Find Your Epic - three adventures across the Irish Sea in Wales.

Feeling adventurous this summer?

Then I suggest you hop on the ferry and Find Your Epic in Wales.

I've three suggestions for activities that will push your boundaries to the max.

I started off with a trip To Blenau Ffestineog in beautiful Snowdonia National Park and took a ride on the world's longest Zip Zone.

Titan is made up of three parts, A which is the longest part of the course but most gentle with spectacular views. B is more dramatic and moves at break neck speed. By the time we reached Zip line C we were adrenalin junkies and on reaching the bottom wanted to do it all over again. I was with three of my pals and one of them had bungee and parachute jumped in the past and she thought this was just as good.

Titan costs £50 pp to find out more see. www.zipworld.co.uk

Ride Snowdonia’s rapids – the National White Water Centre, Bala

This one isn’t strictly ‘sea’, but it’s no less exciting. The UK’s National White Water Centre is located on the River Tryweryn, which races across the Snowdonia National Park www.canoewales.com . The grade 3-4*, fast-flowing Upper Tryweryn is the foremost rafting challenge, with waves crashing around near-constant boulders. Water levels are dam-controlled so the rapids provide plenty of action during the summer.

Prices start from £40 including equipment hire for a one hour triphttp://www.canoewales.com/rafting-taster-session but our most popular is a the Full Session http://www.canoewales.com/full-rafting-session which is a two hour trip that you can either book as a group trip or if there aren’t enough in your party for a group trip you can join others in a shared raft.  The minimum age for these two is 12 years old but we have another trip http://www.canoewales.com/tryweryn-raft-safari which is suitable for 10 year olds and over.

About Anglesey Adventures

Anglesey Adventures is an adventure activity company that provides adventure days and breaks on Anglesey and throughout North Wales. If you are looking for an outdoor experience with a difference then our adventure breaks will not disappoint you. adventure coasteering £120 per day

The Isle of Anglesey is an absolute playground for the adventure enthusiast with a huge range of activities to choose from. Our location on Holy Island provides a stunning coastline, towering sea cliffs and numerous award winning beaches. Amongst this we provide world-class outdoor experiences for individuals, family groups, schools and colleges, youth groups, stag and hen parties and corporate teams looking for bespoke development courses.

Some of the activities that we offer from our base include coasteering, rock climbing, abseiling, kayaking, mountain walking, sea level traversing, gorge scrambling, canoeing, canyoning, tyrolean traverse, orienteering, raft building, mountain biking, bush craft, initiative games .

We also offer a range of tailor made skill based courses for complete beginners all the way through to seasoned adrenaline junkies, covering half day trips to multiple day courses in rock climbing, mountaineering, sea kayaking and canoeing.

Let us organise that perfect stag or hen weekend, company away day or general family fun activities for you on your holiday in Anglesey. Come join us for one the best adventures in North Wales!!!

Cliff camping with Gaia Adventures is wild camping at its wildest. Campers sleep high above the sea, suspended in mid-air on a vertical cliff face near Beaumaris, Anglesey. The experience starts with guests journeying down the cliff in time to catch the sunset and enjoying a hearty, locally sourced meal. As the evening proceeds it will be time for hot chocolate – or something stronger! In the morning, campers wake to the sunrise, fresh coffee, bacon baps and croissants. Depending upon the location, Gaia Adventures offers the opportunity to either rock climb out, or simply climb the rope using ascenders. From £190. www.gaiaadventures.co.uk

For more information see www.visitwales.co.uk

Epic new tourist attraction in Dublin

Epic Visitor Museum at CHQ Building Custom House Quay

Open 7 days per week 9am-6pm

There's an Epic new attraction in the CHQ described as Dublin's newest immersive visitor museum. I brought along two pre-teens, to see how Ireland's Diaspora changed the world, and was surprised and impressed at how the interactive displays kept them busy.

Getting passports at emigration

On entering the fully accessible building, we were handed our passports, which instantly gave the girls something to do. The adults seemed just as amused with the task of stamping their passports as they completed each section of the exhibition.

Stamping passports as we passed through the museum

The ambience and initial imagery is unmistakably celtic, and I did wonder if this was going to be fun for the kids, Our island's tragic history makes gloomy reading and the story of emigration even more downbeat and ever cyclical. However, the constant stamping got the kids through the initial horrors of famine, destitution and poverty without determent, and the girls had their phones out from the initial display. Using their cameras and social media is as much a part of an experience for this generation as the exhibits, and because the displays became more fun and interactive as we passed through each section the girls stayed longer to find out more.

The layout of the exhibition is cavernous which neatly blocks the themes of music, arts, sport and literature into tidy separate sections that are easy to navigate.

