Changing of the guard and a spot of shopping

Friday 30 May 2014

Blog post by the mother

Today was our last day with the cousins so it was tinged with a wee bit of sadness.  We have had lots of fun together and it has been great for the kids to catch up and to get to know the littlest cousin.  After the morning ritual of hotel room breakfast (thank goodness for paper plates and a nearby M&S) we did a bit of homework and then went out to watch the changing of the guard.  This is where our hotel location has been seriously great as we have the castle just across the road and the guards march right past the hotel every day. At 11am the new guard marches from their barracks up to Windsor Castle to relieve the previous days guard with lots of pomp and ceremony.

 I was particularly pleased with the next photo as it shows the guards with the Guildhall and the Crooked House tearoom (built in 1687) in the background. The Crooked House is crooked because it was built with unseasoned green oak.

 We waited for 15 minutes outside the castle to watch the departing guards march back to their barracks.

 Here they come around the statue of Queen Victoria.

Mr 11 was quite taken by the only black guard in the parade and thought he was very cool.

 Next stop was Peascod Street and a last chance to spend some pounds.  Miss 7 has been hankering after a tiara ever since she saw one in Harrods.  We managed to find a more reasonably priced one in Claire's and the cousins kindly purchased it for her as an early birthday present. She is absolutely delighted!

 We checked out Daniel's department store which has a toy department to rival Harrods.  Mr 11 had to have a photo with the Lego guardsman.

 A spot of lunch and a bit more shopping later and it was time to say farewell to the cousins as they had a three hour drive back up to Trentham.  It felt very quiet (well apart from our own 4 children obviously!) with them gone.  We managed to finish our shopping and whip in at the last minute to the post office to send the majority of it home.  On our way to have our last English dinner we bumped into Kate and the Queen making a quick call in the phone box.  How very convenient!





We have all loved our time in England.  Up early tomorrow and off on the Eurostar to Paris!

Legoland Windsor

Thursday 29th May 2014

Blog post written by Mr 11

Today we went to LEGOLAND  Windsor resort with the cousins. We arrived pretty early and decided to go and drive some Lego cars on the Driving school ride. We walked through Mini land and looked at all the models of places on Earth. There were even working trains and cars that sped around making noises.

They even had a gigantic model of Downtown London complete with the London eye, Big Ben and the London bridge. They had plants growing amongst the buildings and ferries that moved around in the water.

Then we walked down to Driving school and Miss 7, Miss 9, the cousins and I all got to drive our own cars around a small track that is supposed to be a mock road system. Miss 9 quickly ran to the Police car. I was in a red car and obeyed all the road rules but I still got chased by Miss 9 in the police car.

It was crazy, people were roaring through red lights and crashing as well as driving on the pedestrian crossings. The controls for the car's acceleration were nuts and you had to make sure you didn't roll straight out into the middle of a cross road. The steering was really good and you could make every turn really easily.

Then we went on the flying school ride which involves flying a helicopter by making it spin and go up and down. Most of the rides at LEGOLAND involve some aspect of interactivity even if it is just spinning your barrel around to soak the other people at Viking river splash.  

Then we went on the Story tale Brook ride which is a gentle cruise through scenes from popular fairy tales with characters and props made out of Lego. Me and Miss 9 sat in the front and Mum and Miss 7 sat in the back. All the models were really cool because the characters moved thanks to mechanics inside them.   

Next we went on the Atlantis Submarine ride and looked at all of the cool fish and underwater Lego models and the lost city of Atlantis as well as a massive Lego sea squid with massive teeth and tentacles that scrape at your submarine. This is me and Miss 7 accepting our position of ruler of Atlantis.

Then we walked down to the Lego city Harbour for the Pirate's of Skeleton Bay show. It was a little bit boring and childish but the jumps off towers and Jet ski stunts were really cool and you could even grab a water cannon or button and squirt the evil pirates when they ran past. Then we had a Hotdog for lunch and went to the Brick Brothers souvenir shop. After that we lined up to do Digger challenge while the others went and played Xbox 360 Lego Marvel Superheroes. The Digger challenge involves you controlling a digger and scooping up small foam balls and dumping them in a metal container. The controls are pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it but some other kids found it really hard.

