The Best Playground (Country Kids)

Considering what an advocate of outdoor play I am, I've found it increasingly difficult since The Boy started school to get out and about more than once or twice a week on a school day. When he comes home from school he's utterly exhausted and collapses on the sofa for half an hour or so, vegetating in front of the television while chomping down on a snack. Invariably by the time he's recovered enough to do anything it's pitch-black outside.

I must try harder next half-term.

However, while we have managed to get down to the nature reserve to feed the swans once a week or popped to a park, we seem to have neglected the best playground around; our back garden. With a climbing frame and slide set, plus a swing, there's really not much more he needs to create some fun and games in his own time. Therefore on Christmas Eve morning, when things were becoming a little fraught in the house, I sent The Boy out with Mr. TBaM to rediscover how easy it is to get 15 minutes outdoors a day.

The Best Playground

Watching him through the kitchen window as I made our Christmas cake, it struck me how more physically aware and confident he is than six months ago when he first had the climbing frame. The Boy now scampers up the side of the frame easily and balances at the top with no problem. The swing seems to have become a challenge for him; how many acrobatic moves can he perform on it? Standing on it gave me a few palpitations, and then I saw him jump off the seat…

He ended the play with an attempt at flying. Because he's four and if he wants to believe he can then I'm not one to stop him!

country kidsOutdoor play party

A Perfect Sunday Morning

Last weekend, we ventured down to the south coast of England for my sister-in-law's wedding in Highcliffe Castle. In the morning, prior to the ceremony, we decided to check out the venue and discovered that beyond the raindrops pooling into miniature lakes in the car park, was a small woodland which offered some steep steps down onto a beach. Hoping for dry weather the next day so we could further explore, we went off and did 'the wedding thing' like dutiful family.

The next morning was one of the most beautiful days of this Autumn so far; brilliant azure skies with wispy clouds, sunlight glistening on a turquoise sea, and diamonds sparkling in the golden sunlight. We raced down to the castle's car park, debated wellies and donned them in case of squelchy mud, and then headed through the woodland where we found the best climbing tree we've seen in a while.Highcliffe beach 1

Locating the steps down to the beach, we trotted down them and discovered an astounding view across the English Channel from the Needles to Hengistbury Head. This is when we discovered that the wellies had been a good decision.

Highcliffe beach 2

As we walked along the water's edge towards the beach huts of Friar's Cliff, dogs raced around us picking up pebbles and balls thrown by their owners, excited to be allowed on the beaches again. The Boy hunkered down and decided to build a sandcastle, digging down with his bare hands to his uncle in Australia. He didn't get very far, mittens aren't the best tools for sandcastle making it seems.

Highcliffe Beach 4

At Friar's Cliff, the beachward drift has been haltered with groynes which are perfect for little boys to practise their balancing arms!

Highcliffe Beach 3

It was a magical hour or two, really refreshing after the excesses of the day before. We've been so intent on finding trees for climbing and collecting conkers from, that we've forgotten how magical the beach is at this time of year; the tourists have gone, leaving the locals to enjoy what's on their doorstep.

Highcliffe beach 5

Linking to Country Kids.

Days 160-166 of Project 365

160-166 of 365

160. Ground Force! (Little did The Boy know that the groundwork that he and daddy were doing on Sunday was for the area that his climbing frame – his birthday present – is destined for. We've done some relocation work of some fairly permanent features to accommodate the frame, this area used to be a patio which housed his Little Tikes house.)

161. Retro (The four eyebrows and tongue of concentration make a reappearance in this photo. I'd bought him one of those snake twisty things (that could make telephones and balls and stuff) that were all the rage in the 80s and he was absolutely fascinated with it.)

162. Shadow (Today was one of those deceptive days where it seemed mild and cloudy, yet when the wind blew the clouds away, the heat was extradordinary. We had to do a lot of shopping for his birthday party and as he'd been such a good boy we went up to the clifftop park. It's very peaceful up there looking over the Bristol Channel, and the skies cleared to reveal a scorching heat and the most amazing late-afternoon shadows.)

163. Surprise! (The Boy's birthday! Unfortunately I had to work, as did Mr. TBaM. This is a new one for us on The Boy's birthday as I'm usually off work, Mr. TBaM takes the day off and we have a family treat day out somewhere, but not this year and it made me sad. However, I raised home from work and we led The Boy into the garden with his eyes covered by his woolly hat. This photo was taken the very moment that he whipped it off to reveal his birthday present; a climbing frame.)

