Grand Canyon: Its a very Big Gorge

The one pleasant aspect of jetlag when travelling West is that the whole family wakes early the next morning. We took advantage of this on our Vegas trip and headed off in a hire car into the desert as the sun was rising. We stopped at the fantastic South West Diner in Boulder City for our first proper American breakfast since New York last year. As usual, we hugely over ordered pancakes, one portion being plenty for 2, even without the accompanying bacon and eggs. It was delicious food, and the kind of service and attention that small-town America really excels at.  

We could have spent hours there, but our target was really the Grand Canyon, so we headed back onto the road, past "Guns & Burgers", past the world’s largest monster truck (isn't America marvellous), up into the mountains, eventually getting to the Hualapai Reserve mid morning. From here a fleet of buses distributes tourists around five suggested stops along the canyon; of which we selected the two that appeared to offer the best views. One of these includes the famous "skywalk", a U-shaped glass bottomed walkway stretching out above the canyon. Below our feet there was nothing to interrupt our line of sight, 3,000 feet down the cliff sides to the tiny trees below, and the seemingly minuscule trickle that is actually part of the mighty Colorado river. 

As spectacular as this was, it was the wildness of the Canyon itself at the next stop that was truly breathtaking. Every aspect of its scale was immense, in every dimension. The harsh beauty of the brown rocks, the jagged cliffs with seemingly no base to them left us awestruck. No photograph could do justice to the vastness of the landscape, the vista filling all directions from the rocky outcrop protruding into the canyon where we stood.

From an overwhelming natural wonder to an immense man-made wonder; we paid a fleeting visit to the Hoover Dam on the way back to Las Vegas. On any other visit this would have stunned us for the immense feat of engineering that it is. However, it was going to be tricky to follow on from the Grand Canyon. Even so, it's an incredible sight, and despite missing out on the full tour, the information boards provided a good explanation of the dam's construction and its immense electricity generating capacity, enabling the development of vast cities like Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Behind it stretches the magnificent arc of the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge providing another superb feat of engineering.

We rarely drive when travelling, mainly because it causes us to bicker rather than for any principled environmental stance. However while we had a car for a day, we stopped off in a shopping outlet on the edge of Las Vegas, actually spending a few hours there rather than the few minutes I had in mind. Shopping is just so much easier in America than Europe, the shops are big enough to cope with lots people, and the staff are invariably knowledgeable and helpful. So fully kitted out with sportswear for the approaching school year, we returned to Las Vegas as the sky grew darker and the lights grew brighter.

For kids dealing with Jetlag, the answer is simply to get up early and get on with the day. And do something interesting. Our 4 stops that day were different yet individually brilliant, but we would have struggled if we'd started later. 

Three generations boys adventure trip III: Northumberland & Cliff Diving

Somewhere between the Brexit Referendum and the election of Donald Trump, I took the boys to jump off a cliff. In the spirit of collective populism, we got 4 of our friends to plunge down into the sea below with us.  What a great summer! 

 

Like many British National Parks, the scenery of Northumberland is spectacularly beautiful. The slopes of the mountains, at times rolling, at other times harsh; the attractive stone-built towns, the wide sandy beaches, and of course the jagged cliffs plunging dramatically from the mountains to the sea.  But unlike many British National Parks, hardly anyone goes there. We enjoyed vast swathes of mountains and beaches to ourselves. And even more handily, there is a direct train to Alnmouth from London, by far the easiest way to travel with 4 boys and 3 drinking adults. 

 

As with Boys Adventure Trip II, we had booked activities with professional guides for most of the weekend. That left a reasonably amount of time amusing ourselves in the mountains and on the beach. Whilst Northumberland has nothing like the number of mountains that the Lake District has, there are a couple of chunky ones in the Cheviots, including the Cheviot itself. Due to time constraints, we climbed its neighbour, the prettily named Hedgehope Hill, close to the Scottish Border. This made it sound like a molehill, but in fact soars to 714 metres - just into mountain territory. The climb is a variety of grass paths, trudging though streams, and the obligatory battling through heather and scrambling over rocks to the top. It was a stunningly bright clear day, as it often is on the East Coast. We were rewarded with spectacular views to the Scottish Highlands one way, and over the rolling hills of Northumberland to the sea in the other direction. After that, we spent the rest of the day having simple fun on the beach. We improvised a version of rounders, there being enough space to really hit and run quite a distance. As the adults became exhausted, the boys buried one another up to the neck in sand. Frankly, there is nothing like a sandy beach in sunshine to amuse children of any age.

