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

Moonlight Movie

I have wanted to go to an outdoor cinema for ages, I even put it on my bucket list, so when I saw that The Luna Cinema were showing a film in my local park I booked 2 tickets straight away. The movie on show was The Wolf of Wall Street and is one that I hadn't previously seen and thought it would be perfect for a date night. Being together for 18 years and having four children means date nights don't come around very often!

We arrived at the park at around 7:30, the time the ticket stated and found a nice spot not to close to the screen. Lots of people came with their picnic baskets but we just stopped off at the local Tesco on the way and got a nice supply of crisps and chocolate although there were staff members who came around while everyone was settling in with free samples of coffee and cheeses!

So everything started off really well, the weather was quite warm as it was a nice August evening but then a guy came on the tannoy to say that the movie wouldn't start until the sun went down, well that wasn't until 2 hours after we arrived by which time my bum was numb. I could tell that a lot of people were already experienced with the whole outdoor cinema concept as they didn't arrive until much later and came with chairs, pillows, blankets...the full works!

I brought my coat with me in case it got cold, who was I kidding? Even with it done up and the hood on it was absolutely freezing. I'm sure if the movie wasn't so loud the people next to me would have heard my teeth chattering!

The park had got really packed and really dark so when the man didn't return from the toilets I checked my phone and saw a text message to say he couldn't find me and was sitting at the side by the gates. Halfway through the film I was dying for a wee but didn't want to leave my stuff in case I couldn't find where we were sitting either so I had no option but to pack all my stuff up (as quietly as possible) and head for the toilet. I found the man and we decided it would be better to just go home and watch a movie in the comfort (and warmth) of our living room....so much for a date night!

It didn't quite work out as planned but I still like the idea of the outdoor cinema, if I do ever go again I will definitely be a bit more prepared but I have at least ticked something else off my bucket list!

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.

Bluebell Railway

Last week we spent the day at The Bluebell railways for a school trip as part of the topic of trains (we have been on this topic for a long time now!!)

I had never heard anything about The Bluebell Railways before our trip and didn't know what to expect. The class teacher asked if I could take photos and I thought we would just be taking a ride on a steam train and only need to take a couple of photos. I ended up with about 100 pictures (don't worry I didn't post them all on here) as there was actually so much to see.

The railway is situated near East Grinstead and it took us about 2 hours to travel there by coach from South London. It was a really long journey for the kids, so long in fact that we actually missed the train leaving the first station and had to keep on driving to try and catch it two stops up!

The train travels from Sheffield park - Horsted Keynes - Kingscote - East Grinstead and back again.

We made it to Kingscote as the train was pulling out again so had to wait and catch it on its return journey. Luckily there was a lovely eating area round the back of the station for us to sit and eat lunch.

Kingscote station has recently been refurbished to look like a typical 1950s style train station complete with old fashioned suitcases and advertisements and it looked really pretty...

After lunch we waited on the platform to watch the steam train approaching. There were quite a few old gentlemen that worked for the Bluebell railway and were on hand to give the children lots of information about the steam trains and the railway, they accompanied us on the journey and gave the children their own little tickets, that they then came round and stamped for them.

The journey was very smooth and comfortable considering it was such an old train and there were beautiful views out of the windows. The fact that we missed the train was probably quite a good thing as the children really enjoyed themselves without the journey being too long for them to get bored.

As we got back to Sheffield park we were taken on a tour to see all the old steam trains including the one that was used in The railway children. I am one of the few people that have never watched Downton Abbey but apparently part of it was filmed along The Bluebell Railway as well as a few other programmes/films.

Also at Sheffield park station is a lovely little museum with loads of information on the history of steam trains, small models of trains and even old clothes and hats for the kids to dress up as train drivers.

We were very lucky that it was a gloriously sunny day and we got to enjoy the outside space as well as the drive upon the steam train. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were worn out by the time we got back to school. If you have children that love trains (or if you love trains yourself) then this would make a lovely day out.

For more info and to find out what events are happening at The Bluebell Railways then visit their website.

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