mine. It takes about 45mins ogo around. It Is very narrow but very informative with information plaque around the attraction! When you are in the area, the Great Orme Railway is a must and takes you to the town centre. Yes , it is a bi pricey but a unique experience! There’s also a few walking trails so will highly recommend as the scenery with the sea in the background was a beauty!

Overall, we had a great time! I needed time to be amongst nature and recharge which Betws-y-Coed complete aced the job!

Corris in a day

Corris is a small village located just Snowdonia National Park in mid-wales. What’s special about it is its slate quarries and the abundance of family activities to do in the area! 

The nearest train station to Corris is Machynlleth which was the old Welsh capital and where the first Welsh parliament was founded. You can visit this parliament which is now a tiny museum and completely free to visit! They also do guided tour of the wider building! An amazing piece of history! 

I then took a bus to Corris Craft centre where you can easily spend a whole day as a family doing quite a few things! As the name suggests, it hosts a number of craft shops which offers workshops either as drop-ins or have to book in advance. From chocolate making, candle making and even wooden sculptures there is something g for everyone https://www.corriscraftcentre.co.uk. 

The craft centre has a cafe, a little park! But what attracted me to the area are:

1. King’s Arthur’s labyrinth/ this is an underground adventure which involves a boat ride to learn about King Arthur’s legend! Perfect for kids as it is very engaging and doesn’t involve too much walking ! I really enjoyed the storytelling and the special effects!  I also loved going through a waterfall while on the boat ride! This is a guided tour and therefore better to book in advance.
2. Corris Mine Explorers- this has to be one of the best cave explorations I have done! It is a guided tour and involves quite a bit of walking in rough terrain but I saw small children come along! The way our guide told the history of slate quarry was very comprehensive! We even had to go through a small space to see some magical site like a beautiful waterfall and natural skylights! Highly recommend if you want to do something unusual!

Next I headed to Corris Village itself, which is a 15mins walk from the craft centre. Here you can find the Corris Railway, another perfect activity for a family! You can ride in a steam engine and take in the beautiful sites of the Welsh countryside with his lush green rolling hills! They also hold special events so do check out their website for more details https://www.corris.co.uk

Corris is excellent for hiking! I did one that took me by the  miniature Little Italy village! This is a replica of Italy’s famous bundling and the level of detail is amazing! Take that for a hobby! When you hike, you come across beautiful forests, abandoned houses and quarries and plenty of waterfalls big and small. The hike will also take you to the Binocular Tunnels which is an old slate quarry famous for its double bored holes! You can climb inside for a sense of adventure! 

Overall, I had a great time being surrounded by all that greenery. My lungs were full of fresh air and my adventurous side was also satisfied!

Do visit Corris!

Road tripping around Andalusia

In our case, road tripping was not by car but by coach which I highly recommend but I will explain further below. However, I wish I had a car, especially in Almeria, as some of the places didn’t have public transport but all other cities had great connections and run on time!

 

Andalusia refers to Southern Spain which consists of 8 provinces; Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga, and Seville . All these provinces are quite different from each other and have their own unique traits. There’s a big Arabic influence due to the Muslim reign for 800 years until the 14^th centuries. Andalusia is therefore so rich in history, culture and nature! The architecture is just mind blowing and you can clearly see the battle between Muslim and Christian in the buildings and how the Catholic Kings tried to impose their sign everywhere. Out of these provinces, we visited all of them except Jaen. We visited Andalusia over the summer so although the heat was bearable on the coast, we found some cities such as Cordoba quite unbearable. However, there was AC everywhere so you will be ok. Do stay hydrated and invest in some portable fans, hats and lots of suncream!

 

Card was accepted everywhere but some buses prefer cash so do carry cash too! We didn’t use many intracity buses but it was quite confusing in terms of getting tickets for some buses that couldn’t accept any form of payments ( then we realised, that was just a faulty system on that particular bus). There are travelcard available though and works out cheaper. Make sure you specify age of child as mostly, children under  certain age don’t need a ticket.  For all our intercity travel, we used ALSA coaches which I have to say, has been top notch (except the lack of USB ports). I used the ALSA plus app to book all my coaches which came out cheaper. You also collect points when completing each journey and these points can be redeemed against other journeys! They all run on time and there were no issues at all which made our journeys smooth! The earlier you book, the more you save. If you would like to change your tickets, you can do that easily on the app but can’t make any changes closer to time!