 

We stayed in the Sun Inn in Alnmouth, taking over 3 of their 4 bedrooms. This was a marvellous choice. The en-suite rooms were large and clean, the service was friendly, and the food was fantastic. Every morning several pigs were sacrificed for a wholesome breakfast to start the day. Our evening meals varied between the Sun Inn and an Italian across the road within the Hope & Anchor, both of which were excellent. One evening we ventured into Alnwick, shimmying up another hill first for some more incredible views up and down the coast, before descending back down into the town for a look at the castle and welcome selection of Indian food.

 

The next morning was a wet one, but it didn't matter too much as we were canoeing along the River Coquet. We had arranged a trip with Adventure Northumberland, who provided us (and another family) with 2 instructors, canoes and wetsuits. We met in the attractive town of Warkworth, close to its castle made famous by being used as the Quiddich pitch in Harry Potter films. After a brief introduction, we were tasked with paddling up over the weir (very hard) and sliding down it again (much easier) before paddling along the scenic river towards the sea. The reaction of our cityish boys was a real surprise. As with our previous canoeing trips, it’s a sport that we can all be equally good or bad at. The changing scenery around each corner and the wild birds flying past and wading in the shallows were all quite fascinating to them. However, just before boredom replaced curiosity, the waterfight began. This is where the instructors really helped, demonstrating a remarkable launch and bat technique with the paddles that thoroughly soaks your opponent!

 

However the next day we found that there is soaking, and absolute drenching. We met our Adventure Northumberland friends again for a session of “coasteering”, which simply involves making your way along the coast. However the coastal cliffs on this part are rather more dramatic than the beach. The waves really do smash over the rocks, repeatedly washing us into the sea where it's force was concentrated between the rocks. We’d scramble along cliff ledges, before leaping into the water where the ledge expired. Numerous times we paused to sit on what appeared to be a safe rock in the sea, only to get shoved back into the water by another enormous wave! Then bizarrely, we'd crawl through a tunnel in the cliff and find ourselves in a completed secluded lagoon in utter peace. 

 

Whilst each battle against the waves was adrenalin-lifting in itself, it was the cliff-jumping that was truly terrifying. We began slowly – initially just off a small rock, and gradually jumped off higher ledges as our confidence grew. By the end of the day, the more foolish amongst us were jumping off cliffs taller than a townhouse into jellyfish infested waves below. This took a certain amount of bravado, and I am proud to say that this was the one event where adults did better than the boys. Although as they pointed out – we have less to live for.  A welcoming optimistic view of life from the youth of today!

 

 

Back to Borneo, Teens and Tweens

When our boys were 2 and 3 years old, we took them to Borneo. I didn't really know much about the place before that, it just sounded a bit crazy and wild. Mainly though, It sounded altogether different from the Centre Parks type holidays that everyone seemed to recommend to us but sounded grim. Logistically it was tricky, we took lots of canned food and first aid stuff together with the bulk of nappies and buggies that all trips with small children require, but the wildlife, the scenery, the adventures - everything screamed at us that we really should return. And so, with the boys now 12 and 14, accompanied by our 9 year old daughter -  we returned.

Borneo is huge in every way. Divided between Malaysia in the North and Indonesia in the South, collectively it is the Worlds third largest island. Almost all the land is concealed beneath vast dense rainforest, cross-crossed by wide rivers and narrow creaks. So much of the wildlife is unique to Borneo, most famously the Orang-Uran, but are also joined by Pygmy Elephants, crocodiles, Hornbills, dozens of types of bats and snakes in this hugely expansive menagerie. The choice of riverside rainforest lodges, traditional local longhouses, river wildlife spotting cruises and overland treks is bewildering. 

