Birthday celebrations

Well this year's birthday celebration was a first...although a trip to the seaside wasn't that unique...a trip to Peppa Pig World certainly was!

Even when Baby R was just a bump we promised E a trip if he was a good big brother and he really has been. Always wanting to kiss her, always telling me if she is crying and always putting her dummy back in. So another deal had been made.

We drove down to the coast on my birthday in one go, not bad going for a 3 hour drive with an 8 week old and a 3 year old. We went for lunch in the lovely Lymington at a really nice boutique hotel, Stanwell House Hotel, which offered a great lunch and children's menu. A great find considering we were about to go in to a Costa for a sandwich! After a feed for all of us we headed down to find the sea and had an ice cream at the harbour.

We then set off to continue the journey to Bournemouth to check into our room for the night, a Premier Inn Family Room. A sleep on the way revived us all (apart from our driver, Mr B!) and after a little play in our hotel room, possibly the biggest I have ever seen, we headed down to Bournemouth for dinner.

If I have ever been to Bournemouth then I can't remember it but we were pleasantly impressed. A very long beach, a pier to wander down, boats to spot and money to 'gamble'. Time was ticking on and tummy's rumbling so we went to find somewhere to eat. I had seen Aruba mentioned in a leaflet and am so glad we decided to try it, despite the many stairs to get in. It was as much a bar as it was a restaurant but the atmosphere and music with it being my birthday was perfect. Some great menu choices, especially for vegetarian Mr B and I even had a cheeky glass of wine.

 

 

 

The perfect birthday, even if E didn't go to sleep til about 11pm!

The next day meant Peppa Pig World and despite us trying to leave early we were too busy eating breakfast. Even though we didn't arrive until 11am it wasn't too busy, and was much better than I was expecting. Paulton's Park where it is based was very well looked after, lovely gardens but the Peppa Pig area was clearly the place to be. We probably queued for a maximum of 40 minutes for any one ride and went on Daddy Pig's cars, Peppa's house, the Dinosaur Adventure, Helicopter Flight, Grandpa Pig's little train (baby R even joined us on that one), Grandpa Pig's boat trip and the play area. The food was reasonable and there were plenty of places to sit and park the buggy. We would definitely go back but might try and wait a couple of years first!

We left around 4pm and with a sleepy E in the car headed back. After freshening up at the hotel we decided that Poole harbour was worth a visit. There was a Mini meet on the harbour so there was lots of reminiscing from me about my first car, and no interest whatsoever from E. We walked around  for a bit and chose Pizza Express for dinner, a bit of a cop-out but you know it will always be good.

Soon it was Saturday and our last day. Despite being at the seaside for a couple of days we still hadn't ventured on to the sand and with a day of sun forecast we headed to Boscombe Beach. It was only a 10 minute walk according to Google and after a look on satellite view it looked like we could walk their via a park. Well I am glad I found that shortcut, it was beautiful. Called the Boscombe Chine Gardens it was a Victorian park with an adventure golf course and great kids playground. Well we were more than impressed when we reached the seafront, it was stunning. First, a quick stop at a shop to buy a towel and couple of bottles of water, we had not come prepared for the Mediterranean temperatures! A walk along the front and we picked our spot on the beach and dragged the pushchair kicking and screaming on to the sand, I am not loving having to take the pushchair everywhere again! Within 30 seconds E and Mr B were paddling and then I headed in for R's first paddle. It was obviously met with cries but that's another milestone passed. After a couple of hours on the beach, two wet boys and two hot girls we headed for lunch. We spotted Urban Reef, a great modern looking, family friendly restaurant. The food was very nice and I went all out and ordered half a lobster. Well it was my birthday weekend after all.

We headed home with the usual conversations of 'shall we move to the seaside' knowing we never will. But we were refreshed and bizarrely slightly sun kissed!

Until the next time, seaside x

I'm linking up with Country Kids again, championing the outdoors!

A break in Sunny Hunny!

We wanted one last holiday just the three of us so booked 5 days away in Hunstanton.

Arriving just after 5pm on Monday we pulled up to the holiday house which we had studied closely online since booking it. It was the house that had dictated the holiday, it could have been anywhere to be honest, but the mid-century feel was what attracted us. We figured going away in early March could mean five days couped up in a house so it may aswell be nice. We certainly weren't disappointed. Bramley, is beautiful with a capital B!