164. Adventurer (The climbing frame is going to play a huge part in our play I suspect! His confidence has grown in just one day from slowly stumbling from one rung to another of the jungle run, to walking over and barely holding on!)

165. Monkey Boy (I wondered when he'd discover the monkey bar aspect to the jungle run, it seems it was to be today. He's swinging from a single bar, he can't move himself onto the next rung yet, but he is enjoying hooking his legs over the frame – to take the weight – and moving his hands along to the next rung. He's certainly building his technique though.)

166. Blow (Today was the big day, The Boy's Pirate Party. Up to goodness knows what time last night baking a cake, decorating it at 7.30 this morning, running around like a blue-arsed fly all morning, and it all paid off as the party went brilliantly. It did rain for the first hour, but stopped and brightened during lunch. They were able to get outside and play – on the climbing frame – once the birthday cake had happened.)

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Exploring The Hidden Realm (Country Kids)

On the way home from our weekend break in Butlin's on Monday, we decided to break up the journey with a visit to a National Trust venue. We picked The Vyne in Basingstoke as it would be a perfectly timed mid-way and mid-day break, and I'd also recently seen MummyMummyMum's post about the new Tolkein-inspired play area; The Hidden Realm.

The Hidden Realm is a new play area, only opened since the beginning of April, and inspired by the well-loved book The Hobbit. Tolkein is thought to have based his tales on the ancient, gold ring on display on site, and so it was an obvious theme for a play area to occupy the once abandoned area of walled garden. Over the past six months, it has been transformed into a unique fantasy landscape for children with elements of jungle, mountain and stream, based on the Middle-Earth landscapes.

When we arrived there were only a couple of other children playing and so we pretty much had free run of the place, the perks of weekday visits! It amazes me how much has been fitted into such a small space, bridges, tunnels (with inter-connecting communication pipes), slides, stepping stones, fireman's pole (very Middle-Earth), and the best bit (for me anyway) was a dammed stream with a standpipe nearby to allow the children to play with the water.

The Hidden Realm at The Vyne, Hampshire

I really hope that the National Trust start building some more of these themed play areas in their venues, such great fun and a joy for both adults and children to enjoy.

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Days 111-117 of Project 365

117-123 of 365

111. Too busy! (Today was a stay-at-home day and The Boy's cousins came over to play in the morning and stayed for lunch. We spent hours in the garden, them playing, mum supervising and us gardening. The day was so busy that I forgot to take any photos until the evening when we were playing a calming Orchard Toys game before bed.)

112. Bubble Jedi (At 9.05am The Boy requested we go in the garden. And because I wasn't at all awake (although I was dressed, I agreed. I know. We then proceeded to spend two and a half hours in the garden; me pegging out the washing and pottering about with titbits of gardening, him making up games, blowing bubbles and making dams in the water 'future' (feature). We only went in to decide on what to eat for lunch, which was enjoyed al fresco! I love Spring.)

113. #30 (After a very good day together; playing in the garden, making cakes and chilling out nicely, we had a gargantuam parenting fail/threenager situation in the evening. Basically, The Boy took ages to eat his dinner and we both got cross because we were waiting to take him to the park to feed the swans and have a run around before bed. After a temper tantrum from him when he had the audacity to say I was taking ages (!), I put my foot down and said he could feel the swans (I needed the fresh air) but would not be allowed to go to the park. Being a parent is tough sometimes!)

114. Bottoms Up! (A play in the garden after I'd finished school and The Boy has found a new use for the non-slidey slide; it's a part climbing frame and then head first down after the rolling hoops!)

115. Flying Boy (This is his new way of going on the swing, he likes the way it makes him feel like he's flying! We took mum down the beach for an ice-cream after school but she was feeling her age today and didn't want to go for a walk and so we nipped to the park instead.)

116. Back Again! (I know this is a very similar photograph to one I recently had up but there are subtle differences; mainly the lack of coat and a great deal more sunshine. We've come back to Butlin's for the Butlin's Ambassadors weekend with many of the other ambassadors. Keeping my fingers crossed for dry weather and sunshine.)

117. Even Higher! (That was what he called to the attendant on the bungee trampoline he tried out earlier today! He screamed that he didn't want to go on it, and then I couldn't get him off.)

