Monthly Archives: August 2012

28Aug/12

Brighton Toy and Model Museum, Brighton, East Sussex

entrance fee, museum, Sussex East, teenagers, toddlers, young children

Brighton Toy and Model Museum http://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/ is tucked away under the arches of Brighton Station. You can visit Arch One for free, where there is a shop, local information point and also a range of exhibits. It costs £4 for an adult ticket to the rest of the museum, children are £3 and children under 4 are free. Although it’s not a large museum in terms of floorspace, there is a huge amount crammed in, covering the walls and the ceilings.  Continue reading →

26Aug/12

Chatelherault Country Park, Hamilton, Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire, park, teenagers, toddlers, young children
A great place to visit which is even free of charge is Chatelherault. It’s situated in Hamilton with easy rail access from Glasgow (there is a train station just outside the country park.
 
Chatelherault offers a perfect day out for a family (or anyone really) – with beautiful long woodland and river walks, an adventure playground, a garden centre with a rescued farm animals area (which carries an entry charge to maintain it) and the mansion itself which has a lovely cafe and an exhibition, as well as events for children of all ages.

Continue reading →

24Aug/12

Broadstairs Folk Festival, Broadstairs, Kent

events, Kent, teenagers, toddlers, young children

Every year Broadstairs holds a folk week festival. The seafront pubs have live music all day and the stalls sell everything from funky clothes and jewellery to delicious fudge.  Clarence the Dragon and the Hobby Horses walk along the clifftops as jugglers and balloon makers entertain the children.  The atmosphere is friendly and all inclusive during the day and lively in the evenings with the pubs being so full the streets are lined with people until late into the night. Continue reading →

20Aug/12

Lee Valley Park, Waltham Abbey, Essex

Essex, park

On Saturday 13th August 2011, Lee Valley Park, White Water Rafting Centre had an open day so we had a family day out to have a look for ourselves seeing as it is just on our doorstep.
 
We arrived in the afternoon and got a taster of what it may be like when the Olympics start in 2012, there was a lot of traffic, it did flow well but it does make me wonder what it will be like in Waltham Abbey during that period, only time will tell I guess.

Continue reading →

20Aug/12

Eureka! Halifax, West Yorkshire

entrance fee, museum, toddlers, Yorkshire West, young children

In July 2012, I took the children to visit Eureka! The National Children’s Museum in Halifax.  We visited earlier in the year for Meg’s birthday but I didn’t get around to blogging about it then.

Aimed at children under 11, it’s a fantastic ‘hands on’ museum where children are encouraged to learn through play.  There are six different galleries with various interactive exhibits in each gallery.

Continue reading →

19Aug/12

Hitchin Lavender, Hertfordshire

entrance fee, Hertfordshire, park, young children
I adore lavender. It smells great and its one of the only plants that I can successfully grow, so I was really looking forward to our day out at Hitchin Lavender.
 
What a fantastic experience it was! Lavender stretching out ahead of us as far as the eye could see and a gorgeous fragrance filling the air. It was really child friendly too and my kids loved pottering through the wide rows of lavender, sniffing the flowers and spotting the many bees and butterflies that are attracted by the flowers.

Continue reading →

18Aug/12

Beverley Town Trail, East Yorkshire

free, teenagers, town trail, Yorkshire East, young children
The arts trail in Beverley, East Yorkshire is based on the theme of the ancient trade guilds which existed in the town. 
 
It starts at the Tourist Information Centre on Toll Gavel (where you can get a free map) and takes in the main town centre areas as well as lesser-travelled streets, and goes all the way through the old industrial areas to the beck, and back again. The route is split in to four parts, so it’s easy to do it in bits. It takes a couple of hours to do the whole lot.

Continue reading →

15Aug/12

Honeysuckle Farm, Hornsea, East Yorkshire

babies, entrance fee, Farm, teenagers, toddlers, Yorkshire East, young children

Honeysuckle Farm is our very favourite farm to visit. It’s not too big, quite close to where we live, and not too expensive.

It has lots of sheep, goats, guinea pigs, and chickens. There are also horses, ferrets, and pigs. A lot of the animals are in the central barn, which is great if it rains because you can still see enough animals.  Continue reading →