The Dale of the Dove - or, For the Love of Maps.

Just like any loving parent, I want the best for my children. I want my children to learn to love maps. 

I love maps, I always have. There is nothing quite like unfolding a map, laying it out on the floor and then stretching out alongside it to take it all in. Automatically I begin to trace the rivers, follow the ridges, pin point the high spots and link them all together into hypothetical routes, continually re-drawn to include particularly appealing features not originally noticed. It's wonderful - lean too close and you might just fall in!

Dove Dale is a perfect example of a landscape which immediately catches the eye of any diligent student of cartography - the sinuous river, the formidably steep valley sides, the ribbon of woodland clinging on for dear life in an otherwise open, pastoral landscape. Potentially last, though certainly not least you notice the names! While the title 'Dove Dale' itself paints a relatively harmless picture, throw in 'Ravens Tor', 'Hurt's Wood', 'Reynard's Cave', 'Tissington Spires', 'Jacobs Ladder', 'Twelve Apostles', 'Lovers Leap' and 'Thorpe Cloud' and you have beginning, middle and end to a cartographical fantasy trilogy without ever leaving the living room floor. And that's before you consider the list of caves, weirs and natural arches long enough to keep Enid Blyton's Famous Five busy for their entire summer holidays.

I didn't need to keep my children occupied for an entire holiday - we were aiming for just a single morning. The scramble up to the caves, and indeed the majority of the path along the valley itself was out of the scope of the littlest legs of the family (just 1 year old) but these trips are about planting the seeds of adventure and exploring. So fully expecting to never make it past the stepping stones (perhaps less than 1km from our start point!) we left the almost entirely deserted car park in scruffy clothes to enjoy a couple of hours of family fun in stunning, natural-world beauty, without the crowds. It was a dull grey day, and only just turned 9am but it wasn't just the weather, or the (relatively) early hour which allowed us to beat the crowds. My daughters school was closed for the day so we were there on a week day in term time - a rare and perfect opportunity to see Dove Dale as God intended and it's name implies ... peaceful!

And so it proved to be - we only had each other for company on the path out along the river - that is unless you count the ducks, grey wagtails and almost unbelievably confident crows which stole the meagre portions of bread the little ones had brought along for the ducks. We, that is my wife and I, have been to Dove Dale before, and we've wanted to bring the children for a while because we loved it. But knowing just how busy it gets, we wanted to save it for a day when we could make it special and we could all enjoy it as much as possible, preferably with as few other people as possible. And obviously to enjoy any river valley fully, you need to get wet. Why wouldn't you? Hence the scruffy clothes.

Pretty much since the first day our youngest started walking we gave up hope of keeping him out of the water on family outings and instead embraced (and sometimes even encouraged) his fearless love for going the extra watery mile, even if it means the return miles are soggy. He was true to form making straight for the river and the puddles, splashing in the surprisingly bracing currents (given that it was early June) and loving every minute of it. The smile never left his face... until our little girl (3 1/2 years his senior) started scaling the scree slopes up the valley sides. This was beyond his still slightly wobbly ability and at that point he lost the smile and started to get cross, thinking that he was missing the fun! This is not a child who will need any encouragement to explore when he gets a bit steadier on his feet.

We arrived at the stepping stones without major incident and spent a few happy minutes hopping from stone to stone and trying to make sure our he didn't get out of his depth while following the ducks into the river. I even got to take a few pictures while the rest of the family were tucking into our modest picnic rations! The rain had started by this point, but we were already wet, and it wasn't too cold so we weren't going to let that stop us. But then the school groups started arriving and the relative peace we had enjoyed was at risk of being disturbed. So we called it a day and headed for home, wet, dirty and happy - exactly as it should be. 

A few days ago we had the map back out - the seeds are growing!

Richard 

Nearly a wash out... : Family Adventure #2

Based on the weather during our 125 mile drive we were expecting to get wet! And when I say wet, I mean drowned-cat drenched. It poured most of the way. The coastal hills of North Wales were shrouded in a soggy blanket which was being consistently and vigorously wrung out as we progressed toward Anglesey.  

Nevertheless we had set out to have a family adventure, we were prepared for what the weather could throw at us (reasonably) and we were going anyway. We needn't have worried. By the time we got to the RSPB's South Stack reserve near Holyhead the rain had stopped, the cloud had lifted (although not cleared) and the temperature had risen to the point where shorts and t-shirts were a realistic proposition. We enjoyed an hour or two viewing the sea bird colonies and beautiful coastal landscapes at South Stack. Razorbills and Guillemots aplenty garnished with a few Puffins, Choughs and Rock Pipits. Did I mention that the water looked stunning! A gorgeous blue-green which while not exactly crystal clear still revealed enough of the secrets beneath the surface to make me more jealous than I am willing to admit of the people who came past on a speed boat tour!

My 5 year old daughter gleefully pointed out the similarity between the flocks of black and white sea birds jostling on the ludicrously cramped, guano-stained cliff ledges and the penguins that she has enjoyed watching on documentaries like Frozen Planet. It was great to see her enthusiasm, even when the best views were granted by descending goodness knows how many steps towards the lighthouse, and then reascending the same steps. Luckily I have discovered that all it takes to get a 5 year old upstairs quickly is to make it a race.

