Internet-free family holidays: Log off then take off for a child-friendly digital detox
Gadgets may be top of most children's wishlists this Christmas, but turning everything off can be the key to some much-missed family time.
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Your support makes all the difference.At Swinton Bivouac (0117 946 7072; i-escape.com), a cluster of shacks and yurts in the Yorkshire Dales, activities include foraging and pottery painting. Family yurts sleeping five cost from £90 per night, self-catering.
Great Escape Glamping (01873 890415; sugarandloaf.com) offers campfire cooking, wildlife watching, and canoeing in the Brecon Beacons. Three nights in a huddle of shepherds' huts, sleeping up to eight, costs from £600.
There's no wi-fi or TV at Ash Lodge in the Cotswolds. Instead, youngsters can explore a 40-acre farm with play areas and an indoor pool. The four-bed property from Sykes Cottages (01244 356695; sykescottages.co.uk) has prices starting at £274 for a week.
On the North Devon Coast, Sea Cottage (01326 555555; classic.co.uk) has direct access to the Tarka Cycle Trail and is close to surfing beaches. The New England-style chalet sleeps four and can be rented from £348 per week.
Tarka Trail too tame? Grasshopper Adventures (020 8123 8144; grasshopperadventures.com) runs a week-long family cycling trip covering 71 miles between Saigon and Danang in Vietnam. The fully supported tour costs from £4,410 for two adults and two children, with B&B and transfers, but not flights.
In Thailand, Selective Asia (01273 670001; selectiveasia.com) offers an 11-day family holiday that includes three nights in a tree house deep in teak forests near Chiang Mai. From £3,600 for a family of four, with B&B and transfers, but excluding flights.
A 10-night family wildlife adventure in Sri Lanka with Turquoise Holidays (01494 678400; turquoiseholidays.co.uk) features a luxury tented safari in Yala National Park, home to leopards, elephants and sloth bears. From £9,298 for two adults and two children, including accommodation, private vehicle and flights from Heathrow to Colombo.
Mahlatini (028 9073 6050; mahlatini.com) offers four nights at Naboisho Camp on the edge of Kenya's Maasai Mara for £11,325 for two adults and two children, all-inclusive, with flights from Heathrow to Nairobi, internal flights and transfers.
Starting in Vancouver or Calgary, Audley Travel (01993 838 700; audleytravel.com) has a 15-day family holiday to Canada's Rocky Mountains from £4,750 per person, with flights from London, accommodation, car hire and some meals. Highlights include horse-riding, wilderness survival skills and kayaking.
William Gray is the editor of 101familyholidays.co.uk
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