Dick Whittington Farm Park

During the holidays we took a trip down the road to Little London to visit Dick Whittington Farm Park (formally known as the Mohair Centre)

It was packed (as we were expecting as it's school holidays) but luckily for us most of the visitors seemed happy to stay in the indoor playcenter with all it's climbing frames, big slides and ball pits rather than brave the freezing wind.

feeding the goats

hello!

Unfortunately we weren't able to bottle feed the lambs today (one of the reasons we went!) because they were having their inoculations but we did get a sneaky peak at them all huddled together in their warm and cosy stall...

There are plenty of other animals to see too including llamas, pigs, Shetland ponies, plenty of rare and unusual breeds of chickens and pheasants, even a huge turkey! They also have a couple of rescue owls and a reptile house with various lizards, tortoises, terrapins and fish and another small barn housing small furry creatures - guinea pigs, rabbits and rats.  I know they have animal 'discovery' sessions where various animals are brought out for children to handle or just get a closer look.

this little piggy...

amazing colours on this iguana

chickens

Roo in the reptile house admiring lizards

farm cat doing the most sensible thing on a cold day...

cute fluffy chicks!

As we headed back to the play barn so the kids could run around like loons while we drank coffee we were treated to this spectacle of a peacock showing off for the missus (who seemed pretty unimpressed to be fair) I was impressed though!

Hey lady Peahen! Look at me!

no, really, LOOK AT ME!

Has she gone? Oh. *tail down*

Even Roo was inspired to take a picture...

Roo. Doing what mummy does....

We spent another hour and a half inside - unusually for a tourist attraction like this they are quite happy for you to bring a packed lunch although there is a cafe selling hot food, sandwiches and drinks.

Dick Whittington Farm Park is all about the kids - it's the only place I have ever been too where the adult entry fee is less than the kids entry fee. Even better, until the end of June, every adult coming with a paying child gets in free!

If you are ever in the area I heartily recommend a visit - it's no major tourist attraction, all plastic and shiny, and a little off the beaten track but all the better for it!

The Creative Crafts Show 2013

Last week was our annual visit to the Three Counties Showground at Malvern for the Creative Crafts and Stitch Show. It's become a regular outing for us girls and this year we were joined by my Other Half's brother's girlfriend, Rosie, too. I've written about how much we love these shows before so today I will let the pictures do most of the talking :-)

A beautiful quilted 'Welcome' wall hanging by Sew Enchanting. We all loved this and the fab padded Christmas Trees that were on display to!

So much fabric, so little time... choosing fat quarters at the Stitch Witch's stall. We always spend way too much here. I got some adorable teeny weeny buttons to add to my stash!

Beautiful hand spun yarns ready to knit into something gorgeous. 

Strings of brightly coloured glass pearls - I think this year was the first year I didn't buy any beads at all. Not for want of choice. I had my eyes open for something else...

Giant Knitting!

Amazing installation by the Guild of Machine Knitters

 'Well Knit by Moonlight' designed by Alice Wolfe

Cake and crafts, of course, go hand in hand. I bought the biggest apple filled, icing covered danish pastry you have ever seen (yes, I DID share when I got home!)

A little demo on needle felting from Margaret Fox (Floral Art Products, Malvern) This is something I have been wanting to have a go at for a long time and Margaret was happy to show us the basics! I am now armed with needles, mat and wool roving and ready to go!!

Margaret's lovely display of thick wool felt all ready to be turned into something even more gorgeous - if that is possible.

I am so excited to finally have the needle felting kit and can't wait to get going. Rosie bought herself a kit too and we talked about attending one of Margaret's workshops in the near future. I will let you know how it goes.

I love visiting these specialist shows - they are jam packed with all sorts of goodies but it is especially inspiring to see experts in action and have a go yourself. It's so easy to get into a crafting rut doing the same old thing. Creativity should be stretched or it becomes stale. 

I'm off now to stab some wool!

