Westonbirt Arboretum Enchanted Christmas

On a chilly Friday evening, I went with my son, sister in law and two nephews, to visit Enchanted Christmas at Westonbirt Arboretum, where we had been offered free tickets in exchange for our review. Considering it's not that far away from me, I'm surprised to say, this is the first time I've ever visited Westonbirt and, after experiencing Enchanted Christmas, the next visit may seem like a bit of an anticlimax, when the trees are returned to their natural brown colour and no longer sparkling or glowing. If you are  wondering if there's enough to entertain two adults and a small assortment of boys, aged between five and twelve, here's how we got on.

Hillcroft, Redhill - Amazing Accommodation near Bristol Airport

When you are travelling abroad, for work or pleasure, you are going to want it to be as stress-free as possible. Smaller airports, such as Bristol, are a great option for this, as they offer a more relaxed journey, since they don't have lots of terminals and miles of travelators just waiting for you to get lost in. Another stress-reducing option for the start of your travels is to find a great, reasonably priced hotel near the airport, so that you don't have to worry about your car, or getting stuck in traffic. I have discovered the perfect location for this, perfectly set up for short overnight stops and situated just three miles from Bristol Airport. Here is a review of our stay at Hillcroft Accommodation in Redhill. 

London on a Budget: The Regent's Park

We had a brilliant time on a Blogger jolly to London last week, travelling with Sn-ap on their new Bristol to London coach service. We were given a free trip, in order to try the service, but starting at just £5 per journey, it's pretty good value anyway. London can be very expensive, particularly with children, but don't let that put you off, there are free and cheap activities to be found in different parts of the city. This post explores the best of The Regent's Park, one of London's eight royal parks and shows you one way to visit London without spending the Crown Jewels!

Top Tips for First Time Flying with Children

I recently flew with my son abroad for the first time and I was really nervous about how he would take to it and if we would encounter problems. I needn't have worried, he was absolutely fine and it all went pretty smoothly, leaving me wishing I'd done it years ago. I was never brave enough to take mine abroad when they were small, but I really wish I had, as it's such an amazing experience for them. If you're thinking of taking a foreign holiday with your little one, I have got together with some brilliant parent bloggers to create the ultimate guide for first time flying with children. It's everything you didn't know you needed to know!

Forest Glade Holiday Park: Family Campsite Review

Regular readers will know that sometimes I review things I've been sent to try and sometimes I review things I have purchased myself, but I am always honest in my reviews and upfront about where they come from. This time, though, it's a bit more complicated, because I bought and paid for this holiday, but the lovely owner gave me a refund when I said I would be happy to review it. The park is just stunning and there is so much I want to tell you about it, along with millions of photos I've taken for you, which I've tried to whittle down a bit. I hope you enjoy my unbiased review of the beautiful Forest Glade Holiday Park, situated in the Blackdown Hills between Cullompton and Honiton in East Devon. 

SS Great Britain Summer Events Programme

School is finally out for us and the last few weeks have been crazy busy. Along with school plays, leavers' celebrations and other events, we somehow managed to squeeze in a visit to one of our favourite Bristol tourist attractions to find out what's on over the summer. The SS Great Britain is somewhere we have always been fond of, as it has a way of growing with children. Each time we go, we discover something different that we hadn't appreciated before. During the summer break, you can get even more for your ticket price with the addition of some amazing extras that will amuse your brood, whatever their age.

Swansea Beach Review and General Thoughts

I decided to review Swansea seafront after visiting over the weekend. It was different in many ways to other beaches we've visited, for good and bad reasons, so I really felt it would be useful to note down a few points for anyone who is considering going. Swansea is the second largest city in Wales, with over 260 shops, and 25 car parks, so it's easy to forget that it is also home to a pretty impressive stretch of coastline. However, if you are thinking of making a visit to the beach, there are a few things you might need to know, particularly if you have little ones, or anyone elderly or infirm in your travelling party. We've been to Swansea, and here's what we learned.

Beautiful Bowood House and Gardens - Review

Bowood is somewhere that I remember going as a child and I have wanted to visit again ever since. I remember it being very beautiful and having lovely gardens, as well as a stunning lake. There is also an imposing stately home too, which I knew Phil would love, as he is a massive history buff. It's situated in Calne, in Wiltshire and is famous for its rhodedendrons, which are available to view at an additional cost. There is also a private walled garden that you can pay extra to visit. So, we set off in the middle of half term through the country lanes of Wiltshire to Bowood House and Gardens. This is our review of what we found there and if it lived up to my wonderful memories!

Manchester #WeStandTogether

I went to bed early last night, so it wasn't until this morning that I woke up to the horrific news from Manchester Arena. There are no words are there? There are no words that will do anything to ease the pain for those families, the ones with missing children, the ones who are coming to terms with losing a loved one. Nothing anyone can say will make it any better for any of them. Not even the ones that maybe weren't hurt, the 'lucky ones'. Those people, most of them very young, will carry the memories, the emotional scars of what happened, probably forever. And for what? What can it possibly achieve? I just don't get it. I don't understand the point of it at all.

