Dolomite Alps and South Tyrol

Posted on 09/08/2025 by ainarsbl

In the middle of July, we went to Northern Italy to see the Italian Alps once again. To start our journey around the Dolomites, we arrived at Bergamo Orio Al Serio airport, picked up our Fiat (it was booked in advance, we used Economy Car Rentals as usual at that point in time) and started our journey to the mountains.

Our temporary residence for about a week in the Italian Alps was supposed to be a small mountain village Canazei where we got a nice apartment for a very good price.

Accommodation in the Italian Alps

From Bergamo, we went to the East and then, after passing Garda Lake, turned to the North. With a few stops in some very beautiful places near a lake and further in the mountains, we reached Canazei ski resort village in the late afternoon.

The landlady did not speak English at all, but with some additional help from the German language (it’s still close to Germany and other German speaking countries), we settled in the booked apartment, which was surprisingly large and located very centrally on the main street (we made the booking using fassappartamenti website).

According to our experience (we are not getting paid for mentioning our booking choices), I can recommend it to others, though be aware that deposit might be required and this was not mentioned obviously when we made the booking.

Alpine resorts

Canazei and other surrounding villages (Campitello di Fassa, Mazzin, Pozza di Fassa, Vigo di Fassa) are known as popular resorts located in the Trentino-Alto Adige (or Trentino-Sudtirol in German) region, near to the border of another famous Italian Alpine region Venetto (mostly known because of Cortina d’Ampezzo ski resort).

Area around Trento

Trentino-Alto Adige is an autonomous region consisting of two provinces – Trento and South Tyrol. This region previously was part of the Austrian Empire. Perhaps, it is my personal feeling – many things reminded me about our previous visits to Austria.

For example, many urban areas still have double names (one in Italian, another one in the German language), like Bolzano/Bozen, Virgolo/Virgi, Gargazzone/Gargazon, Castelrotto/Kastelruth etc.

Bolzano is a nice town worth visiting, to walk around it and enjoy the surrounding landscape. It is called as “Gateway to the Dolomites” because of its location (since 2009 Dolomites have been listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site). Whatever your destination, you can choose any road in the mountains to see beautiful towns and villages including those mentioned above.

Another day we visited Piramidi de Segonzano – an ageological phenomenon, a masterpiece made by nature. These are sandstone columns reaching heights up to 20 metres. We have seen similar rock formations in Bulgaria – Belogradchishki Skali (Belogradchik Rocks), although each of these sites have their own personality.

Hiking in Alps

Our major event, of course, was whole-day hiking in Dolomites (this was not the only hiking experience during this trip, it was the major one for sure).

There is a mountain lift in Canazei (just a few minutes walk from our rented apartment) to go up higher in the mountains (we started our trip at about 2300 metres above sea level). There are many other lifts in the surrounding area. After arrival at the starting point, you can find many marked hiking trails suitable for anybody wishing to enjoy the beauty of nature.

We walked about 11 kilometres in the Italian Alps and spent about four and a half hours in the mountains. In the afternoon we got back home by public Alpine bus. There is not much to add here about this hiking experience because those feelings you get in such adventures are unforgettable and should be experienced personally to remain in memory.

When planning our trip to the Italian Alps, we didn’t know that the Canazei town festival was scheduled for the weekend. That was one more amazing experience we had there. In the evening, there was a parade on the main street of town (we were watching it in full from our balcony). The next day town was full of people, various attractions, food from local producers and small private exhibitions.

It was very interesting to watch what hobbies people have – many houses were opened to the public and demonstrated different kinds of interesting stuff including workshops, embroidery, historic collections and many more. Almost everybody had their own guestbook of exhibitions or workshops. It seems that those are very old traditions because entries of guest books were dated from the previous century and covered a very wide geographical area of visitors.

On this blog you can find a lot of information about our trips to southern Europe, especially Italy and Croatia – keep on reading!

Painted rocks

Posted on 20/07/2025 by ainarsbl

Painted rocks near Tafraout

One of the most exciting attractions near the Moroccan town of Tafraout are Painted rocks. Those are a series of mountain rocks in a large mountain valley painted in different contrasting colours.

Initially, rocks were painted in 1984 by the Belgian artist Jean Vérame who also painted rocks in other countries, such as France, Egypt and Chad.

