National Trust: A Winter Walk at Attingham Park

Our National Trust membership runs out at the end of this month. It’s an expense we can regrettably no longer justify, so we’re squeezing every last ounce of value out of it while we can. Today we decided to go further afield, so we hopped in the car for a little family road trip. We were Shrewsbury bound and heading off to Attingham Park for an adventure.

We didn’t really know what to expect from Attingham Park. Perhaps we should’ve read up a bit before we went, but we knew National Trust properties are generally really accessible and everything is well signposted, so we took a chance. There was a lovely house to explore, a deer park, some woodlands, a kitchen garden and much more.

We arrived at lunchtime and we were pretty hungry, so our first stop was the Carriage House Cafe which served simple food. There were a few different places to eat and drink, but we chose this as it was nearest. We shared soup and pasties, which warmed us all up and fortified us for our wintery walk.

Opposite the cafe, which is located in the large courtyard, is the shop and the old stables. For the 1914 WW1 Centenary they have a small but very interesting exhibition about Attingham Park in the stables. The small boy loved exploring the stables, he’s a wannabe farmer and took great care “feeding” the wooden horses hay. He loved the horses (pictured) but at £1500 they were just a teeny bit out of our price range.

Attingham Park

After exploring the stables we wandered down to the orchard, walled garden and then on to the vast playground. The orchard was over three acres and contained 160 apple trees, but at the start of January there wasn’t much to get excited about. We thought it would be an impressive sight in spring with the trees covered in apple blossom. Next to the orchard was the impressive walled garden which has been lovingly restored over the last ten or so year. It’s now producing organic fruit and vegetables and supplies the various cafes and tea rooms at Attingham Park; in season you can also buy fresh produce to take home.

The playground was a bit of a revelation, it was huge and wasn’t your normal play area. It’s been created to encourage adventurous play; so there were dens and stone circles, small hillocks, willow tunnels as well as your standard swings and roundabouts. Good fun, but I wanted to explore a bit more before darkness fell, so I left the boys and struck out by myself.

Although the mansion house was closed for winter, the cafe was open and I knew I’d be able to walk around the exterior of the house. It was as you’d expect pretty vast, a beautiful stately home and I’d love to have been able to spend a bit more time exploring. I managed to take a few snaps, but the light was starting to fade and I’d promised to meet the boys for a warming brew before we headed home.

Attingham Park

As you can see it really is a stunning house, but for me it’s always the smaller details; the intricate ironwork and the almost hidden ceiling roses. There were so many beautiful stone carvings and flourishes everywhere. It was stunning and the views from the building were breathtaking. I didn’t realise just how beautiful that part of the world was.

The cold was running through our bones and despite being well wrapped up the small boy was beginning to shiver. We met up at the Carriage House Cafe for excellent tea and cake. Suitably warmed, we set off home as the moon rose in the sky and the sun tucked itself up for the night. We agreed that getting out of Manchester for the day had put a spring back in our step; blown a few cobwebs away and it had been another grand adventure.

We’ll be back to Attingham Park again. It’s famous for its walks so I’d like to do a bit more of that. It’ll be nice to see it in different seasons. It’s a shame it’s not closer, it’s a real gem and a great family day out.

Attingham Park

Catalyst Science Discovery Centre, Widnes

During half term week it’s hard to find interesting, entertaining things to do for all the family. Something that isn’t all about sitting in front of a screen for hours, perhaps something secretly educational would be good too. The Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in Widnes is both interesting and entertaining as well as being educational. It’s also good value with a family ticket (2 adults, 3 children) costing just £19.95 for the day.

During half term (and all school holidays), the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre have a programme of events designed to attract families. This half term there are two workshops, the first “Energy from Waste” which is a fascinating look at what happens with our waste, for example all Manchester’s waste goes to a processing plant in Runcorn and the fun workshop will look at how waste is turned into energy.

