Zoos aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but we quite like them. Our latest visit was a great opportunity to talk conservation of animals with N as he was asking about why we had zoos. We had a spare day and I was looking for something to do outdoors to make the most of the outdoors and some of the only sun on my week off work. After comparing Whipsnade and Dudley Zoo, I decided that Dudley was better value and… Continue Reading “Day out at Dudley Zoo”
You’d think most children would love to visit places and get out away from home. But not my son because the farm calls to him. My only chance for getting him out is offering a bike ride. But even that is a battle because he always just says he wants to go to the local park. Sigh. The playground isn’t great, it’s a bit dull and it’s not very exciting going to the same place time and time again. But… Continue Reading “Kilkenny Lane country park – a new playground discovery”
I love going out and about with N. It’s lovely to spend time with him and see how he’s changing over the year. Last year we had a great time at the first ever Countryfile Live show, and again managed to get tickets to return there again this year. For once, there was no moaning from N. Hey, there’s tractors (and fairground rides which is what he was planning for), so there wasn’t a problem having to bargain to get… Continue Reading “Countryfile Live 2017 – celebrating outdoor life”
We’ve pretty much been to every National Trust property near us, but holidays mean there’s more opportunity to explore and discover new places. Many appear on other blogs I’ve read, but on our way home from Norfolk, I wanted to stop off to break up the journey and make the most of our membership. A random place I spotted was Anglesey Abbey and Gardens, so off we headed. I wasn’t sure what to expect when we arrived, but it turned… Continue Reading “Enjoying natural play at Anglesey Abbey and Gardens”
As children we holidayed a couple of years in north Norfolk, so I was keen to return to some of the places we’d visited back then. It was a real blast from the past although I tend to only remember names rather than details. But it was 30 years ago, so to be expected! On our first afternoon on holiday, we’d had a bit of time after Cromer before heading back to the hotel. The weather had looked better by… Continue Reading “Exploring National Trust’s Felbrigg Hall”
It’s been a while since I’ve been to our nearby National Trust property, Upton House. And a few years since I took N for a Cadbury easter egg hunt there. The first time we took N’s youngest cousin with us, and this time we invited him along too. At 8 he’s still willing to look for Easter eggs, and he and N always love being out and about together. With my family membership I could get the nephew in too,… Continue Reading “Easter Egg hunt at Upton House”
We had a really lazy Christmas holidays. Usually N can’t wait to get out on the farm, but this holiday, he mostly only went out for an hour or so. My anticipated free time to spend blogging didn’t happen, and instead we spend a lot of time chilling out at home. In between Christmas and new year, I was determined to get out though, and with Stowe Gardens not far away, I decided we should go and check out their… Continue Reading “Winter walk at Stowe Gardens”
I do like a castle when we’re visiting places, and there were a few on Jersey to visit. I wanted to head out to the east coast to Gorey. The perfect opportunity to make the most of our bus passes, to see the coast, and explore the coastal town. Add Mont Orgueil castle in, and I was envisaging a lovely morning out. Gorey is a pretty seaside town. The bus pulls right into the centre where flower displays abound, restaurants… Continue Reading “A ‘scary’ visit to Mont Orgueil Castle, Gorey Jersey”
While I hate saying goodbye to the lovely summer weather we had in September, I do love autumn. Not only because it’s my birthday month but also for the colour, mists, sunrise and sunsets, bonfires and more. Pumpkins were never really on my mind until a few years ago when we went pumpkin picking at Hatton Adventure World. Autumn Last year we slacked and just bought one from the supermarket. But this year we wanted to go again. Because picking… Continue Reading “How to pick pumpkins and Millets Farm Centre visit”
Our holiday to Jersey seems like a lifetime ago now. Every so often I look at the photos and remember how good a break, and what fun we had. One of best and most simple things we did was go to the park near our hotel. Every day, in fact several times a day, because it was the nicest way to walk into town. N loves a park, and the Howard Davis Park in St Helier is a pretty good example… Continue Reading “Howard Davis Park discovery in St Helier”
