Envy Apartment

PH New book Family London reveals the best family experiences in London LEE VALLEY WHITE WATER CENTRE Alongside the twisted form of Anish Kapoor’s ArcelorMittal Orbit, one of the best toys left behind after the London 2012 Summer Olympics may be this giant, artificial riverbed. For adrenaline-loving over-14s, the temptation to hop in a group raft and take on the sodden dips and turns of the full course will prove strong. But be warned, a day here can be just as exhausting as it is exhilarating. Related articles There’s a thorough safety briefing, an icy dip to prove your proficiency in the water and a kindly drill sergeant of an instructor bellowing orders throughout. Those after something easier (or under-14s) can make a splash in the smaller Legacy Loop area on a Hydrospeed board or in a Hot Dog canoe and even younger ones can stomp around in the sand in the designated beach area . ● 0300 003 0616/gowhitewater.co.uk PH Family London: Fun Days Out with Children from Tots to Teens...

The long retail spine of Sydney Road, Brunswick, just north of Melbourne's CBD, was once a prosperous trading outpost on the way to the goldfields. These days it's a bohemian mix of variety stores, op shops, halal butchers and Lebanese bakeries. Take a side street to the west, however, and a different picture emerges. Sandwiched between Sydney Road and the Upfield train line is an area undergoing rapid and widespread transformation. Light industry is fast being replaced by mid- rise apartment buildings , their inhabitants attracted by the short commute into town and cheaper prices than in the city's south-east. The quality of these units is, on the whole, depressingly bad; think poor ventilation and bedrooms that "borrow" natural light (a weasel word for being dark and windowless). The occasional jazzy façade tries feebly to make up for otherwise cheap construction amid a chorus of greys. At ground level, carpark roller doors alternate with mean pocket garden...