A Visit to Paradise Wildlife Park | AD

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

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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How To Spend A Day In Bourton on the Water

Friday, July 27, 2018 Permalink
View of the Motor Museum across stone bridge at Bouton on the Water

We've just got back home from a week in the Cotswolds, where we stayed in Bourton on the Water. We loved exploring the Cotswolds, with it's pretty little villages, and although I worried that basing ourselves in Bourton on the Water might have been a bit too touristy, it was perfect for us as a family with young children, as there was so much to do right on our doorstep. Bourton on the Water is the perfect place to spend a whole day, as there are numerous tourist attractions, none of which take very long, so even the shortest of attention spans can't fail to get bored!     Parking at Bourton on the Water Parking in the Cotswolds towns is always difficult, but ...

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A Visit to The Cotswold Wildlife Park

Wednesday, July 25, 2018 Permalink

The Cotswold Wildlife Park wasn't originally on our list for things to do in the Cotswolds, but after a day where I'd dragged Max, my 4 year old, around a National Trust garden where nobody ended up having a good time, we decided it would be a good idea to do a day that was more geared up for him. It's a place I remember my Mum taking me as a child, but that was a long time ago, so I wasn't sure what it would be like now. We arrived at 10.30 and made our way straight to the penguins, which are Max's favourite. We'd timed it really well, as we didn't have to wait long until it was feeding ...

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Fields of Dreams - The Confetti Flower Fields

Monday, July 16, 2018 Permalink
Confetti field at Wick, Pershore

This time last year, my Instagram feed exploded with photos of the most beautiful pastel coloured flower fields - pinks, blues, and purples as far as the eye could see. I love a flower field of any description, so I headed straight off to look up the Real Flower Petal Confetti Company, who own the fields, and discovered that for just over a week every July, they open their flower field to the public, who can wander amongst the delphiniums. I actually had a diary note for the start of June to check when they would be opening the field this year, so when I looked it up and saw that their open week this year coincided with our trip ...

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A Family Visit to Kew Gardens in Summer

Wednesday, July 4, 2018 Permalink
A family visit to Kew Gardens

After months of agonising, I finally took the plunge earlier this year and bought a membership for Kew Gardens. We live reasonably close, but given that I'm already an RHS and National Trust member, it seemed like it might be overkill. But 4 years of visiting the same gardens have left me craving somewhere new, and when the new Temperate House opened, it was the final push I needed to take the plunge. A single membership to Kew Gardens is great value for money if you have a young family, as you can bring in a guest with you for free, and children under 4 go free. So I bought my husband as my guest and we only had to pay ...

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A Trip To Canons Ashby National Trust

Wednesday, June 27, 2018 Permalink
Wildflower meadow with cow parsley at Canons Ashby National Trust

When we were staying at Chicheley Hall a few weeks ago, I was keen to make the most of our time there, so when I saw Canons Ashby was just down the road we made a beeline for it on our route home on the Sunday. It's a National Trust property that I've seen photos of in people's instagram feeds, but when I'd researched it, it didn't seem to have a lot there, so we've never made the trip as it's a fair drive for us. This was the perfect opportunity for us to see what it had to offer. We were some of the first visitors to arrive, so it was lovely and quiet, and we were greeted at the ...

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Strawberry Picking at Crockford Bridge Farm

Friday, June 22, 2018 Permalink
Little boy wearing red wellies and blue shorts, holding a strawberry punnet which is full of ripe strawberries. He is standing in a strawberry field, with straw on the ground and strawberry plants lining either side

I remember back in January one day, I asked Max what he'd like to do and he very excitedly told me "strawberry picking". The poor guy has waited patiently until finally strawberry season is upon us and our local PYO farm at Crockford Bridge announced their strawberries were ready for picking. My husband took the boys a few weeks ago while I was away, but on a drive back from a weekend away last week we drove past the farm and Max piped up from the back "we go on a strawberry hunt today?" And so we did! Crockford Bridge is one of the best PYO farms around - they have a huge range of crops and are great at updating their ...

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