Category: Days Out

Today I am aching all over from a strenuous work out yesterday. It wasn’t a run, a gym session or a fitness DVD but a morning at the local Splash centre where we ran up steps, pushed through slides and swam against currents. It was a great morning and reminded me of similar childhood visits to the Oasis pool in Swindon, hopefully today’s outing will help the children create their own happy memories too.

The trip was another example of the type of activities we’re able to do with the children now that they are that little bit older. They were both tall enough for all the rides and wanted to do them there was no fear just a need for speed, excitement and challenge. Mr S has a bad back so he wasn’t able to do all the slides but as the children and I ran up the steps he was at the bottom of the slides ready to fish us out! The Splash centre is an impressive site with a variety of slides, steep, windy, short and long, some you float down whilst others are tackled with a rubber ring. We wore a smart arm band to tell us when we could go down the slide and it also recorded all your stats for a certificate at the end. I was a bit reluctant to pay for the certificate but am proud in the knowledge that I did every slide enthusiastically! Strangely what struck me on the visit was that whilst the children on the slides were boys and girls in equal numbers there were very few women in the pool, far more were watching on the side. I was proud that in the words of a current campaign to encourage women into sport ‘this girl can’

Yesterday was another fab family day full of encouragement, fun and celebration. I’m sure we’ll be back again for more and are thinking of similar new challenges to do together.

Today was an early start to attend the county show. It’s a brilliant day out and when I was asked to describe it to a friend yesterday the best I could manage was its like Glastonbury without the live music, a little town which pops up in country fields for a week and is a stunning heritage day out. Many people camp onsite, approx. 25k a day, but it’s a very popular day visit too, hence our early morning start to avoid the heavy traffic. We’ve become regular visitors over the years and it’s a real treat for the beginning of September. There are a few events coming up in the next few weeks which are quite special for locals, after the hard work for many in the summer holidays, prime tourist time, it’s a little holiday in a weekend.

The site of the show is huge and it’s impossible to visit every attraction in the one day. Today we watched some of the horse shows, saw some livestock, visited vintage vehicles of all kinds, mooched around the craft tents, sampled local produce in the food tents, watched stunt shows in the main arena, relived the trenches of World War 1 in a centenary exhibition, did some rides in the fairground, watched traditional crafts and walked miles just browsing and looking at all on offer. Needless to say we’re all rather tired tonight.

I love the show for inspiration, my favourites today were some of the vintage caravans, pastel coloured with pretty bunting and complementary accessories. In my dreams I could have one in our garden and use it as my little den. A girl has got to have dreams, as in the words of Captain Sensible, ‘you’ve got to have a dream, if you don’t have a dream, how you gonna make a dream come true?

Its been a great day out and a real treat after everyone’s first few days back at school, one of those days out to extend Summer a little bit longer.

As I sit here typing away there is a little sadness to this post, our summer is over and a new school year awaits for the little ones tomorrow. To me the sadness is the passing of time, summer is my favourite time of the year, I’m a summer baby and it’s always been a time of celebration, birthdays, relaxed time with family and friends and new experiences. It ends with the new school year which before our family signalled a new start professionally and now only emphasises how quickly my amazing children are growing up. I read we only have 18 summers with our children, we lost some before our little ones came to live with us, so that’s nearly half of Little Miss’ family summers gone and that does make me sad. I have so enjoyed our summer holidays together, nearly seven weeks of just being together and having fun. The weather has been pants but it hasn’t spoilt our time, we’ve just changed our plans to suit the day. My favourite activities of the holidays are actually some of the simplest. The wild, wet and windy walk along the beach to see the Antony Gormley sculpture was brilliant. It was exciting and exhilarating and we really laughed, imagined and played. My other favourite was doing the Shaun the Sheep trail with Grandma, again a free activity but one which had us exploring Bristol and allowed us to just spend time talking and being together. Both prove that it’s not expensive experiences which create memories but special people and precious times.

The summer has been brilliant and full of fun activities. Spain was fantastic and thankfully a hot and sunny break in an otherwise very wet and miserable summer, our best times are the four of us relaxing and playing together. The bucket list was a great idea and one I’ll definitely repeat next year. We didn’t achieve everything but I’m content with what we managed and there’s no reason why we can’t finish off the last few items in the coming weeks.