Loving London - The Best of British

I am not very good at London. I absolutely love going and I would love to go more often, so that I get the hang of getting around a bit better, but I'm still very much a tourist when it comes to navigating. It's a great place to be, though, and I've always felt really at home there. I love the diversity, the different architecture, and I really love the people. People say London isn't friendly, but this has never been my experience. I've always wanted to write a post about my experience of London, as a visitor and, after visiting recently for the This Morning Live press event, I had the perfect opportunity. So here is everything I love about our capital city, let me know in the comments if you agree or if I've missed anything!

This Morning LIVE is Coming to Birmingham in May!

Sometimes, as a blogger, I'm just a little bit spoilt and couple of weeks ago was no exception. I was invited by Netmums to attend an afternoon tea party to launch the very exciting This Morning LIVE consumer lifestyle event, which will be coming to the Birmingham NEC from the 18th to the 21st of May this year. I read 'cake' and was already on my way, but it turned out there were a lot of very interesting people to meet, including many of the This Morning family who will be at the show, and it was really interesting to find out how they felt about this new live venture. If you haven't got your ticket yet, here's a few good reasons why you should, even if you are not an avid watcher of  the TV show!

Weston Super Mare - A Fun Family Day Out with GWR and a Competition

we are big fans of all things railway in our family. L was obsessed with trains when he was little and I love them, because it's such a great way to travel. I don't drive, so I always feel slightly guilty that I can't contribute to the driving on long journeys, and it's always so much more relaxing when no one has to drive or worry about traffic or parking. It's quicker, too and everyone can spend the whole journey taking in the scenery instead of driving or(my job) navigating. We were sponsored by GWR to take a family trip in celebration of their new social media competition where you could win your own day out and £500 spending money.

Newnham on Severn - Gloucestershire Picnic Site with Great Disabled Access

Days out are always a bit of a struggle when you have problems getting around. There are lots of potential pitfalls and choosing where to go is something to consider very carefully. Accessibility and appropriate facilities are a must for a stress-free visit and if you want to just go for a nice drive and find a picnic spot, it's not always easy to find out what's there in advance. So, when we recently discovered a beautiful picnic spot on the edge of the River Severn, in the Forest of Dean, I thought it would be a good idea to share it here, as it's got great disabled access and has the best views and offers an excellent viewing point for the Severn Bore. 

The Magic of Bath Christmas Market

I have never been to Bath. I had an idea in my head that it was quite tricky to get to on public transport, so I've never got around to it. When I was invited to a blogger event with Visit Bath, to visit the Bath Christmas Market, however, I thought it was time to put on my big girl pants and have a go. How wrong I was! The city is really well served for buses and they run every half an hour from the town centre, and various other points around the surburbs, such as Parkway Station and Cribbs Causeway. The journey does take up to an hour and a half, but at £6.50 for a day rider, it's a very easy, low cost way to travel, with no concerns about parking, either. You can enjoy some lovely scenery, with no traffic worries and know there isn't a huge gap between buses if you miss one! 

Holiday Inn Cardiff, A Short (and Curly) Stay

I don't stay in hotels very often, but when I do, my needs are few. It's usually because we are travelling somewhere via the Megabus and need somewhere to stay for the night, because it's too far to go there and back in a day, so a bed is the main requirement. This week, it was just L and I travelling to Cardiff for the DanTDM Live Tour at St David's Hall. We ended up staying at The Holiday Inn, which was a new hotel chain for us and we were interested to see how it compared to some of the other chain hotels we had stayed in previously, such as The Travelodge. When we first arrived, we found a large and welcoming foyer. There were comfortable chairs to sit in and even computers where you could take advantage of the free wifi that was available for guests throughout the hotel.

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!

7 Things that Always Happen on a Family Road Trip, and How to Avoid Them

For some reason, us parents often have very short memories. We are also gluttons for punishment and so it is that, every now and again, we decide to gleefully pile all the children into the car and take off on an impromtu road trip to visit pastures new. Forgetting, of course, that most children don't actually travel very well and car journeys are often frought with drama and despair, as your car is quickly reduced to somewhere between a zoo and a warzone. So, I've written this list to remind you of why you promised yourself you wouldn't travel that far trapped in a metal box with your kids ever again, and how to avoid some of the horrors that await you if you do.

Scary Encounter with Sinking Mud on Burnham-On-Sea Beach

I've lived near the South West coast for most of my life and was brought up with stark warnings about not walking out onto the mudflats. The mudflats are the exposed area between the shoreline and the sea which, most of the time, seems to be about five miles out from the shore. This is how Weston got its nickname; Weston-Super-Mud! Every year, the coastguard rescues groups of people who have ignored the warnings and ended up stuck in the sticky sinking mud. However, when L encountered the sinking mud, it was close to shore and indistinguishable from the usual puddles you get when the tide goes out, or it has rained a little.

What Made Me Smile at Blog Camp

There have been a lot of brilliant posts already produced about the Blog Camp in Birmingham last weekend. It was a lot of fun and I felt quite priviledged to be able to hang out with some of my lovely friends. Which is the best part of going, if I'm honest. That, and the cake! I thought I would approach this post from a different angle so, what follows is something a bit different. A collection of photos of everything that amused me, made me happy, or was just a little bit bonkers at Blog Camp. I hope even non bloggers can appreciate the silliness.

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.