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She’ll be coming around the mountains: cycling High Tatras

Cycling towards the High Tatras in Slovakia

She’ll be coming around the mountains: cycling High Tatras Adventure travel can transform relationships. Last year Hannah and I forged a special bond when we swam together in the ‘sea of love’ in Estonia thus ensuring that according to legend we will love each other for ever, something Hannah still reminds me of regularly. But [...]

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A bowl of honeymoon goulash in High Tatras

Camping in High Tatras

A bowl of honeymoon goulash The High Tatras rise incessantly to our left and make us feel small; like any mountain range they are beautiful, inspiring, yet imposing forces of nature. And as we make our way up and down a road that tracks around them, passing through mountain towns, villages and off-season ski resorts, [...]

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Looney tunes in Slovakia’s High Tatras

Slovakian Village High Tatras

Looney tunes in Slovakia’s High Tatras The kids noticed them first, in a souvenir shop in Strbske Pleso, up in the Slovakian High Tatras. They weren’t easy to find, amongst thousands of items of folksy themed tourist tat. But there they were; alongside Vyoke Tatry sheep, above Tatry goat bells, below heart shaped leather ‘I love Tatry’ [...]

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One cool picnic, one cool ride

Kids wearing face cloths

One cool picnic, one cool ride Like most Lidl supermarkets around the UK, Liptovsky Hradok’s Lidl superstore sells food, and a few other random bits and pieces of clothing and household equipment. But we aren’t looking for food. We are looking for anything that will help us defend ourselves against the relentless heat and sunshine Slovakia is [...]

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A splash of sunny yellow in Tatralandia

It’s exhilarating descending from the LowTatras We speed down out of the Low Tatras in the early morning heat. It’s already 30 degrees but going downhill gives us a light breeze. We veer off the main road into a beautiful mountain village and stop to play in the river. After reaching 1232 metres the day before, [...]

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Counting Tatras

Counting Tatras “Dad, what was I up to?” asks Hannah, tapping me on the back from her stokers position behind me on the tandem. To be honest I find it hard to remember, because I haven’t really been giving her my full attention. I got bored somewhere in the three hundreds, preferring to focus on [...]

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Mood music

Mood music Riding along in the Slovakian sunshine, through pasture, forest and village, following streams and rivers up and down the gently rolling hills, chasing birds and butterflies, it’s hard not to be in the mood for riding. At least when the sun’s not too hot. Or when the gradient’s not too steep. Or when [...]

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Turning up the heat in Bratislava

Looking over Danube from Bratislava Castle

In Bratislava and the heat is on A naked woman eating an ice cream strolls past us. It’s typical of the Wickes family (and very disappointing for Stuart) that I’m the only member of the family who notices; they’re all too busy reading about chocolate fondu, chocolate pudding and delicious sounding chocolate drinks. To be [...]

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Lake District Tobogganing in Bivvi Bag Style

Toboganning in a survival bag

Lake District Tobogganing in Bivvi Bag Style Unable to get away during Easter, and tired of the kids niggling each [...]

Adventure Ideas 7: Go Further for Less

Money and Piggy Bank

Adventure Ideas 7: Go Further for Less Budget Travel Tips: Make your Holiday Money go Further It’s nearly that time [...]

Adventure Ideas 4: Go deep, high, eco or mad

Diving lesson kids

Adventure Ideas 4: Go deep, high, eco or mad Do you remember when ‘family friendly’ meant a kids’ club and [...]

Why not pop in somewhere different?

Pop up Bike Shop Manchester

It’s so easy to go to the same old places, do you know what I mean? When desperate for a [...]

Can comic heros save us from death by detergent?

How do you save an iconic lake from death by detergent? It’s a job for superheroes and needs community involvement, [...]

Living with lava – family life under a volcano

Eyafjallajokull Visitor Centre

Family life in the shadow of Eyjafjallajökull How do you feel about volcanoes? Would you give your right arm to [...]

I believe in the creature from the deep

Ice Monster

Sorting out what Icelandic people really believe in is a time consuming business. But, having spent a week in Reykjavik [...]

Lake District Via Ferrata at Honister

Via Ferrata at Honister, Lake District Want to test your family’s head for heights on a low risk, high thrill [...]

Adventure! on the timetable at Adventure Schools

 Adventure! on the timetable at Adventure Schools If you live in the UK’s Capital of Adventure, why would you want [...]

Does a happiness revolution sound like this?

Is this the sound of a happiness revolution? After making music with carrots, I figure I should be able to [...]

8 things that make Iceland sooo creative

What makes Icelanders so creative? It’s perhaps an understatement to say that Icelanders are a quirky nation. But what makes [...]

Culture & happiness at Reykjavik Festival of Children & Culture

When we set out to visit the Reykjavik Children’s Cultural Festival we knew relatively little about Iceland, Icelandic culture or [...]

An unexpected cultural education: Vaisakhi Southall

An unexpected cultural education: Vaisakhi Southall Driving back from our Twin Theme Park Adventure we stopped at some traffic lights [...]

Magic behind the Magic: Harry Potter Studio Tour

Magic behind magic: Harry Potter Studio Tour Never before has a children’s story managed to combine real life and magic [...]

Feeling the Lego force at Star Wars Miniland

If you’re a Star Wars fan or live with one, either human or droid, you’ve probably already come across Star [...]

A Blue Sky Go Green Go Lake District Travel Plan!

10 Ideas for cleaner, greener Lake District travel As a family of cyclists the idea of holidaying without a car [...]

You can go to the moon… making dreams happen

The moon, dreams and making them happen The moon is the muse for a group of six artists exhibiting at [...]

Geocache City: Touring Krakow by Geocache

Market Square Krakow

Geocache City – Touring Krakow by Geocache We are in front of a shrine to Mary, in the centre of [...]