Travel tips: swimming in Scotland and adventure holidays for kids Jul 28th 2013, 05:00
Take me there: swimming in Loch Lomond
What better antidote to the recent heatwave than to dive into the cool waters of a Scottish loch? To mark its 10th anniversary this summer, SwimTrek has launched a swimming holiday in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. The four-day break offers the chance to combine open-water swims in pristine lochs with walks in the national park which is home to some of the UK's rarest species, including osprey, otter, red squirrel and deer. Swimmers are supported by a canoe rather than a motorboat which increases the chance of wildlife sightings. The trip costs from £390 and departs on 26 and 29 August (swimtrek.com)
It's a good time to… go wild in the country
Monkey business. Photograph: PhotoAlto/Alamy A new attraction opens in Norfolk this weekend whose mission is to prise children away from their Nintendos and Xboxes and introduce them to the joys of running wild. WildRootz, at Pensthorpe Wildlife and Garden, is a two-acre woodland activity centre which will encourage children to build dens, explore underground burrows and swing through the trees on ropes (pensthorpe.com). It's the kind of fun earlier generations of children would have found for free on their own doorstep, but if it gets children away from their iPads and running around outside, few parents will begrudge coughing up the entrance fee (£7.50 per child).
Similarly wholesome fun is on offer at National Trust property Mottisfont in Hampshire, which inspired AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh tales. Tree climbing, pooh sticks, building a house like Eeyore's and laying traps for Heffalumps are just some of the activities on offer (until 15 September, nationaltrust.org.uk).
And on Brownsea Island in Dorset, home to the Scouting movement, you can sign up for den building, beach combing, orienteering and bug hunts, as part of the nature reserve's 50th anniversary celebrations (nationaltrust.org.uk).
Give me a break: the week's best deals
Home Toad Hall Cottages is offering discounts of up to 20% at its West Country properties this August. Le Phare 101, a chic cottage which sleeps eight near Wembury Beach in Devon, now costs £1,111 per week, a saving of £275. The Grade II listed Lime Cottage in Minehead, Somerset has also been reduced by £125 to £599 per week in August (toadhallcottages.co.uk)
Away Pierre & Vacances still has some last-minute availability at its French holiday villages this summer. Port Bourgenay in the Loire Valley offers a huge selection of activities from circus skills to DJ lessons. A week's stay in a studio apartment for four people now starts from £457 arriving on the 24 August – a discount of £196 on the original price (pv-holidays.com)
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