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Fifty Things To Do Before You're 11&¾ (The Link-Up)

My childhood garden was large and full of little nooks and crannies (notice you never get a cranny without a nook?) that offered hours of entertainment. Summers were long and balmy, filled with the squeals of laughter of four siblings who would tie each other to trees with their pigtails (thank you brother 1), hold talent contests on the picnic bench, splash around and soak each other with the hose, play badminton in the quiet side road next to the house, race on the go-kart from the side garden and under the archway to the garage into the back garden, and practise tennis or netball against the side wall of the garage. All under the watchful eye of my mum from the living room or kitchen window, both of which were upstairs (weird layout) and commanded a magnificent view over our 'empire'.

The point I am trying to make here is that we spent hours and hours every day outside.

As my siblings grew older, I had less playmates but it didn't affect my desire to get out into the fresh air. Even now, I feel free when outside, it soothes my frazzled nerves and I can feel my spirits lifting.

When we went to Nymans for the National Trust event earlier this Spring, David Bond (marketing director for Nature!) asked us whether our happy place was inside or outside. The split was about half and half, which is very different to most families. Most adults (and children) now have an indoors happy place. It is therefore, hardly surprising that children in the UK are the most depressed in the natural world; they don't know about the joy of feeling the wind through their hair and tingling their senses, the sun caressing the skin, the sense of achievement when they climb a tree or jump the brook, skim the stone or make a den.

Last year I blogged about the 50 Things To Do Before You're 11&¾ campaign by the National Trust. I set us a goal of 5 Things To Do Before You're 3 and we attempted four of these things (the waterfall was always going to be ambitious!). In the past year we've ticked off a few more of these (mostly easy to achieve) targets and are making steady progress, mainly thanks to the Country Kids linky over on Coombe Mill.

  1. Climb a tree (04/11/12)
  2. Roll down a really big hill
  3. Camp out in the wild
  4. Build a den
  5. Skim a stone
  6. Run around in the rain
  7. Fly a kite
  8. Catch a fish with a net (25/07/14)
  9. Eat an apple straight from a tree
  10. Play conkers
  11. Go on a really long bike ride
  12. Make a trail with sticks
  13. Make a mud pie
  14. Dam a stream
  15. Play in the snow
  16. Make a daisy chain
  17. Set up a snail race
  18. Create some wild art (21/07/13)
  19. Play Pooh sticks
  20. Jump over waves
  21. Eat blackberries growing in the wild
  22. Explore inside a tree
  23. Visit a farm
  24. Go on a walk barefoot
  25. Make a grass trumpet
  26. Hunt for fossils and bones
  27. Go star gazing
  28. Climb a huge hill
  29. Explore a cave
  30. Hold a scary beast
  31. Hunt for bugs
  32. Find some frogspawn
  33. Catch a falling leaf
  34. Track wild animals
  35. Discover what's in a pond
  36. Make a home for a wild animal
  37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool
  38. Bring up a butterfly
  39. Catch a crab (25/07/14)
  40. Go on a nature walk at night
  41. Plant it, grow it, eat it
  42. Go swimming in the sea
  43. Build a raft (05/08/13)
  44. Go bird watching
  45. Find your way with a map and compass
  46. Try rock climbing
  47. Cook on a campfire
  48. Learn to ride a horse
  49. Find a geocache
  50. Canoe down a river

I've decided to write this post for me so that we can cross off the other targets as and when we meet them. And because it's more a of a reference bank for me, I also thought I'd open it up as a permanent linky until… well The Boy is 11&¾ quite frankly. Either that or until he does them all!

I'd love it if you joined in with your posts or photos (Instagrams/twitpics) showing your children fulfilling one of their Fifty Things To Do Before You're 11&¾.

50-things1



Westonbirt Arboretum (Review)

There is a sign that I have passed on the M4 more times than I care to remember. I've always thought, 'Oh we must visit there in the Autumn, it must be beautiful then.' or 'I bet The Boy would love to explore there.' but it's not been a real possibility as we've always been on the way to somewhere or rushing back home after a tiring day out. When we lived in Reading for three years, we passed the sign on our monthly return home and I thought then it must be amazing to visit there, and that was in 2001!

Finally we had the opportunity to explore the mystery behind the sign for Westonbirt Arboretum when we headed down for our Butlin's Ambassadors holiday at the end of March. I arranged for us to visit Westonbirt the day before our holiday started and we decided to stay overnight in Basingstoke as it would ensure we weren't rushing.

