coombe hill kids

Sarah June 28, 2013

On yer bike #CountryKids

I have a feeling that throughout the summer there is going to be a lot of my Country Kids that feature bike rides. We have really discovered what fun it is to ride as a family lately and i think a lot of that is down to the fact that the older kids love the independence. The younger ones get to come along without us worrying if they are going to moan and whine about getting tired. So everyone can keep up. I got a fabulous birthday present from a friend of mine of a funky on the front basket for my bike which makes carrying the essentials, juice, wipes, biscuits…that bit easier!!

It is also ticks the green and cheap day out for kids box which is SO important to us at the moment. Saving the pennies is high on our agenda and once you are set up with bikes and a packed lunch you can set off for the day and it not cost more than maybe an ice-cream. Little note..i know its not PC but the golden arches are SUCH good value for ice-creams. We can get the whole family an ice-cream for less than a fiver. You wont get that from an ice cream van!

The other week we went for an impulsive trip to New Brighton promenade. It was getting towards the end of the afternoon so the sun was quite low but the wind was up so it was a little on the cool side as well. I really love ‘proms’ when it comes to cycling with the kids. It is so flat and easy going for them that they can literally cycle for miles without realising it. We set our sights on getting to the lighthouse and off we went.

The only down side to being beside the sea was that occasionally we came across areas of sand and i suddenly discovered how hard it is to ride a bike (and stay up) when riding on sand!! Also it can be pretty windy by the sea and one of my girls did struggle a bit as we were cycling into the wind. Made for a fast ride back though!!

Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

Follow:

Sarah June 23, 2013

Chirk Castle #CountryKids #Nationaltrust

A few weeks ago we went to Chirk Castle. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had heard really good things about the castle. It is a National Trust property and so we knew that we would be able to spend a lovely time in the gardens with the kids, especially as it was such a hot day.

It is a little over and hour away and we we drove into Wales, the landscape really does become ‘this green and pleasant land’ Which when you mostly spend all your time in a large urban area it is lovely to see the space just opening up before you and galloping off into the distance.

Chirk is a 700 year old castle that is apparently one of the only ones in Wales that is still lived in today. We didn’t see any of the residents..im not sure who they are, but i do wonder how they don’t get lost in that huge building and the 3 mile driveway must make popping out for a pint of milk a bit of a pain in the ar** 😉

You get a real impression of its bustling castle courtyard where there was a very enthusiastic member of the Chirk Castle team getting the kids into teams and having a go at being at attacking the enemy the way they would have done so many centuries ago. He was really very good and had us and the kids laughing and smiling. Even my 4 year old got involved, though i think she preferred to smile at me a lot than do lots of charging and yelling that he was asking them to do. The kids got to try on some armoury, man that is heavy stuff and then ventured inside to the deep dark dungeon. If you have a little one that loves all things medieval then this is the place for a visit.

It has a lovely little cafe and play are where they were toasting marshmallows on an open fire for the kids and then acres and acres and acres of land to explore. We went for a long walk through the woods and found a little spot for some lunch amongst the bluebells.

You can visit the castle but we didnt go in this time, instead choosing to explore the beautifully manicured gardens which also afforded themselves well to some rolling down the hillside activity! The gardens also had some little ponds that the kids spent lots of time playing around and seeing of their various toys would float. Not all of them did *oops*

We finished off our time there by walking through the prettiest wild flower fields that overlooked the cheshire countryside. There just isnt much to not like about this national trust property. It is a perfect balance of space, things to do and a little bit of shopping and playtime.

We will be going back.

🙂

Follow:

Sarah June 7, 2013

A trip to the circus…#CountryKids #springcarnival

During the half term there is a small circus that visits a local park to us. The kids always ask us to go. We have to limit it to one visit as when you have 5 riders to pay for it can turn into a very expensive affair!!

The older kids can now be given their cash and sent off to find rides that they want to go on. So we found some toddler appropriate rides but the older kids couldnt resist getting in on the act as well. I always wonder how these little travelling circus groups keep going. It was late in the day and starting to rain a little but it was very very quiet and a couple of the rides were more than adequately attended by one worker as they were so quiet.

As it is such a close park to us we walked back and on the way back we had shall we say a ‘discussion’ with our 7 year old about how she couldn’t walk back home a different way to us because she fancied a bit of independence. We love that she is fiesty but there are limits when you have to cross some very busy roads!

As she was being quite grumpy I kept telling her that I was going to take a picture of her every time she moaned and whined at us…and determined not to be captured on film having a bit of a wobbly she did a manic smile every single time i pointed the camera at her!

In the end she was genuinely giggling!

Follow:

Sarah May 31, 2013

France en Scouse. #Countrykids #Springcarnival

We have a beautiful beach about an hour from where we live and this week on half term we have had a *few* days of lovely sunny weather. But not too many. So we made the most of it. It is a really beautiful area and we walked to the beach through the woods which so reminded us of our holidays in France. Those lovely tall trees with dappled sunshine and sandy under foot. Made us hanker after a cheeky bottle of red, a freshly baked baguette and some smelly cheese.

There was a little bit of posing by a certain little girl who had just got herself some new gigs 🙂 I think these are the best yet!

Formby is the home to the endangered red squirrels, you can walk along a lovely boardwalk area and try to see some of them. We usually do get to see some of them, they are quite friendly although obviously you are encouraged not to feed them!! The beach is owned by the national trust so there are plenty of signposted areas with little bits of information about the squirrels and why they are endangered. We had a lovely walk through that part of the forest. Including finding the most bizarre looking tree stump that looks like it just came straight out of the water in a scene from Captain Hook!

We walked to the beach which is wide and sandy for the kids to have a play, inevitably we had a toddler faceplant in one of the pools of seawater but she was pretty game about it!.

Wet kids meant home time eventually, once we had climbed the dunes out of the beach and a stop off for some tea on the way home.

All in all pretty good!

Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

Follow:

Sarah May 24, 2013

The red rock walk #countrykids #springcarnival

last weekend we went off with some friends to find the red rock on Thurstaton common. It is always nice being being with another group, the kids keep each other entertained and they forget that they are actually walking! Also big bonus for us is that there are a couple of older girls who like to play big sister to our little ones, when sometimes their own sisters are not really that interested in watching out for them. There had been some concerns over whether the weather would be okay but we were blessed with blue skies and sunshine. Pretty good for a walk in the woods.

Putting the world to rights..or probably trying to talk her out of stripping off because she has got dirty knees

when we got to the rock it was time for a little challenge for the kids. One of the adults in the group had gone ahead and tied lots of small bits of wool to the trees and the kids had to go and find them. Bringing them back to the rock where the adults were waiting and gaining prizes for their team. It was a great way of wearing them out too!