Tag Archive: Wales

September 24, 2025

Travelling corner: Travelling by train in England and Wales (summer 2025)

Have you ever gone on your holiday with children by train? This is what we did this summer! It was exciting, but also required some good preparation, because we travelled with our 4 children (!). My view is that travelling starts the moment we step out of the house. Getting to our destination should be planned, but also as enjoyable as the time we spend on holiday. Here are some of the tips that helped us enjoy the journey by train.

Check timetables in advance

If you travel by many trains, knowing precise timings of different trains and how much time you have to get from one platform to another is important. Don’t forget to check your trains back. Travelling home might be less exciting than going on holiday, so it’s good to have those timetables checked in advance too. Just for the peace of mind.

Packing

How do you pack for yourself and your family, so that you don’t have many very heavy bags? Essentials. You first think of all the things that you and your family actually need and then if you have some space in your luggage, you can add more items. This was our approach and it worked very well. However, I need to mention that we saw the same travellers travelling with us both ways, with children and they had such small luggage (in comparison to ours, obviously!), so I think for us there is still some room for improvement.

Hours by train

We spent around 5 hours on our journey to our travelling destination from door to door, so not very long, but we still wanted to travel prepared. We had a balanced plan for everybody’s entertainment: we took with us some cards, pocket family games, some individual activities (like drawing or colouring), a book to read, a notepad to take some notes, water, good food and snacks. I think we had this well organised and even though on our way back, we felt less excited and more tired, we still had good time playing games, chatting or doing nothing.

Have you travelled by train this year? Where to? Please let me know in the comments below.

Comments: 0
CATEGORY:
,
April 17, 2024

Travelling corner: Exploring South Pembrokeshire (Wales, UK)

I like returning to South Pembrokeshire in Wales. It has some therapeutic effect on my body and mind. Our favourite beaches and spots we enjoy visiting are all there. Last summer, we wanted to explore this region even more and I’d like to share some of our travel stories with you today. Perhaps you can use them as an inspiration for the coming warmer weather.

Bosherston Lily Ponds

I wanted to go for a walk around the Bosherston Lakes for a while, but somehow I thought it’s a long walk and might be too strenuous for my kids’ little feet to complete. I was surprised that the walk actually takes only about 30 minutes one way! It’s an easy path along the lily ponds with a beautiful destination point: Broad Haven South Beach. There is a NT car park in the village of Bosherston.

Carew Castle

We like visiting castles in summer and last year we chose Carew Castle. To be honest with you, I was positively surprised by this visit. The castle is nicely restored, with a café, small playground and toilets at the entrance. In the castle itself, there are many rooms to visit, towers to climb, and you can even try your archery skills. On top of that, the castle hosts events and last summer we attended a fairy event, which my girls enjoyed a lot. We also went for a walk to the tidal mill where we visited a well-equipped museum with a little play area for children with an authentic quern and seeds to make flour.

Caldey Island

What a paradise island to visit. We parked our car in Tenby, walked to the harbour and sailed in a little boat to Caldey Island. It is an island of monks, wild nature, interesting architecture and locally-made chocolate. Just walking around the island feels so surreal and magically beautiful, and these impressions come from both nature and the surrounding buildings. To end our island stay, we went to the beach to enjoy the shallow seashore and lagoon waters. Even though there were many people in the sea, we spotted a seal swimming nearby.

Do you have a favourite travel destination you enjoy returning to? Please let me know in the comments below.

Comments: 0
CATEGORY:
October 5, 2022

Travelling corner: our first holiday as a family of 5

Yes, we’ve made it! I know going on a holiday is something we should be looking forward to, and we did. But, as our family became bigger recently, I was worried how the whole trip was going to work, if we were going to enjoy it, and if we’d manage to have a relaxing time. It was actually refreshing to go away, after giving birth, going through all the ups and downs of getting to know our baby boy, and learning about our new life as a bigger family. So where did we go to…?

Wales

We went to Pembrokeshire in Wales. We know this place, as we went there twice in the past (please read my blog posts here and here) and both times we enjoyed exploring local beaches and walking trails. This time we didn’t explore as much; we had 3 little trips: to our favourite beach, to the woodland garden (to escape the rainy weather) and to Tenby (for ice-cream ;). We also did a couple of local walks following the Wales Coast Path. Most of all, we spent time on the beach, walking, splashing, swimming and getting soaked wet (by the rain!).

