Our holiday in Playa Blanca, Lanzarote

We have recently returned from our first family holiday abroad. We chose to visit somewhere we have been before so we knew what to expect. As the world is such a big place we don't usually go back to the same places, but we really enjoyed Lanzarote as a couple and wondered if we could as a family. Our reasons for liking Lanzarote are the lack of high rise developments and the islands bio-sphere status. Thanks to the late artist Cesar Manrique large highrise developments are not permitted and buildings are to be whitewashed which makes the island so pretty and the views from most locations stunning.  Lanzarote is only 4 hrs flight time and is in the same UK time zone so no time changing to confuse little ones.

Previously we had stayed in Playa De Los Pocillos, close to Puerto del Carmen and knew Puerto del Carmen wasn't a child friendly resort so we opted for Playa Blanca and the Flamingo Beach Resort.
We loved Playa Blanca, we were about 15-20 min walk from the shops along the front promenade so all pedestrianised. We were right on a lovely child friendly beach and walking distance from two others. These were all white sand beaches which aren't very common in Lanzarote.

We did a couple of the organised tours with the holiday company. One we took the boat across to Fuerteventura for the beach and sand dunes which go on for miles.
Another day we visited the Timanfaya National Park to get up close to all the volcanoes and also Los Jameos del Agua which is a cave created from an air pocket of lava, its stunning and had Charlotte in awe of how amazing it all was (its not pushchair friendly lots of steps).

Its actually a concert venue/nightclub but during the day is open as a tourist attraction. We wished we could have visited the green caves (Cueva de los Verdes) as we loved those from last time but it clashed with other trips. We also skipped César Manrique's house/foundation, we did that last time and unless you are a serious art fan it would be too much for little ones. Our last trip was to Rancho Texas, which is a must for adults and children alike. The bird of prey show is stunning and scary at the same time whilst the birds swoop millimetres above you head. Last year they opened up a water park at Rancho Texas and looks like they are expanding currently. Excellent water park for the kids, but its not heated so very cold in spring time.

We loved our hotel, Flamingo Beach Resort, was really well located and had so many swimming pools (6 and most of them heated), a good kids club (only used once as we don't go on holiday for a kids club), family restaurant and adult only restaurant, adult only spa (didn't use), activities through the day and evening entertainment. The food was great in the family restaurant, it may have been a little hectic at times but go a bit later on in the day or head to the chill out room and its great. We are a mix of vegetarians and fussy eaters and found something to eat at every meal.

Our first family holiday abroad went so well we have just booked our next holiday... Disneyland Paris here we come.

Getting kids playing out and about

The report by the BBC this morning http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-17690875 made for really interesting reading about parents struggling to play with children or children not being allowed out and about to explore and get dirty. The National Trust has come up with a list of 50 things to do before you are 11 3/4 and reading through a lot of them are easily covered by places we have featured on this blog. So here is a few of the national trusts 50 and where you can do them locally.

Build a den - this is a Daddy favourite task. We have built dens at Little Whittenham Nature Reserve and Cowleaze Wood
Fly a kite - well the best place for this has to be Wittenham Clumps
Play conkers - the best place for conker finding is the car park at the start of the Steventon walk
Balance on a fallen tree - need some of the nice woody walks for this one Little Whittenham Nature Reserve, Cowleaze Wood or Lashford Lane Fen
Blackberries growing in the wild - we saw these at Wittenham Clumps
Hunt for fossils and bones - the area is protected so be careful not to climb or damage the walls to the pit but Dry Sandford Pit has these
Climb a huge hill - the perfect hill for this Wittenham Clumps
Discover whats in a pond  - the best for this would be going to one of the open days at Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre as there will be staff to help you
Hunt for bugs - you could go anywhere for this but we have found the best places are the BBOWT nature reserves
Dam a stream - this is great on a warm day we went to Shotover Country Park but we also see kids building dams along the ock river walk when its low

Chimney Meadows Nature Reserve, nr Bampton, Oxfordshire

Approx time: 1 - 2 hours
Paths:  grass and boardwalk
Points of interest: trees, wildlife, streams, pond, cows, river
Amenities: car park
Grading: all terrain buggy
Weather: all seasons

We saw so much wildlife on this walk today, it really was excellent. In a field near the car park we saw 4 deer, we were down wind so got a good watch of them without them knowing we were there. There were grazing sheep and cows.