I was especially impressed by the books in the literature rooms which recounted tales from various classic novels when pulled from the shelf. The guides were especially helpful in this part of the museum and eager to show off the novelties.

Those Diaspora who had achieved acclaim on the silver and small screens were recorded especially well and I was so engrossed that I lost the girls at that stage. They were more amused by the sports room and found a place to make better use of snapchat and instagram.

The images taking me through Italia 90 made me quite reminiscent of our innocence as a nation and I was even emotional watching the pope in the Pheonix Park in 1979. Although, I'd imagine the JFK speech will impact largely with the American Visitors to the museum.

The girls were getting into the swing of the museum by the time we reached the sport room

I was genuinely astonished to see the Irish Diaspora's contribution to science and astronomy and this particular display was the most innovative with fluorescent light effects.

The room of notorious Irish was possibly the most fun for the girls and they were educated about historical facts while they partook in the interactive quiz. I have to admit that I danced around from option A to B a couple of times myself. Every bit of space is used with the displays in all the rooms making the floors, walls and free standing surfaces equally interesting and informative.

It was nice to see one of my classmates from my old alma mater, the NCAD in Thomas Street, getting a display to himself beside the likes of Francis Bacon and Eileen Gray.

We did spend over an hour at the museum which made the entry fee of €16 for adults and €8 for kids good value.

With plenty of opportunities to see their names in lights the girls got involved with the personalised postcards and twitter feeds. If you do visit this summer be sure to use the hastag #epicireland to see your tweet in lights. Some heavyweight social media experts like @tedrubin have been to visit here already! It's good to see a top quality attraction like this in Dublin. With the range of healthy eating options upstairs at the CHQ I really hope that visitors are directed to this attraction this summer and it will put in an interesting afternoon for those living in Dublin or visiting from the rest of Ireland too.

Quirky places to go in Ireland #TravelTuesday on the Midday Show

Now that the lovely weather is here The Novel Traveller has picked out some unique places to visit in Ireland. I'll be chatting about these quirky locations on the Midday show on TV3 Tuesday 31st May.

My favourite is the beautifully renovated Ice House in Ballina county Mayo which has one of the smallest yet loveliest spas in the country. You can read my review on this blog or click the link here Ice House Ballina

If the force has awakened in you then why not treat you or a loved one to a Star Wars package at the Moorings in Kerry. Get a Tshirt and pull a pint where Mark Hamill did too. Take a trip to Skellig Michael and climb the 600 steps that will work up an appetite for dinner in the Moorings award wining restaurant. For more information click here The Moorings

Finally it is the year of food and drink in Northern Ireland this year and I've found a wonderful destination for those seeking the wild outdoors. Finn Lough is set in Fermanagh close to the Donegal Border and these Bubble pods really caught my eye. Wouldn't it be great to spend a night under the stars in your very own bubble. They book out quickly so plenty of advance notice is needed.
http://www.finnlough.com/en/accommodation/bubblehouse

Novel Traveller News Thailand, Madrid and Paris

The battered copy of Us by David Nicholls that I borrowed from
The Hotel Paradise in Thailand - I'd better bring it back!!!

I’ve just turned the final pages of the book I’ve been reading for the last few weeks. ‘Us’ by David Nicholls called out to me from the shelves of the Hotel Paradise’s library on the beautiful island of koh Yao nao in Thailand. As I was a big fan of his book ‘One Day’ I was really looking forward to reading ‘US’. I had every intention of putting it back before leaving, but found it difficult to find time to read it in between the pedicures and massages.

Beautiful Thailand

Thailand is girlie heaven and I was with my best friend (of more years than I will admit without revealing my age) and every time I opened the book there was some other spa-like experience or delicious low-carb-meal beckoning so I didn’t get to read fifty pages. It was my first trip to the tiny Thai island and I’m dismayed that so many Irish travellers see Thailand as a destination for backpackers and middle aged men with dubious intentions. Thailand is great for families and the Scandinavians and Germans take their kids to the smaller remote islands en masse. Something tells me that our European neighbours like to keep this little known fact a secret. In fairness the long-haul-flight pushes up the price of a family package to a far-flung destination but we recouped this expense as the cost of food, beer and excursions etc. was so much more reasonable than many European destinations.

Outside the Prado

But back to ‘Us’ and once I got on the aircraft for home I was hooked as it has two enthralling elements – a heartbreaking love story that kept me hanging until the end to find out if Douglas makes it back into his wife Connie’s heart and a trip though Europe where Douglas searches for his son Albie, taking him to some of the most inspiring galleries and treasures of European painting, most notably in Paris and Madrid.

