London, Mallorca and South Wales 2019 -with video!

Last year, we enjoyed a dreamy summer in the UK and Spain. We landed in Heathrow and spent a few nights in Chiswick, our favourite neighbourhood in the capital, then we headed to Mallorca and stayed in a beautiful beach house in Port de Pollenca. It's a gorgeous, pine-fringed beach town with a string of buzzing restaurants along the promenade. You can walk from there, beside the beach, to a number of exquisite little bays and find the perfect spot to call your own. It's also a short bus ride from the beautiful, historic town of Pollenca, with it's narrow streets, thriving cafes and impressive main square which hosts a thriving Sunday market. It also boasts the 365 Calvari Steps, which lead you to stunning views of the town and beyond.

In Pollenca town square

On the Calvari Steps

Oscar and Arlo taking a little break in a doorway on the Calvari Steps!

Our favourite beach by far was Playa de Formentor. It's a winding bus ride away from Port de Pollensa but the views are totally worth it! The beach itself is flanked by lush greenery which reminded me of Thai islands. The water is turquoise and perfectly clear...it felt more like the Caribbean than Europe!

Relaxing in the azure water at Playa de Formentor

Mia, Arlo, Ruby, Oscar, Ivy and Lyla at Playa de Formentor

Another favourite beach was Cala San Vincente. It's a smaller cove with translucent water in glorious shades of blue, but the best thing about it are the rocks that you can jump off...they provided us with hours of entertainment! If you swim further out, you reach much higher rocks where older children and adults are throwing themselves off with wild abandon. My lot had a go and had the time of their lives, while I was gripping my heart in the water below!

Jumping off the lower rocks at Cala San Vincente

We enjoyed lots of al fresco meals, soaking up the stunning vista from our beach front balcony, and regularly had an online food order delivered by Eroski supermarket, which was so convenient. However, the choice of restaurants along the bay was endless. We enjoyed delicious paellas and even tasty Indian and Chinese meals on the occasions when our craving for spicy food got the better of us! Our best restaurant experience, however, was at Bellaverde, a vegan/vegetarian restaurant offering a candlelit courtyard setting and serving up exquisite delights.

Wonderful family meals on our balcony

Enjoying a delicious evening meal at Bellaverde

When we returned to the UK, we headed to Abergavenny, in South Wales, where my Mum was from, and stayed at our favourite old barn half way up the Sugar Loaf mountain. We climbed the mountain on a beautiful blue sky day and spent the rest of our two week stay clambering over stiles and streams during glorious country walks, strolling along the canal and absorbing every magical moment of the fairytale scenery.

Horses on the Sugar Loaf Mountain

At the top of the Sugar Loaf!

George on top of the world!

One of the most memorable days was messing about on Lyla's inflatable flamingo on mini rapids in the River Usk. I'll never forget how my heart soared to see the kids so happy. Another was when we retraced one of my childhood walks and set out from Govilon, my Mum's village, through narrow, winding country lanes, over undulating fields, down to the river and onwards to towards Gilwern. At one point, we weren't sure whether it was safe to cross a field full of energetic bullocks, so George tested the water, only for them to stampede! The children and I were crying with laughter as he dashed back to us! When we eventually reached Gilwern, we decided to stop for a drink and crisps in the village pub. When we walked in, silence fell and all eyes seemed to be on us, until the general hum of chatter gradually filled the place again. My husband went up to the bar and I joined him to help carry the glasses. The landlord asked, "Are they all yours?" nodding towards the kids in the corner. "Yes!" I replied proudly. Then his face lit up with a big smile and he said, "Well don't you look fabulous!" It's something that only adds to the endless appeal of South Wales; people are so welcoming and friendly. I just love it. We ambled back along the canal path and, even though it started to drizzle with rain, it couldn't dampen our spirits.

Family pile-on during our walk from Govilon to Gilwern

A major highlight of our stay was also Lyla's 16th birthday; we drove to 'Waterfall Country' where we trekked to a series of stunningly beautiful waterfalls and swam in the cool water. It was absolutely perfect and Lyla loved every moment. Towards the end of our holiday, we went back to the last waterfall that we hadn't had time to get to before. It was the biggest of them all and was thunderously pounding down. George and the kids bravely walked along the path behind it and got soaked!

Lyla on her birthday at Waterfall Country!

We also happened to visit Brecon at the start of the Jazz Festival and, once again, we were overwhelmed by the kindness and hospitality of the people we met. Everyone was so welcoming and chatty. In one of the charity shops, the lovely shop assistant was gushing over the kids and declaring which of my daughters she'd like her sons to marry!

We even managed to fit in a day trip to the capital city of Cardiff and visit Barry Island, where Gavin and Stacey, one of our favourite TV shows, was filmed, but that's for a separate blog post!

I always feel a bit sad when we leave Wales, but my spirits were lifted again in Shrewsbury, my hometown, where we spent lots of quality time with my dad and met up with one of my oldest and closest childhood friends.

We headed back to London again towards the end of our summer and enjoyed lots of market mooching, a visit to the Natural History Museum and the happy vibes of the Notting Hill Carnival. On our last night, we indulged in a delicious China Town meal, before joining in a street dance. It started with my children and ended up with a huge group of people moving in sync. It was a great way to end our wonderful holiday!

Notting Hill carnival

My super six outside the Natural History Museum

Mallorca, we hope to visit again someday, and Wales: We'll definitely be back!