A Suitable Age? - by Dea Birkett

We’ve just been to one of the best plays we’ve seen for a long, long time. I know it’s theatre, not travel. But as it’s called The London Eye Mystery and is about a young teenager disappearing on the giant wheel that turns on the south bank of the Thames and gives the best ever view of London, I feel I can mention it here. The eight-year-old twins particularly enjoyed it, intrigued and terrified in turns. There was only one hitch. The recommended age for the play was ten plus. Only their big teenage sister should have been sitting in the audience.

This set me thinking about recommended ages for travel experiences. Many tour companies now offer holidays for children with a certain number of years. Even family safaris often have an over-eight requirement. Taking your three-year-old on a Nile Cruise would generally be frowned upon. But the twins loved The London Eye Mystery, even though they were theoretically two years too young. So should we pay any attention to well-intended age restrictions on travel?

I think it’s fine as long as it’s only advice. I don’t think it’s fine if holiday companies start telling us that a toddler is too young to look at a Velazquez painting in the Prado. Or that my teenager is too old to hook a duck in the Tivoli fairground, when (she’ll murder me for letting you know this) she still shrieks when she wins a tacky prize.

We know our kids better than any holiday company. So I think it’s up to us to decide whether a break is suitable for them, whatever their age.

And some of us are younger at heart than we might first appear. The Unicorn is a children’s theatre, and The London Eye Mystery a play for young people. But I really, really enjoyed it. Far more than anything I’ve seen lately aimed at the age range I’m supposed to be – adult.

The London Eye Mystery is running at the Unicorn Theatre until 18 April www.unicorntheatre.com.

Takethefamily.com have an exclusive offer for their twitter followers with special priced tickets for 7pm shows of The London Eye Mystery. See Takethefamily's Twitter page for more details twitter.com/Takethefamily 

Tickets for the real London Eye from www.londoneye.com

Finding Espana, in Spain - by Dea Birkett

‘Let’s go to Spain!’ said my teenager. It was a good idea, and we all agreed, including the eight-year-old twins.

The trouble was, we were already there, in the heart of Murcia, less that half a kilometre from the Mediterranean coast, where palm trees dot the landscape and paella is the classic dish.

But where we were staying, it didn’t feel like Spain at all. We were in La Manga, a resort three times the size of Monaco. And it was a kingdom unto itself. Within the resort, we could have been anywhere. Sure, there were tapas bars and open air tennis courts, but there was also a traditional Irish sports bar with giant plasma screen. If we wanted to see Espana, we had to escape to it.

There was a wonderful beyond. Just a 15-minute drive away stood Cartagena, a small town with huge style and an almost complete Roman amphitheatre. We wandered up and down the terrace of stone seats and climbed on to the stage, becoming Roman players ourselves. My man gave us some lines from Shakespeare – ‘Frailty, thy name is woman’ – the only lines he knows. He shouted them into the damp, warm Spanish air. We imagined how it might have been when Augustus was Emperor and held sway in this area, commanding performances. Then we drove back to the resort, the car barrier lifted that shut off all entry roads, and we were in the world we knew.

Familiarity and foreignness were combined in one trip. How fabulous. But a bit of me didn’t want to be that comfortable, even in the evenings. I wanted my presumptions and concerns to be unsettled. If I go away, even on a family holiday, I want to see the world from a slightly different angle. Standing on the steps at the Roman Theatre, I did so. Back in the resort, I felt as cosy as could be.

I suppose every holiday doesn’t have to be an adventure. Does it?

See Takethefamily's pages Hotel La Manga Club Principe Felipe, Hyatt Las Lomas Apartments, La Manga, and Spain. For more information visit www.lamangaclub.com Best guide on Murcia is Dorling Kindersley’s Top Ten Costa Blanca from Amazon