Before visiting Painted Rocks, we read several negative reviews on the internet regarding this place.

The reason for criticism was the fact that there was not much paint left on the rocks due to natural erosion and animals, especially goats, climbing on rocks. However, we were lucky; when we visited Painted Rocks in 2020, all the rocks were freshly painted without any signs of erosion.

Getting there

There are at least three options for how to get to the painted rocks depending on your preferences- hiking, cycling or by car. Directions below are given assuming that you would start your trip from the centre of Tafraout, near the souk (market).

By car

This is an option that takes less effort. From the town centre follow R104 towards Tafraout Valley and turn left after 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometres) after you see Aday Mosque, which you will see on the right side of the road.

Here and below are screenshots from Google Maps to give you an idea of how to reach the place.

After a turn, follow the main road and after approximately 3 miles (5 kilometres) you will see Painted rocks on your left side. When you see left turn, go there, and continue towards your destination until you reach rocks.

There is a lot of space to park a car and you can wander around as much as you wish and also may follow smaller paths either walking or even getting closer to other formations of coloured rocks by car.

Cycling

If you stay in Tafraout for longer than a day, there are plenty of options in the town to rent a bike.

As you can see from the second screenshot, you may cycle south and after reaching Agrd Odad turn to the right, cycle through the town and continue the path until you reach the valley where the rocks are located.

There are quite a few places with a series of painted rocks, so cycling might even be the best way to move around these if you wish to see closer all of them.

Hiking

Although we visited Painted Rocks by all available means, hiking was our favourite; we even went there on foot twice.

As you can see from the screenshot, there are two options – either walk towards Agrd Odad as described above (grey route) and, after visiting rocks, return to Tafraout passing nearby mountains or use hiking paths starting in the southern part of Tafraout (blue dotted route) as a starting point and return either way.

We explored both options and our favourite was the grey route for getting to the rocks and blue blue-dotted route for coming back to Tafraout. Blue dotted route is more difficult as you would pass mountain ranges mostly walking uphill in the southern direction.

It may also be an option for cycling to return using the blue dotted route, although you may have to dismount in some places – this is not suitable for street bicycles.

Durlston Country Park

Posted on 14/07/2025 by ainarsbl

There are so many places to visit in Dorset in England. This is another post about a day out near Bournemouth.

One Sunday, we got plenty of sunshine and decided to go to the south-eastern part of the Isle of Purbeck – some 20 miles (30 kilometres) from Poole. It could have been less if we decided to use Sandbanks Ferry (it would only be about 12 miles away), however, we decided to drive by car.

Durlston Country Park and National Nature Reserve

We intended to have a little Sunday hike, so we went directly to Durlston Country Park parking. The only way to get there is to drive through Swanage because that is the only road to access the country park and when you reach it that also is the end of that road.

The good news is that they have a nice parking lot and prices are reasonable. For example, if you only wish to visit the castle and the Great Globe, one hour would be enough and parking would cost you £2. Parking is located next to the castle.

If you wish to have a little walk along the coast and observe beautiful landscapes and cliffs near Anvil Point Lighthouse, two hours may be enough, and you would pay for parking £4. And whole day stay at this parking place will cost you only £5. It is operated by Dorset Council.

Anvil Point Lighthouse

After arrival, you can start your journey immediately. If you turn to the right from the parking (facing the sea, which you would rather hear than see), in a couple of minutes you will see what this place offers. As a first thing, you may wish to go to the coast near the lighthouse. There is plenty of space to comfortably sit down and enjoy the stunning scenery of cliffs and to listen to the sounds of waves when they meet the coastline – none of them ever end.

We even decided to have a quick picnic lunch there, however, near parking there is an educational centre, and they have all the facilities for a comfortable lunch break – you may sit at a garden table and enjoy your food outdoors.

Country Park

Along the coast, there is a South-West Coast Path, and you can follow it, however, Durlston Country Park has its paths, and you may just turn to the right at any point after passing the lighthouse.

There are fields where many wild birds nest, however you may even have your dog with you. Near nesting places, you are only required to keep your dog on the lead to avoid disturbing nesting birds.

