Reasons to... explore the great outdoors

Followers on twitter will know that we just had an excellent birthday party where the kids went out exploring. No running round a Church hall for us and playing party games, good fresh air and getting grubby, girls and boys. I've written a review about the party but something at the party made me think.

The group consisted mostly of school friends, and 2 old friends from nursery who have gone onto different schools. At Princess C's school one day a week, no matter what the weather, they go out to the wooded area of the school field and explore. I'm not sure what they get up to but it involves a lot of mud judging by the state they come home in. The kids love this day, they play hide and seek, listen to bird songs and make bird feeders, learn about fungi and moss. I'm sure the teacher can go into more details but 4/5 year old's are very short on feedback at the end of the school day.

So when all the kids went out exploring at the party they really got into it, they almost seemed upset when it was time to go in and the cold didn't seem to bother them. Except for the 2 girls from different schools. Both complained about the cold, neither got into exploring or wanted to take home what they made that day. I don't think it was down to them not knowing anyone in the group as they were made to feel welcome and mixed well. But I do know neither child goes to a school with a wild outdoor area that they can explore every week.

Sadly in school their outdoor exploring day doesn't extend beyond reception, from year 1 I think it focuses more on sports. But I'm so please she has had this time to develop a love of getting out there, getting grubby and learning things.

Schools are being forced to expand to make way for extra classes, this means valuable outdoor areas are being concreted over. Some parents didn't even know the place we visited existed, yet it's right on their doorstep and can be seen for some miles. If parents don't take their children out, and schools get concreted over what chance do children have to know what is out there... watching Bear Grylls on tv.

In April it will be a year from when the National Trust launched their 50 things to do before you're 11 and 3/4. I do hope this has made an impact, we did a blog post on how to complete some of your 50 things within Oxfordshire.

Natural History Museum, Tring, Hertfordshire

 Everyone knows of, and quite possibly visited, the Natural History Museum in London. In Tring is their sister museum which was started by Walter Rothschild over 100 years ago.
The history of the museum and Walter is amazing. The NHM website has excellent video which is fascinating viewing and puts it all a lot better than I can write it.

The museum is quite unique in that the cases and animals are still displayed as Wrothchild left them. The cases are quite close together. Not like the wide open spaced museums we often find now. Animals are also grouped as they were 100 years ago, by type lion, monkey, fish etc these days we have a variation on this theme. Some cases are also very cluttered, the animals are posed and displayed in a way you wouldn't find now. These aren't negative points at all... its just a very different museum to what we see a lot of now. It reminds me slightly of the pitt-rivers in Oxford. A low light museum with so much to see at every turn, and you see something different every time. It all adds to the atmosphere.

There is such a variety of animals, and such an amazing vast selection, yet this is only some of it. Some were sold and some used for study. Walter used to keep animals on his land in Tring, popular animals being tortoises and zebras. The zebras he harnsed up to a cart and he was pulled past Buckingham Palace. These zebras can now be seen on display.

There is a really big display of dogs, not something you would expect to see in a museum. Some of the breeds were unusual yet some we recognised the names but as cross breeding has continued the animals looked different to the ones you will see today.

There was a video on taxidermy .. we skipped this. Sorry. Just could not watch. You can read the display next to it which we did and look at the types of eyes used.

We brought a worksheet from the shop before we went in, and it was fun to find all the letters and spot the different animals in the display cases. We also grabbed a bite to eat from the cafe, its very compact and the food was ok, if the weather was nice it would have been good to take a picnic and eat it outside.

NHM Tring was an excellent few hours of exploring, its free to enter and has free parking. It was really busy when we went, with kids of all ages having an excellent time. Some areas were a little cramped with large pushchairs but every area is accessible with lifts.
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/tring/index.html

Cotswold Wildlife Park, Burford, Oxfordshire

Cotswold Wildlife Park opened in the 1970's so @Readitdaddy and I have been going since we were little, we loved it then and still do now we can take Charlotte. The last few times we have been is on trips with nursery and was so much fun going with a little gaggle of 3 and 4 year old's but now Charlotte is at school age we went as a family.

Why we chose to go on a freezing cold January day I'm not quite sure, but thankfully there are a few indoors places to warm up (or hide from the rain). Considering the cold weather there were a lot of animals still out and about, and when they are all huddled in a group to keep warm they look extra cute. There were even some recent baby additions to ahh at (maybe not the crocodiles but the marmosets were).

Madagascar walk through

Some parts of the park haven't changed since I was little, but the recent changes are excellent. We love the Madagascar walk through area and the new giraffe house where you enter on a raised platform making you as high as the giraffe, you can look them right in the eye. There was another raised walkway taking you above the wolves, so you get a great view of them. Talking about little red riding hood at that point in time might not have been sensible. A lot of thought has been put into these new areas, and all areas are completely accessible for buggies and wheelchairs.
The shop has just had a refit and the restaurant is currently being refitted (January 2013).

