Category Archives: Features

A review of the Futliit LED backpack. The photo shows the rucksack on a staircase.

Product Review: Futliit LED backpack

This winter, we’ve been road testing a great product – a Futliit LED backpack. It’s a regular, good quality backpack suitable for adults or children with a very welcome feature – inbuilt LED lights.

On the face of it, the Futliit LED backpack looks like a regular one. At the touch of a small button or two, it lights up and enables the wearer to be seen in the dark. This is a great backpack for early morning or evening commutes, night-walking, or the walk to and from school.

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01Feb/18
Arches National Park Utah

6 Reasons to Visit Utah with Kids

The USA is somewhere we’ve not visited as a family. I think part of the reason is the vast choice of places available to visit, which is creating that indecision about where we should go. There’s New York of course for a city break, or Las Vegas for the bright lights and fun, and Florida for the sunshine and theme parks. But that’s not all that the USA has to offer. There are 50 states in the US, each one different in landscape and culture, and each with their own sights to see. Continue reading

20Jan/18
German TV crew

How I Ended up with a German TV Crew in my Living Room

One Saturday evening in January 2018, a German TV crew came to my house. It’s a normal house in a quiet suburb in East Yorkshire. We don’t make a habit of attracting three (very tall) Germans with industrial AV equipment, but that evening was a little bit different.

This is the story of how producer Stefan and his camera and sound guys ended up in our house. Continue reading

01Sep/17
How to protect your family and devices on holiday

How to protect your family and devices when on holiday

Do you take your family’s electronic devices on holiday? I know we do. While you may have the philosophy that holidays are family time and ban devices for the duration, we have found that taking our devices suits our holiday style.

The teen has a phone which she uses to keep in touch with family and friends, and the younger children have tablets. They enjoy using their devices and they don’t seem to disturb our quality family time at all. Sometimes they can be a real boon – have you ever been camping during a week of rain and tried to keep four children occupied? There are only so many card games you can play! I know some will judge us for this, but we do what works for us. Like at home, as long as device time is managed effectively, then it shouldn’t have a negative impact. Continue reading

02Mar/17
Breakfast time at Dynamix

Red Nose Day local project: Dynamix Youth Club

In previous years, we have helped raise thousands of pounds for Comic Relief and Sport Relief as part of blogger collective Team Honk. In 2014, we were part of a national team which moved a baton from Land’s End to John O’Groats, and in 2015 we were part of the huge Danceathon at Wembley Arena. Team Honk have raised in excess of £80,000 since 2013. Continue reading

29Dec/16
Our top family days out for 2016

Top family days out of 2016

Hasn’t 2016 been a funny old year? It’s certainly one we’ll be talking about for years to come. For us, it’s been another year full of adventure and exploration. As the children are getting older, our trips have gotten further away and more adventurous. We’re moving from little farm zoos to more exciting activities. What have you gotten up to this year? Continue reading

25Jan/16
Jo Brand in Doncaster

An urban adventure with Jo Brand and Sport Relief

On Sunday, I had a little child-free day out of my own. To Doncaster in South Yorkshire. I know, right? It’s not the most glamourous of towns, but then I’m used to that. It wasn’t to do anything particularly adventurous, well unless you call walking at a steady pace through the town centre adventurous. There wasn’t even a prize at the end of my walk. So why did I bother? Continue reading

16Jun/15
With Mark Champkins at The Science Museum

A night at The Science Museum with Mark Champkins and BT

As a family travel blogger, we get invited to some fantastic places. On most occasions we are invited to test somewhere as a regular punter. We get to see what everyone else sees, and try out the things that are available to everyday paying guests. We love sharing our thoughts and experiences with you so you can make up your mind if a particular day out is the right one for you and your family. Continue reading

10Jun/15
Trespass Wishful girls waterproof jacket

Review: Trespass Wishful girls waterproof jacket

Trespass have sent us a Wishful girls jacket to test. So far, so good!

It ticks all my boxes in terms of being warm, waterproof, and very practical. It ticks all my seven-year old’s boxes in terms of being pink. To her, the pink is very important. Back in my day *feels old* there was often a compromise to be made between practicalities and style. Not with this one. My very style-conscious daughter likes this jacket very much. Continue reading