The temptation to cram too much into a holiday can be overwhelming. One of most important lessons learnt for a good family holiday is minimising the amount of actual travelling. We had scheduled 10 days in Borneo as part of a 6 week holiday, and as this was supposed to be the rest and relaxation bit - we picked an island resort for our entire stay. This had the downside of eliminating the "big" wildlife, particularly the Orang-Utans, but kept the best of the rest. 

Located a convenient 15 minute boat-ride from Kota-Kinabalu, itself the location of Malaysian Borneo's main international airport, Gaya Island is a stunning island paradise. Surrounded by white sandy beaches and so densely packed with rainforest that passage by vehicle is impossible, it formed a kind of beautiful Greater Borneo in miniature. We stayed in the aptly named Gaya Island Resort, one of a small number of eco-resorts on the island which clung to the hillside by the sea. Despite the buildings all being concealed in the rainforest, they gave up enchanting views across the clear blue sea to Mount Kinabalu in the clouds. 

The resort itself takes its eco-responsibilities seriously, minimising motorised transport around the resort and employing a team of expert naturalists and natural wonders to see. The highlight of this is a small aquarium beside the resort's private beach. This is home to an impressive collection of coral and local tropical fish, but the added benefit of an expert guide with the time to take us all individually through the best bits, in a manner bizarrely presentable to all our ages and levels of knowledge. The aquarium fulfills another critical function of nursing injured turtles back to health before releasing them back into the sea, local fishermen know that this is the place to bring them and several pass through their tanks each season.

The journey to the private beach can be a mini-adventure in itself. For an easy time, the resort offers a speedboat shuttle from the main hotel pier to the beach. However you can also join one of the resort's naturalists for a trek through the rainforest, taking in the fascinating plants and terrifying snakes along the way (we only saw 3 types on our walk, of which only one was deadly, but cobras have been spotted before). The funniest animals were the bearded pigs which exist in quite large numbers around the beach and resort, standing around with their ugly hangdog expressions in this corner of paradise.  They were joined by dozens of extremely mischievous long-tailed macaques taking delight in flinging nuts at the tourists below, definitely the favourite for the children.

We spent one day in Kota Kinabalu, partly for a day out but mainly as a break from the exorbitant costs of dining in the resort. Popularly known as KK, this has been the major administrative centre and gateway to the region since colonial times. Whilst a large part of the town feels like a polluted chaotic dual carriageway, its original backpacker corners and traditional markets still exist and are well worth a visit. It can be challenging (and risky) to encourage children to try local food, which makes it all the more satisfying when you end up having a splendid meal in a local shopping centre for under £1 a head (albeit that we had meet or payment of a McFlurry bribe for pudding).

To me now, I think Borneo has the best of everything for a children's holiday regardless of whether they are 2, or 14, or somewhere in the middle. It's exotic and different, and feels that way with the tropical heat, the incredibly accessible wildlife, and the stunning white beaches and clear blue coral-filled sea. But it's also safe, English is widely spoken, things work. You could spent months exploring the innards of the island, or a week enjoying the surface of it as we did. I'd love to go back, but think next time we will be older and perhaps our children will start their story - "when our parents were 75 and 80 we took them to Borneo".

Kowloon: Bright Lights and Chaos

Kowloon. It's a name that conjures up choking tropical heat, dense neon lights, chaotic crowds  of people, exotic street food, pick-pockets, purveyors of fake watches and tailor-made suits. And it's all those. The assault of sights, sounds and smells on the Kowloon pavements is something that still excites me after visiting dozens of times, usually with the excitement of children emphasising the buzz.

Like most global cities, Kowloon hosts a set of museums to occupy the curious minds of children. Unlike the museums of most global cities, the Hong Kong science museum is so hands on throughout that its hard to leave. From a set of tricky logical puzzles and a mirror maze in the basement, through exhibitions on architecture, environment, sound, and on up to the transport section at the top with working engines to fire up, and Cathay Pacific's first plane hanging from the roof. Running top to bottom in the central atrium is a spectacular ball run which releases a set of balls every hour through a three-dimensional maze of pivoting beams, spirals and drops. If we are struggling to work out why Chinese children are so much better at maths and science than western ones, this isn't a bad place to start.