The house which was virtually saved from redevelopment by owners Hannah and Tim was built in 1971. Having been carefully restored and filled with era evoking furniture, furnishings and decor it balances great interior design with being a very practical and well-stocked, family friendly house. They really have thought of everything! A cupboard full of games, box of lego, G Plan sideboard full of DVDs and LPs, a bookshelf full of design/lifestyle books, a pool table in the garage and every gadget you could dream off in the kitchen (including a very cool ice cream scoop). Our favourite features included the open plan kitchen (we need one of these!), the cork floor (so comfy!), the light from the ceiling to floor windows, Elsie Dodd cushions (may go on my Christmas list), and well I could list everything. E's favourite features were the floor (perfect for trains!), there being two toilets (a real novelty for him) and there being TV's in the bedrooms (we don't have one in ours).

We took a lot of photos before filling it with our stuff (can you tell!), it really was like staying for a week in a magazine feature. After unpacking and a little playing we headed out for dinner at a local pub (The Lodge a short walk from the house) and to plan the next few days.

Tuesday saw an early wake up at 7am and a slow breakfast. We headed in to Hunstanton which we knew very little about. A very short drive, and probably walkable if you weren't restricted by a 'little legs'. Quite 'old British seaside' and being pre-season very quiet but you can see some glimpses of what it may become in the coming years. The excellent Norfolk Deli amongst the best indications... where we had lunch, definitely not. Chosen purely because you could see the sea it was like being in a 70s timewarp, and not in a good way like at Bramley. The clouds started to come in so we headed back to the house to try and convince E to sleep. The lure of his trains was just too strong though so he played, and we wanted to sleep. About 4pm we gave up and headed around the coastal road to Brancaster beach. The beach was deserted and the fresh air certainly blew away the cobwebs so after about an hour we went back to the house for nibbles we had picked up from the deli earlier, and pizza.

Wednesday started early for E and I, eating breakfast at the table and enjoying a lovely conversation about how Nana and Grandpa liked Cornflakes too. I am loving the things he notices and comes out with just now. Favourite of the holiday had to be (on repeat) 'Mummy/Daddy what you say?!'. We made the most of another early start (!) and headed to Wells on the coastal road. Not as much there as we were expecting but being only 10am and pre-season probably didn't help that. A stroll around, coffee in The Picnic Hut and a quick walk along the beach we had set off again by 12.30pm.

Carrying on along the coastal road we passed through Sheringham (which we will definitely go back to) and on to Cromer. Starting with lunch in No1 Cromer, which was great. E's was served in a bucket with a spade (genious idea!) and was the best fish and chips I have had in a long time. They even had great vegetarian options for Mr B (try the mushy pea fritter).

We strolled, slowly due to how many chips we had just eaten, to the pier which was being fixed following the recent storm damage. At the end is the Cromer Lifeboat station in which we were able to see the lifeboat which E loved. Although he was quite concerned that there was a hole in it, which there wasn't! Next on the list was an ice cream, we found a great place near the promenade which made one very happy little boy.

Having felt we had ticked Cromer off the list we headed inland to Holt, a small market town. We headed straight to a shoe shop we had found on the internet (E was well overdue some new shoes) and managed to get a new pair of trainers that he was more than happy with. We also discovered the local post office which is also a vinyl shop and I gazed around in awe in The Pied Piper Shop buying some fabric and choosing a teddy for baby girl. After all that we were ready to head back to the holiday house for more playing and relaxing.

Thursday started early again but E was happy playing with his trains and I even managed to pick up my book for the first time all holiday. We had some brunch and once the rain had stopped headed to Burnham Market, known as Chelsea-On-Sea having lots of small independent shops. After waking a reluctant E from the drive we wandered around the shops and were particulary impressed with BKidz buying a present for our neice, E and baby girl. Although the town was lovely it was all shops so we moved on to the nearby Creake Abbey for some tea and cake. A great cafe that served a very wide range of cake (the orange and almond gluten free cake was delicious!). The site also had a deli, and some more shops. We were going to walk around the Abbey ruins but the cloud was coming in and the wind picking up so decided to save that for another visit. Asking E what he wanted to do next he said 'feed the quack quacks' so off we went to find some ducks. We drove down to Thornham 'harbour' which looked devasted from the recent storms but alas no ducks, we didn't think the RSPB reserve would take kindly to our bread offering so carried on driving back through to Hunstanton. On Hunstanton front we saw some ducks wandering along the roadside so pulled up and fed them from the car. It was hilarious! Within seconds we were descended on by what felt like hundreds of seagulls. A glass roof has never been so useful. E loved it! The light was fading so we headed back to play with lego. All feeling a bit 'chipped out' we referred to the local dining recommendations and decided to go for Chinese food at Silk Road II. Very nice, fresh tasting Chinese food which I would definitely recommend and E's first experience of crispy duck...although we didn't actually tell him what he was eating!

