My passion for travel started early on in my childhood…… I used to sit for hours in my bedroom reading my Collins Children’s Picture Atlas. If i close my eyes i can still see it now, the glossy cover removed through over use and the navy blue battered cover sheltering page upon page of colourful maps. Each country described in much detail, the population, the mountain ranges, the main crops, the flags and capital cities. Thumbing through the atlas whisked me away to exotic places, different ways of living, different landscapes and ignited a passion to explore that is still very much alive in me today.

Fast forwards to high school, the travel thread continued… Geography lessons where the highlight of my days, a chance to learn about how our wonderful world was created. Travel was also at the heart of my family life, with every opportunity taken in between mum and dad working hard to embark on new adventures and challenges – camping and walking the hills of North Wales, caravan trips to Cornwall and in our teenage years long summers on French campsites with a healthy balance of culture and fun. I lived for the holidays, from the moment the map came out in our living room and mum and dad carefully plotted our route to the diaries i wrote to keep the memories alive.

I was lucky enough to go on to spend three years studying Geography at Bristol University surrounded by people who shared my wanderlust. The world continued to open up, air travel became a possibility (mum was never a fan of planes) and as i went on to start my first job the pennies started to tot up too!

I started to realise that travel, the memories and feelings it created were what made me tick. My twenties were a heady mix of hard work and incredible travel experiences – as a single female travelling to South America through to road trips of North America and South Africa with my husband. I never tired of travel, it gave me focus and inspiration.

In my early thirties along came my wonderful kiddies and the adventures continued finding our feet within parenthood we spent many a happy holiday in North Wales and Scotland. The toddler years were spent exploring Mallorca and then started my love affair with the beautiful island.

So that is my potted travel history and so much more to share….. indeed this summer sees us embarking on our first family long haul adventure!

Why the blog? Well, its something i have wanted to do for so long…. to write and share my experiences around travel. I love to talk to people about their travels, where they went, what they did, what they ate. I love to hear great tips as we all know that holidays are precious and recommendations can make a holiday. I also want to inspire families to embark on new adventures wherever that may be. I know that some of our most precious times as a family are on holiday whether that may be a staycation or away.

So join me as i share with you some of my travel gems…..collecting memories not things!