On the same site is the Hong Kong museum of History. Less hands on, but a well presented and interesting story nonetheless, it takes visitors from the early tribes settling on the flatter land, through colonial oppression and war, and economic development. It concludes with a slightly terrifying waxwork of Mrs Thatcher handing over the territory to Deng Xiao-Ping, followed by an optimistic view of the future of Hong Kong within a greater China.

Stretching North from the Museums are the craziest sets of markets, which amuse kids and parents alike; both beautiful but sickening at the same time. The bird market in particular has stunning brightly coloured creatures crammed into tiny cages with an impossible number of other birds. Onto the pet fish and reptile markets, where our children reliably plead with us to buy them some form of oversized lizards. Then around the corner to the flower market, where the splendour of the tropical flowers that bloom naturally in the heat of South East Asia make Columbia Road look quite drab. Finishing up in the dense crowds of Mong Kok, the most densely populated region in the world, but known to regular visitors as the ideal place to buy the latest electronics, generally cheaper than at home. Suddenly the familiar pressure to buy ipads for the whole family appears, so perhaps this bit is best avoided.

Around the Southern tip of Kowloon is the Tsim Sha Tsui, more popularly known simply as TST. Here are the bright neon lights in Chinese and English that are instantly familiar from films and pictures of the City. Its worth a stroll through Kowloon Park, a strange oasis of peace and tropical birds built on the sight of the previously crime-infested but self-governing Kowloon Walled City. The shock of then being plunged into the hectic noisy chaos of Nathan Road is all the more intense from here. Personally I prefer to navigate around rather than through the dozens of shopping centres clustered in this area, however the sheer scale of the Harbour City shops could make it a day out in itself. Aside from the welcoming Air Conditioning, the basement dedicated to childrens clothes and toys – covering the scale from Dior Kids to Toys R Us, will please some in the party. The top floor dedicated to electronics stores will please others. However you might struggle to squeeze a 60 inch TV into your suitcase if that appeals.

The final piece is a stroll along the waterfront itself, along the Avenue of the Stars, where you can pose alongside statues of Cantonese and International film stars. You may of course need to queue to model your Kung-Fu pose next to Bruce Lee, or simply photograph everyone else doing that for you. The walk takes you past plenty of other air-conditioned diversions; yet another amazing shopping centre in the Former Marine Police Headquarters Compound complete with unusually sympathetically restored colonial buildings, the Space Museum, and the Peninsular Hotel with its fleet of green Rolls Royce Phantoms and surprisingly accessible baby-changing facilities. All of this whilst presenting a spectacular view across the harbour to Hong Kong Island itself, only £2 away for a family of four by Star Ferry.

Hong Kong is an amazing destination. But to me, the buzzing life and chaotic activity of Kowloon is the most exciting part of it.

 

Hong Kong, extreme energy, extreme towers, extreme shopping

The spectacular island of Hong Kong is perhaps the most energetic place in the world where it seems no-one needs to sleep. Whatever it chooses to do, it takes to a mad excess, particularly when it comes to extreme shopping and extreme construction. The resulting skyline of 40 to 110 floor tightly clustered skyscrapers crawling up the steep mountainside from the harbour creates views that are imitated but never remotely equalled. Whilst the views of the Island from the opposite shore in Kowloon are impressive, there is plenty of fun to be had taking children up some of the towers to look out from amongst the throng of buildings.

Some of the more popular but quite different viewing sites close to the Star Ferry are Observation Wheel (a little like the London Eye), and the Bank of China Building Observation Deck. However my personal recommendation is the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Information Centre way up on the 55th floor of the International Financial Centre, or IFC 2. Not only are the contents exciting for an economist like myself, but the general entrance is great with kids, passing through a smart lift lobby, getting photo ID, and into the gleaming office lifts. Your children may recognise the building as being the one that Batman leapt from in “The Dark Knight”, but even if they miss this subtle reference, emerging from the lift is like stepping into the cloud layer. The height is breathtaking, but the humidity and apparent smog are also evident. The combination of IFC and IFC2 offer both extreme construction and extreme shopping. Fortunately there is a satisfactory set of food options across the two centres, including a McDonalds. As much as travelling with children opens their minds to different styles of cooking (see the blog on the New Territories), McDonalds does cheer everyone up.