 From the bird hides we saw a heron and swan. We saw 2 more deer in another field, they had spotted us so we saw them racing across the field. We saw rabbit holes and badger sets, heard woodpeckers a few times too.

There are various footpaths you can follow round chimney meadows, just doing the pond and bird hide would take about an hour, to go across the Thames and into the fields beyond took us about 2 hours. The walks are almost circular.

There are 2 picnic benches positioned close to the Thames path, so perfect if you want to take a picnic or snack with you.
The footpaths can be a little bumpy in places, but an all terrain buggy could handle this, the footpath to the bird hides is wheelchair friendly so this area is all very flat.

More information about Chimney Meadows can be found on the BBOWT website

Half Term activities with BBOWT

This half term we have been back again to our local BBOWT reserve (Sutton Courtenay) to take part in some of their Easter activities, and what a lot of fun we had. We made face masks (Charlotte decided to be a cat not a rabbit), did an Easter egg hunt and made a birds nest. The activities varied slightly from last year, see our review here but was just as excellent.
Check out the BBOWT website to find out which sites have activities on this half term.

Lashford Lane Fen Nature Reserve, Dry Sandford, Oxfordshire

Approx time: 45 mins
Paths: mud, board walks
Points of interest: trees, wildlife, reed beds, streams, cows
Amenities: small car park
Grading: wet and boggy, only suitable for walkers or a baby carrier
Weather: all seasons

On our walk today we saw two woodpeckers and a pheasant, and that's with a noisy 4 year old signing we're going on a bear hunt most of the time. Did get a quiet moment when we listened out for the woodpecker and followed the sound.

Lashford Lane fen is very boggy and wet, with steams running through it. There are 2 circular walks you can do, shorter 30min wildlife walk or the permissive footpath of about 45mins.

 I think in autumn time they allow cattle on the land for grazing. Charlotte loves going from one bridge to another, and walking on the board walks.

We also peek under the pieces of corrugated iron found near the start of the walk to look for grass snakes (not seen one yet).
http://www.bbowt.org.uk/content.asp?did=23593

White Horse Hill to Wayland Smithy, Uffington, Oxfordshire

Approx time: 2 hour
Paths: gravel
Points of interest: trees, fields, wildlife, tomb, white horse
Amenities: pay and display parking (ice cream van most weekends)
Grading: bumpy underfoot so all terrain buggy
Weather: all seasons

(click map for larger size)

This was a long walk, and at just 4 I'm surprised Charlotte's little legs kept her going but I think the promise of an ice cream at the end worked its magic. It was mostly flat as we were walking away from the white horse hill and  along an open bridleway meant it was quite accessible to everyone. The path is a lot better than some years ago as vehicles are now prohibited on the ridgeway.

There is one kissing gate on the entrance to Wayland Smithy that pushchairs might struggle with.
We parked at the National Trust white horse hill car park and walked back to the road and continued up the road until you come to the bridleway. Turn right onto the bridleway and follow the path for about 1km until you reach Wayland Smithy.

We followed the same route home. The car park has picnic tables where you can sit and enjoy the lovely view across Uffington and the Vale of the White Horse.

Skinny Hippo, Abingdon

We recently booked a birthday trip to Skinny Hippo in Abingdon for Charlotte and a couple of her friends to do some painting. Skinny Hippo is a craft and gift shop in the centre of Abingdon you can go along any time for drop in painting/deco patch/bead making, or book with them a party. Depending on the age of the party there is the choice of painting, deco patch, silly signs, felt making, tiaras, bead jewellery and more. They have just started a build-a-bear workshop too which a couple of older girls were doing while we were there.

At 4 years old we thought the girls would be better suited to painting. They chose their models to paint and happily sat there quietly for a good 20mins concentrating on what they were doing. The paints they were given were very good quality acrylics which went on so well and left a good finish. Once finished we browsed the shop while the shop keeper dried and varnished our models. The finished products looked really good and Charlotte has loved showing it off to everyone.
http://www.skinnyhippo.co.uk/