CHILDREN’S author Jonathan Walker’s latest book is just out.
Bill and the Little Red Plane (Chirpy Stories) is an illustrated picture book for three to six-year-olds about a boy and a plane following a migration of birds from the UK to an African rainforest.
Jonathan, 34, was brought up in Yorkshire but now lives in Portsmouth with his wife Anna and their two-year-old son Reuben.
AS a kid in Yorkshire, about the furthest I got on holiday was a static caravan in east coast resorts such as Filey.
So joining the Royal Navy as a humble seaman was a real eye-opener.
For five years, I travelled all over the world, from Australia to Africa, and that wanderlust continued after I left the service.
South Africa was one place that fascinated, especially Simon’s Town, near Cape Town.
It has a bit of an old colonial feel and the wildlife is amazing. Just around from Simon’s Town is Boulders Beach, which has a world-famous penguin colony. They are such lovely little creatures, really full of character.
But if I had to select just one holiday destination that I’ll never forget, it’s Lake Bled in Slovenia.
It was where I spent my honeymoon so it’s bound to have special memories.
We were going in July and, being as I come from Yorkshire and I’m not great with the heat, it was attractive as it only got into the mid-70s.
It turned out to be a true fairytale experience.
We’d splashed out – actually it wasn’t that much – for 10 days in a five-star hotel right on the shores of the lake.
The hotel was full of character and history, which included being a meeting place for the Nazis during the Second World War.
Now the meetings are very different as it’s a popular place for getting together for a civilised afternoon tea.
That was lovely, but we were tempted elsewhere too.
We had a double balcony overlooking the lake and straight across was this magnificent castle.
No speedboats were allowed on the lake, so if you did want to visit by water, you had to get there by rowing boat, which added to the romance.
Or you could walk around the lake. With the backdrop of the Julian Alps, it couldn’t have been any more spectacular.
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