• days out - Family Life

    Exploring Castle Rising with kids

    I can’t resist a castle. I just adore exploring the ruins of an ancient castle and whilst we were away in North Norfolk recently we found plenty. I’ve already shared our trip to Castle Acre Castle and Castle Acre Priory – both amazing historic sites to visit. Today I wanted to tell you a little more abut exploring Castle Rising with kids. Exploring Castle Rising with kids Castle Rising is a picturesque little village near to Kings Lynn, which was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1066. The building of the castle was begun in 1138 by the Norman lord…

  • days out - Family Life - holidays

    Reasons to visit Castle Acre Priory with kids

    On our way home from our week in Norfolk we stopped off at the breath-taking village of Castle Acre. The other day I told you about our visit to the ruins of Castle Acre Castle which was the perfect place for my children to run off some energy. We also explored Castle Acre Bailey Gate, the Norman planned streets of Castle Acre village, as well as the ruins of Castle Acre Priory. There is so much to see and do in Castle Acre that it is well worth a visit. Castle Acre Priory Castle Acre Priory was a Cluniac priory, dedicated to St Mary, St…

  • days out - Family Life - holidays - Monday Happy List

    Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things

    Happy Monday everyone. Hope you had a great weekend. My children are back at school after a lovely 2 week break. I love starting off each week by writing my Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things blog post. It’s a great chance to reflect on the things that made me happy in the previous week, as well as record some of our family adventures, and one which I always enjoy writing. Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things We’ve just got back from an amazing week in North Norfolk. It’s an area I already knew quite well but we hadn’t been back…

  • days out - Family Life

    5 reasons to visit Castle Acre Castle with kids

    We’ve spent the last week in North Norfolk and have had some amazing days out. Today we visited the pretty village of Castle Acre which is packed full of historical places and well worth a visit. We started off at the ruins of Castle Acre itself, I’m going to write about Castle Acre Priory in another post. Read on for my top 5 reasons to visit Castle Acre Castle with kids. Castle Acre is a rare and complete survival of a Norman planned settlement, including a castle, village, parish church and one of the best-preserved monastic sites in England, Castle Acre Priory.…

  • days out - Family Life - Local Review - London

    Our Disney on Ice Worlds of Enchantment experience

    Last week I told you how excited we were to go and see our first Disney on Ice show at the Wembley SSE Arena. Our whole family are big Disney fans so were really looking forward to trying something new and watching Disney On Ice Worlds of Enchantment. Yesterday we had a lovely morning at home, the sun was out for the first time and it was great to spend time in the garden. After lunch we headed into town as we wanted to go shopping at the London Designer Outlet before the show. We grabbed some bargains and stopped…

  • days out - Family Life

    Saving money on days out over the holidays {kids eat free at Subway!}

    I love the Easter holidays. Christmas is but a distant memory and we’re all enjoying the longer days despite the relentless rain. I know that we traditionally have bad weather over a Bank Holiday but please, we could really do with some dry days! Subway challenged us to enjoy a day out over the holidays without spending any money. Subway have a fab deal where Kids Eat Free with a purchase of an adult meal (find your nearest branch here), so Little Sis and I planned a girls day out with lunch to see if it was possible to not…

  • days out - Family Life - holidays - Local Review - London

    Disney on Ice and planning for Easter

    Argh, the children break up today! I still have blog posts to write, the house to clean, the food shopping to do and the spare room to get ready for my mum. We have all our birthday cards up and the house is full of balloons from my son’s birthday party at the weekend. Don’t worry if you have been caught unawares by the Easter holidays too. I’ve written a few blog posts which might just help: Easter treats on Netflix Family friendly Easter events in and around London Things to put in an Easter crate for kids How to…

  • days out - Family Life - Local Review - London - museum

    Ocean Liners: Speed and Style at the V&A

    Last week I took myself off to the V&A for the morning. I really wanted to go and see the Winnie the Pooh exhibition but unfortunately tickets had sold out for the day. My second choice was Ocean Liners which had just opened. I bought myself a ticket, with a hefty discount, thanks to my National Art Pass, and went right in. Ocean Liners: Speed and Style at the V&A I love visiting the V&A. They have some amazing exhibitions and I was really looking forward to seeing Ocean Liners. We went on a cruise a few years ago and…

  • days out - Family Life - Local Review - London

    New Lego experience at Hamleys London

    This morning I popped into the West End to attend an exclusive unveiling of the NEW Lego floor at Hamleys, Regent Street. My children love Hamleys which is the largest and oldest toy shop in the world. Being slap bang in the middle of Regent Street means that Hamleys is usually super busy, especially at the weekend. Set over 7 floors it’s a really fun place to visit, especially for kids. As Lego celebrates it’s 60th anniversary this year it seems well-tiles for Hamleys to give it’s Lego area a makeover. We’ve visited the Lego area before but it was…