Sunday Mirror

Child-Friendly Lanzarote ; Canary Island Is the Hot Destination for Family Fun

Power to the people How home owners are generating electricity

Holidays

Wish You Were.. Here?

1. Riyad Shama, Marrakech A STYLISH riad dating back to the 18th Century and near the historic medina. It has recently been restored and has original cedar ceilings and acres of marble and elaborate tiles. There are only seven rooms and suites, each with fireplaces, making this an inviting place to stay all year-round. There's a 10 metre swimming pool and a roof terrace to relax. You're only a mile away from Djemaa el-Fna Square where jugglers and fire-eaters wow the crowds after dusk.

Top 10 Best Christmas Shopping Breaks ; Combine Your Hunt for Stocking Fillers with a Fun Seasonal Getaway, Says Gill Williams...

To book today or for more Travel Top 10 ideas simply go to www.sundaymirror.co.uk/travel/top10 COLOGNE (pounds 240)

Deals of the Week

SHORT HAUL Lanzarote from pounds 345pp

We're a Very Happy Family

ANDREE Frieze and her husband Shimon have taken holidays with her parents and other family members since their first son was born eight years ago. "We get on well anyway, so going on holiday with them wasn't such a big step" says Andree, 40, of South-West London. "It's great fun. I love sitting round the dinner table with my family, taking time over a meal, drinking lots of wine and chatting to the wee hours. There was always company if you want it, but it also means you can go out without ha...

All Together Now ; Top Spots for Big Gatherings

Woodlands Estate, Cornwall FOR a very big family, Woodlands Estate, near Bude, can take 31. Woodlands Manor itself sleeps 12 and has VisitBritain's five stars, while three stone cottages have four stars. There are 40 acres of grounds, a heated indoor pool, a games room and the nearby sandy beaches of Bude and stunning cliff walks of the north coast of Cornwall to take in.

Cruise News

TAKE a 10-night European cruise on the Cunard Queen Victoria from pounds 9 4 9 p p. D e p a r t i n g Southampton on December 9, the ship calls at Hamburg, Stavanger (Norway), Oslo, Copenhagen and Zeebrugge (Brussels). Details: www.sailfromuk.com, 0808 202 6104. PRICES for Royal Caribbean International's Adventure of the Seas seven-night Western Med fly/cruise on June 26 start from pounds 842, with flights. It departs Malaga and stops include Sardinia, Corsica and Rome. De t a i l s: www.roya...

Inside Guide

Need expert advice on your hols? Ask Travel Editor Gill Williams Write to Gill Williams at Homes & Holidays, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP or email gill.williams@mgn.co.uk Help make a widow ?merry for Christmas

Win a Fab Holiday in Lanzarote

WE'VE teamed up with award-winning travel group Monarch and Barcel Hotels & Resorts so one lucky reader can win a week-long holiday for two people to Lanzarote. Our winner will get seven nights' half-board accommodation at the four-diamond rated Hotel Barcel Lanzarote in Costa Teguise, return flights with Monarch from Birmingham, Gatwick, Luton or Manchester airports, plus travel insurance courtesy of Insurefor.com.

Heaven for Your Little Angels ; Warm Welcome in Lanzarote

I'VE been to hotels described as child-friendly in the brochure, only to find children are treated like annoying little aliens who've landed on the wrong planet. Others advertise hotels with kids' clubs which boil down to an unmanned room with a few crayons and occasional visit from a sulky minder.

Between the Sheets ; Inside Our Hotel of the Week

TRIGONY HOUSE HOTEL, NEAR THORNHILL, DUMFRIES Where and why If you think country house hotels are a bit old- fashioned and unwelcoming, then think again. Once a shooting lodge, Trigony House combines a stunning location (set in four acres of rolling woodland and gardens) with the friendly, personal touch you'd get in a small city centre boutique hotel.

Your Holiday Pounds

Travel Update

THOMAS COOK has become an official organiser of short breaks and tickets to the 2012 Olympics and the Paralympics. Tickets go on sale in 2011 but register online at www.thomascook.com before December 20 this year and you'll go into the draw for a family weekend in London, including a tour of the Olympic Park. NO -FRI LLS hotel chain easyHotel is to open a property in Sofia, Bulgaria's capital in January with rooms from around pounds 10 a night. For information go to www.easyhotel.com

Great Uk Days Out

Surprising Edinburgh ; Forget the City's Forbidding Image and Revel in Place That's Full of Fun

APPEARANCES can be deceptive. At first glance Edinburgh can seem haughty, if a little forbidding, with the polished edges of its Georgian architecture rubbing up against the city's volcanic crags. Yet spend a weekend there and you soon discover this is a city full of life with grand streets, cosy bars and history at every corner.

Offer

Save pounds 4.95 on raspberries RASPBERRY Joan J is celebrated for its high yields of large fruits with an outstanding flavour. The berries will be ready to pick from late July. Canes are spineless for easy picking. We are offering five canes of Joan J, grown on a top Norfolk fruit farm, for just pounds 13.95 inc p&p, or save pounds 4.95 when you buy 10 canes at pounds 22.95.

Work On the Wild Side ; Your Garden Doesn't Have to Be a Wilderness to Become a Wonderland for Wildlife. Nectar-Rich Flowerbeds, Lawns and Native Trees and Shrubs All Help Insects, Birds, Bees and Butterflies

PUT IN A POND CREATING a pond will encourage lots of wildlife. Make it as big as possible and site it in a sunny spot away from trees. Stock it with native plants and give it some shallow, sloping edges to allow animals easy access. Don't put goldfish in - they eat frog and toad spawn.

Do It! ; Jobs for the Week

Easy Protect newly-planted trees with a tree collar or a plastic or cardboard tube to protect the stem from being chewed by rabbits and used as a scratching pole by cats. Stow away your mower for the winter. Wash it down to remove all remains of grass and, if it's petrol-driven, book it into a specialist machinery expert for a service.

Expert Advice

I've only got one bite at the apple.. which is best? I HAVE room for just one apple tree. Which variety do you recommend? - Ceri Nichols, Hexham, Northumberland