Tuesday 6 September 2011

Family Day....

Ashamedly I have to admit we rarely go out as a family... which is so wrong.... but so easy to not do.... it takes effort and organisation to go out... and when the dad in the house is all focused on "I only get 2 days off and this needs doing or that needs doing!" .... well lets just say we never actually go anywhere


When I decided last week that we were going out as a family on Sunday I could see Mr P physically struggling with the prospect of not getting 2 days on the completeion of the bathroom... however .... even when Sunday morning was drizzly with rain I rebuffed all the comments he made.... adamant that we were going out


after checking the chickens... and making sure they had water and food... and telling Sir Archibald (Archie to his friends!) the 16 week old, hopefully non crowing cockerel, to keep an eye on the girls!


I walked the dog while Mr P went off and got fuel.... and then we I loaded the dog, children and Mr P into the car.... we were off to Moors Valley which was about an hours drive away....


We decided to go on the play trail as that was the most exciting for an energetic 5 year old... First was the ants nest... the woods had plenty of giant ant benches...


so many structures hidden amongst the trees...


Daniel ... and Jamie had plenty of fun exploring and racing around...









Trees throughout the woods were carved to add interest ....


and the weather was kind... the sound of the wind blowing through the pine trees was wonderful.... it sounded like the ocean...



the woodland floor was littered with amazing sculptures....



and Jamie was amazing at helping her little brother...


a simple bench was was never "just" a simple bench...


the maze was good for the adults.... the kids didn't quite get it though... they just squeezed through the gaps and left adults stranded.... perhaps that was the plan! lol


tunnels.....


Climbing....


and lots and lots of fun!



The dog wasn't overly impressed with being on a controlled lead length all the day... he used to having the whole length of the lead... however as we were with other people with children, bikes and dogs I kept him close.... just a shame other dog owners aren't quite as considerate... but he learnt a lot... and next time he'll be better... its our own fault... he's rarely been taken out on family outings as we have usually had a buggy in the boot .. thats going to change!


there was a huge lake...


with more wonderful sculptures....


and natural areas that was only missing some cattle or sheep or something! lol


a team of volunteers maintain and run a steam train ride... the kids caught the train back to the play areas ... only £3 for the both of them and Les and I walked with the dog....


and the trip home was much quieter than the trip there! ;D


it only cost us £8 for 4 and a half hours parking and as we didn't take a picnic we bought snacks and drinks there.... oh and some baskets... I LOVE basketry! ;D well they were only £1.50 each! lol

We will definitely be going back again...


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4 comments:

Mandy said...

WOW what a fabby family day out and much cheapness your pics are lovley Alex :O) We've have something very similar up this way called Landmark but very expensive to get in not been in years well Craig's a tadd to old for it now :( but I do rem it was something like £30 odd bucks for the 3 of us shocking but money well spent I guess cos we were there from morning till closing nearly tree top walks water slides mazes excellent!! As for Archie he they say cocks Yodel from around 12 weeks Yodel I'd never heard of that but my friend Carol has burds like your good self lol Brilliant read whilst drinking my mornign cuppa


Thanks doll xxxx

Floss said...

That looks like such a wonderful place! And we have the same situation here - Ben thinks if we lived in a rented flat he'd have the time to come out and about with us, but with a house and a big garden, there's always something he has to do... So every now and then I used to push him to come out, and now he actually pushes himself (every now and again) because he's learnt it's well worth spending some time out with us - otherwise, I think he would have lost touch with his own sons. So well done for pushing - it looks like it was a great day out!

Rachel said...

We rarely do family days out either, as Peter just wants to chill out at the weekend (when he's not playing cricket!). But there is a lovely place near us that we go to sometimes that is very similar with all the wooden treehouses and play equipment in the woods - the kids always enjoy it there, even the almost 14yr old!

Pomona said...

Looks like you had a lovely day out!

Pomona x