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!

Summer Holiday Adventures - Fountains Abbey

We have just returned from a delightful two week holiday in the North East of England and I now have the pleasure of re-living our time away as I go through my photographs (which is frankly far more appealing than the truly terrifying pile of laundry demanding my attention!).

We started our holiday with a visit to beautiful Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire. The largest and best-preserved Cistercian monastery in England, we came here last year and loved it so much we wanted to visit again. The sun shone for us and we spent a lovely Sunday afternoon here. 

Mark with his lovely parents, the Podlings' much-loved Nanna and Grandad

A rare photo of the two of us (taken by Lily)

A trip to the museum

Emma dressed as a maid

The weather on Sunday was somewhat less pleasing than Saturday, so a trip to the Brampton Museum in Newcastle-under-Lyme seemed a good way to pass a rainy afternoon. We love it here. It is quite a little museum, but very sweet and the Podlings particularly love the toy gallery. It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Emma loves to play with the dressing-up clothes in the toy gallery.

Alex loves the display of vintage toy cars. He would dearly love to play with them!

I fell in love with little Nelly, a well-loved toy elephant from the 1920s. She seems a little sad to be shut in display case all by herself. I wonder if she dreams of the little girl who used to play with her.

I love the Victorian artefacts on display. The Victorian era is a particular favourite of mine.

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!

Tea and biscuits at Beeston Castle

Sunday afternoon saw us enjoying tea and biscuits with a fabulous view over the Cheshire plains from Beeston Castle. We never travel without a Thermos! 

Shortly before a butterfly landed on Emma's hair bow, no doubt mistaking it for a flower

The floor is lava! Very much the game of the moment.

This three-hole entrance to a rabbit warren looked poetically like a rabbit paw. There are so many rabbits on the hill at Beeston Castle and we love to see them.

Alex looking after the biscuit tin! You have to keep an eye on him as he likes to take a bite of a biscuit and then put it back before taking another one!

Our holiday in Germany - A Last Farewell

After checking out and letting the Podlings have a final play in the play park, we decided to take a farewell walk around the perimeter of the campsite and down to the countryside behind. It was so beautiful and I wish we had walked there earlier in the week so we could have followed the path further down the hill. There was a field of wheat on our left with beautiful purple vetch climbing up the stalks to delightful effect. The verge was lined with wildflowers and butterflies and to our right the open countryside afforded stunning views. It was like something out of a storybook and I wish we could have spent more time soaking it all in. I would very much like to come back here again.

Capturing this photo of a fritillary butterfly on field bindweed rather made my day!

We found the biggest dandelion clock I think I have ever seen, so I photographed it with Mark's hand to illustrate its size.

Alex couldn't wait to blow the giant dandelion clock. He was a very happy little boy!