Westonbirt Arboretum is well signposted from junction 18 of the M4 and takes a further twenty-ish minutes to reach beyond the motorway. There is a pay kiosk upon entry to the main drive, and then a good size car park with ample parking for all. The site is massive, far bigger than I ever imagined which seems silly to say considering it is a large forest and woodland!

Westonbirt arboretum

The circle above shows the main reception area with Westonbirth Restaurant, forest shop, visitor services, education centre, toilets and an excellent play area for children. To the right of this circle is the Old Arboretum, and to the left are the collections (Japanese Maple, Oak, Cherry collections) alongside the longer paths and trails. Unfortunately we didn't get to explore this section because what I haven't said is that it was -3°C that day.

Yes, that is a minus symbol.

Even though we are hardy explorers and were all togged up in everything we owned, it was the type of cold that chilled to the bone. Nonetheless we persevered and did explore the Old Arboretum and the children's play area. First of all though, we were invited to sample the wares of the Westonbirt Restaurant.

The restaurant has recently seen a changeover, at the time the manager and chef had only been there a manner of weeks, and is an incredibly pleasant and trendy venue with huge wooden tables, floor to ceiling windows (with frosted leaf patterns embossed on) which overlook the site and provide a light and airy place to eat.

Westonbirt restaurant

The Boy had a child's version of the 'Calcot fishcakes' which is usually served with tartar sauce and a mixed leaf salad, but for him they served it with tomato sauce and a pot of fresh peas. This couldn't have been a better dish for him to have if the chef had been a fly on the wall in our house! The Boy loves salmon and mixed with the dill, it smelt and looked delicious (and this from a vegetarian) and he wolfed the lot down.

Mr. TBaM had the 'The Cotswolds Platter' which was a much nicer version of a ploughman's than I've ever seen. Served on a wooden platter (as all the meals were) it included Woodchester ham, a local pork pie and double Gloucester cheese and was served with homemade chutney and Hobbs House bread and butter. The quality of the items were excellent and very filling, he really enjoyed the taste of everything, especially the cheese (different to the standard orange Gloucester cheese in the supermarkets) and he said everything worked really well together.

I was served with a delicious Spring vegetable risotto with fresh asparagus and parmesan. I'm a sucker for a good risotto and this was definitely one of them; the arborio rice had just the right level of crunch to it, the asparagus was very fresh along with the other Spring vegetables, and it was very creamy.

Full of sustenance we set off to brave the cold and explore the beautiful woodland park. First off was the 'Exploratree' adventure and interactive playground for under fives.

Exploratree Westonbirt Arboretum

Designed to completely encourage children to explore the forest, there are crawl tunnels, a wooden tree house, play saws (made from wood, no sharp edges) and trees which are perfect for climbing in with their low level branches. We spent a good half an hour here with The Boy playing with all the different parts and exploring and discussing why there were saws and what they were used for.

There are a few interactive elements to the Exploratree park as well:

exploratree westonbirt arboretum 1

The wooden tree wall is interactive and encourages the children to question and observe the wildlife in the trees, while there's also a fantastic xylophone made from wooden planks.

After a while we needed to charge around and practise our climbing so we went to explore the Old Arboretum.

westonbirt arboretum

We only managed a small section of this part of the Arboretum as The Boy was actually starting to cry and turn as blue as his suit with cold (-3°C remember?) and so we had to turn back unfortunately.

We will be returning to Westonbirt Arboretum in the next month or so to take advantage of temperatures in the positive double figures. Especially because I also wanted to explore the nature play trails hidden amongst the trees of the Old Arboretum and Silk Wood (aimed at 5-11 year olds), where the children can build explorers' dens, balance and clamber over fallen logs, and plan expeditions in a tree fort. I particularly want to find the mystical troll bridge!

Westonbirt has four excellent seasonal play booklets with a multitude of activities to encourage natural play like weaving sticks and treasures together, an insect treasure hunt and many more wonderful ideas. There are also a host of family events coming up over the next few months like Bug World, Forest Folk and Tree Potions.

Entry into Westonbirt is £8 for adults and £3 for children aged 5-18, under fives go free (between March – September) and there is half price entry on Wednesdays in April and May 2013. This is a really reasonable price for entry into somewhere which could easily occupy a whole day, and the half-price entry would be perfect to help children complete the Fifty Things To Do Before You're 11 & ¾. (They also have a Quality Badge awarded by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom)

Now we've been once, I'm not sure why we took so long to get there! We'll definitely be visiting what must surely be a jewel in the Forestry Commission's crown?

