Hastings

Last week myself, a few friends and the kids took a day trip to Hastings. We were very fortunate that we chose a day that had really good weather as both the previous and next days were pouring with rain and probably would have ruined our fun!

I hadn't been to Hasting since I was at school and learning about the battle of Hastings in History class but I had some expectations of there being really sandy beaches, not sure where I got that idea because as far as I could see the whole beach was just covered in stones! We didn't let the stones bother us, it was not sunny enough to be laying around sunbathing and there were so many other things to do anyway.

We started off with a ride on the Go carts (the kids, not me) they felt very grown up with the helmets and petrol race cars although I thought the price at £10 each was pretty steep considering they only had about 5 laps around the short course.

A short walk up from the Go carts is the funfair, it is no Thorpe park but there are a fair few rides. I would say it is mostly aimed at younger children. The fair runs on a token system and they cost £20 for 40 tokens which is pretty reasonable considering each ride is around 3 tokens each. The tokens can also be used on the the lake to take a ride in the swan boats.

After tiring ourselves at out at the fair we enjoyed a meal from one of the many chip shops along the seafront, with the seagulls flying over us looking for their lunch. We then spent quite a bit of time (and 2ps) in the arcades winning lots of tat that we didn't need but it is my favourite thing to do!

We couldn't take a trip to the seaside without having a little paddle in the sea so before going home we enjoyed the views and the weather while the kids got their shoes off and went for a dip.

We had a thoroughly enjoyable day and would definitely go back, although next time we would leave the bucket and spade at home! 

Boat riding in Dulwich

Summer time can be a bit of a challenge when you have have kids and need to keep them entertained and away from Minecraft for five minutes! Not wanting to travel to far from my doorstep or spend too much money, I like to see what activities we can do that are close to home.

Dulwich park is one of my favourites, we often go there for a kick-about and the kids find it amusing to use the exercise equipment but we rarely go on the boats, so as it was a nice day we thought we would join the ducks in the water.

I was a bit worried about using the boats so close to the ducks in the lake and thought I may cause a WTA (think road traffic accident but in the water) but they did not seem bothered and it was nice to see them close up.

Considering it is such a tranquil setting, peddling those boats around was far from relaxing and my legs were aching afterwards! It obviously didn't effect the kids as they got straight on the bike to learn some new skills straight after.

So that was day one of the summer holidays sorted, now I just have to keep them busy for another 43 days!

Thorpe Park

Last week we were lucky enough to be given Four free tickets to Thorpe park from Mumsnet, these were to take part in the #myfirstcoaster event to celebrate reaching 1.4m and being tall enough to ride on the 'big boy' rollercoasters.

If you read my last post on Thorpe park you would know that I wasn't planning to return to any sort of theme park (unless it's Disneyland) as I am not a big fan of the sick feeling you get after queuing for an hour to spend less than a minute in all sorts of angles, hundreds of feet up in the air! But I couldn't let Kieron miss out on the experience of trying the grown up rides for the first time.

The first stop was the Angry Birds 4D cinema experience, I wasn't expecting much from this as I am not really an Angry Birds fan but we all really enjoyed the surprises and I found that I was actually moving around to avoid things coming out of the screen.

It was a pretty cold and miserable day so we avoided the water rides, which was a shame as these are usually my favourite (no hanging upside down) The kids went on the boat slides but there is not much splash back from these, unlike the others! We did go to a few of the rides that only had five minute queues as I thought they would be tame however the massive swing that is Rush actually gave me nightmares! It didn't seem to faze the children though! 

Luckily the picture isn't clear enough to see me screaming!

We chose to eat in the Pizza and Pasta buffet restaurant as it is the only meal that all my kids will actually eat and we wanted to get in out of the cold for a while. I thought they were reasonably priced but didn't like that they give out little plates so you had to keep going back up to get food. There wasn't many choices either but it seemed to fill us all up so there were no complaints.

The park wasn't too packed as it is only the start of the season which meant there were not too many long queues but there were a lot of groups of teenagers and I didn't notice many things for families with younger children which is a shame, I think if there were then it would attract more family groups. There is an outdoor beach which I have never been in but this was closed, I think there should be more areas where people can sit and relax dotted around as not everybody wants to spend the whole day on rides and may choose to bring their own snacks rather than sitting in the many food places on offer.

