• Exploring Pynchester Moat, Ickenham
    days out - Hillingdon - Local Review - London

    Exploring Pynchester Moat, Ickenham

    July 18, 2020 - By 

    Now lockdown is easing we don’t seem to be exploring as much as we were. We can go further afield and more attractions are opening up, which means we are going further for our days out. On one of our many puppy walks/geocaching expeditions we came across Pynchester Moat in Ickenham. We went on a lovely sunny evening and it was the perfect length of walk for our pup. Exploring Pynchester Moat, Ickenham The moated site known as Pynchester lies in a bend of the River Pinn, behind houses in Copthall Road West and just within Harefield Parish. It’s a…

  • 10 fun things to do in Ruislip this summer
    Family Life - Ruislip

    10 fun things to do in Ruislip this summer

    July 12, 2020 - By 

    It’s hard to believe that in one week our home learning journey will be over. I’m really hopeful that my children will be able to go back to school in September, be with their friends and pick up some of the clubs they enjoy so much. I’m happy that some of their classes have moved online but I would love for some of their sporty activities to start up again soon. This Summer holiday will not be normal. In previous years the children have attended the local Youth Club for organised activities and enjoyed events at the library, amongst others.…

  • social distancing at Copas
    days out - Local Review - London

    Visiting the Pick Your Own Farm with kids

    July 3, 2020 - By 

    We’ve been so excited, waiting for our favourite fruits and veggies to be ready to pick. It seems ages ago since our last visit to our local Pick Your Own farm in Iver, just down the road from Ruislip. You can now book a slot to visit, so we booked an early morning slot and set off to pick some delicious fresh fruit. Visiting the Pick Your Own Farm with kids A huge sign greeted us, letting us know what was available to pick. We showed our tickets and were let through to the fields. We picked up some buckets…

  • Re-visiting the Battle of Britain House Ruislip
    days out - Ruislip

    Re-visiting the Battle of Britain House Ruislip

    June 21, 2020 - By 

    One of the best things to come out of this period of lockdown has been the chance to discover our local area. We’ve lived in Ruislip for 6 years but also seem to seek out the same places, namely the Lido and the Farmers Market. With a lot more time on our hands, and a puppy to walk, we’ve discovered some gorgeous new places on our doorstep. It seems a long time ago since we ventured out to the ruins of the Battle of Britain House in Ruislip Woods. We decided to place a geocache there so recently went back. Re-visiting…

  • poppy fields near Welwyn, Hertfordshire
    days out - Hertfordshire - Local Review

    A trip to the poppy fields near Welwyn, Hertfordshire

    June 12, 2020 - By 

    Our council always plant wild flowers around where we live and this year they included some gorgeous colours of poppies. We keep meaning to stop so a can take a closer look. A few days ago a friend posted some beautiful photos of her boys visiting fields of poppies near London and we decided we should visit the poppy fields too. When are poppies in season in the UK? Poppies are annual plants with some seedlings germinating when soil is cultivated or disturbed. There can be rapid growth between April and June, and the first flowers usually appear in June.…

  • A trip to Langley Park Country Park, Bucks
    Buckinghamshire - days out - Family Life - Local Review

    A trip to Langley Park Country Park, Bucks

    June 3, 2020 - By 

    Our first picnic of the year took place at Langley Park. Now we are allowed to venture out further from home, we thought we would love to visit somewhere new. We’re frequent visitors to Black Park which is the other side of the A412, but had never visited Langley Park before. We packed the puppy and a picnic and set off to explore somewhere new. A trip to Langley Park Country Park, Bucks Langley Park is one of Buckinghamshire’s best kept secrets. Langley Park is steeped in history and a nationally important haven for wildlife. The car park is quite…

  • exploring Ickenham Marsh
    Family Life - Hillingdon - Local Review - London

    Exploring Ickenham Marsh

    May 17, 2020 - By 

    The major benefit of life right now is the chance to explore our local area. Living on the edge of London means the best of both worlds – a quick hop on the underground into town, and fields and woods on our doorstep. Over the last 2 months we’ve been exploring all the paths and byways around our village. We’ve kept the kids busy with geocaching and collecting leaves and flowers to press when we get home. Hillingdon Trail We live in the middle of the Hillingdon Trail, a 20 mile path though Hillingdon’s countryside from Cranford in the south…

  • Crafts to celebrate the Chelsea Flower Show from the gingerbread house
    Crafts for kids - London - London crafts

    Crafts to celebrate the RHS Chelsea Flower Show

    May 16, 2020 - By 

    I’ve always wanted to visit the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. It takes place every year in May at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London. It opened in 1862 and has been a fixture of the gardening world every year, except during the First and Second World Wars. As mass gatherings are currently banned the 2020 RHS Chelsea Flower Show has been cancelled and a version of it has gone online instead, RHS Virtual Chelsea Gardens. Although we’re hopeless at growing anything, we love flowers. Flowers have inspired our crafting so many times from making sun catchers from petals, to using…

  • Looking for the Battle of Britain House, Ruislip
    Family Life - Hillingdon - Local Review - London - Ruislip

    Looking for the Battle of Britain House, Ruislip

    May 9, 2020 - By 

    We’ve lived in Ruislip for a good few years now and were intrigued when we heard about the ruins of a house in the heart of Ruislip Woods, where agents of the Clandestine Operations Division were trained for secret operations in occupied France! Doesn’t that sound like an amazing story!? We’ve wanted to look for the ruins for years and finally found the time. I wrote a little about Ruislip Woods a few weeks ago. There are numerous paths through the different woods and we’ve had fun exploring them over the weeks. This is my favourite time of year and…