We received free entry into the Arboretum and a meal at the Westonbirt Restuarant in order to complete this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased as always.

The One Where Everyone Went To Roath Park (Country Kids)

Roath Park Lake

When it's sunny, there are three places which the entirety of south Wales flocks to; St. Fagan's, Barry Island and Roath Park. Yesterday, we joined the eleventy billion people also heading to Roath Park, to meet up with my brother and his family. (They weren't going to meet up with him by the way.)

There's a really good reason why it's so popular in the sunshine, the above panorama is just one of them. The boating lake was laden with swans sailing along with open wings, students valiantly attempting the row boats, and mums and dads navigating the flailing oars in the more sensible pedalloes. It's a beautiful sight to behold.

We didn't venture on to the lake, but we did fight for our turns on the swings and slides, scoot around the crowds of urban folk getting their weekly allowance of fresh air dressed rather bravely in Summer dresses or shorts (The Boy only fell of his scooter seven times with one graze to the forehead, and yes he did have his helmet on), and climb some magnificent trees. Has anyone else ever had to queue to climb a tree?!

roath park

The Boy loves spending time with his cousins, and she was so good with him as she let him win at scooting, stood her ground against bigger children in the playground, and showed him where to put his feet when tree climbing!

Hurrah for the Spring!

country kids

Days 104-110 of Project 365

104-110 of 365

104. Two Years On (I'm a little bit of an Instagram addict and follow the actual Instagram's feed with interest. Every weekend they have a challenge called the Weekend Hashtag Project and last weekend's emulated the photography style of the blog Dear Photograph. As we were heading to Porthcawl anyway for the Chris & Pui Show, I dug out a photo of The Boy on the beach there from Father's Day 2010. A very windy day made it tricky to get an exact line up but I'm really chuffed with this photograph.)

105. Bubble Monster (Monday was absolutely beautiful and we played out in the garden for nearly three hours, most of that without a coat on. The Boy filled the garden with bubbles from his bubble blower that we'd bought him in Butlin's.)

106. Plopping (After dropping my car off to the garage to work out where a slightly alarming oil leak was coming from, we walked up to town for our second breakfast, then through the park and down to the beach. A quick scoot along the pier and the beach front, then down the lifeboat ramp to plop some pebbles into the sea, before walking home through the tree-lined Victorian avenues where The Boy promptly fell asleep. I collapsed on the sofa for half an hour having just completed a six mile round walk, before having to walk two miles back to the garage to pick my car up.)

107. Snuggle Down, Sleepyhead (It's a Wednesday – work day – and therefore it's a bed photo!)

108. Masterchef 2013 (On Thursdays I get home earlier from work and so we have time to play. I gave The Boy various ingredients and he decided to 'bake' us a ginger cake with his 'cooker'.)

109. Through The Kitchen Window (When we bought this house and did all the work on it, we had the kitchen window made bigger. I dreamed about the day that I'd see my child/ren playing in the garden while I cooked their dinner, etc. Today that came true, and I just stood and watched him for ten minutes as he repeatedly rolled his hoops down the slide, retrieved them, climbed up the side of the slide and started again. I love him.)

110. Reflections (We met up with my brother and his family in Roath Park today on a very sunny afternoon. One of his favourite places is the hothouse and so we spent a pleasantly sticky forty-five minutes watching the koi carp and terrapins in the pool before sauntering around the lake and feeding the swans. Life doesn't get much better!)

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Hotham Park, Bognor Regis (Country Kids)

On the road leading to the Butlin's Resort in Bognor Regis, there is a high Victorian wall with a rather attractive looking zipwire poking out from behind it. Teasing us while we waited in the traffic to get into Butlin's, my husband did a quick Google and discovered it to be called Hotham Park.

Mid-week we decided to take a little break from the constant fun on site and nip down to check out the zipwire. We soon discovered that the zipwire is not the only thing in the adventure play areas (two for different ages and abilities), there's also a beautiful walkway through the woodland, a miniature boating lake for remote-controlled boats, crazy golf and from April to October there's a miniature steam railway.

There's also the tamest squirrels I've ever seen. I spotted them from a distance and opened up a packet of Hula Hoops to tempt them, within five seconds one was ensconsed on the picnic bench nibbling away.

Hotham Park, Bognor Regis

Hotham Park is definitely worth a visit when staying in the Butlin's neighbouring; it's literally across the road from the Wave Hotel and a little haven in the centre of the town.

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