The kids favourite rides were Swarm and Nemesis Inferno but the highlight of Kieron's day was having his picture taken with The Sideman... a group of youtube vloggers that he follows

The highlight of my day was this Vanilla latte I picked up on the way out to warm me up and prepare me for the long journey home.

This post is linked up to #countrykids over at Coombe Mill

Shelter Exhibition

Last week my photography class took a trip to the Science Museum to see the Nick Hedges documentary photography exhibition - Make life worth living.
The exhibition was commissioned by Shelter the homeless charity. Photos were taken at some of the poorest areas across the UK including Glasgow, London and Birmingham in the late 1960's and early 1970's

The exhibition itself is set in the Virgin media studio in the Science museum, it seems like a small collection as the size in comparison to the museum itself is tiny but there are actually a hundred photos all together.

The photographs were taken to highlight the poverty, homelessness and poor housing conditions throughout Britain during that era and some are shockingly chilling. While some of the images are hard-hitting there are also some that show happiness and one in particular of a group of children playing outside a run down block of flats just reminded me of my own childhood.

Some of the images also have a story with them while others leave you to work out the story for yourself.

I found the exhibition very touching and wondered how much has actually changed in the last 50 years. My next photography assignment is documentary photography focused on poverty and homelessness so this exhibition has given me a lot to think about.

Shelter are still helping people in housing crisis today and hopefully the exhibition will highlight the struggles that people are having to face everyday.
If you would like to visit the Nick Hedges exhibition it will be on until 18th January 2015 and is open everyday. Entry to the museum and the exhibition is free.

A daytrip to Brighton

We have been to Brighton quite a few times as I have family that live there, but with so much to do we never get bored of it! So when a friend asked us if we wanted to go on a day out to the funfair on the pier we couldn't resist. Although after last years trip to Alton towers I opted to carry the bags and take the photos while they were on the rides! I much prefer the 2p machines anyway.

As expected on a summer weekend Brighton was pretty busy although as it was quite a grey day there were not many sunbathers or swimmers on the beach. Most people were on the pier, which was our first stop. You have to pass by the arcades to get to the actual fair so I couldn't help but spend way too much on the 2p machines only to come away with a small London phone box ornament and a fake eye...don't ask!

The funfair rides take tokens but we bought bands that give you unlimited rides for £15 so the kids enjoyed a good few hours worth of rides before we went to enjoy fish and chips on the beach.

We couldn't have gone to Brighton without having at least a little paddle in the sea...

We had a great day out and with a long walk past all the shops (and there are hundreds) to get to the station we were completely worn out by the time we got home!

This post is linked up with #countrykids over at Coombe Mill...

Going ape with Vimto

Last weekend we were lucky enough to take a trip to Go Ape in Tilgate park, Crawley thanks to the Vimto team. Go Ape is a forest adventure where you get to climb across obstacles and slide down zip wires while up in the trees.

Not to be outdone by the kids, the dad and I also had to get our safety gear on to brave the heights, although dad wasn't too brave and dropped out after the first hurdle!
It doesn't look too high when you are on the ground but is actually quite terrifying when you are up there!

The kids were a bit reluctant when they started and Kieron especially needed some encouragement but after about ten minutes they were flying around like professionals and left me behind!

After an hour in the Junior tree top adventure the kids received their certificates and stickers to prove that they're the king of the jungle. It was quite a warm day and the kids worked up a thirst so they were pleased to have their big bottles of water and Vimto squeezy water enhancers to hand.

Tilgate park is a lovely setting to have a Go ape, there is a beautiful green to sit and have a picnic and this very picturesque lake where the kids enjoyed looking at the ducks and boats while drinking their Vimto.

The little squeezy Vimto bottles were perfect to bring with us on the train as we were able to buy the bottled water at the station on arrival and didn't need any heavy bags to carry. The drinks come in three flavours and are sugar free so great for all the family. I think strawberry was the overall winner on the taste test. Not sure that I would use the ultra concentrated drink (each bottle has 25 servings) at home as I think they are a bit of a novelty for the kids and caught them pouring the Vimto straight onto their hands to taste it but they are perfect for keeping in your bag and using while out and about or on day trips like Go Ape.

disclaimer: We were given samples of Vimto squeezy and a family ticket for Go Ape junior tree top adventure for review purposes but all opinions are our own.

This post is linked up with #countrykids over at Coombe mill.