 

We stayed over in 4 cities – Seville, Malaga, Almeria and Granada. This was mostly used as a base so it was easier for us to do day trips from these bases. Granada is the only place where I wished we stayed longer to do more adventure activities as it offered more than any other cities! All our activities were booked through GetYourGuide (GYG) or the activity provider directly.  We stayed in airbnbs. In terms of food, that is where we were let down. The big cities completely disappointed us therefore we only ate in small villages to get authentic regional cuisines.

Here is our itinerary:

1)       Seville (Day 1-2):

a.        We spent our first day exploring Seville. Seville cathedral and Giralda tower (https://www.getyourguide.com/seville-cathedral-l4543/seville-cathedral-and-la-giralda-entry-ticket-t131913/) and the Royal Alcazar. I recommend booking in advance the cathedral and the Alcazar. We did the non-guided tour and so researched a lot to know about these place. The Giralda Tower was a long climb and I thought not really worth it as it just provides views of the city. However, both the Cathedral and the Alcazar were stunning and not to be missed. There are walking distance from each other.  15minutes walk away from these monuments was Plaza España which is free to visit and another architectural wonder! You can row on the canal for an additional cost.

b.       Day trip to Aracena and Rio Tinto – this was outside the tourist route and an exploration of the Huelva province (https://www.getyourguide.com/seville-l48/from-seville-full-day-aracena-rio-tinto-mines-tour-t82914/) I wanted to do this region as I heard a lot about the Iberian pigs but also the Red River (Rio Tinto). The trip didn’t disappoint at all. The Red River was indeed red thanks to its microorganisms and the minerals. We got to see the mines for different minerals and such a unique landscape! We then moved to Aracena which is famous for its Iberian pigs. We got to see these pigs and also explore the town with its castle, bullring, cave and amazing food! I will highly recommend this trip if you want to do explore some unknown areas!

2)       Malaga (Day 3-5)

a.       Malaga historic centre – We visited the Alcazaba as well as Malaga cathedral. There are combined tickets as well. There’s also a bullring and the beach was close by.

b.       Day trip to Ronda and Setenil de Bodegas –  A must do! (https://www.getyourguide.com/malaga-l402/malaga-ronda-setenil-de-las-bodegas-optional-sunset-t583609/)   Ronda has my heart and we had enough time to explore on our time. I hiked down to the bottom of the infamous bridge and this was so worth it despite the climb up! I chose the guided tour as part of the activity and it was well worth it! I also visited the Bullring and it was amazing! I even got to walk in the actual bullring and it had a great museum! Setenil is an unusual village built within cliffs. In our own time, I visited an actual house in the cliffs which was very compact. There was also a Nasrid palace I wanted to visit but the signposting wasn’t very clear so couldn’t visit!

c.       Nerja was meant to be another day trip but due to weather conditions our sea activity was cancelled and therefore didn’t go to Nerja!.

d.       Day trip to Benalmadena – the famous Colomares Castle, a tribute to Columbes, is a must! It has a very small entry fee but it is so beautiful especially with views of the coast. Other things to do were the Butterfly park, Buddhist temple and sealife as well as a good swim in the many beaches available nearby! This town had surprisingly so much to offer!

3)       Almeria (Day 5-7)

a.       Almeria historic centre involves the  Alcazaba, Jesus Christ statue, Almeria cathedral. If you can’t afford a trip to Brazil to see Christ the Redeemer statue, then you can go and see this smaller size statue blessing Almeria. The Alcazaba was free to visit and not to be missed. It is an archaeological site so you will see amazing ruins but it is so well maintained and the views were well worth the climb!  I loved Almeria as it wasn’t crowded and less touristy so enjoyed it! Please check opening times for all these attractions!

