Running around Knaresborough

 When I came across pictures of Knaresborough, I needed to visit it. I wanted to witness the views in person. 

The station itself was so cute! We walked through the town to the castle and see the views of the River Nidd and the viaduct. The views were amazing! It's hard to describe but there were stunning. You can't go inside the castle, it was more ruins but great nonethless.

Our next stop was England's oldest attraction, Mother Shipton's cave. It is set in a woodland and so a great place to have a stroll and enjoy the views of the river. The cave is not really a cave and was underwhelming but the Petrifying Well was creepy but still beautiful! We loved reading all about the place and this history of Mother Shipton. I will recommend going to Mother Shipton's when they are events as they will be more to do. As we went during Easter, we did the Easter trail and they were cute little touches around the park. We wanted to visit the Chapel of our Lady of the Crag but it was unfortunately closed so we did a nice walk along the river.

We then headed to Fountains Abbey in Ripon  which was further out. We went through Harrogate which is famous for its spas. There are many things to do in Ripon such as museums but we visited similar museums in other places so the kids didn't want to do the museum. When we visited the Fountains Abbey, we didn't expect to spend so much time in there. A whole day can be easily spent in there with so much to see. It is a National Trust site so free if you are a member. I'm in love with the ruins. It is stunning. With a river running through it, it was easy to spend an hour just looking though the ruins. We also visited the water gardens which wasn't all that but if you want to get your steps in then do visit them.

Yes, it was a quick stop but well worth it! Do visit this beautiful place in North Yorkshire!

A day trip to Cheddar

 Cheddar was on my radar for a couple of years now but never got round to it for some reason. So this half-term, I took the leap and planned our day. The journey there was so scenic and green everywhere. The main reason I always wanted to go is because I love cheese so naturally, our first stop was the cheese factory, 'The Cheese Company &Co', the only place where cheddar is made in Cheddar. This was actually so good. We spent more time in the factory than anywhere else. The entry fee was £2.50 for adults and free for kids. It was great to see the processes in cheese making and the workers in there for so friendly and showing us how to do certain things! We then went to the shop and did a bit of cheese-tasting before investing in some differently flavoured cheddar. A must-do when you are there.

The next stop was walking up to Gough's Caves. With a river flowing through the village and walking through the gorge was beautiful.  Tickets for caves and other attractions were booked online. In the price of the ticket, you can visit 5 attractions. The Gough's Caves were magnificient. It was short but it was so stunning to walk through and look around.

The next stop was the Prehistoric Museum which was a short and sweet museum. It was a museum to understand how and who lived in Cheddar in the prehistory times. The outdoor setup outside the museum was cute too.

Our lost stop was walking on the Mendip Hills. This was a circular route and takes about 2-3 hours but the views were gorgeous (shame it doesn't translate on photos). Some of the paths were filled with pebbles which could get slippery. We also came across wild goats. When we walked to the most highest point, we could see all of Cheddar including Cheddar Reservoir. It was well worth the walk-up and the many near-falls we encountered! If you don't want to the walk but want the views, you can always go up the Watch Tower and see the scenic views.

Overall, we loved Cheddar and we will definetely go back!

Dinosaur Mania

 Is your child an aspiring paleontologist or has an unhealthy obsession with dinosaurs. Look no further! Here's a list of some of the places around UK to quench that dino thirst! If you want a more detailed review, they will be found inside the brackets next to the places specified.

London

Crystal Palace

National History Museum

Bristol

Bristol Museum and Art Gallery

Isle of Wight (https://mummylife0912.blogspot.com/2020/03/isle-of-wight.html)

Dinosaur Isle, Sandown- https://www.dinosaurisle.com/

Blackgang Chine, Blackgang- https://blackgangchine.com/

Dinosaur Expedition CIC, Brightstone - http://www.dinosaurexpeditions.co.uk/

Devon

Dinosaur World, Torquay - https://www.torquaysdinosaurworld.co.uk/

Somerset 

Wookey Hole - https://www.wookey.co.uk/ (https://mummylife0912.blogspot.com/2020/02/wookey-hole-somerset.html)

Hertfordshire 

Paradise Wild Park, Broxbourne - https://www.pwpark.com/ (https://mummylife0912.blogspot.com/2020/02/paradise-wildlife-park.html)

Knebworth House, Stevenage - In the garden, behind the house there's a big dinosaur trail with life-sized dinosaurs dotted around. 