A different kind of view emerges by taking the Peak Tram from Central, through the mid-levels, to Victoria Peak. Although a rather crowded tourist hot-spot, it’s a cheap and effective way to get a good idea of the overall layout of the Central Hong Kong, The extremes of construction are much clearer here, where the mountainside appears to be too steep to build on, yet 40, 50, 60 storey apartment blocks are impaled into the slopes. Eventually the tram rises above the building line to give another magnificent harbour view. Whilst most of the Victoria Peak Terminus building is rather touristy and tacky, the views from the rooftop are worth paying the premium on the tram fare to see.

On another Tram, horizontal this time, the Hong Kong Tramways has been running the same route along the waterfront for over a century.  It’s one of the very few areas where the business-like intensity of Hong Kong has been sentimental enough to allow some kind of nod to its heritage. The mechanics and controls of the tram are as cutting edge as one would expect from Hong Kong’s impeccably reliable public transport system, but the outside appearance is little changed since double deckers were introduced in 1912. Get off at Admiralty for some more luxury shopping – a particularly useful spot for buying a handbag that you will no longer have any money to carry in it.

 The best thing for me about Admiralty is the bus station underneath it, taking you well away from any of the shops. The 629 bus to Ocean Park is the one trip that should be mandatory for a family holiday to Hong Kong. A phenomenal theme park alternative to the Disneyland on Lantau, Ocean Park combines wildlife and heritage with rides for all ages and of course more views. This is the only place in Hong Kong where you can see Pandas, cared for in a large enclosure which is surprisingly uncrowded and educational. There is also a substantial aquarium boasting performing dolphins, again with an emphasis on education and ecology. Passing through the steeper parts of the site is made easier by a vast outdoor escalator – in this case only the second longest in the world. The rides are suitable for a good range of ages and fear levels, and feature plenty of cooling water splashes. A cablecar links the 2 sites on either side of the mountain, which itself presents more views of the bays of Southern Hong Kong, and the queues of container ships carrying China’s produce to the world.

Across this side of the island are the pleasant areas of Aberdeen, Repulse Bay and Stanley. Hong Kong lacks anywhere that could be remotely be described as “undiscovered”, but the tall blocks of flats surrounding these attractive bays look less out of place than they would in more rural island locations. The beaches are pleasant and extremely safe – even young children wander the towns and take taxis independent of parental supervision. The market in Stanley is pleasant for a wander and to pick up souvenirs, and the shopping generally is much less intensely glitzy than most of Hong Kong.

Although not on Hong Kong island itself,  no trilogy of a Hong Kong family tour would be complete without mention of the Big Buddha on Lantau. Built in the closing years of British Rule, with a distinct look towards the future (the Buddha faces towards Peking), this largest seated Buddha in the World is an engineering marvel even more incredible than the skyscrapers seen earlier. An exhibition inside the statue tells something of its construction, but the overall effect is incredible. Despite the usual parade of tourist memorabilia stalls here, the monastery to which the Buddha is attached still offers a wholesome vegetarian meal to travellers. Parts of the monastery are open to quiet visitors, and this is a good place to learn something about the Buddhist culture. Our pictures here are of the same boy in the same place with 13 years between the picture on his first, and most recent visit; just to show its worth coming back to. Not only does the climb up the steps to the Buddha offer amazing views over the mountains and sea, but the journey by cable-car, some with glass floors for added fear, give spectacular views of the airport, the countryside, the emerging Bridge to Macau, and eventually to the majestic Buddha statue itself.

Hong Kong island is glitzy and glamorous, which can mean expensive. But the most incredible experiences of this incredible island are the views, and they cost nothing. Don’t forget the rest of Hong Kong; Kowloon and the New Territories should be explored, but it’s the vertical sights of the island and the views from and over them that amaze children the most.

