Europe s best kept secret destination for a summer 2021 holiday
Although busy with skiers in winter, the Dolomites are empty over the warmer months. Here are 20 reasons why they should be top of your list
The dazzling Dolomites aren t only a holiday option in winter
In his 1868 Alpine Guide, climber and naturalist John Ball declared: “A traveller who has visited all the other mountain regions of Europe, and remains ignorant of the scenery of the Dolomite Alps, has yet to make acquaintance with Nature in one of her loveliest aspects.” Oddly, 150-odd-years later, many travellers still haven’t cottoned on.
The Dolomites are dazzling. Anyone who has walked beneath their natural towers, turrets, spires and steeples, or watched their coquettish blush at sunset, would be hard-pushed to name better looking mountains. And yet somehow they slip through the cracks of many a holidaymaker’s consciousness.
Lake Bala
In whitewater destinations such as Slovenia, they pray to the weather gods for sufficient meltwater for rapids. In Lake Bala, mid-Wales, they cheat. A dam release on the Tryweryn river guarantees grade 3-4 rapids for every visitor to the National White Water Centre. It may sound hairy-chested, but it’s great family fun: either two hours’ guided rough ’n’ tumble or a rafting safari – a bobble down the lower Tryweryn, a swirl through ancient woodland, then bara brith and a cuppa in handsome Bala town. If that makes Lake Bala sound a throwback to traditional jolly hols, well, it is – elsewhere, there’s cycling and steam-train rides. Rafting costs from £90pp. Stay in Dolgellau at the Slate Shed (doubles B&B from £80) or opt for glamping in a yurt on the attached campsite, from £80, at Graig Wen.
From rolling hills to craggy coastlines, there s much to explore on our doorsteps
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Love affairs start for all sorts of reasons – pandemics included. Unforeseen a short time ago, this unexpected liaison has brought a new way of looking at the world, new experiences, and new possibilities. On the back of a series of exotic, long-distance relationships, one of the finest travel destinations has been staring us in the face all along. Britain, where have you been all our lives?
With international travel looking so uncertain for the foreseeable future, huge numbers of us are looking to explore our own country when we are finally allowed to venture forth out of our homes once more. After all, we guiltily remind ourselves, is it really necessary to fly halfway around the world when we have it all on our doorstep anyway?
Britain has an epic slice of Italianate yesteryear in Hadrian’s Wall
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How does the old Alice Cooper song go? “School’s out, for winter. School’s out, forever.”
Not quite – but it might feel as if those are appropriate lyrics at the moment, when another full lockdown has descended on the UK and the education system is once again largely shuttered against Covid-19 – officially until mid-February, but maybe all the way into March. How to get through the coming weeks, with the children under your feet?
One solution will be to daydream of travel – but not just beaches and resorts. If you are going to let your mind wander to distant shores, why not summon up the image of a holiday that will assist your offspring’s learning in a far more stimulating manner than your fractious attempts at home-teaching or a Zoom lesson?