Durlston Castle

Just a few words about the castle. The area around it is nice; there is a café inside it and you may get ice cream and some snacks also outside. There are exhibitions inside the castle you may wish to visit. And of course, the Great Globe in the garden – it is worth to see it at least once.

There are magnificent views from the coast, and you can even see Old Harry Rocks and Bournemouth skyline from there. More opportunities for a day off in Dorset are such as Abbotsbury Swannery.

Mount Etna in Sicily

Posted on 11/06/2025 by ainarsbl

Visiting the Etna volcano was a part of our longer trip to southern Italy and Sicily.

Location and basic facts

Mount Etna is an active volcano located in the eastern part of the largest Italian island Sicily, near Catania city. Like many other active volcanos, it is located in the area between two large geological plates, the Eurasian Plate and the African Plate in this case. Etna is active almost all the time. The last eruption happened while I was writing this post in early June 2025.

The height of Mount Etna is 3350 metres (10,900 ft) above sea level, it covers an area of around 1190 square kilometres and is the biggest active volcano in Italy. Etna is a stratovolcano, which means it is a typical conical volcano with a caldera built up by many layers of hardened lava. Another Italian volcano, Vesuvius, is also a stratovolcano, although it is not as active as Etna and is only half of the size of Etna.

Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanos in the world, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2013. The last most serious eruption of Etna followed by a serious earthquake was in December 2018.

Getting there

If you visit Sicily, visiting Mount Etna should be on your list. After seeing quite a few beautiful places in the eastern part of Sicily, we spent a night in Acireale, had a morning coffee and started our way to Mount Etna.

There are many hiking trails in Parco dell’Etna (Etna Park), however, we decided to go directly to the main attraction – reaching the volcano as close as possible.

You can recognise the lava field already on the way to Etna, driving on serpentine roads before reaching parking where the main adventure begins. There is a huge parking place at Rifugio Sapienza for cars and buses where you would leave your car before going up. There are many souvenir shops around, however we kept visiting them for later. There is also a bar with a panoramic terrace (Bar Funivia dell’Etna) higher up on the mount after you exit a cable car.

If you arrive in Sicily by ferry in Messina, it will be around 100 kilometres to reach Rifugio Sapienza from there; the place is located some 35 kilometres from Catania and almost 250 kilometres (more than three hours drive) from Palermo.

Getting up

After arriving at the parking, you will see where the majority of people gather. To get to the top (the place allowed for visitors), you will have to board a cable car from the Cableway Station, located at an altitude of 1900 metres above sea level, and afterwards change to a 4WD coach, which brings you from 2500 metres to 2920 metres above the sea level.

You may choose only the cable car, which was EUR 27 per person at the time we visited Etna. The full return package (cable car and coach) was EUR 51 per person and you would spend about three hours for the whole return trip.

Both the view to the top of Mount Etna and the feeling of walking within lava and volcanic ash fields were incredible and worth the money we paid and time spent. Steam and smoke coming from the crater, hot ground below your feet and smaller craters all around you make you both feel a bit stressed and proud that you did come here and saw all this fantastic impressive creation of nature.

Cornwall – the second day

Posted on 28/05/2025 by ainarsbl

This is about the second day in Cornwall. After the first day in Cornwall we went to the nearby local pub The Shire Inn for dinner before going to bed. It is about a 15-minute walk from the guest house we used for staying at night.

The atmosphere and service were good, the food and the local Cornish beer were also delicious – just like in a gastropub. The bill surprised me a bit though – they know how to use supposedly normal prices in such a way that at the end you get a bill what is at least ten pounds more than expected.

Minak Theatre

In the morning, right after breakfast, we went to an interesting place – an amphitheatre built in the rocks, where real performances are held often. This place was a real surprise we got in Cornwall.

The author and creator of the theatre idea was a local woman, Rowena Cade. The name Minak (meynek in the local language) means rocky place. The woman started creating theatre in the thirties of the last century.

Minack Theatre is located in the very south of the peninsula. You can see the theatre and the garden created around it (entrance fee 10 pounds), but in the afternoons and evenings there are live performances (performances do not take place every day though). The garden itself is worth a visit and the amphitheatre looks really impressive.

More information can be found on the theatre’s website.