New York, now that is exciting

New York, New York, no other city on earth has a buzz like it! The vertical architecture, the smells of hot dogs and pretzels, the stifling heat and bitter dry cold, the theatres and shops, the restaurants and bars….. but why on earth would one take children to ruin your fun? The answer is that New York always serves up something new, and with children you will see an entirely different city to what you saw before.

New York has such a wealth of attractions and diversions that its never the same between different people and different visits. The broad range of restaurants caters for all from down and outs to glamorous and trendy; from very old to very… young.  As ever in America, finding food that children eat is not difficult.  One deservedly well-rated venue we headed to on our first night was the Ellen Stardust Diner, famous for its waiters cum dancers putting on regular singing and dancing routines throughout the evening. As cheesy as it sounds, the America-style enthusiasm for this even encouraged the cynical boys in our corner to release a smile.

And talking of cynical boys – the comic book shops of New York are where the tables were turned. The various branches of mid-town comics dragged us straight into scenes from the Big Bang Theory! The boys were delighted, here was nerd heaven on a massive scale. Staff could assist with the most abstract and specific questions, delightedly running round the shop servicing their various requests.

New York, or Manhattan at least, is compact enough to walk around, with the occasional jump onto a bus or subway when little legs get too tired. But the buzz of the streets and the new sights on every block can keep the energy levels high, topped up with the occasional sugar-fuelled diner stop. It takes a couple of hours at child pace to walk from Central Park at one end, via the High-Line, to Battery Park at the other, before getting the Staten Island ferry for the best and cheapest views of the Statue of Liberty and the skyscrapers of lower Manhattan. The option is there to join the queue for the Statue of Liberty itself, however this didn’t seem to be a great way to experience the city, so we skirted it.

The highlight of our trip for the boys (we had an extra one in tow) was a visit to the incredible USS Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum. A vast aircraft carrier moored on the Hudson river. Intrepid suffered major Kamikaze damage during the second world war, events which are vividly demonstrated on the impacted decks through lighting effects and film footage from the time. Numerous real life exhibits bring reality to war stories – lying in a bed in the cramped sleeping quarters was particularly graphic was me.  The information boards were informative and more honest about the reasons for going to various wars, including Vietnam, than I was expecting. And its not just the aircraft carrier itself, the museum includes a submarine, the Space Shuttle “Enterprise”, a Concorde, a collection of aircraft. This is the one unmissable venue to let kids lead you around.

A more poignant experience comes from the World Trade Centre site. By the time we visited, the new buildings were largely complete, demonstrating the pragmatism and optimism demonstrated by New Yorkers. However the impact of the memorial to the events of 9/11 was moving for all 3 of our children. The foundations of the twin towers have been excavated into a pair of vast empty square holes, with water running down the walls of each one. The names of those killed are all carved in the stone surrounds. Its an immensely calming experience after the hectic buzz of the city. As the children read through some of the names, the enormity of the events that had occurred 15 years earlier came through to them.  

Despite my dismissal of queueing for the Statue of Liberty (and the same goes for the Empire State Building), a trip to New York should include taking in a view somehow. An exciting but costly and brief way to do this is by helicopter, but any tall building will do. We went to the “Top of the Rock” in the Rockefeller centre. The views across Central Park one way, and the mid-town to lower Manhattan the other were incredible. As we stood there (in April – this was an Easter break) snow began to fall, it was jolly romantic – and the children were jumping with excitement!

And excitement, after all, is what New York is about, and what travelling is about, and what children are about. New York will always be exciting, and with the infectious excitement of children it becomes even more so!

Three generations boys adventure trip II: Peak District and Caves

Buoyed by the success of the earlier 2012 trip to the Peak District, we decided to return 2 years later, but with the addition of a few friends this time. Each son brought a friend and each friend brought a father, making 3 men and 4 11 and 12 year old boys for the first few days. We stayed in Eyam, taking over the family rooms in the coach house adjoining the excellent Youth Hostel. This was a brilliant decision, we had a 4-bed room, and the other 2 families had a twin room each, with a shared bathroom. It was perfect for coming home muddy each evening, and waking up after a good nights sleep, at a phenomenally low price. Eyam itself, famous as the plague village which shut itself off from the world during the Black Death to protect neighbouring villages, was a 10 minute stroll across the fields down the hillside. Once again, the Youth Hostel provided breakfast and packed lunches, the excellent pubs of Eyam filled us up in the evening. 

