Family Travel: the Best things to do at Aquatica Orlando
The lowdown on all the slides, and what to do with children of any age
family fun
Days Out: Murder Mystery experience for Families
A brilliantly funny day out with teenagers and older kids with food from Masterchef finalists Billy and Jack
Skydiving without Fear
Indoor Skydiving with iFly I swore I would never go skydiving. We’re pretty adventurous in our family, and between us we’re up for most things. But jumping out of a plane? No. Not for me. My daughter claims she would, and also thinks that bungee jumping is something everyone should try. (Also not happening in my lifetime). My son is the most sedate amongst us, and probably won’t be testing my parental panic meter with daredevil activities any time soon, but with a husband who’s planning to throw himself off a mountain for his 50th birthday, it’s fair to say …
Travel: Piran Meadows – Luxury Family Fun in Cornwall (review)
Luxury (noun): two pillows per person. Hoseasons Cornwall Piran Meadows Review When I walk into a bedroom which will be mine for the duration of my holiday, and see abundant pillows, I know I’m on a luxury trip. There’s usually a TV on the opposite wall, and I know I will sit, plumped against my copious pillows reading my book, or watching a movie with my family. Luxury. So it is at Piran Meadows, in Cornwall, a small resort in White Cross, not far from the glorious beaches of Newquay. And of course, that’s not the best part. It …
A Day Out at Liverpool’s Albert Dock (review)
Imagine a square half mile that provides enough entertainment for the whole family for an entire day. It’s not a theme park, or a festival (although it has a festival atmosphere this summer); it’s just a city attraction that will keep all ages happy just hanging out together. I’m talking about the Albert Dock, in Liverpool, a small but vibrant commercial centre built around the historic old dockyards of Liverpool’s port. It’s years since I’ve been to Liverpool, but it’s only 2 hours from London on the train, so we decided to have a day out somewhere different now that …
Where to see Bluebells in Hertfordshire
Ringshall, 2008. It’s been years since I updated our photo albums. Since the Bug was born, in fact, and I somehow lost a whole section of time in my day. It was something I always pushed to the bottom of my list, from where it nagged me weekly. For seven years. Last week I finally began the process of sifting through old images on old laptops and even older hard drives; and I found this picture of my daughter, aged 4, in the woods at Ringshall, on the Ashridge estate. It’s not the perfect photo – I don’t do Photoshop, …
Travel: What we loved about the Tikibad water park in Duinrell!
Without a doubt, the main reason you will stay at Duinrell is the Tikibad. Aside from the fact that it is a genius addition to a park where the weather isn’t always of the beach variety, it is quite simply the most fun you will ever have in a soggy swimsuit. I’m not the biggest fan of water parks since passing the hedonistic age of 21, preferring to stay dry and warm, and to keep all my belongings where I can see them. But I was the first to beg for another day at the Tikibad, once I’d sampled the …
Starstruck at Madame Tussauds Blackpool
The stars at Madame Tussauds Blackpool. On our recent trip to Blackpool we paid a visit to Madame Tussauds. We’d heard that someone rather famous, and very very important was going to be there, so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet them… 😉 We’ve visited Tussauds in London previously, and whilst it is undoubtedly a spectacular day trip, it is massively busy, which can be a bit stressful with young children. Madame Tussauds Blackpool was refreshing though; all the wow of the same stars, without such a big crowd. We did still have to queue up to see …
A family day out at Kew Gardens
Our friends I once had a conversation about family with my mother-in-law. She is a lady who sets great importance in family. To her, family takes precedence over everything. I get it – my own mum (and goodness gracious my Dad!) would have been the same, if I’d let them get a word in edgeways. And yet, I argued with her; I think that as generations have moved forward, as children have flown the nest further afield than they once would, there is a new kind of reliance on friends. Where once, mine and my husband’s mothers would have almost …
Our 5 family travel tips.
By GG… With the news this week that baby George, the future king, is off on his first holiday I decided it was high time I shared the benefit of nigh on 10 years of travel experience with children. As we pack for our forthcoming Mark Warner trip, I am reminded of the stressbucket that used to be my mother, and I savour a proud smile at how far she has come since our first holiday as a family. As an aside, I’m also going to tell you how bloggers can win a Mark Warner holiday themselves, as well as …
7 reasons why you want to be a Center Parcs blogger in 2014
This year I was a Center Parcs blogger. What this means is that I had a bit of a giggle joining in with challenges every month and writing about them on the blog, and then I had a free holiday at Center Parcs. As an 8 year old, anything which forces my mother into the craft box with me is welcome, so I can thoroughly recommend it from that perspective. You too can be a Center Parcs blogger! Center Parcs are now looking for next year’s recruits, so I thought I’d give you 7 reasons why you might like to …
Letting go: good clean fun with Persil’s small and mighty kids campaign
This post is sponsored by Persil. It is our summary of a fabulous week outdoors in the sunshine 🙂 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is the best thing in the world. Strange statement, I know, for a post about good dirty clean fun outdoors, but bear with me. 15 years ago my regular night-time pattern was to sleep until 2am, wake for 4 hours, then drift off to sleep around 6, ready for the alarm at 7. Every single night. For more than 10 years. I was a wreck. I survived on coffee, and moaned about everything. CBT changed all that, and …
It’s more fun outdoors
Last week I took delivery of this: Almost instantly it began to rain. Undeterred, we made it our mission to let the roof down, as often as possible, irrespective of temperature. The sole purpose of the day, for the whole family, was getting out in the Mini Cooper. Instead of whiling away half the day wondering what to do, we went out and found it. When I say “it,” I actually mean nothing at all. We didn’t do stuff, we just went places. And we surprised ourselves with the results. We saw bluebells (really late this year!): I always love …