Lauren Tabbron shares her favourite things to do in Manchester
Jess Astbury regales tales of festivities in warmer climates.
Written by Katie Croft
Last summer, my girlfriend and I wanted to find somewhere we could go in September that would be hot, cheap, not crowded, interesting and new but not too far away, where we could relax but also go walking and do some more active stuff. Sounds fussy? Well, it was, but we picked Lake Bled and it had everything we asked for.
When to go
Anytime between May and September, although I definitely advise September: it’s still hot and most of the other annoying tourists have gone home.
Getting there
For those of you that care about the environment, Slovenia is close enough to get to on the train, so do as we did and take the Eurostar to Paris, an overnight sleeper to Munich and then a direct train to either Bled Jezero (very close to the campsite) or Lesce-Bled (closer to the town of Bled) railway stations. For the rest of you, EasyJet etc all fly to Ljubliana and you can take a short bus or train ride from there.
Where to stay
Bled town has numerous shiny and expensive hotels but there’s also a YHA Hostel which is just in the centre of town (which is tiny, so really everything’s in the centre of town). Alternatively, a cheaper option is again, to do as we did and stay at Camping Bled, which is set in a stunning pine gorge just at the edge of the lake.
It’s at the opposite end of the lake to the town, but it has its own shop, restaurant, bar and beach, and it only takes 20 minutes to walk into the centre of Bled. It also has excellent washing facilities and you can hire boats and canoes from the campsite.
What to do
If you prefer a more relaxed pace to life, then you can spend your time wandering round the lake, sunbathing, swimming and enjoying the scenery. The small island in the centre of the lake is rowing-distance and there are various castles and churches to amble around.
However, if the idea of sitting on a beach all afternoon makes you want to eat your eyeball, then don’t worry, there are lots of other things to see apart from churches and ducks. There are many trails in the hills around Bled of various lengths so you can go walking or mountain biking. A pleasant hour’s walk away from Bled is Vintgar, where the Radovna river goes down a stunning, steep tree-lined gorge which was inaccessible until some clever dick built a very complex and slightly precarious wooden walkway system down it, in jungle fashion.
Also close by is Babji Zob Cave, which has weird spiral stalactites; and Bohinj Lake, which is much larger than Bled and has a good 18m waterfall by it. It also has a strange cow festival which we chanced upon, but I won’t go into that.
If you’re looking for something even more exciting than a cave, then don’t worry - there are various tour operators that will take you trekking in Triglav National Park, parapenting, mountain biking, sky diving, canyoning and all the usual stuff. The prices are all roughly the same but look around to make sure you get the best deal because it is expensive.
Nightlife
I’m not going to lie - there isn’t really that much. There are bars and even a casino, but Bled is a small town and Ibiza it ain’t.
Where to eat
As were in Bled on the cheap, we mainly cooked on a trangia in the evening and ate crisp sandwiches for lunch. However, there are lots and lots of restaurants in Bled, from pizzerias to places serving traditional Slovenian food (which is much like all other Eastern European food).
We did go to one very good restaurant called Okarina which had excellent Italian food, tandoori (!) and lots of veggie options. And, as an extra bonus, you can feel blessed to be in the same restaurant that Sir Paul McCartney once visited. Oh and obviously, I have to mention that Bled is "famous" for its cream cakes, so eat one of those.
Other Things
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