b.       Day trip to Oasys MiniHollywood  -  This is a Wild West themed park set in the Tabernas Desert and perfect for the whole family. Many Wild West movies were filmed here, including Clint Eastwood’s movies, and something unique to do. The first half of the park is all Wild West themed with performances such as Cancan. The second half was an animal reserve and there’s quite a bit of walking. There were animals such as rhinos which I have never seen before! The park has 2 swimming pools which I will recommend to do after you explored the park.  The one thing I won’t recommend is the buffet! It was so disappointing so bring a sandwich! Regardless, this was the kids’ favourite thing to do!

c.       Day trip to Cabo de Gata and Nijar National park – again not on the tourist path but wanted to explore rugged landscape and explore this area (https://www.getyourguide.com/almeria-l1076/almeria-4x4-tour-of-cabo-de-gata-nijar-natural-park-t386531/ ) It was beautiful and loved listening to he history of the area. We saw flamingos in their natural habitat which was such a great experience!

 

4)       Granada (day 8-11)

a.        Granada city centre – I concentrated on the Andalusian monuments which highlighted monuments from the Muslim reign such as the Moorish Bath, Moorish houses and palaces in the Albacin area! As a history nerd, I learned so much and not sure how 4 hours went by! I then visited the Christian quarters which involved the Cathedral and Royal Chapel1

b.       Alhambra -  must do! I cannot explain how beautiful this is and what talent this showcased so do visit to find out for yourself! The tickets sell out about a month in advance so do book as soon as you can!

c.        Day trip to Las Alpujarras – we headed to the mountains to see different villages in the Sierra Nevada (https://discoveringspain.net/) This was one of the highlight of our trip and so worth it with so many surprises on the way! We visited 5 villages, waterfall and a Jamon Factory! I would redo this experience all over again!

d.       Day trip to Cordoba – We visited the Jewish Quarter and Mosque-Cathedral as well as the roman bridge. The Mosque-Cathedral is another must do monument! You will need to book in advance! Each corner was stunning!

Overall, this was another memorable trip with both my nature and history geek completely satisfied!

Scarborough

Another day trip from London but wish we could have stayed overnight as there was so much to do.

Here's what we've been upto. These are all out of town about 20 to 30mins away from the centre:

- Skipton Castle -part of English Heritage which provides beautiful views  of the coastline. This was more ruins of the castle but the grounds were beautiful.

- Peasholme Park - this was a surprise as I didn't expect much but it had a lake with Oriental Gardens and waterfalls. You can go boating on the lake as well as mini golfing. The highlight of this park is that it showcases mini ship battles on the lake which is the highlight of the year. 

-Water Chute is a water ride and one of the few ones in the country

- Right by the water chute is the North Bay Railway which is a little railway that will take you upto the North Beach Bay

- The North Bay Beach offers more attractions than the South Baby beach. It has an Open Air Theatre and a Sealife Centre as well 

- Alpamere is a water park with all indoor slides as well as 2 outdoor thermal books offering nice views of the North Bay. The water park is decent with 4 big slides, a wave pool and small splash park as well. You could stay as long as you like but I thought for what it offered, the price could have been a bit cheaper. 3 of the 4 slides requires floaties which means you will need to queue. Depending on how busy the pool is, the queues can be very long.

Scarborough has so much to offer and wish we had more time to explore it.

A day trip to Skipton

I always wanted to go to Skipton because it had a few waterfalls I wanted to explore so here is our day trip fron London.

We first headed to the town centre to visit the Skipton Museum which was free to visit. It was small museum but it detailed the history of Skipton so well and even my grumpy teenagers enjoyed it.

We then went to Skipton Woods behind Skipton Castle. We didn't want to visit Skipton Castle but there is that option for you if you will like to explore a castle. Skipton Woods is a nice woods by the river. You can do the circular trail which won't take much long. It is very nice and quiet despite it being in the town centre. It also had waterfalls which was a highlight for me.

After that, we headed to Bolton Priory which was stunning. There's a few walking trails through beautiful woods and waterfalls. Walking through the woods, there were also games dotted around which made the walk fun for the kids. 

There is also a steam rail which will take you quite close to Bolton Priory from the next stop after Skipton.

We had a great day out in Skipton amongst beautiful nature and fresh air!