The thought of the holiday ending was definitely creeping in by bed time so I stayed up late looking through the great design/interior library in the house, and admiring the surroundings.

Friday had come round far to quickly and having to leave the house by 10am meant a hectic morning packing to leave. The weather had promised to be sunny by lunchtime and having had no beach time the day before we hung around to squeeze in one last beach visit. We passed the time by feeding the birds at Hunstanton again before moving on to Norfolk Lavender for a cooked breakfast (a very nice cafe but not cheap at £4.50 for one slice of toast with scrambled egg!). There was also an animal farm and indoor play area but we managed to divert E's attentions from these with the lure of the 'seaside'.

We drove to see what Heacham beach was like and were not disappointed. Again almost deserted it was a great mix of sandcastles, searching for shells and rocks to rummage around. Around 1pm we admitted we should probably head home.

 

Having Thomas on the iPad all the way back for E helped pass the 2.5 hr journey and we stopped off in Stamford for dinner. After walking (or in E's case being carried) around for a while we decided on Ask which certainly surpassed our expectations. Great food, great with children, and really nice interior design. The perfect end to our holiday.

A fact that we are all trying to forget as we headed back for another week of work. We would definitely recommend North Norfolk for a week away and will be going back. As for Bramley, we would LOVE to go back in the Summer months to make the most of the short walk to Old Hunstanton beach but that may have to be finance dependant what with maternity leave on the horizon!

The garden of England

We have visited Kent many times over the last few years since our close friends moved there. There is something about living in the Midlands which makes the thought of a coastline very exciting and a special treat.

The latest trip was influenced by a Premier Inn special offer (family room for £25, thank you very much) and the draw of a new (well 4 month old) baby.

We set off earlier than we have managed before with a lighter car than we had ever had before. There is something about a toddler who is now potty trained that makes going away for the weekend with no nappies or special equipment much easier! Arriving in Whitstable for lunchtime we met our friends and managed to spend the next 3 hours in various coffee shops and pubs (would definitely recommend The Duke of Cumberland for a great lunch). I could hide it no longer though, the thought that the sea was only just around the corner became too much and off we headed to the beach. We have been to Whitstable a couple of times now but still haven't managed to explore it properly, there seems to be many independent shops which one day I might manage to venture in to.

The beach was lovely. The power of looking out to sea will continue to surprise me. The pure excitement of E running around like crazy shouting 'we're at the seaside' was absolutely priceless.

The sun setting finally beat us so we retreated back to a coffee shop, followed swiftly by a Indian takeaway, followed not so swiftly by getting little one to sleep.

The next day, after a quick trip to buy new wellies we went to Leeds Castle, surprisingly not in Leeds. Billed as the 'loveliest castle in the world' I was expecting a lot and it didn't disappoint. Arriving through the landscaped path, past the ducks and black swans the view of the castle is kept as a treat. I took so many photos, every view was worthy.

After some lunch in the very nice Fairfax restaurant (wait until after 2pm on a Sunday to find a table though!) we headed in to the castle. The interesting thing for me about the castle is that it was actually lived in up until the 1960s and 70s. In fact it's latest resident Lady Baillie hosted many a party in the 1930s for visitors such as the Prince of Wales and Mrs Simpson, Charlie Chaplin and the author Ian Fleming. This was all reflected in the interior being very homely and stately home-esque.



Unfortunately time was ticking on and we still had a 4 hour journey north to make so we headed back to the car on the little train (or Grandpa Pigs Minature Locomotive as we decided to call it!). This was perfect for tired little legs and we even saw a peacock, the perfect end to a castle visit.

I'm linking up again with...

[ . . Wonderful Week . . ] Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside...

Since little E arrived we haven't ventured very far, in fact we hadn't been out of the Midlands together as a family but this week that all changed.