Wolves from raised walkway

One of our favourite areas is the Children's farm/petting area. You can get into the little goat enclosure and pet them. Alongside are some pigs, sheep, larger goats, rabbits and guinea pigs. I'm reliably told by Charlotte that she will have 2 rabbits and 6 guinea pigs as they are so cute (once she has left home obviously).

Children's Farmyard with very well mannered goats

There is such a variety of animals, a manor house in the centre and wonderful grounds and gardens. And as with every best zoo or animal park there is a lovely little train ride (not included in entrance fee, and costs £1 per person extra).

Red Pandas

This is a real family friendly animal park that we will happily return to for years to come.

The park has a great little app too, along with directions and a map of the park there is a game to play and facts about the animals. Download from itunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/cotswildpark/id525510563?mt=8

http://www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk/index.htm

Eden Project, St Austell, Cornwall

We love visiting the Eden Project, and was really surprised when I realised I've not reviewed any of our visits, as we have been about 4 times since it opened in 2001.

I'm not sure why but for some Eden is a bit like Marmite you love it or hate it, you get it or you don't. We love it, my brother doesn't, but we did mange to get him to join us when we visited between Christmas and New Year, and I think he even enjoyed himself.
It was quite a revelation visiting out of season, we weren't sure how busy it would be but turns out amazingly quiet and it was blissful. We have usually gone in the summer months and followed the flow of people round the biomes. It's an excellent day out what ever the time of year but having that extra time to explore and back track was nice. It also meant the Biomes (big domes in picture below) were cooler, a big plus with younger and older people.

Eden is built in a disused china clay quarry, and can't be seen from the approach. Once you are parked up, paid and through the door you can look down on the site and biomes. We love taking the winding footpaths down the hill with something different on every turn to look at and little steps for the kids to go down, where Charlotte would shout "I beat you" at every turn. There are sculptures to look at and spot, how many cows can you see, the giant bee etc. Even the gardens have themes, from finding out what goes into your painkillers, to an exotic kitchen garden.

Once your are at the bottom you can walk around the 2 biomes, you enter on a walk way above the cafes with the Mediterranean biome to your right and the rainforest to your left. The mediterranean one is the coolest and can feel peaceful and tranquil. You walk in and it feels like you have landed in Spain and a smell of citrus fruits greets you from the orange trees. There are boards to explain the different areas of the med you are visiting and the various plants from that region. A popular area is the chilli plantation, so many varieties each with a heat rating.
The rainforest biome is a lot warmer with a waterfall, bridges to cross, banana, cocoa, sugar and coffee plants to show children. There is a mini-paddy field of rice and a Malaysian hut. Something we haven't done before, we walked up the rainforest lookout. A wonderful view from a platform suspended from the ceiling taking you above the tree tops. Its high and daddy does struggle with vertigo but managed it ok, poor Charlotte was gripping my hand so tight it went red.

We stopped in the cafe between the biomes for lunch, selection of sandwiches, pasties, hot meals and wonderful cakes, with excellent lunch bags for kids.

We headed back through the gardens and past some of the temporary "whats on" items. While we were there was an excellent ice rink which looked like so much fun but half the family can't skate so we skipped that and a Arctic gnome art installation. We then arrived at the education centre  with lots of hands on things for the children, and adults. A video about how Eden was born and above is a lovely little cafe. Outside is a garden to explore and then take the glass lift to the top for a kids play area (or whilst we were there to see the reindeer) then across the bridge and a short walk back up to the where you started.

New in 2012 was the SkyWire, which I was kind of interested in going on but was not running the day we went, secretly I think I'm pleased... looked very high up and long! Adults and children over 7 can have a go at rock climbing.

There was a wonderful story telling session going on in the Mediterranean Biome with singing and a few actions that had the kids and parents gripped for 20 mins. As it was Christmas time it was about an Inuit fable being told which was fascinating. This is what Eden is good at, bringing something different and unique but making it inclusive for all.

The whole site, even though on a steep slope, is accessible. The footpaths are wide. There is a land train to take you from the visitor centre to the biomes, and one from the car park to the entrance. There are some steps in the Rainforest Biome with an alternative walkway for those with pushchairs or wheelchairs. Even a chill out room for those getting a little warm (we have used this in the summer).

Eden is a place we are happy to go to again and again, your ticket will give you free entry for a year which is great if you live local or visit the area often.

Baby Wearing

The weather is too wet at the moment for a lot of our walks, so here is a post about how we used to "wear" Charlotte when she was little.
Whilst pregnant I was looking into other ways of wearing my baby other than structured baby carriers, having read about how they don't offer enough hip support (I don't know if this argument is still ongoing but in 2008 it was). There was also a programme on tv at the time regarding different parenting types and one of the mums had a moby wrap.