1. : ( Go horse riding – The weather was so unpredictable that I was reluctant to book in advance for the holiday club, hopefully the weather will improve in the next few months and then we’ll book a weekend trip.
2. : ) Watch the ballet at the theatre – Little Miss and I loved the ballet, Sleeping Beauty, in her words it was “twirling, elegant and smooth”
3. : )  Play putting – this was a family treat on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.  Mr S’ golf skills shone through but we all found it fun.
4. : ) Go to Grandma and Granfer’s –This was lovely.  Once my parents moved we got to visit and stay in their new house which is so nice and welcoming, a real family hub.  One evening, we went on the pier and had hot doughnuts and played air hockey and the machines, magic.
5. : ) Find Shaun the Sheep in Bristol – Stunning, one of my favourite things of the holiday
6. : ) Play on the beach – whilst we’ve not had the best weather we’ve been on the beach as soon as the sun has shone.
7. : ) Have a picnic on a long walk – This was the Gormley sculpture walk and a picnic in the car as the winds and rain whipped around us.
8. : ) Go to the farm– This is a local farm and outdoor play area, the children loved their day here.  It’s a place they have always loved and we have many photos from over the years.  It was brilliant but it was bitter sweet, they are getting to an age where they are growing out of the attraction and it may be one of our final visits.
9. : ) Do a bike ride – Little Man has made brilliant progress with his bike, we’ve not ridden on roads abut have cycled around our local park.
10. : ) Do the library reading challenge – Done and the medals have been awarded.
11. : ) Get the paddling pool out – On the first glimpse of a sunny day we had the pool out and made as much of a splash as we could, we managed three hours before the weather turned.
12. : ( Make real lemonade – not quite managed this but we have made some great hot chocolates.
13. : )  Discover dinosaurs – this was a brilliant afternoon last Thursday at a local country park led by a highly enthusiastic and passionate guide.  We did some crafts but handled real fossils, dug for fossils in the sand and made dino footprints.
14. : ) Watch Inside Out at the cinema – I did like this film and it was a good wet afternoon activity.
15. : ) Watch the Minions at the cinema – this was the first thing ticked off the list when Mr S took the children to the cinema when I was still at work in the first days of their holiday.  They loved it!
16. : ) Play with our birthday presents and toys – with the rough weather we’ve done lots of crafts and playing inside so another ticked off.
17. : ( Sit down on the grass and sketch – another one to do, although we have done a lot of pictures and other art work inside.
18.  : ( Do messy play, play with gloop – I have the ingredients we may save this until half term and do some spooky fun.

The wet and grim weather has exhausted my enthusiasm and resources for crafting this holiday, so following the adage that there is no such thing as bad weather just poor clothing, we ventured out today, carefully dressed to complete one of our Bucket List activities. We chose the picnic and walk and went to a local beach to see one of the five Anthony Gormley sculptures around the U.K. which make up the LAND project. The iron sculpture was erected in May 2015 and is due to stand in position for one year. I do hope to be able to visit the statue on a number of occasions to gain different perspectives of the work.

Our walk was wet, windy and muddy but quite exhilarating and fun, the children ran around and discovered the bay, we climbed rocks, walked to the tower up a very steep flight of steps and explored the local marine centre. As the weather was so bad, we were the only ones at the sculpture and we got to scramble over the rocks and really look at the work. The children were quite taken by the sculpture, we nicknamed him Kim and they became statues themselves, posing by looking out to sea near him. They were really imaginative about the things he might see or do and I did feel they appreciated the art. I was really impressed when we came home and they made up their own ‘Kim’ from Lego.

Despite our enthusiasm to walk in the rain, by the time we had finished we were muddy and wet so the picnic was taken in the car with the hot air blasting through the car to warm us up. Another bucket list activity successfully ticked off.

I’m not sure who was more excited by the children breaking up today, its six and half weeks with my little munchkins and I can’t wait to spend our days together.  We’re excited about our plans and to ensure we try and have a go at everything, we created a bucket list this evening.  The children’s contributions were brilliant, Little Man chose his favourites, a farm and the beach but Little Miss surprised me with her choices, she really wants to sit on the grass and sketch, have a long walk and picnic and do some horse riding which is a favourite at the moment.  We also counted how many holidays we have and put a countdown tile on my phone so we can savour each day.  Here’s to a happy, sunny and memorable Summer, 48 days of Summer sparkles.

Unfortunately, we had to change our planned family day due to inclement weather but we had such a brilliant day out, it was a very worth while change to the plans.  When we awoke to miserable weather and rain, we needed a new family activity and inspired by our breakfast cereal box, Mr S suggested a trip to the local aquarium. The link to the cereal box was that it had a voucher on for BOGOF and Mr S got sent out to the shop for another box with the same voucher thus saving £40 on our day out.  I do like a saving!

