Category: Days Out

Coronavirus · Days Out

Emberton Country Park (Summer 2020 Review)

katchambers4 Comments

I have been taking my children to Emberton since they were very little, it is such a lovely day out, and is only just outside of Milton Keynes (on the way to Olney). Set in 200 acres of unspoilt parkland, with five lakes – two large lakes (for fishing and sailing), 2 play parks, a sandpit, outdoor gym, bird hides, a cafe and a campsite – so much to do you can spend all day here.

Emberton has been reducing its restrictions based on Government guidelines, and our visit last week, felt just like old times.

If you visit in the next few months what you need to know is:

  • The cafe is only open for take-away service.
  • The campsite is open but is subject to social distancing restrictions.
  • When they reach capacity in the car park they will close the gate to new entrants (so bear that in mind if you plan to go late in the day on a sunny Saturday, for example).
  • Toilets are open
  • All play parks are open and free to use (including the outdoor gym)
  • Fishing is allowed (with permits)
  • Parking costs are £4.50 for the day (you cannot leave and come back though).
  • Opening times are 9:15-4:45pm each day currently (but best to check their Facebook page in case this changes).

We had a lovely morning, we walked round to the park in the middle, the one with the pirate ship, as that is our favourite. As soon as we put our bags down the kids ran off to play together, it was so sweet watching my son (aged 8) carefully hold the hand of my daughter (aged 3) as she climbed the steep steps up to the slides – he took great care of her all day.

Hubby and I were actually able to sit and watch them play, and also read a few chapters of our books – this is unheard of in previous years when Savannah was younger, and before Savannah when Nate didn’t have anyone to play with.

After about 80-90 minutes in that park the kids biked and we walked back towarsds the cafe for an icecream and a cup of tea, to fortify us for the outdoor gym, the sandpit and the stone pit. I forgot our bucket and spade (darn) but they had fun burying each other and digging around the dinosaur bones (pretend).

We decided to go home for lunch, though if we had chosen to stay all day, there are plenty of lovely big fields perfect for picnics, and even the socially distanced kind, and we didn’t make it over to the park that is further along – this one would have been good for Nate, as it had some large and tall climbing nets and things for older children mostly. There is also a beautiful lake in the middle and stunning walks to make a full day of it.

More information:

  • Emberton Country Park – Postcode: MK46 5FJ
  • There are two sets of toilets, including disabled facilities.
  • The summer camping season where the park is open every day runs from 1st April to 31st October (outside of this they are only open for a few hours on the weekend).
  • 5km of walks and trails
  • 5 lakes
  • 1 minute drive from the market town of Olney (where they have the best afternoon tea at “Teapots of Olney” highly recommend).
Coronavirus · Days Out

ZSL Whipsnade Zoo (during lockdown)

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About a month ago the Zoos were told that they were allowed to open – yipee, something we can do, no more staring at these four walls!

Savannah hasn’t been to the zoo since she was a baby and therefore technically this is her first zoo visit. Nate has been many times and enjoys Whipsnade.

Tickets

We tried to book tickets the day that they were released but the site crashed – of course. Then they introduced an online queuing system…there were 6,000 people in front of me in the queue – gulp! That is long even by British standards.

We got a ticket for a morning slot; you must buy a ticket if you wish to visit Whipsnade (currently), you cannot purchase tickets on the door. It also states on their Facebook page that they are not accepting vouchers from third-party vendors such as Tesco Clubcard vouchers (currently). Additionally, if you want to visit all day you must choose a morning slot; you can arrive at 10am and stay all day. An afternoon slot will limit you to 2pm-6pm (though you can see a lot of the zoo in that time). Parking is easy, it is a 1 minute walk, right next to the zoo, and I have never found it full.

We went at the end of June and was worried that it would be packed with people; but because they limit the numbers who can buy tickets, I need not have worried, it was fine. It was not even as busy as it normally is on a weekend and we were there on a Sunday.

Safety Measures

If you arrive early or exactly on time you will have to queue, but they had socially distance space markers on the ground. They have a one-way system through the entrance and around the shop, and toilets are one in one out (but at least they are open). They had hand sanitisers at the entrance and water.

Animals

We let our little one choose her favourite animal and set off to find it – the Giraffes. The Giraffes are in the middle, so on the way we saw Monkeys (she found them funny, and I loved the look of awe on her face – her first time to see wild animals in real life – she looked like “wow are those real”.