The second workshop is “Ludicrous liquids” and you can discover amazing liquids that act like solids, liquids that change colour on their own, liquids which act like magnets and you can even have a go at creating your own lava lamp.

Catalyst Science Discovery Centre

During school holidays the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre is open 10am-5pm (last entrance 4pm). Car parking is free and you can grab lunch or a snack at the Elements Cafe’. It’s a lovely day out and a great way to introduce children to the exciting world of science and give them the opportunity to explore and discover new things.

If you’d like to visit The Catalyst Science Discovery Centre this half term please do visit their website for more information.

A Day Out with Thomas – East Lancashire Railway

On Sunday 5th October we took the small boy and his cousin to East Lancashire Railway for a day out with Thomas the Tank Engine and friends. We arrived bright and early in Bury, Greater Manchester, in time for the Fat Controller (or Sir Topham Hat if you like) to open up proceedings. The boys were a bit overwhelmed by their surroundings, so we took them for a fortifying hot chocolate and watched Thomas pull into the station and pick up his first load of passengers; much to their delighted amazement.

Once the boys had settled we managed to grab some seats on James and have a ride up to Ramsbottom. Ramsbottom was a much smaller station than Bury and we’d heard that the troublesome trucks would be passing through. We didn’t have to wait long until Diesel pulled the trucks in. They were indeed troublesome. The boys enjoyed climbing in Diesel and having a good look at the trucks.

We had a quick picnic lunch and we heard that Percy would be coming in shortly to have a drink (see picture below), the boys were fascinated with this process and we talked about why steam engines needed lots of big drinks of water. Picnic over we clambered aboard Mavis and chugged back to Bury.

In Bury we decided to get some (temporary) tattoos of Thomas to remind us of the day; then we joined the (long-ish) queue to catch a ride on Thomas. We queued for around half an hour, but took turns to take the boys into the gift shop and buy them a reminder of their day out with Thomas, so it didn’t feel like a horribly long wait.

Thomas once again pulled into the station and we found somewhere to stand in the carriages. t was a short journey, but it was long enough for the boys to have a memory they can enjoy for a long time to come. They also got certificates to show they’d been on Thomas the Tank Engine. They were delighted.

We took one last steam train ride up through Ramsbottom to Rawtenstall and back. Afterwards we finished off our picnic, watched the world go by and talked about our fabulous day out with Thomas.

We bought a family ticket and it cost £44 which was we felt good value for a family day out; that’s just £11 per person and you can have as many train journeys as you want. They also have various Thomas themed free activities you can partake in on the day; including the temporary tattoos and free access to the Bury Transport Museum.

We would definitely have another day out with Thomas at East Lancashire Railway.

A Day Out with Thomas - East Lancashire Railway

Note: We paid for our tickets for our Day Out with Thomas at East Lancashire Railway ourselves.

Our Top Five Most Fun Summer Things

It has not by any stretch of the imagination been a boring summer, ok the sun could’ve shone just a little bit more, but we definitely made the most of it. We had days out to exciting places, met new people and tried new things. We had days in and did painting, crafts, splashing in the paddling pool. But mostly we had a really good time. Looking back over the summer here are our top five most fun things we did…

1. Coombe Mill – we snuck in a visit to meet the Coombe Mill gang, and take a tour of their farm while we were on holiday in Cornwall. It’s such a beautiful place and 100% geared towards families. The small boy loved it and still talks about his visit. We met and helped feed all their animals, collected eggs, tracked down a newborn deer, we played pooh-sticks on the river which runs through the farm and best of all, we visited their miniature railway. A grand day out and we can’t wait to have a proper holiday there soon.

2. CBeebies Land at Alton Towers – this falls squarely into the “we didn’t think we’d like it as much as we did” category. Neither of us adults like roller coasters, so we visited with very mixed feelings. By the end of the day we were completely won over and the small boy had the time of his little life. His highlights include meeting Postman Pat, the Charlie and Lola House and the In The Night Garden boat ride. A brilliant day out and the queues weren’t as dreadful as we imagined. We’ll be back!