 

We stopped at Carsington Water on the way up for an hour of kayaking. It was the first time that we had all got together, so bonding in wetsuits while soaking one another with oars as water beaters was a superb start to the trip. There is something marvellous about water for all ages. Strangely - everyone seems to be equally good / bad at kayaking, its a kind of natural action that anyone can pick up. This was exactly what we needed at the end of a tedious trek up the M1. From there it wasn’t far on to Eyam.

 

We had made arrangements with the excellent team at Pure Outdoor to provide activities over the weekend. They were extremely helpful on the phone in advance with suggestions, so we had high hopes as we arrived at their outdoor centre early on Saturday morning. After a thorough run through the options, I was outvoted on my plan to abseil off a railway bridge as we had originally planned. Instead we would spend the morning rock-climbing on Stanage Edge, and the afternoon “Weaselling”.  

 

Early adolescence is the stage where not only do boys start to realise that their fathers are not the majestic sporting heroes they thought, but they also overtake us in terms of sporting ability. Nowhere is this more apparent than rock climbing, where progress up a sheer cliff is dependant entirely on the ratio of strength in your fingers to overall body weight. That is to say, athletic skinny boys make a better job of it than middle-aged men with large feet and beer guts. All of the boys felt they were skilled climbers based on their experience of climbing walls. However a cliff face is a different matter entirely. Now the purpose of the ropes and the importance of the safety briefing were very real. But the actual effort involved to pull yourself up from the thinnest of cracks in the rocks is immense. Its also immensely satisfying to achieve progressively harder climbs. And from the top, the views are incredible, and so much more earned than walking round the cliff as on Trip I. The inevitable bloodied knees and bruised shins just added to the sense of achievement.

 

Weaselling didn’t sound like such a fun concept to me, but I was very wrong here – this was one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip, and the part where there was more laughter than any of the other bits. Essentially this involves scrambling over and under the enormous rocks that have cascaded down the side of Higger Tor. Sounds very simple, and it is if you have the physique of a 12 or 13 year old. However manoeuvring my belly between the narrower gaps and crevasses proved very challenging.  There were a number of occasions when it seemed the rocks were attempting to give birth to the adults in our group, although its not normally the baby that makes those noises. Each time we emerged from another gap, in any direction, we were greeted by another awesome view of the countryside, and a gang of four giggling boys.

 

Day Two was the challenging event 5 hours spent underground, working our way through the Cave known as the “Giant’s Hole”, with such a range of physical and technical challenges I sometimes think back and wonder if we really did it. The route begins very easily where some early 20^th century entrepreneur concreted the floor and blasted any obstacles out of the way. Then the fun starts. We abseiled down a deep hole through a waterfall into pitch blackness – thank goodness we had done so much abseiling on the rocks the day before. We then passed through the “Crabwalk” – half a mile of twisting through a crevice narrower than me (but again – wider than the boys) culminating in “The Vice”, which was as easy to get through as it sounds.  The route then goes through a series of steep climbs and descents, some scrambled, some on ropes, and mostly through very cold water. Eventually we got to the “Giants Windpipe”, a 20 metre or so stretch where the roof of the cave is about 18 inches from the floor, and its half filled with water. This was quite a challenging crawl, and our instructor John kindly rewarded us with a very welcome cup of Hot Vimto at the end of it. From there, it seemed a fairly straightforward scramble, climb and abseil back to the start. The pub that night was a very welcome sight!

 

Next day, our friends left us, and Grandad returned to join us for a few days walking.  Mountain climbing was off the agenda this time, so we followed the Monsal Trail and Tissington Trail. These form two of the old railway lines across the peaks which have been restored as foot and cycle paths. The routes are extraordinary, from the days when no expense was spared in building viaducts and tunnels to follow a straight line on a map regardless of the contour lines in between. Some of the tunnels are up to 400 metres long, but fully lit, which gives them a magically eerie glow. Much easier than crawling through the Giant’s Windpipe anyway.

