Discovering the Magic of Christmas at Lapland UK

Thursday, November 29, 2018 Permalink
Little boy peering in the bauble shop window at Lapland UK

Two years ago we were invited to visit LaplandUK, and it was hands down one of the most magical days of my life. I've always been a huge Christmas fan - my whole family are - and it just brought the whole thing to life for me, and seeing my son utterly entranced by it all was just amazing. I've been asked by a lot of people since that trip, "Is Lapland UK worth the money?". With prices starting at around £70, it's definitely an expensive day out for a family. But I think it speaks for itself that less than two years later, I booked and paid for our return visit. I sorted the tickets when the booking window for ...

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A Visit to Waddesdon Manor’s Christmas Carnival

Tuesday, November 27, 2018 Permalink
Waddesdon Manor Christmas carnival light display

If you're a regular reader of Hot Pink Wellingtons, you'll know I love a good National Trust property. Waddesdon Manor has been on my wishlist for a visit for ages, but is a fair drive for us, so apart from one Tuesday a few years ago where we turned up to find it closed (top tip - visit Wed-Sun!), it's not made it to the top of our list. But when Waddesdon got in touch to tell me all about their Christmas Carnival, I knew it would be a wonderful time of year to finally make that visit. Waddesdon's Christmas Carnival is open until 2nd January, and it's absolutely crammed with festive activities. The house is all decorated for Christmas, there ...

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A Visit To Wrest Park

Wednesday, October 17, 2018 Permalink
Mother and little boy hugging underneath a tree in autumn sunshine. The leaves on the tree are red, and both mother and son are laughing

Wrest Park has been on my wish list for a visit for ages, but it's that little bit too far from us to make it an easy trip. Plus it's English Heritage and we don't have membership, which makes it a somewhat pricey day out. But we've recently got a new car and we're no longer limited by mileage like we were in our previous lease car, so last weekend we headed off to Wrest Park to see what it had to offer.     Wrest Park is a Grade I listed House located in Silsoe, Bedfordshire, surrounded by acres of beautiful grounds. Most of the house was closed to the public during our visit, as there was a wedding fair on, but ...

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A Visit to Carters Steam Fair

Wednesday, October 3, 2018 Permalink
Toddler riding in a vintage Alfa Romeo on vintage carousel at Carters Steam Fair

For a long time now I've noticed the signs for Carter's Steam Fair when it's near us and been meaning to go, but we've always had something else on that weekend. So when we were invited to visit them last weekend at Englefield Green I jumped at the chance! Carter's Steam Fair isn't your usual funfair. The Carter family have spent the last 40 years collecting and restoring vintage fairground rides and they tour the South East of England. It's a real throwback to a bygone era, with every ride painted in beautiful colours and with pretty lightbulbs everywhere. Carter's have been featured in lots of TV and films too, including Call the Midwife, The Theory of Everything, and, most importantly ...

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Were Our Merlin Annual Passes Good Value For Money?

Tuesday, September 11, 2018 Permalink
Were Merlin passes worth it?

Last year was our first year having a Merlin Annual Pass. We'd had Legoland Annual Passes before, but when Merlin ran their January Sale back in 2017, the offer to get your Merlin Pass for just £129 was too good to refuse. We've now reached our full year of having them, so I wanted to look back over all of our adventures and work out whether our Merlin Annual Passes were worth it. As a family of 4, we needed 3 Merlin Passes, as our youngest was born in June 2017, and we opted for the Premium Passes so that we weren't restricted on entry days and didn't need to pay for parking. Our 3 passes cost us a total of ...

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10 Of The UK’s Most Instagrammable Flower Spots

Friday, August 17, 2018 Permalink
Max walking under rose covered archway at Mottisfont

We're so lucky in the UK to have some spectacular floral displays each year. I adore flowers, and chasing down the most beautiful flower fields has become a little hobby for me now - every year I try to visit particular favourites, as well as looking for new ones. I've put together a little list of my favourite Instagrammable flower spots to take you through the year - starting with the first of the flower displays, the snowdrop... Snowdrops at Welford Park, Berkshire I love seeing snowdrops appear. After a long winter it's always the first sign that spring is finally on its way and they're so welcome. I visited lots of places across Surrey, looking for a beautiful display and was ...

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A Visit to Paradise Wildlife Park

Wednesday, August 15, 2018 Permalink
Huge dinosaur figure at Paradise Wildlife Park

I don't think it's a secret that in our family we love dinosaurs! Max is a huge fan of them, and I recently redecorated his room with a dinosaur theme. So when we were invited to Paradise Wildlife Park, which is also home to the World of Dinosaurs, we jumped at the chance! We love a trip to a zoo or a theme park - it's one of our favourite things to do as a family and Paradise Wildlife Park is only about an hour away from us, being located in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. We headed there on what must have been one of the hottest Sundays of the year - it was definitely a sun hat, sun cream, and ice cream ...

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The Best Splash Parks in Surrey

Tuesday, August 7, 2018 Permalink
Max splashing in paddling pool laughing

We've made it our mission this summer to try out all of the different splash parks in Surrey. When the summer is as hot as this one has been, cooling off in the water is a great activity for the summer holidays, and when entry is free, it makes it a fantastic cheap day out. I think this is a comprehensive list of all the splash parks and paddling pools in Surrey - have you tried them all yet?   Priory Park Bell Street, Reigate, Surrey RH2 7RL Priory Park in Reigate is by far our favourite splash park to visit. It was opened in 2017, so is lovely and new, and as well as the splash area, which has lots of water jets ...

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PYO Sunflowers – Fields of Happy!

Thursday, August 2, 2018 Permalink
Sunflower field, with rows of sunflowers stretching into the distance

I truly think seeing a field of sunflowers stretching out ahead of you is one of the happiest sights there is, and so perfectly summer! It's one of the highlights of my seasonal calendar. We love a visit to our local PYO farm, where they always have a good selection of sunflowers which you can pick yourselves from the field. Since posting our latest trip on my Instagram, I had lots of comments from people who said they'd love to pick their own sunflowers but didn't think there was a PYO sunflower field near them, so I thought it would be fun to share a few of our photos and give a little list of places across the UK where ...

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Return to the Lavender Fields

Wednesday, August 1, 2018 Permalink
Katy, Max and Ben, sat together in lavender field

Our visit to one of the UK's lavender fields has become an annual tradition now, and when Max asked me a few weeks ago if we could go, I was more than happy to head down to Mayfield Lavender. It was towards the end of June, so still a little early for the fields to be at their best, but I was confident they'd be in bloom enough to make it worth a trip. I love the sweet smell of the lavender, the rows of purple stretching out ahead of you, and the sound of the bees buzzing away. It makes the perfect backdrop for some beautiful photos of my boys. And Max loves the tractor ride, so it's a win ...

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