Then we walked down to Pirate shores and some people went on the Pirate ship ride. Then we walked down to Knights Kingdom  and marched into the castle. Inside the Castle there are three main things, The Dragon Ride, The Dragon photo's and a souvenir shop. We went on The Dragon Ride and the line moves really fast and we were on in under 10 minutes. The ride takes you past various scenes of how the Dragon was made. Then you go outside and do a lot of drops and turns. The ride goes really fast and is over in under a minute. Then we went to Land of Vikings and walked through Loki's Labyrinth and then we went on Viking River Splash. Viking River Splash has a really short line and it goes for two minutes. You are in a barrel that spins around and takes you past several Viking's squirting you with water and making waves with floodgates and generally getting you wet. It's really fun except that at the start there is a water cannon stand where you can spray people with water for free. It's kind of annoying though because people that you don't even know spray you for no reason. Then we walked up to the Star Wars store and looked at the Star Wars sets. We also looked at the Last chance market place which sells discontinued Lego series. Then we walked through the Star Wars Mini land experience which is basically Mini land except its all Star Wars instead. Then we looked at the Big Lego store bought some key rings. Buy key rings because you can't get them anywhere else and don't get Lego sets because even though it's called Lego land it doesn't have the best selection of Lego sets.

A wet day in Warwick

Wednesday 28th May 2014

Blog post by the mother

We were up early this morning and on the road by 8.30am.  Although we were a little sad to be leaving our lovely little Peacock cottage we are all looking forward to the next few days in Windsor. The traffic on the motorway was flowing well but it was definitely worth paying the toll to take a more direct route down to Warwick.

The plan for the day was to stop off at Warwick Castle for a few hours and then continue on down to Windsor in the late afternoon.  Unfortunately the weather was not ideal today for walking around the castle grounds but we did not let that deter us.

Around the castle grounds there are several 'Horrible Histories' areas depicting various eras in English history.  The children were all given activity packs at the entrance with information and questions that they needed to find the answers to plus stamps to be collected - this helped to keep them motivated and was also very interesting for the adults. 

Our first stop after arriving was to visit the "Gorgeous Georgians" (or Gorgeous Gorgons as Miss 9 insisted on calling them).  They were hilarious!  Miss 7 had a great old chat to the lovely ladies and introduced our whole group to them.  The ladies in turn were quite taken with her and insisted that we were their absolute favourite visitors.  They were definitely my favourite Gorgeous Georgians.

 After the Gorgeous Georgians we went to stand in the rain and watch the firing of the flaming trebuchet. I'm assured that it was spectacular but I was so busy trying (and failing) to get a photo that I missed it entirely.  The next stop was to see the Measly Middle Ages.  The kids are still singing their little ditty "Dumb English Kings" and we played along with that great family game 'Guess the punishment' for various crimes committed during the Middle Ages.  Below is a picture of the kids emptying their slop buckets out the window.  Nothing like a bit of wee, guts and poop before morning tea.

 We had booked in to do the Merlin's Tower experience which is loosely based on the TV show Merlin.  This turned out to be the highlight of Miss 9's day as she was identified as having magical powers and was given the title of Dragon Lord.  This meant she got to lead our tour group through the rest of the tour and to wake the  dragon with the staff of power.  The two 11 year olds and the little cousin were identified as being druids so they were pretty happy too. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photos inside Merlin's Tower but we more than made up for it when we walked through the main rooms of the castle.  Miss 7 made a couple of new friends.

 Mr 14 and Miss 9 were invited to tea.

 As were the parents.

 After a quick trip to the Bear Pit and up to the castle ramparts we went to watch the Slimy Stuarts - we now have "Ohh King Charles the First, ohh King Charles the first" to the tune of the Hokey Tokey stuck in our heads forever.  The rain continued to come down and Mr 11 and Miss 7 were put in the stocks for their crimes on the way to see the Vicious Vikings and the Smashing Saxons.

 Eventually the rain got too much for us and we decided to call it quits for Warwick Castle and we headed off in search of a bit of (late) lunch to warm ourselves up.  As luck would have it we stumbled across a fabulous tearooms which Aunty L. had been recommended by a friend.  Fabulous lunch, wonderful staff and one of the best cream teas ever! 

The Thomas Oken Tearooms is housed in Thomas Oken's home which is over 500 years old.  It is wonderfully preserved including the incredibly uneven floors upstairs and is apparently home to three friendly  ghosts - one of whom is Thomas Oken himself. 

 Although I could easily have curled up for a snooze after our lovely lunch we drove on to Windsor instead.  Arrived in Windsor around 5pm and settled into our hotel on the High Street then went out for dinner. Hooray for Italian pizza and pasta specials!

Trentham Gardens

Tuesday 27th May 2014putting on a load of

Blog post by the mother (still trying desperately to catch up!)

Another morning of homework today and then we drove to Trentham to catch up with the cousins. After some morning tea and putting on yet another load of washing (thank you Aunty L!) we walked to Trentham Gardens.  These are lovely gardens which have been restored and enhanced in recent years and are now open to the public.  Absolutely worth having a season pass to if you live in the area as the cousins do.

