Helen Werin

HELEN Werin and family throw themselves at the ‘have-a-go’ fun of Wedgwood Visitor Centre in Stoke on Trent

HELEN WERIN finds the town has smartened up its act, but the glitz and the glamour is still there

HELEN WERIN takes an trek in the National Forest and is delighted to find her ‘companions’ don’t live up to their big spitting reputation

A boat trip off Northumberland’s coast reveals the cutest wildlife as HELEN WERIN discovers

As we enter the Forest of Dean my daughter Sophie is highly amused by the place names. There’s Green Bottom, The Pludds and Shortstanding. She can’t wait to find Leg Tump and Wallsprings Wood, which she’s spotted on our map. She’s also keen to spot deer and wild boar – the latter preferably from a distance. There’s plenty of evidence of the grumpy boar in the churned-up roadsides. It’s reassuring to learn that they avoid humans.

It’s a very curious sensation arriving in the New Forest from the M27. One moment we’re trundling along a noisy motorway.

HELEN WERIN VENTURES OFF THE MOTORWAY AND FINDS TRANQUILITY IN THE NEW FOREST

Helen Werin and her family get to the ‘bottom’ of the spectacular caverns of the Peak District

Fellow Brit Tony tells us he’s been coming to Camping Ty Provost in Armorique Regional Park for 10 years, purely for that view. He’s pointing at the river Aulne far below. The highest points in Brittany, the Monts d’Arrée, are the backdrop. It’s all very romantic.

We’d just spent an hour with John from the boatyard learning how to handle our hired narrowboat and, crucially, the locks. When he asked “Do you feel ready to go off on your own?” we confidently dismissed him.