I’m hoping to return to this part of Wales again, so I can explore this area better, and share my travel stories here with you.

Do you travel with your baby/ies?? How do you find it? Please let me know in the comments below.

Comments: 0
CATEGORY:
March 9, 2022

Travelling corner: Weekend with the kids in Wales

We planned this weekend forgetting that precisely two years ago we were here, too! I knew we had visited this place in the past, but didn’t know we came here the same month, and to the exact same location. What a coincidence! And both times, we didn’t have the best weather, but it’s winter, so we accept it’s windy, rainy, foggy and cloudy!

The Mumbles

We decided to stay in The Mumbles, it’s a small town just outside Swansea. It has a pier, café, playgrounds, walking paths and beaches. Just perfect for a family weekend away!

Waterpark

We visited a waterpark in Swansea and we all enjoyed our time there. It’s a family-friendly swimming pool, with slides, waves, bubbles, etc. What’s more, in the same building there is a café, soft-play area and a climbing wall.

(Play) Cafes

We visited Cafe Play Mumbles two years ago and our daughters had a nice time there, but this year we went to Boo’s Kitchen (which my daughter read as boob’s kitchen: also nice!). The café is on one of the quieter side streets of The Mumbles. It has a really nice family-friendly vibe and delicious food options. As it was a Sunday morning, it was quite busy!

Beaches

The Gower Peninsula has a lot to offer in terms of beautiful beaches. I really wanted to finally visit the Three Cliffs Beach, but the weather wasn’t the best for making the effort. Especially that two years ago, we attempted to go to Rhossili Beach and it was so rainy and windy that we could barely walk and enjoy this long stretch of sand (please read the story here). Instead, this time, we visited more local beaches (for us!): Limeslade Bay and Langland Bay.

Walks

We went for a relaxing walk to the pier in The Mumbles. We also visited Limeslade Bay and Langland Bay. In Langland Bay there is a small pebble beach and the pebbles make this amazing clicking sound when the waves move away. Also, there is a small café (with a real fireplace), just something you may so appreciate when it suddenly starts raining (as it did in our case!).

Where do you travel with your children for the weekend? Please share your recommendations in the comment box below.

Comments: 0
CATEGORY:
February 9, 2022

Travelling corner: My winter trip to the Brecon Beacons

I didn’t really plan to write any posts on my one-day trip to Brecon Beacons, but when we arrived at Crickhowell, I suddenly realised that we had visited the Brecon Beacons before, and climbed Sugar Loaf four years ago. Back then there were three of us, and now we came as a family of four! It made me sentimental and also appreciative of those special moments together.

Last December, we decided to climb Table Mountain, and that’s why we first went to Crickhowell. My husband, Greg, had a small business venture there a few months earlier, and he was impressed by the charming little town. When we arrived, we first tried to find the path and somehow we couldn’t (even though we had a map and a guide-book)! Eventually, we took a short-cut to save the time we lost on finding the right way to the mountain. There were walkers, but not too many, and we had truly beautiful weather. The path wasn’t too muddy, and the hike was relatively easy, maybe only the last climb was more strenuous (and muddy). Our 7-year-old climbed the whole path by herself, and our 3-year-old needed to be put in a sling for the last climb (too tired!); overall they both did really well. I mostly enjoyed the views, for me more autumnal than wintery, but likewise beautiful.  Once we were back in town, we chose a cosy little café for a little treat!

I really enjoyed our day in the Brecon Beacons. Do you sometimes go climbing? What are your favourite spots? Please let me know in the comments below.

Comments: 0
CATEGORY:
November 10, 2021

Travelling Corner: North Wales with children

Last month I published here my summer memories and today I want to explore North Wales with my children. Yes, I want to take you on a trip with us, to visit the places my children enjoyed most.

Alice in Wonderland (Llandundo)

Since reading Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, we all wanted to visit Llandundo, as apparently, the ‘real’ Alice spent her holidays in this beautiful Welsh town. What’s more, when we arrived in Llandundo we learnt from the Information Centre that we can follow an Alice in Wonderland town trail and find many sculptures inspired by the book. We all had so much fun walking around and spotting different pieces of art.