We managed not to be too distracted by the shopping village on our way in and headed towards the Italian gardens.  We had to stop at Aunty L's favourite arch which is where she considered having the wedding - so we had to take a loved up photo.

 

I was particularly taken with the potager gardens and the way that they were set out so attractively.  As a 'fence' some of the gardens are bordered by very low growing espaliered apple trees.  I wonder if we could do this at home or at school?

While I mooched around among the veges the kids headed off to the adventure playground and had fun being loud and active.

Of course after all that activity everyone needed to have a little sit down and (unlike Green Park in London) the deck chairs are provided for free!

Even though the adults were happy to settle into the deck chairs for the afternoon, the kids can only sit still for so long. The maze was our next stop - although there did appear to be some ducking through gaps in the hedge going on rather than sticking to the 'official' paths.  We all made it into the centre and then back out again. 

By this time we were all starting to feel a bit peck'ish so it was off to 'Pie Minister' for a lunch of pies and mash.  After lunch we walked along the lake down to the rowing club.  Unfortunately we didn't get to see any monkeys in the Monkey Forest but we did get to have a ride back to the gate on the train - "Choo Choo!".

Then it was back to the cousin's house to pick up the washing then Peacock Cottage for dinner and a repack of the bags before we head down to Windsor tomorrow.

 

A walk in the Peak District

Monday 26th May 2014

Blog post by the mother

Bank holiday Monday today, so we decided to go for a walk out in the countryside with the cousins. After we completed a homework session in the morning the cousins and Milo arrived out for morning tea before we went for our walk.  Milo and RJ were introduced but were kept a respectable distance apart as we were concerned that RJ might try to eat Milo (or should that be the other way round?)

 After morning tea we drove to Dovedale in the Peak District to go for a walk.  The drive was uneventful but the wait to get into the private carpark took a while as it seems that half of England had the same idea as us.  We did finally make it into the carpark and then set off walking alongside a river through the dale.

 

The kids and the dog were all full of energy and keen to keep moving. After a bit of walking the trail started to rise and there were opportunities for a bit of rock scrambling.  The youngest cousin was determined not to be left behind and ensured that he always kept up with the big boys.

 We eventually came to a massive rock arch with a 'path' (?!) leading up through it to a cave at the top.  The kids were all keen to get up to the cave and put in a good effort to climb up to the top.

 There were some very proud children when they made it to the top and into the cave after a steep climb.

Here is the whole crew (including Milo the rock climbing dog) out on a ledge together.  Please note that the mother is in this photo - proof that a) she did actually go on this adventure with the family and b) that she also made it up to cave! 

After our rock climbing exploits we headed back along the vale towards the carpark.  To get across the river you had to go across some rather amazing stepping stones.  Fortunately we all made it across unscathed - other walkers were not so lucky!

On the way back there were still more rocks to climb - so the children did at every opportunity.

An icecream in the carpark ended the day off on a wonderfully sweet note.

Alton Towers

Sunday 26th May 2014

Blog post dictated by Miss 7

On Sunday we met up with our cousins to go to Alton Towers.  Alton Towers is a theme park near Stoke-on-Trent.  It has lots of fast and scary rides but there are also some slower rides and other things to do. This is a picture of all of us (except my uncle) at the start of the day.

The first ride that the big kids and the Dads went on was Sonic Spinball.  They had to wait in line for a long time so my little cousin and I went to CBeebies land. We went into the Charlie and Lola house about "I will never ever eat a tomato" and rode on a little merry go round.  When we came out the others were still waiting to get on their ride.  They finally did go and they liked it a lot. 

 Then we walked past the big house at the middle of Alton Towers and went on the Twirling Toadstool at Cloud Cuckoo Land. It was so fun because you got to go up really high.

 It started to rain so we went to watch the 4-D Ice Age movie.  We got sprayed with foam as snow and sometimes in the movie things hit you on the legs when there was lava or steam.  After the movie we went on the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ride. It was really cool when you got to go up in the elevator and out of the roof .



We went in the gondola down to some other big rides like 'Air' where you got flipped upside down and went backwards.  I got tired of waiting so we walked to the Runaway Mine Train ride while the boys and my uncle went on Nemesis. 

At the start of the Runaway Mine Train ride the man who gave you the safety instructions always said "Choo Choo" in a really funny way.  At the end of the ride he said "Hashtag choo choo".  This is a picture of the two 11 year olds doing a funny pose for the camera. We went on the train twice because we liked it so much.

 

After the train ride the boys went to ride on Rita the fourth fastest roller coaster in the world!  I went to look at the SeaLife Aquarium.  This is a picture of me getting my fingers cleaned by a cleaning shrimp.

                                                               

Alton Towers is good fun but it's better for older kids who can do all the big rides.