Me in Madrid

My son Mark and daughter Nicole at the Mona Lisa

This reminded me of the time that I brought my kids to the Louvre, and the queue was an hour long even though it was a miserable Friday at the end of November. So I was very pleased that I had bought The Paris Pass which meant we were able to skip straight to the top of the line. When travelling with kids I’ve discovered avoiding queues is a priority because their short attentions spans don’t leave much time to get around a gallery. Most museums can be large labyrinths to get lost in, so I usually check the layout online before travelling and it helps make the most of our time there. At the Louvre, The Mona Lisa was a priority for my kids to see being probably the most famous painting in the world and because it hung in Napoleons bathroom! Another intriguing fact about it that the Kids loved was the fact that it is priceless. Next question was how much is priceless? The Mona Lisa was a bit of a disappointment but Arcimboldo’s exotic faces made from still life objects were far more interesting.

Nicole in Koh Yao Noi

Picasso Guernica

Bigger than the Louvre

One painting that never disappoints and was the final one mentioned in ‘Us’ is Picasso’s Guernica in the Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid. Described perfectly by Douglas, it really is an image that will move and leave an impression with the viewer. Documenting the Nazi’s attack of the Basque town, permitted by the Spanish Leader, Franco, it is an allegory of all wars, a statement that is as relevant today as it was when it was painted. It is so big it has its own room and leaves a punch that will be a highlight of any visit to Madrid, even for the kids because sometimes they just get brilliance in a way adults don’t. Speaking of Madrid and Paris I’ve rooted out a nice deal that might entice you for a short break away to the Spanish capital.

My daughter Nicole at paradise hotel Koh Yao Noi

Now I’ve to get that copy of ‘Us’ back to the Hotel Paradise in Thailand. I think it needs to be delivered by hand just to make sure it arrives safely!
Happy reading and travels

Michelle x
The Novel Traveller

5* Madrid from €289pp in June

 

From €289pp for the 5* Silken Puerta America Hotel.  Price is per person based on 2 adults sharing for travel in June 2016.

 

Price includes:

·         3 nights in the 5* Silken Puerta America Hotel, Madrid, Spain

·         Double room on a room only basis

·         Aer Lingus flights from Dublin to Madrid

·         Airport taxes & charges

·         Link to offer: https://www.clickandgo.com/design-your-own-holiday/details/2016-06-10/3/2::0/RO/DUB/0/1058/125/294?search=all/Madrid/2016-06-11/3/2::0//DUB/0

Thelma and Louise head west to Farnham Estate in County Cavan

Michelle and Alex AKA Thelma and Louise!

This weekend my friend Alex and I did a Thelma and Louise - with 24 hours notice we jumped in my car at 2pm on Friday and headed west and north a bit on the N3 to Cavan. As we crossed the county border we were greeted by large green signs saying This Is Cavan, a new way to promote this rural county and novel by all accounts. As we passed the agricultural machinery, KFC, McDonalds and signs advertising a gig by a local country and western singer we were feeling eerily like Thelma and Louise as each mile clocked up. But the similarity to the movie ended when we reached our destination at the luxurious Farnham Estate and the Radisson Blu hotel. 

Farnham Estate, with its expansive woodlands, raises the spirits with 7 kms of the most beautifully natural walking trails. Walks range from the more relaxed, shorter routes through to the more challenging, depending on the individual requirements. Along the treks, you can enjoy an incredible range of trees including ancient redwood, cedar, copper beech and Scots pine, as well as wonderful views of Farnham Lake.

But Thelma and Louise were keen to see the Thermal spa. So we dumped our bags and put on our bathrobes and slippers and all the hassles of living in a city just disappeared. Outside our window cows grazed and the gentle rolling green hills made me wonder why I hadn't come this way sooner.

The spa is large with a fabulous infinity pool that runs outdoors to a view of those beautiful rolling hills....and cows! There's plenty to do in the Thermal suite and we almost didn't want to leave when we got the call for our facials. The therapists were very thorough and we were treated to nettle tea in the relaxation room afterwards.

The Botanica restaurant was perfect for dinner and breakfast next morning. The staff were all locals and warm and friendly. I ordered the scallops and Cod while Thelma was equally delighted with the crab for starters and lamb for her main course.

One-night really wasn't enough and we agreed, stealing the lines of another Hollywood movie...'I'll be back!'

To discover what it is that you will take away from Farnham Estate, overnight stays begin from €134.50 per person sharing midweek and from €165.00 per person at weekends including breakfast, dinner and Afternoon Tea.

For further details and to book treatments, consultations and packages please contact on 049 437 7700 or email  info.farnham@radissonblu.com.