Buckinghamshire

Gulliver's Land Resort, Milton Keynes - https://www.gulliversfun.co.uk/

Dorset

Dinosaur World, Dorchester - https://www.thedinosaurmuseum.com/ (https://mummylife0912.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-jurassic-coast-uk.html)

Norfolk

ROARR Dinosaur Park - https://www.roarrdinosauradventure.co.uk/ (https://mummylife0912.blogspot.com/2020/01/in-and-around-norwich.html)

There's always shows and most of your local museums will also have a dinosaur section so don't forget to check for these too.

Theatre Reviews

We were introduced to theatre by one of my best friends more than a decade ago and it is a gift that we will cherish forever. We love musicals! We can't get enough of the live performances, stage design, costumes, etc... So much talent in one little space. Yes it is expensive. To help with the costs, this is what I do:

    1) Pick seats towards the back or in upper circle

    2) Use London Theatre Week discount which runs for 2 weeks from end of Feb

    3) Kidsweek in June also provides great discount with workshops too! A perfect outing during the                   summer holiday     

Here's what we've seen so far in the Weest End:

1) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, West End - we love seeing one of our favourite books come to live on stage. We love seeing the lift and other great trickeries

2) Legally Blonde, West End - I think this was the first ever musical I have ever watched and it was so good. It was entertaining and was a great confidence booster

3) Billy Elliot, West End - a beautiful moving musical about a boy and his passion for dancing! It made me tear up

4) Wicked, West End- we watched this twice. It is my kids favourite. The story of the Wicked Witch from Wizard of Oz. When I first watched it, I didn't understand it but then I saw why the kids loved it when we watched it the second time

5) Lion King, West End - what an amazing experience! It is beautifully staged and you have animals walking amongst you. It is visually stunning

6) Jungle Book, Norwich Theatre - This was a great local production.

7) The Addams Family, Wimbledon Theatre - This production was true to the movie!

8) Icarus, Unicorn Theatre - another local production which is suited for older kids as the story seemed to be a bit too complicated for my under 10s.

9) Avenue Q - definetely not for young kids. It is a puppet show but hilarious!

10) The Phantom of the Opera, - This was majestic to say the least! It has great songs and the storyline was so romantic.

11) The Twits, Richmond Theatre - We loved to see of our favourite Roald Dahl's stories coming to life. There were as yucky as the story!

12) Hamilton, West End - 

More reviews will be added on as we see more!

Parks in London

 1) Alexandra Palace - the palace comes with some great grounds. We love it when it's Bonfire night because there's a funfair, fireworks. The Palace holds lots of events and also has an ice rink. Behind the palace, there's a boating lake which is great for kids.

2) Regent's Park - this is the home of ZSL zoo but it also has an outdoor theatre which is great for summer days. It has lovely gardens and lake.

3) St Jame's Park - A little park in front Buckingham Palace. It is beautiful during Daffodils season or when flowers are in full bloom

3) Hyde Park - what a big park. Known for it's festivals during summer or known for Winter Wonderland. There's a boating lake, wild swimming in the Lake. It also has a discovery centre with great activities for kids too. It also holds Kensington Palace and Gardens.

4) Holland Park - this is a beautiful park with lots of different flower display It also has a small Japan garden and a great big children's playground.

5) Victoria Embankment Gardens -  small park with a nice water feature and a cafe overlooking River Thames

6) Richmond Park - Known for its deers and it's beautiful azaleas display in the famous Isabella's Plantation, this is park which no one should miss. It is a big park so you can spend a whole day there. There are children'd playgrounds too.

7) Battersea Park - another great park south of the river, with a zoo and go ape places. It also has a nice sculptures and Asian temple building.

8) Crystal Palace Park - this was a small park but it's famous for it's Dinosaurs.

9) Hampstead Heath/ Golders Hill Park - You can easily spend a whole day in there. Yu have the beautiful Pergola but if you walk north, you come across Golders Hill Park which holds a mini zoo and a buttlerfly house as well as a playground.

