Munich is a fantastic place to visit with kids. The ample greenery and great public transport system make the city feel relaxed and accessible, despite its size.
21.07.2023 - 08:20 / roughguides.com / River Mersey
As the old cliché testifies, it's often the journey not the destination that's most rewarding. With that in mind, here's ten spectacular journeys around Britain.
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A haunting whistle cries out across the wild Snowdonia valleys as Wyddfa, one of the original 1895 steam locos, leaves the Halfway station bound for the summit of Snowdon — the highest mountain in Wales. Ever since the Victorians finished building the rack-and-pinion railway, plucky little engines have been chugging their way to the summit, halted each year by winter snows and with services frequently restricted by high winds.
But not everyone is a fan of the train. Bearded Gore-Tex mountain types hate slogging their way to the top only to find a trainload of inappropriately dressed tourists packing out the café and spoiling the serenity taking smartphone photos of their friends.
Those same hikers find little at fault with the mountain itself, however, or the exhilarating routes to the top — there are seven in all. The gentlest approach, the Llanberis Track roughly follows the train tracks. Alternatively, if you want to save yourself 800 feet of ascent, start at Pen-y-Pass, a col from which three popular routes begin: the relatively easy Miners' Track, which passes the remains of a crushing mill from the old copper mines, while the more rugged Pig Track climbs Bwlch y Moch (the Pass of the Pigs). Those with a head for heights meanwhile tackle the knife-edge ridge of Crib Goch, part of the wondrous Snowdon Horseshoe route.
The Snowdon Mountain Railway starts from Llanberis, Gwynedd, www.snowdonrailway.co.uk .
The service may date back to the twelfth century but as you step onto the Snowdrop ferry (one of the three that still service this route) there's no mistaking which era you're being transported to. Hackneyed it may be, but it almost goes without saying that the tannoy is only going to be playing one tune.
«Life goes on day after day/Hearts torn in every way», sings Gerry Marsden as the 1965 hit he recorded with his band The Pacemakers cranks into life for the millionth time. Liverpool's golden age of music may now be half a century old, but the charm of taking a ferry across the River Mersey from Liverpool to the Wirral Peninsula to this soundtrack still hasn't diminished.
On board ship, unless the weather is truly atrocious, it's worth sitting out on deck where, once Gerry's singing ceases, you'll hear a decent audio commentary telling you much about the city and the long history of the ferry service, which was operated by monks from Birkenhead Priory until the monastery's dissolution in 1536.
Mersey Ferries (merseyferries.co.uk) operate up to thirteen times a day.
Often dubbed «England's most scenic railway», the
Munich is a fantastic place to visit with kids. The ample greenery and great public transport system make the city feel relaxed and accessible, despite its size.
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