Mount St. Michael

Mount St. Michael is an island in the sea near the coast, very similar to Mount Saint Michel in France. What both have in common is that during low tide you can walk from the land to the island on dry feet, but during high tide water separates the island from the mainland.

The difference is that the French counterpart has an abbey located on the island, while Cornwall has a castle on it, which is owned by the National Trust.

The place is interesting, worth a look if you are in that part of England. A few things to consider if you visit.

Finding a parking space for a car is quite problematic; the best option is to approach the castle as close as you can and wait for a parking space to become available. The nearby (recommended) long-term parking lots are usually occupied and you have to walk quite a distance to the island.

There are several types of entrance tickets: island and castle, island and garden and a combined ticket. Since we already visited a garden in the morning, we took a ticket only to the palace. The garden, by the way, could be viewed from the palace courtyard.

Ticket prices vary – for an adult, 14 pounds for entry to the palace, 10 pounds for entry to the garden, and a total ticket costs 24 pounds; for children aged 5 to 17, about half of that.

The end of the earth

As the name suggests, beyond the end of the earth there is only the sea. To be honest, we didn’t go to the very end of the earth, but we went to the nearby village of Sennen Cove. The only difference – parking spaces are cheaper, fewer people on the beach, more pleasant and restful feeling. The sea is the same, the beach and the surrounding views are the same. It was recommended by the locals and thanks to them for offering this option!

We spent a couple of hours on the beach, and even organized a picnic on the seashore before moving on.

St Ives

St Ives is a small pretty town and fishing port on the north side of the peninsula. Local internet marketers say St Ives is a shining jewel in Cornwall’s crown, one of the most valued in England. St Eves has been voted the best family holiday on the coast and one of the 10 best beaches in Europe.

In reality, I wouldn’t really say that. First, the beach is quite small, although the sand bar is wide. In any case, there was no special feeling of romance – just an expensive resort pretending to be posh.

Speaking of treasures – we booked a table in beach café to watch the sunset. Although we saw the prices while ordering snacks, after receiving the bill we understood why they mention gems describing this place – we must have had eaten quite a few of them.

The place (they call themselves a beach café, which is true) didn’t even have white tablecloths, but a piece of tuna the size of a piece of sushi was right there for £20. However, I have to admit that the taste of this mini dish was fantastic.

After dinner, we got lost in the city because we didn’t really remember where we had left the car. The town is located on a hill and if you take one street in the wrong direction you can get lost very quickly. However, we did not mind that accident as walking around the town was quite nice experience.

So the second day in Cornwall was spent and in the morning we planned to go back to Dorset, stopping for lunch on the seaside in Devon.

Cornwall

Posted on 27/05/2025 by ainarsbl

This time I will start with a short summary. We were planning to go to Cornwall for at least seven years. It didn’t happen because it was quite far from Scotland – travel costs also played serious role. While living in the south of England we couldn’t do it in the beginning because there were many other places to go.

We decided to go to Cornwall after listening to stories from others about how unique and beautiful it is. After the trip there, I can say one thing – the idea of visiting Cornwall could have been not the highest priority. Mainly because of associated costs. The cost of the trip was essentially at least the same as nice comfortable weekend in Rome. To be honest, the feeling and impressions after returning home from Rome were also better at the end.

The value you get for the money you spend plays significant role here and for me it would be in favour of Italy. Roughly speaking, everything in Cornwall was about half as expensive as it should be based on my travel experience in Europe. In short, the prices in remote places of Britain are inflated to the maximum and do not really meet expectations. In this case, the only exception might be the guest house where we stayed, although it was not cheap either.

About Cornwall in brief

Cornwall is a relatively large area in the very south-west of England. If you look at the map, it ends up with only water around it. For this reason, there is even a place called Lands End.

One peculiarity of Cornwall is that, unlike the rest of England, it has historically been a Celtic region. It can also be felt, for example, by many strange names of places or the way the locals pronounce them.

The territory of Cornwall is 3.56 thousand square kilometres, it is the 12th largest of 48 regions. More than 550 thousand people live there and it is only 40th in terms of population. The population density per square kilometre is only 160 people. The administrative centre of the region is Truro.