3. Blackpool – Being a northern girl I have fond memories of trips to Blackpool as a child, one sunny day we decided to hop in the car and head off to see a show on the pier, take in the sights and have a stroll on the beach. Blackpool has changed a lot since I was a girl, but the small boy loved the razzmatazz of it all and couldn’t get over the fact there were actual, real donkeys on the beach. We’re going to try and take him to see the illuminations this year, I think he’ll be wowed by them.

4. Just So Festival – We managed to bag ourselves a day ticket to the festival and we were suitably wowed. The Just So Festival which is held in the Rode Hall Estate in Cheshire was a magical, mysterious, marvellous experience. It’s a family festival which is packed full of amazing things, from pirate boats and buried treasure, forest adventures and crafty fun, drumming and dancing to theatre productions and circus training. All the festival goers dress in “tribes”, so be an owl, fox, stag, fish, frog or a lion, be yourself if you want. This was most definitely the highlight of my summer. I came home with flowers in my hair, looking more relaxed and happy than I’ve done in a long time. Oh, and the boys had fun too, as much fun, if not more than me! We’re already booking our ticket for next year!

5. Picnic in Delamere Forest – at the start of the summer we hopped on a train and the boy and I went to Delamere Forest. It was our first solo trip since my operations and I was nervous, but everything was fine, better than fine, we had a great day. He loved the train ride and was as good as gold. We got to the forest and found all our friends there, so we set to work making sandwiches for our picnic with the help of Roberts Bakery, while the children ran around and tumbled on the grass, later being entertained by a storyteller. Delamere Forest is a fabulous place to explore, I’ve heard they’ve got a Gruffalo trail, so we’ll be heading back their soon, you never know who we’ll meet in the deep, dark woods!

Of course wherever we go, whatever adventures we’re having, we always take a picnic, you can find some of our favourite picnic sandwich recipes here and here. And if you’re looking for something to keep boredom at bay and for summer things to do, then Roberts Bakery have some great ideas in their 50 Days of Summer Activity Pack which you can download for free from their website.

Note: This is not a paid for post, I have not been financially compensated in any way.

Marvellous memories from The Just So Festival 2014

This was our first time at the Just So Festival, we went for just a day but next year we’ll be hoping to go for the whole weekend. It’s a fabulous family festival, full of magic and wonder. I’ve taken a few pictures to hopefully capture a flavour of our day there and some of the extraordinary sights we saw…

The annual weekend of music, magic, the arts, theatre and wonder is a real feast for children and families. It’s a lovely way of sparking their imaginations, filling their heads with wonder, and it is the most creative, relaxed and downright fun time we’ve probably ever spent together as a family.

The festival is split up into different sections, with activities taking place in the woods, or by the lake, or in circus tents. It is completely and utterly family friendly, with good toilets (for a festival) and a lovely baby changing and even bathing area. You can bring your own tent if you’re staying over, or you can book a luxury yurt or tent.

I have written a full review of the Just So Festival 2014 for Mums & Dads Magazine, it was a truly fantastic and fantastical experience and probably the highlight of our summer!

Days Out: CBeebies Land & Alton Towers (part 2)

We were recently invited by CBeebies magazine to attend an event to learn about their #CBeebiesMagKidsGoFree promotion. I wrote about the fun we had that morning and how the dreams of a small boy came true when he got to meet Postman Pat. I faithfully promised to blog about our afternoon exploring CBeebies Land at Alton Towers, so here goes…

CBeebies Land is near the main entrance of Alton Towers, we found it really easily. It is perfectly designed for small children. The boy walked in and all he could say was “wow”!

There were lots of things to do, but first things first, we were hungry, so our first stop was the Little Explorers Lunch Box. There were various meal deals available, but the three of us had a sandwich, crisps and a drink for around £16 which wasn’t hellishly extortionate. If you’re watching the pennies then you can always take a picnic, but the food was of good quality and there were healthy options available.

