GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 24

028 dowN oN the faRm at
hiGheR laNk faRm, CoRNwall

This one is for families. In fact, you can only stay
at Higher Lank Farm, a listed fifteenth-century
working farm near Bodmin, if you have at least
one child under five. It might sound like age
discrimination, but anyone who has a pre-school
child will understand the benefits of staying in
a place that not only tolerates the little darlings
but actually focuses your stay around them.
B&B is in the main farmhouse building or
there's self-catering in a seventeenth-century en-
suite barn called “Bo Peep Cottage”. Many things
you might need for your stay are provided so
that you can travel there light. There are topics,
games and jigsaw puzzles, hundreds of DVDs,
highchairs and booster seats, baby carriers and
spare buggies. The owners even offer a trial
of real nappies and wash them free of charge
throughout your stay.
The “nursery rhyme” barns have their own
underfloor heating and wood-burning stoves.
There are stair gates, fire- and cooker-guards and
children can sleep in cots or hand-made miniature
beds with bed-guards. Outside, there's a separate
children's play area with its own toddler-proof
gate, toy rides and a sandpit. After breakfast,
kids are taken to feed the chickens, ducks, geese
and guinea fowl, then lots of other activities
are arranged, including a “tractor and trailer
adventure” to the Camel River to look for eels and
baby salmon. If you have older children, they can
help put the animals to bed and give the orphan
lambs a bedtime bottle (if you're there in spring).
Nursery teas begin at 5.30pm, after which, if you
still have any energy left, you can slope off to the
pub while the babysitters take over.

Braving the snow, Coed
Llandegla Forest

029 mouNtaiN bikiNG at Coed
llaNdeGla foReSt, waleS

If you fancy a day outdoors, then how about
this: start the day with what has been officially
recognized as the best breakfast in Wales, then
hurtle across forest trails, up and over a maze
of muddy tracks in the fresh country air before
returning to the One Planet Adventure Café for
a snack of home-made soup and organic bread.
Sound good?
Coed Llandegla is a purpose-built mountain-
biking centre, 11km from Wrexham, in the heart
of a forest that has been certified by the Forestry
Stewardship Council. There are over 30km of
graded mountain-bike trails, from green routes
for beginners and families to red and black runs
for experienced riders. Mindful of the potential
damage mountain biking can cause, the owners
carried out an environmental impact assessment
before they designed the cycle circuit. In addition
to this, the log-cabin visitor centre is powered
by solar panels and geothermal energy, and
rainwater is used to flush the loos and wash
the bikes. So you can pedal for all you're worth
and need only worry about hidden roots or low-
hanging branches.

Need to know The nearest train station is Bodmin
Parkway, from where staff will collect you by
arrangement. Babysitting costs £10 per hour per
family. For more on accommodation prices and
availability, local attractions and activities see
W www.higherlankfarm.co.uk; T [phone]
716.

Need to know For bike rental costs, opening
hours, trail routes and how to get there, see
W www.coedllandegla.com; T [phone]
656. Details of mountain-bike courses at Coed
Llandegla are at W www.oneplanetadventure.com.