Rachel Swabey time travels 430 years for a Shropshire family break

Whether you have a family that likes to be on-the-go, or you're a parent whod love to be on your child's school trip - or even if you struggle to think of ways to tire the kids out in the holidays - this grand old building could be just right for you.

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Usually a destination for residential school trips, former manor house JCA Condover Hall in the Shropshire countryside also opens its doors in school holidays for active families to stay for two, three or four nights, leaving screens behind and taking part in loads of activities.

My husband Rob and I have three high-energy children and enjoy a challenge ourselves, so when I heard about JCA's Family Adventure holidays, I was keen to give them a go. Our children range from five to 12 years old so finding something to keep all entertained can be difficult.

But when I discovered Condover Hall offers activities ranging from abseiling to axe throwing (over eights only), via a Mission Impossible-style laser assault course, I knew the usual holiday choruses of "I'm bored!" would be unlikely to follow us here.

Once we had settled into our rooms and had lunch, we were introduced to instructor Skip, who looked after us on all the activities throughout our stay.