After lunch we explored Charlie & Lola’s Moonsquirters & Greendrops, which was Charlie & Lola’s house, you could dress Charlie & Lola up, there was an interactive kitchen area (every time I opened the fridge the small boy fell about in fits of giggles). The house has a soft play type area at the back, but it was heaving as it was a rainy day, so we gave that a miss.

We moved on to the Numtums number-go-round, which was quite a sweet little merry-go-round which he enjoyed, and we got to have a sit down for a few minutes.

We were initially put off by the advertised 25 minute wait to enjoy the Postman Pat Parcel Post ride (my back means I can’t stand for long, so queuing is a nightmare), but having watched the queue for a little while we were sure it was moving quicker than advertised; it was, we queued for just 15 minutes. Queuing isn’t as bad as you might think be either, there are little games and things to look at for little ones in CBeebies Land, which helps a lot.

He enjoyed the Postman Pat Parcel Post ride and afterwards we toddled off to the Big Fun Showtime Arena to see the Mike the Knight show. The arena is a nice place to stop and have a picnic, the toilets are there and there’s a small shop selling ice creams and drinks etc. He was engrossed by the Mike the Knight show and it really was one of his highlights.

Next on our CBeebies Land agenda was the Get Set Go Treetop Adventure; really we should have gone on this first as it travels around and over the top of CBeebies Land, which would’ve made it useful for getting our bearings at first, plus it’s actually a really fun ride. We did have to queue, but it wasn’t for long and I do regret not queuing up again and having a second go.

Time was marching on, the small boy was beginning to tire, so we queued for one last ride, the In The Night Garden Magical Boat Ride. This was quite lovely and restful really, a gentle boat ride around the night garden. You see all of your favourite characters, they’re animated too, so Iggle Piggle and Daisy wave at you. It’s really very sweet.

There was so much to do in CBeebies Land, plenty to fill a day out. Other attractions in CBeebies Land include the Justin’s House pie-o-matic factory, Nina’s Science Lab, Mr Bloom’s Allotment, the Something Special Sensory Garden and the Tree Fu Tom Training Camp.

Would we go again? Absolutely. This was our first family day out to a theme park and I think we were both dreading it for various reasons, our worries were mainly about massive queues and losing the small boy in crowds, but everything was fine.

Every issue of CBeebies Magazine until the 7th October, will come with two vouchers for kids to go free to a different attraction every issue, with some of the most popular kids’ attractions in the country including Legoland, Chessington World of Adventures and Sealife Centres.

• Issue 411 (13th Aug) – Alton Towers Resort inc. CBeebies Land – Save £86.40 (£43.20 per ticket)
• Issue 412 (27th Aug) – Warwick Castle – Save £39.60 (£19.80 per ticket)
• Issue 413 (10th Sept) – Legoland and Legoland Discovery Centre – Save £82.80 (£41.40 per ticket)
• Issue 414 (24th Sept) – Sealife Centres and Seal sanctuaries – Save £39 (£19.50 per ticket)

Note: We were invited to explore Alton Towers, CBeebies Land and enjoy an activity morning by CBeebies magazine to help promote their #CBeebiesMagKidsGoFree campaign. We have not been paid and all opinions expressed are my own.

CBeebies Land at Alton Towers (part one)

It’s not often you get to make dreams come true, but taking the small boy to visit the faraway kingdom of Alton Towers would’ve been special enough, but going to CBeebies Land while we were there made us in his eyes at least, the best parents in the world.

We were invited by CBeebies magazine to spend the morning with the team playing games and having fun, then the afternoon was ours to enjoy Alton Towers and Cbeebies Land. We were there to find out more about their CBeebies magazine kids go free promotion, as they’ve teamed up with Merlin Entertainments to launch a Summer long campaign, giving parents the chance to save up to £355 on top kids’ attractions in the UK.