Half term - Cathedral, Craft, Cats and Colour

I know many of you are having half term holidays right now but ours was last week. I like half terms so much better than the main holidays. A week out of the routine is just long enough for us both to recharge our batteries - it's amazing what difference not having to set the alarm makes.
Not that we slept in very much later, mind you, but it is nice not having to rush out of bed!

I really wanted to take the Little Man to visit a castle, as that is what he has been learning about at school. There are several good ones locally - Chepstow, Raglan and Goodrich are all wonderful to visit - but it is just too early in the year for them to be open. I think we may have to save that trip for Easter or maybe summer hols.
Instead we had a mooch around Gloucester Cathedral (you know - where they filmed bits of Harry Potter ;-) ) Little Man just loved it and it I loved seeing him gazing around in awe.

Later in the week we went to my mum and dads for a few days.

I always like going to my parents place for a little break. I like not having to run around and do everything. I like eating big meals together as a family. As someone who normally does supermarket shop online for delivery, I love that we can spend three hours in a big supermarket mooching around looking at the clothes and magazines (my dad's not so keen on this one, neither does he relish the Ikea trip - which I am saving for next visit ;-) ). I love that there is usually a cat in every room I go into. I love that I get a cup of tea in (sofa) bed every morning. I love watching the Little Man interacting with Grandma and Grandad, and this time he had some fun with his little cousins too. Most of all I love that I can spend all day looking at crafty magazines and knitting while Little Man does colouring or chases round the garden with the dog, or goes for a walk with his Uncle and the dog down by the canal, leaving me to enjoy the peace for a while . . .

 My mums house is full of stuff - whilst not *technically* a hoarder, she is certainly a collector of a great many things! Pretty china, ornaments and books are everywhere. Then there are projects both she and my dad are working on and finished articles are dotted around the house. They love to knit and needlepoint/cross stitch. Their walls are covered in beautiful pictures and samplers, the conservatory furniture is draped with hand knitted throws and made comfy with tapestry cushions. It's all so very inspiring!

Now I am back home and the Little Man is back at school. Right now the sun is shining (although we have been threatened with more snow later in the week!) The primulas are looking colourful, the bulbs are all coming up and I am expecting a parcel from Abakhan any day now so I can start my Creative Budget project for Easter.

Spring is definitely in the air!!

#SilentSunday

Walking the Green Lanes...

"Do I belong to some ancient race?

I like to walk in ancient places.

These are things that I can understand..."

'Sell Out' The Levellers

 Levelling the Land 1991

 Many years ago, when the Little Man was not even the faintest twinkle in my eye, before I met his Daddy, when my life was just me and the cat and no complications, I used to love taking myself off into the woods and just walking. Following the old footpaths and trails that meander through the Forest with no apparent destination in mind (although I'd usually end up in some pub or another...).
These days I just don't have the me-time to do these things but thankfully,  now the Little Man is getting older and able to walk further my Forest ramblings look like making a welcome return.

Yesterday we took a stroll down to Nonny's house. Rather than being tied to the main road (the pushchair route) I decided to leave the buggy at home and go across country...

Across the meadows...

 

The long grass swayed in the wind and made a lovely 'whoooshy' sound!

 Along the Forest paths- many of these footpaths are roughly 'paved' (more cobbled) have the remains of drystone boundary walls on either side where they have been in use for generations

 The bluebells are all finished now but there are plenty of other woodland flowers to see like these gorgeous (and poisonous) foxgloves

 Not to mention some amazing trees. Although parts of the Forest are now filled with quick growing pine and spruce that provide an income, much of the deciduous 'ancient' forest remains.

Walking the Green Lanes takes a bit longer than using the modern paths alongside the roads, but the journey is more pleasant by far. We are much more inclined to take it at our own pace...

 ...plenty of time and opportunity to chill...

And to top it off - here is something we would have missed. 

A whole meadow full of horses and their foals. That really made the Little Man's day. And mine!

I know I have said it before, and I will probably say it again, but we are incredibly lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the country!

#SilentSunday

An adventure wherever you go...