Mr B's best friend has fairly recently moved down to Kent so we invited ourselves to stay were invited down for a long weekend. I have been craving the sea for a while now. It is the only real place I feel free and love breathing in the fresh air, looking out on to the vast sparkling water and hearing the relaxing waves.

It certainly didn't disappoint, which is surprising really as I had been so excited all week leading up to it, even the 6 hour journey down there couldn't dampen my spirits.

Mr B and I were very excited about it being E's first time seeing the sea and we were keen to go for a paddle. The weather was certainly on our side so off to Whitstable beach we went, gritted our teeth as we walked over the stones and in to the freezing cold clear sea. E obviously didn't know what was going on but was fascinated with the water, constantly moving and sparkling in the sun.

The following day we headed off to the south coast. We walked along Camber Sands with E in the baby carrier kicking away in his sun hat.

It was perfect. In fact, the time together we spent on Camber Sands beach was lovely, hearing all the children play, enjoying a good cup of English tea discussing how we could do it more often. Move to the seaside? Not really an option these days. Have a seaside holiday every year? Is that really enough. Rent a holiday home for 3 months a year? Now we're talking :)

So, after coming back down from cloud nine we made the long journey back home smiling that we had had our first family seaside break. We really can't wait for the next one now.

I'd love to hear your recommendations for baby family places to visit. x

The Gallery: Trees - Thinking of Japan

I haven't really had chance to blog in the past couple of weeks due to our new little arrival, but at the minute I am trying to keep up with The Gallery and Silent Sunday just to keep me sane :)

This week's prompt is trees. I had hoped to get out in the garden with the SLR as there are lots of buds that seem to have suddenly appeared but this was a little unrealistic. So instead I raided the archives again.

I went straight to our photos of Japan, as I am sure it is in all of our minds since recent events. Crazy to think that we were there a just under a year ago! We saw many beautiful trees in Japan but this photo really captures it for me. Wishing Japan some brighter days.

Why not have a look at the other entries here.

The Gallery: Togetherness - in the sunshine

So for this week's gallery the prompt was 'togetherness' inspired by Valentine's Day.

Mr B and I have never really 'done' Valentine's Day, except for maybe our first Valentine's Day which was only a few weeks after we had met. Mr was still in 'impressing' mode and had booked a table at a local restaurant but when we arrived the restaurant had no record of it. I remember it clearly now, even though it was 9 years ago, his face dropped and he looked so worried. Anyway, it was all sorted and we had a lovely night.

Since then we always celebrated our anniversary in January which seemed too close to do Valentine's Day as well. Then this year, with all the baby craziness we both forgot our January anniversary so have decided to stick to OUR special day. Our wedding anniversary in June.

So for me togetherness is about our wedding but I couldn't choose a wedding photo as I hadn't taken the photo so teamed with going through some old memory cards I discovered photos from our honeymoon. We went to Singapore, Bali and Hong Kong and the two I have selected are from our relaxing time in Bali. I was going to choose just one but I thought they made a good pair.

So there we have it although we had been together for 6 years before our wedding, it really did formalise everything for me - true togetherness.

However, as the next few weeks progress and with the arrival of little Baby B I am sure I will have a new definition of togetherness.

Why not take a look at all the other entries for this week's gallery here.

The Gallery: Mother nature on a good day

I really enjoyed taking part in The Gallery last week for the first time and feeling part of a community. So I was very excited when I saw this week's topic posted, Mother Nature, and the encouragement to get out and really 'use' a camera.

I did a photography course a few years ago which introduced me to manual SLR cameras and their features. I loved it. I borrowed Mr's Dad's Pentax K1000 which got me back to basics. Shortly afterwards we decided to invest in a digital SLR, the Canon EOS 300D which is continuing to serve us well. Once we got it, to be honest, I got a bit lazy and started to use the 'auto' function more than I should. In order to spark my interest again last year I bought a Macro lense for it. It was nothing special, very cheap but is good enough for me. I hope to be using it, and the manual camera features a bit more this year as part of my 30 before 30 project.

So, to capture a photo for the theme Mother Nature - unfortunately, the weather has not been kind in the last week and has been very grey and rainy not making it great for photos. I used this as an opportunity to look back over old photos, it didn't take long as I have only recently been looking at the hundreds of photos we took in Japan last April.

So, with cherry blossom a plenty in Japan I went a little macro crazy :).



I hope it brightens your maybe otherwise grey day, it certainly did for me. I'm now off to enjoy everyone's contributions here. Thanks for stopping by!