Dinosaurland Fossil Museum in Lyme Regis has a spectacular collection of the local Jurassic marine fossils, from the largest Ichthyosaur through to ammonites, belemnites, fish and the tiniest microfossilthe.
Fascinating for children, the museum is open daily from 10am until 5pm and costs £4.50 for adults and £3.50 for children.
Stay nearby at Copper Beech Cottage (sleeps four), a stylish, contemporary, open-plan cottage which is well-equipped and has a pretty enclosed garden.
A week’s stay beginning 26 September is £97 pp (£387 total).
Via Classic Cottages.
If you love a good walk or perhaps you are looking for a holiday with a little more culture combined with a feeling of achievement then you may want to think about trekking in The Atlas Mountains.
Trekking is growing in popularity as people are ditching the beach for some decent exercise, great air and stunning views.
For those of you that may not know, The Atlas Mountains are situated in Morocco (North Africa), about 1 ½ hours from Marrakesh airport. Like most mountain ranges, in the winter there’s snow and in the summer there’s sun. The setting is absolutely stunning and the mountains are inhabited by the ‘Original’ Moroccans – The Berber Tribes.
If you’re looking for culture then you really have to look no further. Many of the Berber tribes retain traditional ways of life and are incredibly friendly people.
(Mohammed, A Mountain Guide from TrekkingInMorocco.com)
There are a couple of fantastic places to stay in the mountains, notably The Kasbah Du Toubkal along with some of the Berber houses too.
We suggest you start by taking a look at the Trekking In Morocco website and gauging what level of trek you want to do. From 1/2 day to 40 days trekking, there is certainly something for all levels of fitness.
Captivating Cuba has a pretty comprehensive Cuba programme, plus a team of knowledgeable, discreet and helpful, English-speaking representatives in Havana and across Cuba.
Whatever activity or excursion interests you – be it salsa dancing, horse-riding, swimming with dolphins, diving, deep sea fishing, nature trailing, trekking, pampering, painting or visiting a local cigar factory – can be arranged through the London office before you go, or through your representative when you get there.
A week’s stay in Havana costs from just £695 pp (two sharing), including flights (Gatwick), transfers and seven nights’ B&B.
Experience some of Britain’s most remote mountains and finest walking with Wilderness Scotland’s ‘The Knoydart Peninsula’ walk.
Reaching the area by boat, you can enjoy a true wilderness experience, with the opportunity to see the peninsula’s rich wildlife, such as golden eagles and peregrine falcons, while staying in a secluded shoreside lodge and sampling fine Scottish cuisine.
This eight-day small group trip costs £749 pp and includes seven nights’ full-board in a wilderness lodge, all boat transport throughout (starting and finishing in Mallaig), the services of an experienced walking guide and boat skipper.
Via Wilderness Scotland
Crocosaurus Cove is a new theme park situated in Darwin Australia.
As a novelty, the park is offering to lower tourists into a water tank that contains a Choppa - that’s a 5 and half metre saltwater crocodile for the uneducated… It costs £55 and the catch for the Choppa is that there is 4cm of toughened acrylic between you and him. Umm, basically your a bait tease.....!
The locals aren’t best pleased with this, as there are fears that the Choppa is subjected to unnecessary stress.
Umm, you have to ask the question - why this sort of thing might be considered fun? Beyond me, but there you go.