I have passed the Aquarium many times but until today I had never been in, from the outside it doesn’t look too impressive but inside it was wonderful. As well as the exhibits there was also a special competition to be a LEGO deep sea diver, so we had fun looking for LEGO toys in the tanks.  The centre housed all different sea creatures, rays, sea horses, sharks, turtles, ocean life and penguins.  My favourites were the turtles and the rays mainly for their stunning appearance and the graceful way in which they glided through the water.  I loved the patterns on the animals the patterns, shapes and shades were stunning, there is so much inspiration in nature.  As well as the sea life there were also simple rides, we did Crocodile Creek, a water flume and got soaking wet, much to the children’s amusement and Copacabana where the children could play in splash pools and fountains, we were prepared and brought towels and swimming costumes with us.  Fortunately by lunch time, the weather had improved greatly and we enjoyed our picnic and then were able to play in bright, warm sunshine.

The Sea Life centre was really informative and interesting and I was pleasantly surprised by its work on conservation and pledge not to exhibit creatures simply for public enjoyment, thus there were no dolphins or whales.  The day went so quickly and we all really enjoyed the attraction, best of all we got free return tickets for September to see their latest exhibit, we’re already looking forward to our return.

Originally we had planned a day at the beach for today but with a mixed forecast we spent a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon at the beach freeing us up for today.  We had a few plans but decided on the Pick Your Own farm  where the strawberries and gooseberries were in season and ready to pick.  It was a lovely activity and the children loved picking the fruit and nibbling a few samples as they progressed along the rows!  Little Man was delighted to find the biggest strawberry!  Thanks to our trip we were treated to sweet and juicy strawberries and cream at lunch and Little Miss and I worked together to make a delicious gooseberry crumble as pudding with our Sunday Roast this evening.  Delicious!

Our family time today was a treat for Father’s day with a meal at a pub.  As it was a country pub, we decided to make an activity of it too and stopped off en route to fly a kite.  The kites were presents from my sister in law,  as at our last visit we had been talking about simple pleasures and kite flying.  A few weeks later some lovely kites arrived for the children courtesy of her, a generous and thoughtful gesture.  Although bright it was a breezy day, so perfect conditions to fly a kite.  Little Miss got the hang of it very quickly and ran around the field flying her kite.  Little man was more frustrated and cross with his kite until we realised one of the sticks had been put in incorrectly and when rectified he too ran and laughed at his kite.  As a very unexpected bonus as we looking in the sky at our kites the Red Arrows flew over in formation, I’ve no idea where they were performing but it was a real treat to see them.  Lunch at the pub was lovely, a simple but very happy Father’s day.

The homemade cards for Father’s day

At this time of year, life gets crazy busy with family celebrations, end of school year events and Summer fun. Amidst all this mayhem we do have a family rule that on Sundays we all do something together, a trip to a local attraction, a walk or simply time on the beach. Today we took a picnic and visited a local beauty spot, the Blue Pool. It’s a beautiful place and one that inspires and calms with its beauty, tranquillity and peacefulness. We had a lovely surprise when we arrived and discovered a new attraction this year, a fairy door trail. You follow one of the trails and find the hidden fairy doors, all of which have numbers on. At the end of the trail you add the numbers and then go into the café which homes a beautiful fairy house and open the door to see if your answer matches the number. As well as our pride at getting the correct answer the children were delighted with their fairy certificates. The activity just added a little sparkle to our walk, we imagined what the fairies might do in the forest, where they would play and how they might use the different plants, Little Miss decided the ferns would be great for the fairies to float on in the Blue Pool and we shared some lovely ideas and stories. The trail was an unexpected delightful addition to a trip which has always been a family favourite.

Our area is rich in history and has strong connections with the Second World War as many troops were stationed and preparations made for D day in our locality. One story of this period is of the ‘ghost’ village we visited today.  It was a small village of 100 households who in December  1943 were ordered to move out of the village for the war effort but promised they could return at the end of the war.  Sadly the promise was not kept, the residents never returned and the village was left to ruin.  Over the past few years, some development has been undertaken to make it more informative and interesting, information boards in the ruined houses, a recreation of the school house, artefacts displayed etc..  However because of the legalities of the land, owned by the MOD with exercises still taking place nearby it is not a developed tourist attraction, only open at certain periods of the year and all commercial ventures are forbidden.  Such restrictions have made the area an unusual haven for stunning wildlife, we heard cuckoos today and walked through woods full of wild garlic on our way to the bay.  We had Grandad with us and his breadth of knowledge about wildlife is incredible.  I love the way he engages the children in their natural world, he makes me want to learn more too.