The Eden Project

The first place we visited was the Eden Project. It is a complex of gardens and greenhouses where plants from all over the world have been collected. You need about three to four hours to see everything. All in all, quite interesting, especially if you get to stand in line and climb up to the dome itself and look at the tropical world from above (the observation deck is open periodically and there are quite a lot of people who want to participate in this 5-minute dizzying attraction).

The entrance ticket costs around 35 pounds (around 40 euros) for adults (prices vary depending on the season) and 11 pounds for visitors aged 5 to 16. In essence, it is a ticket for a year, but it does not make much sense, because hardly anyone will want to drive that long way again during the same year. In my opinion, it would make sense to reduce the price for one visit (up to £20 per adult’s visit would be more appropriate price).

Accommodation

We booked a guest house in Cornwall a long time in advance, because during the high season the prices skyrocket, often the accommodation is simply not available. The main reason – those Britons who do not go overseas visit Cornwall and other similar regions of Britain.

As I said at the beginning, the price for this accommodation was reasonable in given circumstances – £245 for two nights in a two bedroom apartment with a fitted kitchen, living room, bathroom and a nice little private courtyard at the side of the house. The beds were comfortable, the hostess had left local eggs and ham in the fridge for breakfast, so I can definitely recommend this Church House guest house to other travellers (we booked this through Airbnb).

That’s it about our first day in Cornwall in 2022, you can also read about our second day in Cornwall.

Mainau Island in Germany

Posted on 03/02/2024 by ainarsbl

Sun, flowers, and spring

The next morning, after the usual grey April day in Riga, we were awakened by the rays of the sun – our break in Germany had begun exceptionally well! From the window we had a fantastic view towards vineyards and all kinds of flowering shrubs and trees; we felt like on a real spring holiday! We planned to visit Baden–Baden and at the end of our trip visit Mainau Island.

To enjoy these fantastic changes, immediately after breakfast we went for a walk around the town and without realizing it, reached the next town. The Easter morning service had just ended, the clock was approaching noon, and the local Germans were slowly gathering for family lunches at local pubs. Great tradition – in most cases, at least three generations of people gathered around the tables.

Before moving on to Mainau Island in Germany, after visiting the thermal pools and sauna complex in Baden-Baden, we walked around the city, which has both its unique charm and something special, such as the German order, which strangely coexists harmoniously with the Russian language heard in many places.

In the holiday complexes do not be surprised that you will be spoken in Russian, because some of the service staff came from Eastern Europe in the late eighties or early nineties. This short break in Germany was coming to an end and we had to move on.

Mainau Island

As I said before, this episode of a short break in Germany is from another journey. The island of Mainau is in a completely different corner of Germany we visited returning from Switzerland. The region around Konstanz did initially give an impression of a remote not that exciting area, however, the beautiful island successfully dispelled that first impression.

The description here is not a comprehensive one, because the island of Mainau must be enjoyed looking at it and the impressions gained are difficult to transfer in words. Here are some photos from the visit below.

Flowers all around

There is a botanical garden on the island and the visiting time was specially chosen for spring; all the spring flowers were blooming there. The island is not large; it is possible to walk around it in a couple of hours. However, it takes much more time because the created lawns, greenery and flower beds are admirable, and you can’t just walk without eating in one of the cafes during your visit.

At the beginning, the price for a visit to the island (adult ticket 17 euros, family ticket 34 euros) seemed to be quite high, however after visiting the exposition we realized that the work invested in creating and maintaining the island is huge and requires a lot of investment.

Tropical and butterfly houses

Among the gardens on the island are several buildings with shops and various expositions. The most outstanding is a tropical house with a huge collection of orchids – it is so beautiful! The other very special place is a butterfly house, where butterflies of various sizes and colours live in tropical jungle conditions.

Iceland

Posted on 20/12/2023 by ainarsbl

So far, we have only been in Iceland during the winter. And we love all about it – snow, ice, glaciers, wind, lava fields, geysers and especially sunny days and Northern Lights, which we have been lucky enough to enjoy.

Along with Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Faroe Islands and Denmark, Iceland belongs to Europe’s Nordic region. Iceland is a volcanic island and lies on the border between Eurasian and North American Tectonic Plates. That makes Iceland a hotspot of many active volcanos.