I did lots of reading up on moby wraps and also how easy they are to make from websites like the babywearer, headed to the shops with my mum for a very long piece of material. My mum hemmed the edges and also did a join down the middle (some sites advise against this, but we triple stitched and wouldn't wear when she got "really" heavy). I started wearing Charlotte from a month old, just round the house and then trips to the shops. A few months later we were often putting her in the wrap instead of the pushchair as it was so much easier. She settled really easily and the wrap is so versatile. A few different type of carries for front holds, and also back holds when she got that big bigger. I never did master a hip hold though.

When she was 9 months I decided to make a mei-tai type carrier. I mocked up a little prototype which Charlotte then carried her teddies in, and then went on to do mine.

Again the babywearer website was great for ideas and I did a slight modification of the "Man Tai". Instructions were really simple to follow and the results were great.

We both used it until Charlotte was 3 years old, first for front carries and then back carries when she was that much larger. If you go for a long day out it rolls up in the bottom of a bag and when they are tired in a few mins you can have them on your back falling asleep. No dragging that pushchair around when its not going to get used.

And here she is at almost 5 years old still fitting in the mei tai, little bit heavy for a long walk but she thought it great fun to be carried again.

Ice Skating at Millets Farm, Frilford, Oxfordshire

So its a cold wet winter day and we decided to go ice skating. Completely mad I know, and the rink is uncovered, but it was so much fun and ideal for kids of all ages. So long as they can walk they have skates to fit.
The ice rink was a real ice rink not fake at all, so feels realistic and is easier to skate on. You book in for a session (usually starting on the hour) and the session lasts 45mins, which is plenty of time and if you need a sit down or rest you can step of the rink for a bit.
Spaces are limited to a set number for each session so the rink is never going to get over crowded, plenty of space for all.

For children under a shoe size 10, they get skates that strap onto a shoe (Bob-Skates), these worked well with trainers but don't think they would work well with boots. They also have 2 blades so more chance of keeping young ones upright. The strap-on skates shorten or extended to the required length, probably up to a shoe size 12 if needed. A standard single bladed boot is available from shoe size 10.

 Quite a lot of families had hired Bobby seals, suitable for up to the age of 8. They looked a really good idea for some of the less confident children who were on single bladed skates, and parents can also push kids around on them (few races going on too).

There were always helpers on hand if you had fallen over to get you back up again, and take a nice group photo for us too. Friends and family joining you at Millets but lacking the balance for skating can watch you from the viewing platform, or grab a cake and coffee from the cafe next door (where we all dived in later for a hot chocolate to warm up... and what a wonderful hot chocolate it was).

We had such great fun and it was excellent to see Charlotte really skating and even managing to do a lap of the rink not holding anyone's hands.

Tickets can be booked in advance online or at the booking desk. In November they are doing half price tickets for some days, book online or in person you will need the voucher from the Millets magazine which you can pick up at the customer service desk. The rink is open until 8 January 2013.

Christmas in Oxfordshire

Its almost December and Christmas is just around the corner. The weather is getting colder (or should that be wetter) and the shops are filling up with tinsel and goodies for all. But for the little ones the all important bit is... Father Christmas is coming!

So where in Oxfordshire can you meet up with Father Christmas or take part in some Christmas activities?


Christmas lights are being turned on around Oxfordshire, and most towns are having special celebrations. Take a look to see when your town is being lit up.

Local family friendly Millet's Farm, for the fist year ever, have an ice rink, and it's already open. It will be there until 8 January. Santa has already arrived and his grotto will be open weekends until 10 December. From 10th December he will be in his grotto every day upto 24 December. We really want to try out that ice rink and I've been told by Millet's that's its suitable for all ages, so long as they can walk they can skate.

Oxford playhouse is showing "Where's Father Christmas?" from 11 December to 30 December (book your tickets early as it sells out). Last year we went to "Dear Father Christmas" and it was so much fun, all the kids, and adults, loved it. See our review of Dear Father Christmas.
The Playhouse also has an excellent pantomime every year and this year is Dick Whittington. Charlotte is getting to go with school and i'm so jealous, would love to go with her.

Staying on the theme of theatres the Cornerstone Didcot is showing Miki  - based on the bestselling book by Stephen Mackey. This is for 3 - 10 year old so all the family can go along from 17-23 December.
And something Charlotte spotted in a magazine is Cinderella at the Kenton Theatre, Henley on the 21-29 December. They are also showing a puppet version of Rapunzel on 9 December.

How about getting the kids to do some Christmas crafts, drop into the Oxford Town Hall between now and the 6th January. There's also local craft stalls for present ideas, costumes to try on and a tree to decorate. How about a visit to Santa in his grotto on the 15, 20, 21 & 22 December?

The Pitt Rivers Museum and Museum of Natural History are doing letters from Santa with special post boxes from 22 December - 6 January. On a side note: The Natural History museum is closing on the 30 December for a year to restore its very leaky roof. The entrance and shop will remain open and the Pitt Rivers will not be affected.