Farm and zoo (Llandundo)

We went to the farm but we didn’t go to the zoo. It’s not that my children don’t like zoos as such, but the ticket prices were high and when we asked those who attended, they weren’t exceptionally impressed. However, we did enjoy our farm visit (free-of-charge). The farm is located in Llandundo, just by the promenade. It has llamas, pigs, goats, deer, hens and owls (!). There is a small playground and a café. Just perfect for a day trip 😉

Beaches and pools

Our children had a great time on different beaches in North Wales: in Penmaenmawr, Llandundo and Prestatyn. They enjoyed looking for shells and pebbles, having a splash in the sea and building sand castles. In Llandundo, there is also an open-air paddling pool, located just on the promenade, not far from the farm.

Local trips

What captured our interest in North Wales? We really enjoyed the The Great Orme. You can get there from Llandundo on foot, by car, by tram or by cable car. We all preferred to go by tram (even though the queuing time was around one hour!) and it was a very enjoyable ride with some beautiful scenic views of the town and the sea front. We also went to Dyserth Waterfall which turned out to be very impressive (about 70 feet / 20 meters). The nearby forest is a perfect spot when it’s very hot or windy. We also visited Conwy Castle and walked around its medieval fortress (slings recommended, as tower stairs are quite narrow and steep). What a great place for a short history lesson!

Have you been to North Wales with your children? What did you enjoy most? Please let me know in the comments below.

Comments: 0
CATEGORY:
October 13, 2021

Travelling Corner: My summer memories (North Wales 2021)

I’d wanted to visit North Wales for some time and, finally, this year I fulfilled my dream. We actually visited this region twice last summer, so I’m even more excited to share with you my travel experiences to North Wales.

Castles, churches & chapels

From our very first trip to Wales (which was many years ago!), I remember passing / seeing many churches and back then it made me wonder if it is actually true that Wales has more sacral architecture than other parts of the UK?!

Having this memory, I was very tempted to see the ‘Welsh Lourdes’, as I’d read bout it in my travel guide. Yes, in Holywell, there is actually a holy well where you can taste and bathe in the holy water (sadly, bathing is temporarily suspended) and visit the chapels (one with the pool and one with beautiful stained glass windows). Our visit was beautiful both visually and spiritually.

We also visited the famous Conwy Castle and the ruins of Howarden Castle. In Conwy Castle, you can walk on the walls that originally formed the medieval town. The ruins in Howarden were visible only from some distance and there was only one tower, but the village was lovely. 

Wild swimming

North Wales is a good place for wild swimming and the water is rather warm (!). We visited the beaches in Penmaenmawr (quite empty, so you can almost have the beach to yourself), Llandundo (I found three: one on each side of the town and one hidden) and Prestatyn (an urban beach with very high tides that make the beach disappear).

Cafes

One of my little pleasures is a visit to a café. I used to go to cafes quite regularly, but now I try to treat it as something special and visit not too often. Let me give you some flavour of my favourite cafes in North Wales. One was in Llandundo: Providero. I enjoyed their leafy teas and the open-spaced interior. The other café was in Howarden, in their farm deli. The café was beautifully decorated with books and paintings, and just sitting there made me happy. But, trying their scrumptious plum bun was a very nice addition to our visit (!).

Camping

Last summer we decided to go camping: we camped near Llundando and Prestatyn. We enjoyed our experiences, we had some epic sunsets, were surrounded by beautiful nature and met many friendly families. What challenged us was the weather: very unpredictable; they were days of rain and wind. However, overall, I wouldn’t change our choice to more comfortable accommodation. Camping is a wonderful travel experience, natural, sustainable and slow.

How was your summer 2021? Please let me know in the comments below.

Comments: 0
CATEGORY:
March 11, 2020

Travelling corner: A day on the most beautiful beach (with kids!)


We went to Wales to finally visit Rhossili Beach which is often ranked as one of the most beautiful beaches in the UK. To give you some context, I’ll add that we went there with our two daughters. It was winter. Cold, windy, rainy… you know the weather (just ideal for a day trip to the most beautiful beach)?!

