• BRICKLIVE Christmas at the Saatchi Gallery
    days out - Family Life - Lego - Local Review - London

    BRICKLIVE Christmas at the Saatchi Gallery

    January 3, 2018 - By 

    Yesterday was the last day of our Christmas holiday so we decided to head into London and visit BRICKLIVE Christmas at the Saatchi Gallery. We all love Lego. Christmas was spent building Lego BB8, Lego Boost and the Lego Nutcracker so we thought this would be a fun morning. BRICKLIVE describes itself as an interactive Lego-based Show for Lego fans. You can wonder at expert builder displays, build a mosaic, build a present and even meet Father Christmas. The show was split across four zones, the Christmas Zone, the Creative Zone, Minecraft and Star Wars. Each one offered a different…

  • Free Highway Rat activity trail {at Haldon Forest}
    days out - Family Life

    Free Highway Rat activity trail {at Haldon Forest}

    December 29, 2017 - By 

    The Highway Rat is the latest Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler book to be brought to life on our screens. Did you watch the animated version which was shown on Christmas Day? We made sure we had opened all our presents and finished our Christmas dinner so we could sit down and watch it together. It’s the latest activity trail which you can follow for free, thanks to the Forestry Commission England. Free Highway Rat activity trails in England We were looking for something to do between Christmas and New Year so headed off to the Highway Rat trail. Our…

  • days out - Local Review - London - parenting

    A West End treat – The Gruffalo’s Child live

    November 25, 2017 - By 

    This morning we went into London’s West End for a special Christmas treat. We went to watch acclaimed theatre company Tall Stories perform a musical adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s awarding-winning picture book The Gruffalo’s Child.  We love anything by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler but we have a special place in our hearts for The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child. Last year we were lucky enough to watch Tall Stories perform The Gruffalo so we were super excited to see her follow in her father’s giant footsteps with a Christmas season in the West End! It’s a big…

  • The Sanctuary, Avebury
    days out - parenting - Wiltshire

    The Sanctuary, Avebury {exploring Wiltshire}

    November 17, 2017 - By 

    Every time we travel down to visit my mum in Wiltshire we try and stop off around Avebury. It’s a beautiful part of Wiltshire with so much history to explore. We usually stop off for a picnic around Silbury Hill. It’s almost exactly half way in our journey and an amazing landmark for the children to look out for. You can see it for miles around and the children know it’s time to stop for lunch and we’re well into our journey. On our last visit we had our niece with us too. We parked up at The Seven Barrows…

  • London's Mail Rail
    days out - Local Review - London - parenting

    A ride on London’s Mail Rail

    November 9, 2017 - By 

    We are a train-loving family so when we heard that London’s Mail Rail was finally open we were excited to book a family ticket to go for a ride under London. Have you heard about London’s Mail Rail? You can journey back in time on a specially made train through the original tunnels and station platforms under Mount Pleasant, Royal Mail’s sorting office. We’ve been waiting to go on this since we first heard about it! Ride Mail Rail When tickets were announced we immediately bought a family ticket to ride on the Mail Rail and visit the new Postal…

  • Old Sarum exploring Wiltshire}
    days out - parenting - Wiltshire

    Old Sarum {exploring Wiltshire}

    November 3, 2017 - By 

    We’ve been National Trust members on and off for years now. Writing that makes me feel really old! I love history and so it made sense to join an organisation looking after historic buildings and landscapes which also offered great days out for the family. Whilst staying in Wiltshire last week we realised that quite a lot of the local historic properties were managed by English Heritage so joined up. To make use of our membership we decided to stop off on our way to the Isle of Wight and visit Old Sarum. We knew they were hosting some special…

  • vintage Kasak Collier Campbell for Liberty
    days out - homestyle - mindfulness - Monday Happy List

    Monday mindfulness {5 happy things}

    October 30, 2017 - By 

    Half term just flew by for me. It was lovely to go away for the whole week and we caught up with all my family which was brilliant. I had been super organised and pre-written all my blog posts which meant I hardly spent any time on my laptop all week. I even found time to do some sewing in the evening! Our week was packed with adventures in the fresh air which was just what we all needed. Whilst we were staying with my mum we made the Christmas cakes and puddings. Forget Stir Up Sunday (this year it…

  • Snazaroo Halloween event at KidZania London
    days out - Local Review - London - parenting

    Snazaroo Halloween event at KidZania London

    October 29, 2017 - By 

    Today we were invited along to KidZania at Westfield London to experience their Snazaroo Halloween event. My kids adore KidZania so we were delighted to go along. KidZania is an indoor city run by kids, giving kids the opportunity to try out over 60 activities for themselves. We went along this morning and managed to keep it a surprise until we were outside. The kids were so excited when they realised where they were going! We handed over our boarding passes for 4 hours of fun! Over half term kids have the chance to transform into their favourite Halloween character and…

  • Visiting a pumpkin patch in Somerset
    Autumn - days out - parenting - Somerset

    Where to pick your own pumpkins in Somerset {Farrington’s Farm Shop}

    October 22, 2017 - By 

    Top of my Autumn wishlist was to visit a pumpkin patch. I researched all the pumpkin patches in London but we actually ended up visiting one in Somerset whilst we visited family in Somerset. I love a good farm shop and Farrington’s Farm Shop in Farrington Gurney, between Bath and Bristol. As well as the Farm Shop there’s also a cafe, playbarn and all kinds of little shops. Spookley Pumpkin Festival Spookley Pumpkin Festival runs in late October and supports national anti-bullying week. Spookley tells the story of a square pumpkin who lives in a pumpkin patch with a crop of…