Bristol Zoo Review; A Summer Send Off

The husband and I had our first date at Bristol Zoo, so it holds a special meaning to us. I've watched it grow and change over many years and seen it develop its habitats and enclosures to meet the growing needs of an increasingly endangered population. It's a really special place. Wedged into a beautiful, but heavily populated, part of Clifton, space is at a premium and it's a balancing act to give all the animals the best environment for their needs, whilst also accommodating a vast number of visitors 364 days of the year. In recent years, there have been many changes and developments within the zoo and if you haven't been in a while, you may be surprised by how different it is now. It was the perfect place to begin our last week of the school holidays!

Beautiful Birmingham, a City of Culture and Cordiality

Recently, I visited Birmingham with my daughter, to go to a Blogger's Conference. I have been promising myself since then that I would write a post about it, because everytime I go there, which isn't often enough, I'm reminded what a beautiful city it is. It's not just the architecture, it's the people too. Wherever I've travelled, I've never come across a more naturally friendly population! The atmosphere is friendly and relaxe and it always makes me want to go back again. Read on to find out more about this fair city, through the eyes of an infrequent visitor!

Fantastic Time at LEGOLAND Windsor Resort

My son L is totally obsessed with Lego. He has been for about six years. My Lego-strewn carpet and reinforced slippers are testament to this fact. So it is understandable that his Holy Grail of destinations is always going to be LEGOLAND Windsor. Pricewise, it is comparable to other theme parks, but it does work out expensive for a family of four, if you are on a budget. However, we managed to get two tickets from Sun Perks and another two with my Tesco Clubcard. It costs £13.50 in Clubcard vouchers, as opposed to up to £50 for a day ticket on the gate, so definitely worth doing! It was such a fantastic day, for a variety of reasons and I'm going to try to condense the whole experience into one reasonably sized post, which won't be easy! 

Travelodge Review; Newhall, Birmingham

When I travel, there are certain aspects that are really important to me, to ensure a stress free trip. They include; a clean room, a comfortable bed, friendly service and a good breakfast. These requirements may seem fairly basic, but I am not travelling to stay in a hotel, I am travelling to explore the area, so I would rather have a good, reliable base and not spend the crown jewels, leaving more budget for good food and fun. I have stayed in a few Travelodges over the years and found them to be perfectly suited to my needs. They offer a comfortable place to stay and the facilities have always exceeded my expectations for a place that is often interpreted as fairly low budget. This was my first visit to Birmingham Newhall Travelodge and this is my review of how it measured up to my previous stays. We were offered a free stay in return for an honest review. 

Bristol Bits: SS Great Britain Review

I love the Harbourside in Bristol, because there are so many different places to visit. Previously, we have reviewed; Bristol Aquarium, At-Bristol and M-Shed, which are all within a few minutes walk, or a short ferry ride of each other and provide various options for all-weather entertainment. Our recent visits have all been thanks to Visit Bristol, the go-to site for finding out what's great to do in our fair city, who provided us with a media pass for a few weeks. Today we are reviewing the SS Great Britain, a true icon of Bristol and a magnificent ship. It's a great place to choose when the weather is not at its best, as a surprising amount of it is below decks. 

When Wookey Hole went Wrong; What to Do in Cheddar

We planned a family trip to Wookey Hole just before Christmas. We had been looking forward to it all week. My son was especially excited, as he, like most ten year old boys, is obsessed with Minecraft and has always wanted to see inside a real cave. I had been given a media pass by the lovely folks at Visit Bristol and had spent the previous couple of weekends enjoying some fantastic days out at some great local attractions. This one wasn't quite so local, though, which was why we were pleased to have the media pass. It's not cheap and there was an element of petrol involved for the 40 mile cross-country journey. It took over an hour to get there. Then it all went wrong.

At-Bristol, Where Science gets Interesting

I have been to At-Bristol before, on a school trip. The problem with school trips, though, is that you are always very short of time to try to fit everything in, so it never feels like you've seen all there is to see. Nevertheless, I was unsure how much there would be to do. I needn't have been concerned, we arrived at 12:45 and I had to drag him out, under protest, over five hours later! There was just so much there to interest him. It covered all of his favourite hobbies. Animation, stop motion, film-making, construction, with lots of other hands on science exhibits that he had no idea he was interested in!

Fantastic Fun at The Gun Powder Mills

Last year, we visited the Royal Gun Powder Mills at Waltham Abbey. It featured briefly in our 40 Days of Summer posts in 2014, but I have always wanted to give it its own post. So here it is, a gun powder post for Guy Fawkes night! We had no idea what to expect at the Gun Powder Mills, but there was a surprising amount to see and do. We learned all about the fascinating history of the Mills in the interactive museum and there was an opportunity to view and handle various guns and weaponry in the Armoury. L was fascinated to see what our soldiers had to carry during past battles. Some of the guns were nearly as big as him!

Roebeck Country Park, Isle of Wight Review

The build up to our holiday had been fairly intense, with lots of child-based excitement and sleepless nights, but finally the day had arrived! We were so excited, we left the house at midnight, for the three hour journey! There is definitely an arguement for travelling in the early hours if you want a stress -free road trip, but even I thought that was going a bit far! This is our review of our stay, although I'm not sure I could really do it justice, there is so much we loved about it. Roebeck Country Park is situated near Ryde on the Isle of Wight and we visited during May half term.

Travelling 'Abroad' with Wightlink Ferries

I love being a blogger. I love writing, which is why I started blogging, but also, sometimes epic things happen. Like, when I was recently asked if I would like to review a holiday park on the Isle of Wight. Brilliant, I thought! Then I hit a snag. It was pretty short notice and I needed a ferry crossing. A cheap one! Along came the lovely people at Wightlink who offered us a free crossing, if we promised to let you know how we got on. So, here is our review of the Wightlink Ferry Portsmouth to Ryde crossing, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did.