It was a rubbish, rainy day, but we arrived at the Alton Towers Hotel and met the team. We were divided into groups and we were guided round some fun, CBeebies themed games and activities, some of which we’ll be recreating at home. Our first stop was the Swashbuckle table where we put on our pirate hats and made pirate medals, then we sang the song and did the pirate salute.

The next activity was throwing a soft toy into a hula hoop. If it landed in the hoop you had to make the noise of the animal in the hoop, so if you threw it into the Jess the cat hoop, you had to miaow. This game took a bit of getting the hang of, due to hand-eye co-ordination issues, but once he got the idea he loved it and we could barely tear him away.

We soon moved on and did some drawing, he drew a Postman Pat, he’s really starting to get the hang of drawing now and his masterpiece was magnificent. Lastly we were read a story about Peter Rabbit and friends, and then we tried some fruit and vegetables that the rabbits might eat, his favourite was the strawberries, but he nibbled at the radish and didn’t hate it. Result.

We drank some juice and sang some songs, we were told we were about to meet a special guest, who would it be? He drives a van, he has a cat, it was no other than Postman Pat. It was a big moment for the small boy, he waited patiently to meet his postal hero and was rewarded with a cuddle.

The morning done, we mooched off to CBeebies Land, which quite frankly deserves a post of it’s very own. Coming soon, watch this space etc, suffice to say it was a grand day out.

CBeebies magazine are offering a kids go free deal until October, below are when the vouchers for each attraction are published. We’ll certainly be taking advantage of this brilliant deal.

• Issue 410 (30th July) – Chessington World of Adventures – Save £68 (£34 per ticket)
• Issue 411 (13th Aug) – Alton Towers Resort inc. CBeebies Land – Save £86.40 (£43.20 per ticket)
• Issue 412 (27th Aug) – Warwick Castle – Save £39.60 (£19.80 per ticket)
• Issue 413 (10th Sept) – Legoland and Legoland Discovery Centre – Save £82.80 (£41.40 per ticket)
• Issue 414 (24th Sept) – Sealife Centres and Seal sanctuaries – Save £39 (£19.50 per ticket)

Big fun at the Brookside Miniature Railway, Poynton

Having a small boy who loves steam trains means that we get to spend a lot of time around them. As wonderful and majestic as they are, generally they’re not cheap. One of our favourite and budget local days out is to visit Brookside Miniature Railway in Poynton, Cheshire.

The Brookside Miniature Railway is about 20 minutes drive from our house, and a ten ride ticket costs £12; meaning our family of three can have two journeys together, then Mummy and the boy, then Daddy and the boy get a ride. I think that’s pretty good value.

Big fun at the Brookside Miniature Railway, Poynton

Each ride is 5 minutes of chugging around the track on a steam train (or sometimes the Diesel engine). The track winds around the garden centre grounds, over bridges, through tunnels and past a traditional fairground (it stops here if the fair is open, but you don’t have to get off). The line is decorated with railway memorabilia including station signs from all over the UK and other engines and trucks.

Big fun at the Brookside Miniature Railway, Poynton

It’s a very pleasant and pocket-friendly way to while away a few hours with a junior train enthusiast. There’s a cafe nearby and as it was very, very hot we had some ice creams. There’s a train themed playground too, complete with a real steam engine to explore.

We go there quite a lot and it never seems to get old. Brookside Miniature Railway is a day out we all enjoy and it won’t break the bank either.

UPDATE: September 2018. Sadly the Brookside Miniature Railway in Poynton has now closed and their engines have found homes at other miniature railways across the UK. The last day was very sad, we went along for one last ride which you can read about here. I also filmed our last journey which you can watch on YouTube here.

Three go mad at Dunham Massey

I wouldn’t say the sun never shines in Manchester, on the contrary, it’s often really quite beautiful weather. But we don’t often get that rare combination of factors which allows us a full family day together.