 I don't drive (can't drive or at least never got round to learning...) so me and the Little Man walk everywhere. Until recently the Little Man got a ride in his pushchair but over the last few months I have been leaving the buggy at home and encouraging him to walk. This is mostly successful, although I do seem to end up giving him a piggy back half the way home (Uphill, with a rucksack full of shopping too. I should be so fit!)

To encourage his walking we have a number of different ways into town. There's the straightforward 'down the main road' way for when time is short or I just want to get it over with. There is the 'round the back' way - fairly self-explanatory. And then, when there is time to kill or I sense the Little Man is in need of a little extra encouragement, there is the 'Adventure Way'.

Of course it helps if you have a friend to share the adventure with so let me introduce you to Mr T Dinosaurus...

Ok, we are going on an adventure!

He gets a bit heavy after a while...

Obviously dinosaurs like to jump in big muddy puddles too...

He's not being rude, he's eating the wind. It tastes of apples and pears and strawberry milk. Apparently.

Mr T gets very excited when he gets a go on the 'Trolly Dash'

You can't expect to be carried ALL the way Mr T!

...and finally a lesson in letters...

It must be great being three, there is a whole world of adventures waiting to be discovered :)

This post is being entered into this month's Tots100 Blog Hop

A Day out with Thomas the Tank Engine (and Mummy and Daddy and Nonny and Poppy)

Last weekend my MIL very kindly booked and paid for a family day out to one of our local tourist attractions, the Dean Forest Railway who were hosting a very special event - 'A Day Out with Thomas'.

As anyone with small boys (and girls) will know, Thomas the Tank Engine is still going strong and as popular as ever. You can now buy just about anything with the cheeky blue engine on it - Riley has clothes, books, toys, jigsaws, plates, bowls and cups all featuring Thomas and Friends. He even goes to sleep on a Thomas pillow, under a Thomas duvet!

So as you can imagine actually seeing Thomas in the 'flesh' (as it were) produced squeals of delight! In fact in the few days leading up to our 'Day Out' I really thought the poor lad might burst with excitement!


Look Daddy! It's Thomas!!!

All the train rides and sideshows are included in the ticket price so the first thing we did is hop on the little steam train to Lydney Junction (sadly not pulled by Thomas - he had to stay behind and entertain the new arrivals). Its a lovely ride, passing through the town, past the big recreation ground where I used to spend my school lunch breaks in the summer, stopping briefly at the quaintly named 'St Mary's Halt' for those who wish to take a stroll around St Mary's Church and Lydney Lake, before stopping finally at Lydney Junction where you can connect up to the mainline trains to Gloucester or Chepstow.





Changing ends at Lydney Junction

Back at Norchard we had some lunch in the not too overpriced cafe carriage (although they are quite amenable to visitors bringing picnic lunches and provide lots of tables on the platform for people to sit and eat) before a mini-drama erupted as naughty Diesel stole Thomas's trucks whilst he was snoozing! Thomas gave chase, followed by The Fat Controller (more politically correctly known as Sir Topham Hat) waving his brolly at the naughty engines accompanied by some very entertaining commentary by the Station Master.

Who stole Thomas' trucks?

Riley was completely enthralled by this little bit of Thomas 'in action' joining in the shouting at the right time and clapping and cheering Thomas when he reappeared with his trucks in tow...

A REAL steam train. In miniature!

There were plenty of other attractions to keep the little man amused - a mini merry-go-round, face painting, Punch and Judy show and this fab dinky steam train...

We had just enough time for a story time ride on Daisy through the the village of Whitecroft and the surrounding woodland to the pretty station at Parkend. Again you can alight here and visit one of the lovely pubs for a slap-up pub lunch if you wish or take a walk through the woods before riding the train back to Norchard.

We finished off our day by popping into the Dean Forest Railway shop that is packed to the gills with Thomas merchandise for a few trinkets to remember the day by, before heading home with one exhausted but extremely happy little boy...

'A Day Out with Thomas' can be found at Steam Centres around the country all through the year. It's an excellent day out for the whole family and will delight 'Thomas' fans young and not-so-young alike!  For the wheres, whens and booking info visit the Thomas the Tank Engine website.

#SilentSunday