Ali Mclean

I have a problem with rafting on the River Soca (pronounced “sotcha), basically, I find it very hard to concentrate on the actual job in hand i.e. paddling.

The reason is that the Soca and indeed, the Soca Valley are as beautiful as anywhere I’ve ever travelled.

I’ve visited this peaceful and idyllic valley with its towering mountain scenery, alpine meadows and fast-flowing emerald green river more than 20 times and it has only once disappointed. Unfortunately, on that occasion it poured with rain all weekend just when we were accompanied by a BBC crew who struggled valiantly to capture the timeless wonder of this striking river valley.

The first time I saw the Catalan Pyrenees was 04 January 2002.  It was three days after the birth of the European single currency and I was stood on the edge of Lake Maurici in the Aigues Tortes National Park. The call back to the office simply said ‘We have struck oil’ and so was born our Catalan Pyrenees family activity holiday which has been our flagship summer option ever since. 

The town of Sort is located just over 3 hours from Barcelona and has not changed in the 13 years since.

The town of approximately 2000 inhabitants lies on the fast flowing Noguera Pllaresa river which is the centerpiece for most of the activities we feature – whitewater rafting, kayaking, hydrospeeding as well as exciting canyoning.

I have done so many of our family activity holidays so picking one favourite activity is pretty tough.

Ultimately however, 40km of whitewater rafting in Spain’s Pyrenees has to be the winner.  Rafting rivers in summer in Europe can sometimes just have enough water to be called true rafting, but the Noguera Pallaresa always delivers in July and August as it always has the fallback of a quick call to the dam for the release of water.

Here, our Managing Director tells you why he goes back to Finnish Lapland year after year.

In this job, I travel a great deal on business-related matters but always find some time to go out and play regardless of whether it’s hydrospeeding on Slovenia’s stunning Soca River or husky sledding across the frozen lakes and undulating hills of Fell Lapland.

You would think that somebody who visits snow covered Lapland up to five or six times every year would seek somewhere slightly warmer for a holiday. Not so, when it comes to the McLean Family holiday, we’ve headed straight back to Finnish Lapland for the last five years running.