The giraffe platform was closed at the time, but re-opened on 4th July, we were able to see the baby giraffes outside – the parents were hiding though, I guess they didn’t like the rain!

We also saw hippos (my favourite), flamingos, tigers, elephants and lions (you have to join a socially distanced queue to get into the lion viewing area. I like the signage though as it kept the kids entertaind whilst we were queuing (for all of 5 minutes). A lot of animals were hiding.

Whipsnade is huge (for those who have never been), so if you have tiny people with little legs I recommend a buggy, scooter, micro trikes etc. You are also able to pay extra to take your car into the site. Whipsnade is actually the UK’s largest zoo, set in 600 acres of land – no wonder we have never managed it even over a full day.

Food

There were no food outlets open, except one icecream van and there were limited snacks in the gift shop (bottle of drinks and chocolate bars mostly). The restaurants were not open, so it says on their website to bring your own lunch to eat in their picnic areas; which we dutifully did. However, since it was raining all day, we could not sit down at the picnic benches to eat, so we left early to eat in our car. We did however find a small covered area to sit and have a snack, the only time I sat down in 4 hours (ouch).

Closed

During our visit in June the following areas were closed or not running for our safety:

  • Aquarium (now open)
  • Butterfly house (now open)
  • Sealion show (such a shame as it is our favourite!)
  • Bird show and other talks
  • Farm
  • Outdoor play area
  • Indoor play area (Hullabazoo)
  • Indoor food areas
  • Train ride

It was a shame that so much of it was closed, it is no longer a whole day out, but this is a zoo, and the animals are the main attraction, so on a non-rainy day it is probably much more fun and we look forward to taking Savannah back there when she can enjoy the sealion show, and play in the park and soft play, go on the train and we can all stop for a lunch to rest our feet about half way round, as we used to do. However, the most important thing is that zoos are still open, and we need to support them so that our kids and grandkids will have zoos in the future to enjoy.

In terms of expectations, take your own food, be prepared for a lack of seating if it rains all day, and not everything will be open right now, but if you check out their facebook page, they update that regularly. However, it is a big open space, so definitely a perfect place for social distancing.

I’ll leave with this funny pic…

Days Out · Family holiday · Travel

Swanning Around Dorset (Abbotsbury Swannery)

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It was a gorgeous day when we headed over to Abbotsbury, I typed the post-code in and was re-assured to see ‘Abbotsbury Swannery’ on the map, so off we went, but here is the bit to take note of: even though it says so on the iphone map, it is not there! And I know this has happened a lot because there was a building with a sign on that said Abbotsbury Swannery that way, which, incidentally was the first sign down some very windy and extremely narrow (single-track) country roads. When we finally arrived, we drove right past it because the signage was facing the other way. Abbotsbury – you could really do with a sign on the other side of the road. We had to drive all the way into the village to turn around because the roads were so narrow.

A slightly bumpy start but it was so worth the journey. The swannery is a natural habitat for the mute swans, where they are made comfortable but are not enclosed. Chesil Beach is the backdrop to this gorgeous scene:

It was the most beautiful and peaceful walk through the woods I have ever encountered, as you walk down the path you have either a stream, a rook or a pond on either side. We also came upon the occasional old building, which dated back to the 11th Century, without little man I may have explored the history a little more.

As we arrived quite late it was almost their feeding time which is the big event and takes place twice a day – 12 noon and 4pm so we headed over for a little treat. My son went in and fed the swans, even though he was too nervous at first, once he saw all the other children feeding then he felt more courageous, and I was a proud mama. I love to see him grow in confidence. I thought the feeding was just for children as they ask you to have all the children line up but then they said, all children aged from 0-80 can feed the swans! I felt sorry for the 81 year old lady almost jumping out of her seat ready to feed them!

One tiny note is that there are no toilets in the swannery, only at the entrance, so bear that in mind if you have a little one with a tiny bladder. There are also two lots of baby change facilities.

The swans and their beautiful cygnets really were the star of the show, they made me feel so peaceful. I am not amazingly into birds, but I do like walking and this sanctuary was a delight. I was also very surprised by the lack of aggression and hissing that I usually see in swans. In fact when we feed ducks back home we always avoid swans because they are so aggressive, but these swans are so docile.  In addition to the swans the swannery has two mazes, one for children and on for adults, pedal bikes, a park, gift shop and a cafe. The pedal bike track could do with a refurbishment, my husband enjoyed it but it was too difficult for my 3 year old to even pedal, and I didn’t see a single other person go near the track the whole time we were there.

The cafe was a slight disappointment having gotten my order wrong and had to wait an extra 20 minutes, and when my hot-dog arrived it was in a bland/hard roll which was flavourless, it could have done with some onions at a minimum. The cake was pretty nice and they had a children’s park next to it, so you could eat your lunch whilst watching your little one play.

In the late afternoon we decided to venture over to the children’s farm, were given directions from the gift shop and headed off. 15 minutes of walking in very hot weather later, and it did not appear to be close enough so we headed off. I think they should put up signs saying how long a walk it is, because we were not prepared. The little legs were not going to make that trip so we decided to leave the children’s farm for another day and instead jumped in the car, and drove 5 minutes to the beach, not just any beach –  Chesil Beach. A note about Chesil Beach – it is very painful if you are wearing sandals, or worse, bare-foot. It is literally a mountain of stones, like nothing I have ever seen, there is not a speck of sand.

So the next time you take your child to the beach to throw stones in the water (aka skimming stones), have a thought for the poor souls on Chesil Beach, because I believe that every single stone that has ever been thrown into water anywhere in the world ends up at Chesil Beach!

Useful Information:

  • Postcode: DT3 4JG (the correct one)
  • It would be very difficult to travel here by any other means than by car as it is in the middle of the countryside.
  • The swannery itself is very big, requires a fair amount of walking and once you are in you are far from the toilets. If you decide to combine the children’s farm and sub-tropical gardens in on the same day (not recommended) you would have to limit your time at the swannery and you will need to drive to the gardens and walk for at least 20 minutes over to the farm. If you do buy a combined ticket, you can use the tickets on another day as they do not have an expiration date, so my advice is to spread out the trips to 2 days at least.
  • Opening times: March to November, 10-5pm.

All in all there were high highs and some minor lows but I have nothing but happy memories, and my husband loved the swannery above all the activities we did in Weymouth, so high praise indeed. Our son loved it too as he loves animals and was very excited pointing out all the swans and cygnets and exploring so it was perfect for him.

Days Out · summer · Travel

New Forest – Lymington and Lyndhurst

katchambers3 Comments

Last year, hubby and I had a lovely break in Brockenhurst. It was so amazing that we decided to return to the new forest, but a different part. This time we stayed in a B&B just outside of Lymington and used that as base for exploring other parts of the forest. I was initially hoping that Lymington would be the perfect mix of both the ‘new forest’ and the seaside, which is why I chose it, as Brockenhurst was a bit far from the sea, however Lymington doesn’t really have the new forest feel, there are no wandering ponies (which in my mind what is most special about the new forest) and the seafront is not the most picturesque of places, plus the beach is shingle.

However, we didn’t let that deter us and instead spent time in Lyndhurst and Burley. However, before I discuss those I do need to say how absolutely amazing the food was at a pub in Lymington called “Thomas Tripp”. The outside has pretty hanging baskets and is very welcoming, unfortunately when I stepped inside I was put-off as the ambience was not quite right, and didn’t look like a place that would have amazing food, but I am so glad I was wrong. Thomas Tripp had, undeniably, the best ribs and BBQ sauce I have ever eaten in my life! And as a foodie, I have to say I have tried a fair many. They were so unbelievable I had to talk to the owner about them, he explained that they are slowly cooked for like 12 hours, and he came up with the BBQ sauce recipe himself. It was so mind-blowing we actually travelled all the way from Lyndhurst the next day, just to eat there again. The ribs were not the only special things, the garlic and tomato bread must have been made by an Italian because I have only had better in Italy, and the chocolate brownie for dessert was absolutely scrumptious. So if you are ever in the New Forest, find this pub because you will not regret it.

ribs homemade chips corn on the cobgarlic and tomato bread

Lyndhurst

We spent a day in Lyndhurst, half of it shopping and half of it on the new forest open bus tour, which I highly recommend. We went on the red route, which was the longest at 2.5 hours. No matter how hot it is outside, if you are upstairs, in the open it gets very cold and windy, so bare that in mind. It was very beautiful and a great way to see the sights of the forest that we had yet to see. The only downside was that the bus did not have a toilet, which is tricky on such a long tour. There were lots of great touristy shops in Lyndhurst, and if you walk just 5 minutes toward the outskirts, cross over a grate, and there are the ponies, and to my great surprise, wild donkeys.

lyndhurst wild animals

We only had time to stop off at Burley on our way home (as the New Forest Show was on), it was an intriguing little witchy hamlet. Again we were lucky enough to see 2 horses, waiting to use the payphone 😉 Burley was the smallest and probably the prettiest of the places we saw on the tour. If you like a bit of fantasy, this is definitely the place, as it has witches, smugglers and “dragons” in it’s history, and due to this many of the shops sell witch/fantasy themed goods.

new forest ponies

Days Out

Peppa Pig World – with a toddler!

katchambers2 Comments

On our last day of our Butlins (Bognor Regis) holiday, we decided that we would stop off at Peppa Pig World for the day, on our way home.

This was our first trip to a proper theme park with our 2.5 year old toddler, so we were uncertain as to what to expect.

Firstly, Peppa Pig World is a clean and pretty little part of a larger theme park called Paultons Family Theme Park. There are only about 8/9 Peppa Pig themed rides, however, I feel that is sufficient for a day of activity. Unfortunately we did not get to try all of the rides, because either the queues were too long, or Nate decided he didn’t want to go on them.

Parking was easy enough, but it was quite a trek from parking to the entrance (where you pay), fairly long queue’s to get in and then you have to walk through the whole of Paultons Park to get to Peppa Pig World, so if you have a young child, you may want to take a buggy or baby carrier. There is ample space for pushchairs to be left at every ride, so I am glad we decided to take it in. Please note that there are not baby changing facilities in Peppa Pig World, but there is one outside to the left, and it was pretty good and spacious.

peppa pig land paultons park

I felt the price was too high if you only intend to go to the Peppa pig section of the park (like we did), I think they should have a separate and lower price for Peppa Pig users only (although I understand how they are very unlikely to do this, financially). I am glad that Nate was under 100cm (just) and therefore didn’t have to pay the £27 full price ticket that each of myself and my husband had to pay. They do sometimes have special offers and is worth checking the website before you go, it is also cheaper if you book online.

Being completely honest, I think Nate was too young to really enjoy the park, or perhaps it is just his personality, but the idea of queuing for a 2 year old, is just not something he can comprehend. I am sure if we went with friends and their kids, he would have been more entertained, but he really did not like queuing and was not shy about letting us know it – several tantrums ensued. What further irritated him was that he was not allowed to stay on the ride for more than one go (which is obvious to us adults, but try explaining that to a 2 year old).

He went on Grandpa Pigs train ride, Daddy Pigs car ride, Grandpa pigs boat trip (shortest queue) and George’s Rocket – indoor play zone (no queuing required). He enjoyed all of them, and really wanted to try the helicopter ride, but the queues for that were 35 minutes long all day and I knew he would not stand through that. There was also a peppa pig playground that he enjoyed and a muddy puddles wet play at the back of that, but he was too tired by that point to try it.

toddler driving car

All in all, we enjoyed our day and may try taking him back again next year when he is more queue-friendly.

 

Days Out

A Day out with Thomas (the tank engine)

katchambers3 Comments

Over the Easter weekend Buckinghamshire Railway Centre ran their ‘Day out with Thomas‘, which they do about 3 weekends a year. The last time they did this was in September so we have waited a long time for this. The cost was £41 for 2 adults and 1 child over the age of 2, so it wasn’t a cheap day out, but I have to say it was worth it to see the look on my son’s face when he saw Thomas for the first time! He loved it! The journey from Milton Keynes was not too bad, it took 50 minutes (it is near to Aylesbury).

We went on Bank Holiday Monday and arrived at 10:30am, exactly when it opened, which was a good time because there was no queuing for tickets and we didn’t have to queue to ride on the Thomas train (there was a long queue for the rest of the day). So the first thing we did, of course, was to ‘meet’ Thomas and ride on the Thomas train, which Nate loved! I was surprised by how very comfortable old steam trains are, I would love to try it on a longer journey. Be aware that the train ride is very short. The ride goes in one direction for 2 1/2 minutes, goes back and then repeats so the entire journey lasts for 10 minutes in total. It’s a shame that you don’t get to see much of the countryside, as the train turns back as soon as you start to see fields, but we all enjoyed it anyway, the steam and the chugging was all very authentic, plus how often do you get to ride on a real steam train?

toddler pointint to toby

After riding on the Thomas train, and spotting Toby on the way, we headed towards the miniature railway, and after about 10 minutes of queuing we had a ride, which we all enjoyed, perhaps even more than Thomas. This was because it was open air, it was a longer journey, it was pretty and was full of little characters all along the journey such as Winnie the Pooh, Noddy, Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder and more we also got to go through a tunnel. We stopped here for a picnic and and Nate watched the trains go round on the model railway.

buckinghamshire railway centre

There were various other activities going on through the day, there was an open top train ride, face painting, a balloon show, colouring activities, a mini cinema on board a train showing Thomas, meet the Fat Controller, some toy train sets to play with and more. There was a restaurant inside selling food, which we didn’t try because it was too busy, there was also a chip van and several picnic areas. We stayed until about 2pm, so there were enough activities for a half-day visit, probably not enough to keep you out all day. Nate was so tuckered out he fell asleep straight away and slept the whole journey home.

The next ‘Day out with Thomas’ is in early July and then again in early September. There is also a ‘Postman Pat’ day in May and a ‘Peppa Pig’ day in June.

Days Out

Waddesdon Manor

katchambers10 Comments

We have been meaning to try Waddesdon Manor for a while now, and since last weekend was “Free Heritage Open Days” we thought it was the perfect time to visit.

It should have taken us 50 minutes to get there from Milton Keynes, it is close to Aylesbury but my iPhone sat nav, which normally works really well, directed us via the worst possible route ever, and not only that, it directed us into private property and we got locked in!

I couldn’t believe how vast the property was, and how beautiful.

national trust properties

I believe we took Nate on the perfect weekend, because not only was it free entry (normally £8 per adult), but it was also Emergency Services Day. There were: fire engines/trucks, police cars, ambulances, police dogs, police horses. Nate got to sit in the vehicles, meet real firemen/policemen, press the sirens, dress up, stroke the animals and have his finger prints taken (gulp!). He loved it! Oh and Peppa Pig randomly showed up too, which Nate is just starting to get in to.

toddler in police hat dressing up

We booked to take a tour around the actual house, and I was surprised at how long it held Nate’s attention. You wouldn’t expect a fancy house with ornate furnishings to be of interest to a toddler, but luckily there were a multitude of large paintings and embroidered furnishings that included some kind of transport or animal on and Nate loved pointing them out “look mummy boat…doggy…horse”.

The adventure playground is a great facility, it is at various points on a steep hill, with apparatus for older children at the top of the hill (clearly marked), and those toddlers at the bottom. This area of the estate is very steep, so bare in mind if you are not an able walker. Although pushchairs/wheelchairs do have access, but again very steep.

Personally, if there was not an external family event going on (Emergency Services Day) I don’t think a toddler would get a lot from Waddesdon Manor. Although, sometimes it is nice to do something for the grown-ups sometimes! They do, however, have a regular schedule of events that would certainly be very enticing in the future. They have many Halloween activities coming up at the end of October, during half-term, for example: Halloween orienteering activity, free Halloween colouring activities, free storytelling session, face-painting in the bat cave, pumpkin carving, free Halloween arts and crafts.

In terms of facilities for families they have several restaurants and cafes located around the property, they have baby change facilities, toilets in various locations and a toy and sweet shop.

Despite getting lost it was a lovely afternoon out, it didn’t matter that the weather was not pleasant, and I am sure we will return.

 

Days Out · Parenting

360 Play Milton Keynes

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Nate is now officially 7 months old, he can sit up unaided, can feed a bottle to himself and loves finger food.

Today we decided to brave the 360 Indoor Play centre for the first time. I was sure he would be too small for everything but I was surprised to find a couple of rides we could take him on.

The place is pretty big, a giant soft play section in the middle, loads of places to sit and eat, two rides downstairs, and upstairs they had role play sections, Lego and messy play. It looks like they have sand and more outside but it was closed.

They have a separated section for toddlers, which is where we took Nate. There wasn’t much he could do since he isn’t crawling yet but he did enjoy the ball pit; of course all balls went in the mouth! There was also a little roundabout that he enjoyed and that about sums up all he could do in the soft play area. However, to the pure delight of my hubby there was a race kart/dodgems type ride that he could go on; they both enjoyed it! I then took him on the carousel.

Not loads but a nice change and a great way to spend 1.5hours! When he can crawl and walk I’m sure we will be there frequently!

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