We arrived there mid-morning and our older daughter (5-y-o) wanted to go for a walk, but our younger girl (15 mnths) wanted to sleep. The youngest didn’t welcome the walking idea well; she was crying loudly. All of a sudden, the sun was out, so I quickly took some (3!) pictures (when travelling with kids and taking photos, it almost feels like having an analogue not a digital camera, you often have just one shot, done!). My youngest was still crying, so I decided to carry her (yes, the photo-shooting is gone and the sun, too!). We’re walking with a very unhappy child who is underdressed and without a hat… After 30 minutes of walking, we decided to go back to the local café, The Lookout, to warm up. It’s warm, cosy and it felt good to enjoy some quieter time after all the crying. Then my oldest daughter wanted to go to the toilet. There is no toilet in the café, so back to the carpark (and to the toilet) we went. After that we decided to see the beach. Meanwhile, our youngest was asleep and it started raining. Greg (my husband) decided to go back to the car with the girls while I continued walking in the rain to take some pictures (again 3 shoots max!). I rushed back to the car to see that my youngest had woken up and was unhappy, and my oldest felt kind of sick. We waited in the car for a bit, as it was super windy, then we slowly went home (we had to stop after 15 minutes, because somebody didn’t feel so well…). Yes, that’s the beauty of travelling with kids. But hey, the beach is truly spectacular!

What special place have you recently visited with your kids? Please let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

Comments: 0
CATEGORY:
August 28, 2019

Travelling corner: We found our favourite family-friendly beach!

We went there once and immediately fell in love with everything we saw, so we needed to return the following day… Why!? It’s quiet, just off the coastal path, has soft sand, and it is just the right size (not too crowded/not too deserted). The sea is calm (with moderate waves), the water temperature is tolerable (no, it’s not freezing cold!) and it has a beautiful colour (greenish/blueish). The beach is located about 15-minute’s walk from the National Trust car park and a NT café (with some delicious local ice-cream—just saying 😉 ). And there is a bonus: on the way to the beach, you can meet many friendly cows!

Where is the beach? Barafundle Bay in South Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK.

What’s your favourite family-friendly beach?

Kinga Macalla

Comments: 0
CATEGORY:
July 3, 2019

Travelling corner: Wales with kids

I’m taking you to Wales today! To South Pembrokeshire, to be precise. We visited the exact same location when I was first-trimester pregnant, but back then I only wanted to sleep (and was too tired to explore anything). So we decided to visit Wales again as a family of 4 and today I want to share with you our favourite places/activities to give you some inspiration on what to visit/see/do with kids in South Pembrokeshire:

Beach

I’m a huge sea lover, so a nice beach is a must! It’s more for me 😉 , but I think my family likes it, too (happy!). We visited a few local beaches. Our favourite was Barafundle Bay (there will be a separate blog post on this hidden gem!) as the beach was sandy & clean, the sea was calm & greenish-blue, and it was just off the coast path. A bit further away was Broad Haven, it’s a large beach perfect for walking or playing some games/sports. We also walked to Swanlake Bay, but the beach was too rocky (on this particular day) to picnic. The sea view, however, was beautiful.The closest to our summer home was Freshwater East, it’s a long, sandy beach with a small river (perfect for little swimmers to enjoy) and with moderate sea waves (perfect for more advanced swimmers).

Coast path

How did we walk with kids? We took the younger child (6 months) in the sling and the older is a very good walker (4 years old)! One day, we made an attempt to walk to Swanlake Bay which wasn’t successful as we weren’t prepared for such a long walk and had to return home (yes, preparation is a key, especially when walking with kids). The second attempt was more successful (no, we didn’t give up!). Our other walk was to Barafundle Bay and Broad Haven. The walk is very pleasant and you can take a longer, zigzag route, following the coast, or you can take a more direct route, which is quicker.

Swimming Pool

We wanted to go to the fancy swimming pool (Blue Lagoon Waterpark), but the day we decided to go it was raining, so there were almost no tickets available. Instead, we found a tiny community swimming pool (Swim Narberth) which turned out to be just perfect for the little swimmers. There were many babies and toddlers, so the atmosphere was just right for our family of 4.

Museum

We also wanted to visit Tenby and, on a one rainy day, apart from eating ice-cream in the rain, we fancied treating ourselves to some culture, and the Tenby Museum & Art Gallery was an ideal place to go. The museum turned out to be family-friendly and had many exhibits for kids to explore. It was rather small, but packed with museum pieces and art exhibitions. And the views from the windows…

What do you recommend to visit in South Pembrokeshire, Wales? Please let me know in the comments below.

Kinga Macalla

Comments: 0
CATEGORY: