56 ............... Saturday, May 28, 2022 1SM 1SM Saturday, May 28, 2022 ...............

57

Edited by LISA MINOT & HEATHER LOWRIE See more at l thescottishsun.co.uk

take OUR Take Three column

3
gives a trio of cut-out-and-
keep suggestions each
week. Did you know that the
beaches of Spain were
l TORAVAIG House, part of the Carloway on the Isle of Lewis.
award-winning Sonas Hotel
Collection on Skye, has
re-opened after refurbishment.
The nine bedroom hotel which
commands glorious views over
Toravaig is particularly suited for
...CARAVAN OF LOVE: A
week self-catering for four
call 0141 222 2223.
...RINGS A BELL: A night
KID-INBURGH’S No1
exclusive use and special occa- sharing a two-bed Burgundy B&B at the 4H The Bell hotel
sions including weddings, anni-
versaries and friends’ and family
reunions.
l GARY Barlow is set to wow
guests on board P&O’s Iona
during a couple of exclusive shows
caravan at Cofton Holidays,

is from £543 arriving June 4.

awarded more Blue Flags this
year than any other country in the world?
That’s why, this week, we’re taking
inspiration from some of our favourite
Blue Flag Spanish waters, each with a bed
nearby.
BLUE-TIFUL
BEACHES
the Atlantic waters of the Sound of
Sleat in the south of the island,
was the first hotel launched
by former Scottish Hotelier
of the Year Anne Gracie
Gunn and has been voted
Scotland’s Islands Hotel of
the Year several times.
The rooms have been dec-
orated in soothing palettes
reflecting some of the kaleido-
scope of colours to be viewed on
Skye’s hillsides, mountains and
coasts. Tweed headboards and
throws are sourced from the old-
est Harris tweed mill in the world, skyehotel.co.uk
in Stow in the Cotswolds is
near Dawlish Warren in Devon from £129, two sharing. See
thebellatstow.com
IF you are planning a family staycation
this year, then head to Edinburgh which
came in as the second most family-fri-
endly staycation.
Guests can benefit from a pri- he will be performing for charity. See coftonholidays.co.uk or ...SUN AND SEA: A week half- has been named the most family- Best known for its world famous univ-
vate chef and tutor for master- He will appear on the Spain and call 01626 890111. board at the 4H Sol Costa friendly place to visit in the UK. ersity, it is also characterised by beauti-
classes on whisky, food, Portugal cruise (G236) departing ...WE ARE SAILING: A Atlantis in Puerto de la The capital is home to more child- ful old buildings and green spaces and
history and Gaelic culture, Southampton on October 29, and week’s cruise on Cruz, Tenerife, is from friendly attractions than any other UK has 20 areas of nature and parks per
and the Torabhaig whisky the Spain, Portugal and Canary Enchanted Princess £523pp leaving Glas- city except London, with over 12 per cent 100,000 residents.
news distillery is just a few hun- Islands cruise (G237) departing sailing from South- lates gow on June 9. See of the city attractions ranked as kid- Following in third place is Bristol. The
dred metres away. Southampton on November 12. All ampton on August 26 holidaypirates.com friendly, including the castle. cultural city is home to plenty of child-
Anne said: “As the first
member of the Sonas family
and a hidden Hebridean gem,
proceeds from ticket sales for the
shows will be donated to Child
Bereavement UK and Teenage
to Oslo, Skagen and
Copenhagen is from
£899pp. See princess.com
...JUST CRUISING: A
12-night Best of Scandi-
navia cruise on Celebrity Sil-
It also came out as second top for
hosting the most child-friendly restau-
rants, and has eight parks and nature
friendly activities, with attractions to visit
with the kids including the We the Curi-
ous science museum and Bristol Zoo
Toravaig has a special place in my
heart.”
Her other hotels are Duisdale
Cancer Trust.
Raffle tickets to Gary’s exclusive
shows are £10pp on board. Spaces
or call 0344 338 8663.
...GO ITALY: Seven nights
houette is from £1,469pp
leaving Southampton on May
B&B at the 3H Hotel Terminus 30. Visits Copenhagen, Stock-
areas and was ranked as one of the saf-
est UK cities on the research by luggage
storage experts Bounce, based on fac-
Gardens.
Budapest was crowned the most fam-
ily-friendly city in the world.
House and Skeabost House near are limited. See pocruises.com in Lake Garda is from £509pp holm and Helsinki. See celeb- tors such as child-friendliness, weather, See full details at usebounce.com/
Skye’s main town of Portree. See leaving Glasgow on June 22. ritycruises.com or call 0800 safety, and affordability. Cambridge blog/family-friendly-travel-guide
See barrheadtravel.co.uk or 441 4054.

YOU’LL FIND FANTASTIC FUN FOR ALL THE FAMILY AT ORLANDO’S OTHER MAGICAL THEME PARK

BUDGET: You won’t even need to set foot

outside of this apartment to take advantage
of the peaceful Carvajal beach, one of the
most beautiful beaches in the Costa Del Sol.
Aside from a roomy beachfront balcony,
the living room has two massive windows
with two cosy bamboo chairs from which
you can soak up the incredible lviews.
The apartment has all the necessary
amenities, including a well-equipped
kitchen, a washing machine and stylish
bathroom with hair dryer, plus it’s just a
short drive from Los Boliches where you
can rent sunbeds and paddle boats.
Three nights’ self-catering costs from
£322.64. See vrbo.com/en-gb/p5209623

BARGAIN: Even the dog is welcome at this
sun-soaked home in Alicante.
The serene Arenal-Bol beach, nearby, is
ideal for tiny tots, with calm waters that are
perfect for paddling and a lively promenade
littered with seaside cafes and restaurants.
The four-person apartment is just as kid-
friendly with cots, children’s books and toys
all available – plus there’s a a huge seafront
balcony where the grown ups can relax.
Three nights’ self-catering costs £386.64.
See vrbo.com/en-gb/p10811613
UNIVERSAL Studios?
It really is out of this
world.
In a summer of wonder in
Orlando, we’d already been RIDING HIGH . . . James and
to Disney, learned to fly and family were wowed by all
got up really, really, close to Universal Studios had to offer
wild crocodiles.
Surely we had used up our
entire wow factor for one year?
Not a chance, we still had Uni-
versal to tick off our bucket list.
There, we met The Simpsons,
got a row from Men In Black, got
a hug from Marilyn Monroe and,
best of all, got to shake our tail
feathers with The Blues Brothers.
Throw in a bit of Harry Potter
World and, well, it was magic.
Our base for week two of a
fortnight we’ll never forget was
Universal’s Cabana Bay Hotel. A
throwback to the Fifties, this
place oozes cool.
Classic cars parked out front, a
pool open until 11pm each night,
marshmallows in the pit fire, a

BLOW OUT: Grab the whole family (and
more) and head to this 16-person holiday
home in Peniscola on the eastern coast of
Spain.
It’s close to the Blue Flag-winning North
beach which has some of the softest sands
in the region. Although it’ll be tough to tear
yourself away from your private pool and
outdoor hot tub.
On top of that, the house has a cinema
room, tennis court and games room with
table-tennis and table football.
But it’s the outdoor kitchen that’s the real
highlight, with a massive barbecue area and
wine cellar, perfect for hosting big family
dinners.
Three nights’ self-catering costs from
£4,117.15. See vrbo.com/en-gb/p10931106
Starbucks, an old-school Ameri-
can diner and tunes at a lively
bar, there was nothing not to like
about this place.
The rooms are basic but the
hotel is affordable and you don’t
worry you might have to remort-
gage every time you sign for food
and drink.
It is designed for older kids
and our two — Rebecca, 15, and
Lucy, 12 — loved the cool, teenage
vibe, especially when the pool
was busier at 10pm than it was
at 10am.
But like so much in Orlando,
our time there centred around
the parks. First up, Universal
Studios. I had thought this won-
derland had been around for as
long as Disney but turns out it
only opened in 1990.
Harry Potter World joined the
party 12 years ago but more of
that later.
It was a funny trip for me as
being a genuine sufferer of ver-
tigo the thought of non-stop thrill
rides filled me with terror. By the
end, I had gone on just about
everything and wanted more. We
Universal
al appeal
started off with the easy ones —
ET Adventure, Despicable Me
Minion Mayhem, Shrek 4D and
The Simpsons. This used to be
Back to the Future and oh how I
wished I could travel back in
time to go on that!
We then upped the tempo with
a Race Through New York Star-
ring Jimmy Fallon, Jurassic Park:
The Ride, Revenge of The
Mummy Transformers The Ride
and Fast & Furious
But the highlight of the day was
undoubtedly Hollywood Rip Ride
Rockit, the X Car Music Roller-
coaster. Lucy was desperate to go
on but terrified at the same time.
After an hour of humming and
hawing we decided to go for it.
This ride is something else. You
jump in your train from a mov-
ing sidewalk then have less than
a minute to buckle up and select
a song (Born To Be Wild, if you
must know) that plays just for
you throughout the ride.
Then you’re off . . . up a 167ft
vertical lift hill.
Get to the top then it’s straight
back to the ground at more than
100km an hour with a few more
loops and turns to follow. Lucy
literally ran right off, beaming
with pride and announcing to the
park, ‘mum I did it, I did it’.
Amazing memories.
If that was adventurous then
Doctor Doom’s Fear Fall at
Islands of Adventure next day
was a step too far.
This monstrosity — a 185ft drop
at speed after a nerve-shredding
two minutes dangling about mid-
air while Doom laughs manically —
is not for the faint-hearted. Or big
fearties like me. I manned up for
The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing
Adventures of Spider-Man and
Skull Island: Reign of Kong.
We had a blast on Popeye &
Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges and
Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls
water rides — so welcome in the
searing 40C heat.
And of all The Places You’ll Go
you need to check out Seuss
Landing and the fab Cat In The
Hat, The High In The Sky Trolley
Train and One Fish, Two Fish,
Red Fish, Blue Fish rides.
The best bit of the two-day
extravaganza for me though was
watching a live street perfor-
mance of The Blues Brothers
Show, featuring classics including
Soul Man, Gimme Some Lovin’
and RESPECT with our very own
Aretha Franklin.
All this with a beer in hand. At
12 noon. On a Monday. It doesn’t
get any better and summed up
one of the best holidays we have
ever had.
And you don’t need to leave for
eats either, Universal’s CityWalk
is ideal for drinks and dinner.
Over two days there we had
drinks at the Bob Marley Bar,
Margaritaville and Bubba Gump
and a top-notch dinner at Hard
Rock Cafe. Magic!
And talking of magic, you can’t
go to Universal Studios without
taking in The Wizarding World
of Harry Potter.
Spread over two parks, you can
take the Hogwarts Express from
King’s Cross station in the Lon-
don area of Universal Studios to
Hogsmeade station in the Islands
of Adventure.
There you can have a go on
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures
Motorbike Adventure — if you are
prepared to wait with a mind-
blowing number of other muggles.
And we all enjoyed Harry Potter
and the Escape from Gringrotts —
an indoor rollercoaster themed to
the series’ Wizarding Bank — and
Harry Potter and the Forbidden
Journey, which whips you round
Hogwarts Castle.
The next day we had to pack
our brooms, check out of Cabana
and head home to Blighty.
As we did we all agreed there
is one Universal truth — there’s
no place on earth quite like Uni-
versal Studios.
JAMES McIVOR
GO: ORLANDO
GETTING THERE: For the best price of
flights see skyscanner.net
STAYING THERE: See
universalorlando.co.uk for best prices at
the Cabana Bay hotel. Prices start from
£145 a night, two adults and two children
sharing, and for parks tickets see
attractiontickets.com
MORE INFO: All visitors need a visa or
ESTA to enter the USA, need to show
proof of vaccination and also a negative
Covid-19 test result taken no more than
one day before travel. See cdc.gov