Under rainbow skies

We've been feeling so cooped up lately. What with one thing and another, we haven't really been out anywhere since Christmas and we were starting to feel that if we didn't get out into the countryside soon we might burst! Saturday promised to be mostly dry, so in the afternoon we filled the Thermos, filled the biscuit tin and headed out to Greenway Bank Country Park. As we arrived the heavens opened and the most vibrant double rainbow appeared in the sky. Thankfully the shower was short-lived, so after some rainbow gazing we headed into the woods for a short walk. It felt so good to be outdoors again!

Pretty snowdrops telling us that Winter is coming to an end and Spring is around the corner

Playing in the woods

Summer Holiday Adventures - Castle Eden Dene

On the first Monday of our holiday we took a lovely walk through the beautiful woods at Castle Eden Dene Nature Reserve in County Durham. It was a lovely day, sunny but not too hot. The woods were full of wildflowers and butterflies and we even found a few late raspberries, which the Podlings soon polished off! We walked two and a quarter miles in total, which was possibly a little far for Alex who was flagging a bit by the end and needed a few carries to keep him going. He soon perked up when we got back to the car park, where we had tea, orange juice, cakes and biscuits to perk everyone up. We never travel without a Thermos!

Flagging a bit and feeling the need for a sit down!

A quick game of 'The Floor is Lava' in the car park, initiated by Alex!

The cup that cheers!

Raspberry Rambles

We enjoyed a lovely walk around Ridgegate Reservoir in Macclesfield Forest this afternoon. The Podlings consumed their own bodyweights in wild raspberries, frequently stopping to pick handfuls which they shared with one another. We ended our afternoon with an exciting picnic tea which saw us repeatedly dashing under the shelter of nearby trees to avoid the rain showers! We were forced to admit defeat during our second cup of tea when the showers turned to a decided downpour, but we had finished our picnic by then anyway and at least it stayed sunny for our walk!

Our holiday in Germany - Some wolves and a forest

On our last full day in Germany we visited Wolfspark Werner Freund, which was fairly near where we were staying. The wolf park was created by the German wolf researcher Werner Freund and,to our surprise, is free to the public. We didn't have time to walk around the whole park as the gates are locked at five, but we did get to see several enclosures. Nearly all the wolves we saw were asleep and just looked rather like large, fluffy dogs lazing around in the woods! Lily, a real animal lover, particularly enjoyed our visit here and she was especially taken with the arctic wolves.

We walked out of the gate just before five and straight into the most incredible forest. We had a wonderful walk through the forest, gathering armfuls of pinecones, looking at wildflowers and watching black beetles scurrying across the path. The forest quite took my breath away and was one of my favourite parts of the whole holiday.

It was clearly nap time for the wolves! A couple of the timber wolves were awake, but all the arctic wolves were just lying about sleeping. They all seemed quite relaxed!

One wolf decided to check us out, but decided we weren't very interesting and went back to sleep. It's a good life!

Into the forest...

Forest treasure!

I love this photo of my boys

A Day in the Lakes

We took advantage of the lovely spring weather to take a day trip to the Lake District. The Lake District holds a very special place in our hearts and is so beautiful in the spring. Our first stop in the Lakes was Townend house at Troutbeck. A farmhouse belonging to the Browne family for over 400 years, this delightful home really captured our hearts. The house and its contents were left to the National Trust by the last occupant, George Browne. A successful farmer, he was able to retire early and then took to carving the contents of his home. The house is filled with his intricate carvings, right down to the little chairs he carved for his children. The house has so much personality and I just loved it!

After Townend we took a lovely walk in the nearby St Catherine's Wood and, as ever, finished our day at Wray Castle where we enjoyed tea and soup at dusk on the shores of Lake Windermere as the bats flew over our heads in the darkening sky. Such a lovely day and such lovely memories.

Those curls! He melts me!