The total area of Iceland is 102,775 square kilometres (39,682 square miles) making it No. 106 on the list of world’s countries by territory. The population of Iceland is around 346 thousand people and it is 176th in the world with a very low density of population – only 3.5 people per square kilometre.

Getting around

If you travel to Iceland, you may recognise that many tourist attractions are located almost like bus stops on your route. Of course, getting there may require hours and hours and, sometimes, traffic may be suspended for some days because of snowstorms, strong winds etc.

If some of the attractions you have booked are located off-road, for example, visiting ice caves, you will most probably be picked up by organisers somewhere in a parking space near a major road.

Another tip – you would normally pay a deposit for booking particular activities, for example, if you wish to enjoy dog sledging. These attractions may be cancelled due to weather conditions.

Most probably, you will not get another chance to do it again during this particular trip, although do not worry – organisers will make a refund relatively quickly.
So, always have a plan B to replace this kind of unpredicted events with other activities. Planning a trip to Iceland you may never rely on Iceland’s changing weather.

Golden Circle

Many people have heard about Blue Lagoon, which is a famous recreation facility near Iceland’s capital Reykjavik.

If you visit Iceland for just a few days, Blue Lagoon would most probably be one of your destinations. It is located some 50 kilometres from Reykjavik and 20 kilometres from Keflavik International Airport (keep this in mind when planning a trip).

You could also make the Golden Circle, which is a tourist route you may use to familiarise yourself with a very small but diverse part of the island. The length of the route is about 300 kilometres; it starts from Reykjavík and goes into central Iceland, before returning to Reykjavik.

This route may be booked as a guided tour or you can drive your own rented car. If you rent a car, the Golden Circle may even be a perfect trip for a day. You would visit three major locations – The Geysir Geothermal Area, Gullfoss Waterfall and Thingvellir National Park.

Outer circle

This is how I call it, perhaps there is another name for it, however, the idea is that if you keep on Route 1 from Reykjavik, you will return to Reykjavik after going all around Iceland.
This would be suitable if you have arrived in Iceland for more than just a couple of days, fancy some extreme feelings, rent a car and are willing to drive almost 1350 kilometres (850 miles).

Here you can also see a screenshot from Google Maps to get an idea of what I mean. There are many attractions along this route; just to name a few: Hvalfjörður Tunnel (part of Route 1), Akureyri (a small and nice town with public thermal bath facilities), Hverir Boiling mud pits – a fantastic natural phenomenon just on the side of Route 1.

Spring in Bohemia

Posted on 18/12/2023 by ainarsbl

At the very end of April, we went for a quick trip to the Czech Republic. Perhaps, the most famous destination of the Czech Republic is its capital Prague, however Nord-Eastern part of the country, the region of Bohemia, is very exciting and attractive because of the mountains and local traditions.

The whole Bohemian region covers about two-thirds of the Czech Republic. We had plans to visit a factory producing glass and crystal according to the old traditions, a local brewery (Czech beer has been always tasty and of high quality), spend some time hiking in the mountains near Adrspach and to find something else interesting in the area.

Camping near Trutnov

Before arrival, we found on the Internet and booked a camping Dolce Vita near the town of Trutnov (address: Dolce Vita, Oblanov 37, 54101 Trutnov, Czech Republic). Camping offers apartments in cottages located near a lake.

Camping is located about two kilometres away from the main road, however, it is easy to find it. The cottage itself was not very well maintained, however, the price was good for value and the surrounding area of camping is quiet and, as we found afterwards, very beautiful providing a relaxing atmosphere.

National Park Adrspach – Teplice Rocks

The next day after arrival, we went to the National Park Adrspach. Adrspach is a village in the Hradec Kralove region; the Giant and Eagle mountains of this region have been widely known from Roman times and even before. The village is divided into the administrative areas of Dolni Adrspach (Lower Adrspach) and Horni Adrspach (Upper Adrspach).

National Park Adrspach and the area around it is well known for Adrspach-Teplice Rocks (also, Adrspach Rock Town or Adrspasske skaly in Czech language). We planned the whole day to spend there.

Bohemian Paradise

As we had our pet (dog) with us, it was nice to find out that it is allowed to visit this site taking pets with you (ticked, however, should be purchased for your small companion too).
The rocks are really impressive! They are very popular for rock climbers; we saw some of them on the top of rocks. This area is among the most beautiful natural features of the Czech Republic, also called the Bohemian Paradise.