Moving on from South Stack we went to meet a friend who was very kindly putting us up for the night and then went to the beach with her and her children. Newborough is a lovely stretch of sand trapped against the shore by a swathe of forest frequented by Red Squirrels (although we didn't see any this time sadly). It was still grey and dull but warm enough for a paddle - my little boy (1 1/2 years old) was straight into the water and after the initial consternation that the water was a) moving and b) colder than his baths, he loved it! 

The tide was going out while we were there and a small flock of Oyster Catchers gathered awaiting the banquet which was about to be revealed. As interested as they were in the food being unveiled they allowed me to get quite close and photograph them foraging on the shingle banks. A very enjoyable 30 minutes or so - they are such characterful, colourful birds!

The next day before heading for home we headed to the shore of the nearby Menai Straits for a bit of beach combing, crab wrangling and slipping over on seaweed. I miss the coast - as a teenager I lived in North Devon, just a 10 minute drive or so from the coast - snorkelling during the summer months was a regular and favourite pastime, rock pooling was a family favourite too. The local coast lent itself perfectly to nights under the stars with a drift wood camp fire and the gentle swell of the tide and the rumble of pebbles to lull you gently off to sleep.

Now I am reaching the point where I can introduce my own children to the excitement of anticipating what might be found by lifting a rock on a shoreline - and hopefully in the not too distant future, by diving down to the sea floor - is a great feeling, even if it does remind me how old I am getting! 

Hope you enjoyed a brief account of a very enjoyable few days - there will be many more of these family adventures in the natural world to come! We all heartily recommend Anglesey as a family holiday destination, particularly for the outdoorsy, nature watching, adventuring types - we will certainly go again! 

Richard  

Family Adventure Day: Take 1

Who better to share adventures with than your family? Growing up as one of seven children there was never a shortage of adventure buddies. We were lucky with the places we lived, and the places our extended family lived - there was never a shortage of places to have 'adventures'.

Now, as a semi-responsible adult and with a family of my own I have the priviledge of introducing the next generation to the concept of adventure. What better place to start than where many of my own childhood adventures were based: Mid-Wales. This naturally raises the question of what 'adventure' really is, but I think I'll leave addressing that question for another time.

Anyway, as a birthday treat to myself back in early March, Emily (my wife) and I woke the children (Megan 4 and Jack 1) early, loaded them into our all-terrain family adventure wagon, Rhino (a Suzuki Grand Vitara) and headed west for the heartlands of Wales. 

To say the weather was perfect would be stretching the truth, but the excitement factor was high, the snack bag full, the traffic light and the views getting better by the mile. Our plans were simple: 1) visit an area of forest which hosted many a family outing plus an annual easter egg hunt when I was a lad; 2) next on to the Ystwyth River where I basically learned to swim and where if I was feeling brave I'd go for a dip, then 3) onto the beach at Aberystwyth for fish and chips on the beach while we watched the sun set. 

We arrived at the forest where the adventure was to start - while I had been many a time to walk there was adventure which had been denied me; a 'green lane' which snakes for miles across the Welsh mountains following the route of an ancient road. Indeed as a green lane it is still legally a road and public right of way and I had wanted to drive it since well before I ever had a driving licence - the realities of adult life had prevented me for a long time from acquiring a vehicle capable of tackling the route. But a change in work circumstances had finally allowed me to justify buying a 4x4 and so my wait to attempt to tackle this route (although only a small part of it on this occasion) in something more substantial than a pair of wellies was about to come to an end. In Megan's parlance we were going to 'drive the bumpy road!'

Unfortunately we were turned round sooner than hoped by a puddle (more like a small lake really) which pushed the limits of what I was comfortable to drive without a snorkel and a back up vehicle. Sadly there was clear evidence that many people had come to the same conclusion about the puddle and forged their own path instead, carving up the surrounding land and making a mess alongside the legal right of way - something I was not willing to do. With a slightly heavy heart we turned around and headed back down. But I will be back, when the water levels are lower and with back up to make the whole trip. Rhino might just be getting a snorkel too!

 Ystwyth River, one of my favourite places in the UK. It will always hold a special place in my heart. We paddled and threw stones, had a picnic on the pebbles and watched Dippers fly up and down past us for an hour or so, but I wimped out just short of a proper dip - wading knee deep was enough on this occasion. It was still pretty chilly

On to the Ystwyth River valley, one of my favourite places in the UK. It will always hold a special place in my heart. We paddled and threw stones, had a picnic on the pebbles and watched Dippers fly up and down the river for an hour or so. I wimped out just short of a proper dip - wading knee deep was enough on this occasion. It was still pretty chilly!

The weather had been pretty changeable up to this point ranging from dull, damp and chilly through to beautiful sunshine, although never really warm. As we were leaving the Yswyth to head to its mouth (the literal translation of Aber-yswyth is 'mouth of the river Ystwyth') the rain set in with greater determination and the weather was against us when we arrived at the coast earlier than planned. Megan and I took some time to throw stones, watch the waves, and take some pictures on the beach while Emily and Jack napped in the car, then with the weather getting ever less friendly we changed our plans and started heading for home via a scenic route North up the coast. We got our fish and chips, but there wasn't really a sunset to watch!

Regardless we had a great day - we were outside in the fresh air, surrounded by nature; we were spending quality time together as a family. My own little ones were learning the concept of 'going on an adventure' and this won't be the last family adventure day. In fact we are heading back to Wales, although North Wales this time, in the next few weeks.