Today we’ve had a busy day, we’ve managed to squeeze an awful lot of outdoorsy activity into a relatively short time, and managed to feel like we’ve had a nice relaxing day. It’s a modern miracle!

We packed a picnic and headed off to one of our local and more child friendly National Trust properties, Dunham Massey. We had a little walk, the small boy did some scooting on his scooter and we kicked a ball around. The sun was blistering, so we sought some shade, rolled out the picnic blanket and had our lunch.

As we did so, some of the deer walked nearby and stopped to munch the grass and soak up some sun. We couldn’t resist edging closer to them to take some pictures. I really didn’t expect to get too close to them, I was at most two metres away from them at one point, but they didn’t even flinch. It was quite amazing.

The sun was getting a bit too harsh, so we decided to go home and get the paddling pool out, which we did. We spent a happy few hours under the shade of a parasol, splishing and splashing in the pool. The water was ice cold, but it was exactly what we needed.

Later we invited my Dad round and sparked up the BBQ. We sat in the evening sunshine drinking homemade cordial and soda water and just nattering, it was effortlessly relaxed. We all ate and ate well and watched as the sky darkened and the heavy clouds gathered. We dashed inside moments before the rain came. And just like that, our glorious outdoorsy day was over.

A day at Coombe Mill

For a year now I’ve been following Fiona @CoombeMill on Twitter. She takes the most beautiful pictures of the place where her and her family live and work, Coombe Mill. A couple of months ago I casually mentioned that’d we’d be nearby for our summer holiday, Fiona very kindly invited us to swing by and spend the day exploring. So we did.

Coombe Mill is a 30 acre estate in North Cornwall. Fiona and family have some lovely Scandinavian lodges and stone cottages which families can book for their holidays, the accommodation is beautiful, but the real reason people stay at Coombe Mill is that is it fantastic for kids. It has it’s own working (but very safe) farm, as well as a model railway, playground and play areas, and an under construction fairy garden. It’s ace.

We arrived just before 9am and Fiona treated us to a massive mug of much needed coffee. We were waiting for her husband, aka Farmer Nick to come round with the tractor, so we could join him and all the other children staying at Coombe Mill for the morning feed run.

We hopped aboard the tractor and headed off across the stream to feed the animals. The small boy is obsessed (understatement) with farms and animals, so he was utterly delighted to meet the the pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, geese, peacocks, donkeys, deer and wallabies at Coombe Mill.

We pootled around feeding them all and collected eggs from the chickens which he loved doing. He met some baby chicks, hopped after the wallabies (Bruce and Sheila, naturally) and fell in love with the cheeky goats.

The highlight for us was the “deer hunt” which was not as sinister as it sounds. They have a herd of fallow deer and a few of the ladies were pregnant and due any day, Farmer Nick had an inkling that we might find a newborn deer if we were very good, very quiet and very lucky. We searched through the bracken, around the trees and rocks and we found, nestled in a gap in the rocks, a baby deer. I tried to take a picture but it was impossible to get a good look at it. But it was a real privilege.

After feeding time with Farmer Nick, the small boy got to help drive the tractor back to Coombe Mill, and we took of freshly laid eggs and had egg of toast with Fiona. It’s a simple but rare pleasure, a freshly laid egg, but it was a real treat.

Fiona then gave us a little tour of the site and the lodges (which are beautiful and spacious), she then took us to the little railway they’ve constructed, which wasn’t running until later that day, but even that provided a good half hours entertainment for the small boy.

It’s such a beautiful place. In truth we were eyeing it up with a view to staying there next year and I think it’s the perfect holiday spot for anyone with little ones. The small boy had an absolute ball and has talked of nothing else since which is always a good sign.

We had a lovely day and send a big thank you to Fiona and Farmer Nick for including us in their busy day. Coombe Mill is a great place, I can see why everyone adores it!