 

This was an ideal adventure trip for boys who old enough to know that their dad’s aren’t cool, but young enough to get some pleasure from our company when we’re doing something active and fun. Most of the activities were things where they could really prove that they were better than us, and that;s oddly satisfying for all of us. The tricky thing was going to be… how do we beat that one?

Barcelona: Ultimate Family City Break

Barcelona must be one of the best cities in the world to just wander. Just wandering is not always pleasant with children getting bored and tired, but central Barcelona is a living, indeed thriving, residential city, with ample parks and squares with playgrounds and drinks appearing every couple of blocks. We went over New Year, when it was pleasantly warm but far from oppressively hot. The streets are in a grid structure, making it hard to get lost. The boulevards are wide, with broad walkways well away from the traffic. This was a bit like one of those pre-children city-breaks when we just used to wander from café to café in a strange place, only we had children this time, and managed to find a pace of exploration that was to everyone’s liking.

And whilst food for travelling children can be a bit tiresome, Spain has Tapas. Within an hour or two of landing, we had dumped our bags in the flat that would be our home for the next few days, and nipped round the corner to the nearest sunny square for January outdoor dining. The great thing about sharing Tapas is that amongst the dozen or so little plates between the 5 of us, each child will try most of them, and generally end up fed. Simple basics like patatas bravas are really a take on chips and ketchup (well – that’s what we told them), croquetas de pollo are rather nicer than the chicken nuggets in British fast-food outlets. With the added optional reward of churros y chocolate, we all ate well.

Our flat was close to the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s monumental cathedral which seems to be a perpetual building site. However, children and adults alike will gawp dumbstruck at the building as it stands now – the images and stonework are like no other church we have seen. The scale is breathtaking now, its hard to imagine that the even larger central spire representing Christ is still to be built. Every city has a gothic cathedral of some kind; indeed Barcelona has a rather fun one with palm trees in the cloisters, but the Sagrada Familia is absolutely something else. And although that’s probably the highlight, it sets a high bar for standards of architecture across the city. A little planning on the wandering took us past plenty of buildings that were just that little bit more crazy than necessary. The famous Casa Mila and Casa Batllo are well know, but wander past Casa Calvet and Bellesguard for some unexpected interested buildings dropped into otherwise quite normal areas. And although there is now an entrance fee for the more famous parts Parc Guell, there is still plenty to see and wander through in the free bits.

The excitement of the city makes it easy to forget that Barcelona is actually a port and also has a beach. My various beachy blogs demonstrate that children and sand are a fantastic combination, they can be amused for hours. Barcelona beach has the added panache of CableCar from the beach up to the Olympic Park up the mountain on Montjuic. Whilst the Olympic park is a pleasant diversion, the views from the CableCar really should not be missed. During our visit, we also saw the Three Kings arrive by sea to celebrate Christmas, generally observed by Catalans over Epiphany.  The children (in reality just our younger one) went onto the boat to see the Kings, and get some sweets and cakes, a fantastic tradition to witness.

If that was her highlight, the highlight for the boys was a trip to Camp Nou to watch Barcelona play Elche. Unlike Premier League games in the UK, the stadium is vast enough to service season-tickets and visitors alike, enabling us to watch the finest football club in the world, admittedly playing one La Liga’s lesser known clubs, for only EUR 19 each! The architecture of the stadium means that even the cheap seats like ours are closer to the action than most large stadia, with the big name players clearly recognisable below us. An injured but recovering Messi tantalising warming up but sadly not playing, however Fabregas, Iniesta, Sanchez were all working hard to show us why they are worlds best. We had given the tickets to the boys as a surprise Christmas present a week earlier, but I don’t think they really believed it was happening until kick-off. 

City breaks with children have the potential to be quite tiresome - the things that adults look for are often different to what children enjoy, However, I think Barcelona has the right combination of sights and experiences for everyone enjoy together. The relaxed atmosphere, plenty of space to run around, and easy food choices add to the combination that any family can enjoy their time there.