10) Gunnersbury Park - A beautiful park which with a temple and a gothic tower. It also holds 2 ponds and has a museum. It's quite a big park and just walking around it can take 1hr. It also has 1 playground and a leisure centre in it.

11) Bushy Park - another Royal Park with free roaming park. It's not as big as Richmond Park but still huge. You can spend a whole day just walking around the woods and gardens. Maybe not great for small kids but great for older kids who love walking or cycling around. The walled gardens was beautiful with lots of streams running across the gardens. It was idyllic. On the other end of the park, towards Hampton Hill, you can see a nice cascade. A great park to walk around.

12) Chiswick Park - a beautiful park with a beautiful house, a lake and luscious green. Great for a walk with a small play area for younger children.

13) Langley Park - This is a very big park so didn't explore the full extent of it but there's an abortorium and a beautiful garden that is in full bloom in late April and May with rhododendrons, It has something for everyone.

Places to visit in Buckinghamshire

 1) Roald Dahl Museum, Great Missenden - Lucky was at one point obsessed with Roald Dahl and so this was a great little museum to visit. The museum had a lot of activities going on and so do check their website for holiday activities (https://www.roalddahl.com/museum). Lucky loved sitting in his massive chair and read one of his books. It's a little museum so it can be done in about 2 hours.

2) Hellfire Caves, High Wycombe - These chalk caves hold great holiday-time activities. We went there for Halloween which was excellent. We were able to cover the whole cave system and loved the character interactions. The mood was very creepy too. If Halloween isn't your holiday, they do activities for Christmas but please check their website (https://www.hellfirecaves.co.uk/) . The visit took no more than 90minsutes. They had a nice cafe onsite. There's also a nice park nearby so you can make a nice day out!

3) Chiltern Open Air Museum, Chalfont St Giles - One of our favourite open air museums. Another place which holds many events. We went there for a Unicorn and Dragon day. Despite the rain, we had a great time with some great workshops which took us around the whole museum. We met unicorns, we saw a whole dragon sleeping in a house. They was storytelling in a yurt and other multiple activities. It took us a whole afternoon to enjoy ourselves!

4) Gulliver's Resort, Milton Keynes - A great theme park for a family with young children. It had a dinosaur park and a water centre too. We spent a whole day there and had time to do repeat rides too. 

5) Black Park Country Park, Slough - This was such a  big park. We went there for Go Ape but there are many other activities going on. It is well shaded with cafes dotted around. 

6) Windsor Park, Windsor -  This is a Royal Park and to be fair I had lots of expectations when I was reading about Saville Garden and Virginia Water but it was disappointment. But we got our steps in!

7) Bletchley Park - The home of the code-breakers, it is a great museum with plenty of activities to learn everything that this place and its people did and how they helped in WW2. It has many buildings designated  to different parts of code-breaking including a great display about Alan Turing. There's plenty of activities for kids. It also has a nice lake where you can picnic around. Once you buy the tickets, you can revisit within a year

8) Legoland, Windsor - this is a theme park which we always go back to. Having a Lego fan in my home, is a great plus because I feel like the best mummy ever taking hi there. It has a huge splash park and plenty of rides for little and big ones! A great day out guaranteed

Peppa Pig's World and Paulton's Park

 Yes it's mainly known as Peppa's Pig World but it's also a theme park so it's a place for young and old alike. We did an overnight stay with another family at nearby New Forest with trips to the beach to make the most out of our weekend.

We hit the park first think in the morning as we had 4 kids under 7 who were Peppa Pig crazy and so wanted to make the most of it. There were no problems getting the kids up early on this occasion. Despite all the preparations, it seemed that all the parents had the same plan and so it was very busy as the gates opened! The weather was a bit chilly but that didn't stop the fun. There were so many rides and lots of character interactions at multiple times! Despite the queue, we did all the rides. In between, there was a zoo so we had time to look around it and had a nice picnic surrounded by animals and ducks!

There was a little splash park which the kids loved. The cold weather didn't bother them at all.

Once the kids were happy to leave the park, the adults had some fun in the theme park. Most of the water rides were kid-friendly and so it was fun for the whole family. There were a few rollercoasters and the queue were non-existent.

We had plenty of time to do repeat rides in the whole park.

Overall, we had a great day at Peppa Pig World with all of us being so tired which means a successful day!