Fungi and games at Kew
For more great holiday ideas, see page 39
Range, an area of astounding natural beauty. Spectacular sunsets can be seen above the Tasman Sea and limestone cliffs are e found at the Pororari
River Gorge. It is a special cial mix of alpine peaks and d rainforest.
GO: The 14-night Paparoa Track with New Zealand In Depth includes three days’ hiking and two days’ mountain biking, accommodation, car hire, track transfer and Tranz Alpine train. From £2,400pp, not including flights. See newzealand-indepth.co.uk.
Pilgrim’s Way Camino de Santiago, Spain
The Camino de Santiago de Compostela is the most popular long-distance walk in the world, with TAKE your saplings to Kew Gardens’ family festival this autumn half term and discover surprising secrets beh behind plant names.
Children can pen their o own jokes with the team behind b TV show School Of C Comedy and d there will be around ar 150,000 hikers every year – and we are not just ju talking pilgrims here.
The pilgrimage to the northern Spanish city of Santiago Sa de Compostela started way back in the
8th 8t century, fed by the cult of St James.
A whole network of pilgrim lodges, monasteries an and hospitals sprang up along the path and most of th the lodges are still there.
There are several Camino routes but the main one is the 500-mile Camino Frances from St Jean Pied de Port in the French Pyrenees to the stunning cathedral in Santiago.
You take in some breathtaking scenery, historic cities and quaint villages.
And there is great camaraderie with your fellow hikers en route.
GO: Specialist Camino Ways can divide the route into as many days as you wish and will book accommodation and even transfer your luggage, making the whole thing a stress-free trip of a lifetime. It costs from £474 a week, not including flights. See caminoways.com. fungi workshops and a human-sized badger sett. Expect woodland walks with bug hotels and a treetop walkway where you can see the autumn colours.
Price included in entrance fee. Adults from £16.50, kids £4.50, see kew.org. Described by Alfred Wainwright in 1973 as “one of the world’s great walks” the Coast to Coast is considered a true classic among UK trails.
Starting on the Irish Sea coast of Cumbria near the huge red sandstone cliffs of St Bees Head, it crosses three national parks before reaching the North Sea at the pretty fishing village of Robin Hood’s Bay on the rocky coastline of the North York Moors.
The walk is a mix of forest tracks, mountain trails and paths through fields and pastures, interspersed with coastal cliff and village walking. In short, the best of Britain.
GO: Sherpa Expeditions has a 15-day self-guided Coast to Coast Classic from £1,030pp, including accommodation and luggage transfers. See sherpaexpeditions.com.