• Paws Cafe Shrewsbury
    days out

    Paws Cafe Shrewsbury {Cat Cafe}

    April 3, 2024 - By 

    Today we visited Paws Cafe, a cat cafe in Shrewsbury. You all know how much we love to visit a Cat Cafe, as my son would much rather swap our dog for a cat! We found out about Paws Cafe online and booked a visit. Situated in a pretty building on Mardol, it was easy to find with parking on the street outside. Paws Cafe Shrewsbury We were welcomed inside, put our shoes into a locker, and went inside to choose out seats. Paws Cafe is large and we plumped for a comfy sofa. There are 11 lovely cats who…

  • days out

    Cutting Costs While Travelling as a Big Family

    March 25, 2024 - By 

    Travelling can be a fulfilling experience for everyone, especially when you have your family and loved ones with you. Seeing the world with your family can also be a valuable educational experience to help expand your children’s worldview. In a previous post, we highlighted some of the best destinations to visit with your children, from the biodiversity of South Africa to the natural landscapes and waterfalls of Iceland. At the same time, we also emphasised the importance of planning to ensure a smooth sailing family holiday. Cutting Costs While Travelling as a Big Family While the added family bonding time…

  • Lacock Abbey with teens
    days out - Wiltshire

    Lacock Abbey with teens

    March 11, 2024 - By 

    Over half term we stopped off to visit Lacock Abbey and use our National Trust membership cards (which saves us a fortune on days out). Looking back at my blog archives and I can see I wrote a post back in 2013 entitled Family fun at Lacock Abbey. The children were so small on our last visit and couldn’t remember that we had been before. We were excited to bring them back to Lacock for another visit. Lacock Abbey with teens Lacock Abbey is a beautiful property in Wiltshire and a lovely place to visit. As we visited over February…

  • Hampton Court Palace with a tween and teen
    days out - Local Review - London - London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

    Hampton Court Palace with a tween and teen

    January 29, 2024 - By 

    Hampton Court Palace is a large group of buildings built over 300 years. It’s just outside London, on the banks of the river Thames, and has been on our family bucket list for a while. My tween has recently announced she hates history (which I think has more to do with her Year 7 teacher than anything else) but I don’t want that to stop her enjoying trips to historical places. Hampton Court Palace with a tween and teen We saw an offer of half price tickets in January, so we booked our Hampton Court tickets which came to £43.60,…

  • Twist Museum with a tween and teen
    City of Westminster - days out - Local Review - London - STEM activity

    Twist Museum with a tween and teen

    January 24, 2024 - By 

    Days out with a tween and teen can be a little tricky. They love a day in London but get bored quickly, unless being fed at the latest Insta famous bakery or bubble tea cafe. My daughter asked to visit the Twist Museum for her birthday and we were excited to have a fun London day out with a tween and teen. Twist Museum with a tween and teen I booked our tickets online and it wasn’t hard to find the entrance to Twist Museum on Oxford Street. There were lockers to leave coats and bags and we were soon…

  • The Gingerbread City 2023
    days out - Local Review - London

    The Gingerbread City 2023

    December 12, 2023 - By 

    Last weekend we visited The Gingerbread City 2023 at Westfield White City.  The Gingerbread City is an annual pop up exhibition where everything has been created from freshly baked gingerbread, with the odd biscuit and sweet thrown in. The exhibition has been called ‘STEM meets sweets’. The Gingerbread City 2023 The theme this year is Water in Cities and The Gingerbread City has been split into five distinct zones showcasing design ideas that respond to various water contexts: the Desert Landscape, Urban Floodplain, Canal City, Frozen Landscape, and Underwater and Floating City. It had been a while since I had…

  • Exploring Frameless London with kids
    City of Westminster - days out - Local Review - London

    Exploring Frameless London with kids

    December 8, 2023 - By 

    Over the weekend we were invited to Frameless London, this can be found on Oxford Street near Marble Arch in central London. Both my children love art so I knew they would enjoy seeing art in a different way from the usual museum and gallery experience. Exploring Frameless London with kids We arrived at Frameless and travelled down to the basement level. Frameless is spread over 4 multi-sensory galleries showcasing 90 minutes of hypnotic visuals set to a dazzling score. There is also a temporary gallery space, as well as a spacious cafe, bathrooms and gift shop. We easily spent…

  • Lowe's christmas penguin lights in London
    days out - Local Review - London

    The best places to see Christmas Lights in London

    November 29, 2023 - By 

    Disclosure – this is a sponsored post For the last few years we’ve spent a day in London looking at all the beautiful Christmas lights. We love a day in London, it can be an inexpensive day out, if you know where to look! We knew we wanted to visit the main streets of central London so planned our day out carefully, taking the Underground from where we live into Kings Cross and walking. We did try taking the bus a few times, we even saw a special Christmas Lights tour bus, but it was super busy, so we ended…

  • Exploring The Vyne with kids (and a dog)
    days out - Hampshire - National Trust

    Exploring The Vyne with kids (and a dog)

    November 18, 2023 - By 

    Over half term we visited The Vyne, which is a beautiful Grade 1 listed house in Hampshire. The house developed over time and sits in a beautiful landscaped garden. Exploring The Vyne with kids (and a dog) The kids had a two week half term, so we found that most Halloween activities were over by the time we went away. However when we arrived at The Vyne we found they were running two activities: a Witch’s Recipe Trail and an autumn leaves colour wheel. We picked up both from the ticket booth and set off to explore The Vyne. Unfortunately…