There is the main entrance near Teplice Rocks, although Rock Town in reality begins about two kilometres from the entrance. Before visiting Rock Town, we went to the nearby lake to enjoy the beautiful landscape around it. There are good trails everywhere in the park around the lake but in the rock town, most of the pathways are even covered with asphalt.

If you are not too lazy to climb up the hill using a steep rocky trail and wait a bit in a queue, there is a short but attractive boat trip available in the park (ticket should be purchased separately before boarding, although it is worth trying it).

Adrspach Rocks has the status of a national nature conservation area, and guided tours are available as well. An adult ticket for entrance costs about 2.5 euros, a child ticket half of it, and a family ticket (2+2) costs about 6 euros; entrance for a dog costs a bit more than 1 euro.

Dinner in a guesthouse

After a whole day spent in Adrspach, we went back to camping but before arrival enjoyed a nice supper in Trutnov. This was a very family-friendly restaurant in guesthouse Penzion Porici, which is located just outside of the town centre.

I can recommend this restaurant if you want to have a tasty meal without rushing in a quiet atmosphere. We even came back for the second time there and were completely satisfied again with their food and service delivery.

Abbotsbury Swannery

Posted on 08/12/2023 by ainarsbl

Visiting Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset

We have visited Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset, England twice. The first time at the end of March and the second time at the beginning of May when new swans and other birds just had the first new babies born. Either of the visits were nice and we would go there again even just to have an amazing walk around and enjoy this peaceful relaxing place in the company of these amazing creatures.

birds nesting place — Birds nesting place

The Swannery was established by Benedictine Monks in the 11th century where they farmed the swans to produce food – how practical! They say that the Abbotsbury Swannery is home to the world’s only managed colony of nesting mute swans, although that is not the only thing you will find there. From the entrance gate, you will have to walk almost one kilometre (about 2,400 feet) to reach the colony of swans; free car parking is located in front of the entrance. On the way to Swannery, you will find other attractions such as a labyrinth and a small ricing arena where usage of pedal-driven means of transport are available free of charge.

Swannery

There is something else you benefit from visiting Abbotsbury Swannery – you may buy a ticket with a huge 25% discount to also enter another site located nearby – Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens. At the time we visited the Abbotsbury Swannery, there was an option to also enter another site designed very well for visitors with kids. However, this has been changed, hopefully temporarily, since the pandemic began in March 2020 (there still are some restrictions for visitors in 2020 due to the coronavirus).

Feeding swans

One of the most exciting things about Abbotsbury Swannery was feeding swans. At the time we visited the swannery, the feeding was at noon – keep this in mind when planning your trip and booking tickets.

It was allowed for volunteers, especially kids, to enter the feeding area and feed swans with the food they provided on-site. This process was long enough to take a lot of photos and shoot videos. All swans from the surrounding area were gathering together to get food. Before and after feeding you may walk around the territory using convenient paths and many other birds living in the area. There is also a small museum providing more information about swans and the history of the site.

Usual swannery opening times are from 10 am to 5 pm all week, with the last entry at 4 pm; online ticket price for an adult is £10, for a child £5. Be aware that dogs are not allowed to enter the swannery. The minimum time for the visit might be two to three hours, although you may spend even more time easily.

Abbotsbury subtropical gardens

After visiting the swannery, we went to Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, a site located two and a half kilometres away by car. And again, there is a huge free-of-charge car park across the road just in front of the entrance to the gardens.

abbotsbury tropical gardens — Abbotsbury tropical gardens

About the history you may read on their website, the information provided is comprehensive. Amazing place both for adults and children to enjoy. All I may add is that gardens are really beautiful, especially during spring. There is a viewpoint where you may observe the coastline and even see a bit of Abbotsbury Swannery; getting there is quite nice physical exercise though.

Opening times of the gardens are from 10 am to 5 pm all week, with the last entry at 4 pm. Advance ticket costs £10 for an adult and £5 for a person aged from five to fifteen; children up to five years enter free, buying tickets on-site would be more expensive. Good news – dogs are allowed to enter the gardens!