Days out in Kent // Walmer Castle

We have had English Heritage passes before, but until recently we have never visited Walmer Castle.  Situated along the Deal Coast, Walmer Castle is a smaller castle with beautiful grounds and a fantastic place to visit with young children.

There is parking on site, although it was closed the day of our visit, and there is a car park opposite the entrance and free parking on nearby streets.  You enter through the castle and have a choice whether to explore indoors first or head outside.

The castle was built during Tudor times to help protect the country from perceived threats coming from France and Spain.  It's history involves stories about William Pitt, The Duke of Wellington, Winston Churchill and other Lord Warden's of the Cinque Ports, and was visited every year by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in her later years.  The interior of the castle was fascinating to explore (more for older children and adults than younger ones) and there were plenty of staff on hand to share knowledge with us.  Upstairs in the castle we could go out and see the cannons as well as looking out to see the coast of France.

The children's favourite part of our visit was the woodland walk. The natural play trail means you don't have to walk far before finding something new to climb on, swing from or play.  The beautifully designed areas kept the children entertained and we loved the information about birds along the way too, written in a way that younger children can easily take in and helping us to spot and listen out for them.  

The castle's grounds also include an incredible cloud yew hedge, shaped in the most interesting way, a kitchen garden where food for the café is grown and the QEQM garden.  Even on an overcast day, it is a beautiful area to walk around and there were plenty of picnic areas and large open spaces to enjoy over the summer too.

We visited the café which served sandwiches, sausage rolls, soups and cakes alongside hot and cold drinks. I was impressed with the options including vegan sandwiches and sausage rolls. 

Walmer Castle is a lovely afternoon out and situated close to the town of Deal, opposite a pebble beach and walking trails and a short walk or cycle to Sandown Castle.  Our children enjoyed exploring and have all requested we head back to the nature trail again soon.

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Days out in Devon // Haldon Forest

When we were looking for days out in Devon, Haldon Forest popped out at us as it had all the wildlife and woodlands of a forest with the amenities of toilets, a cafe and a playground so we loaded up the car and headed there in the morning.  Entry is free but you pay for the carpark which was about £7 for the whole day and less for a shorter time, quite reasonable for a day out.  In non-Covid times there is a Julia Donaldson trail and we were a bit upset that it was closed during our visit as the children would have loved it.  The office was closed too but there was a map of the trails on the wall and a sign encouraging you to take a photo on your phone to use instead.

Everything was well sign posted and the queues for food and the toilets were socially distancing well/  We decided to do the mid length walk as the children have a tendency to go off path exploring regularly and so any walk takes us a long time.  There were separate trails for cycling and running, everything colour marked along the way and some paths were available for either.

Our path led us through the woodlands and there was so much to explore as we went.  The forest was full of man made dens of varying sizes and we loved discovering them as we walked through.  You could go quite far off the tracks but there were boundaries in place to make sure you didn't get completely lost.  Along the way we found plenty to play with including a huge wooden xylophone which the boys couldn't get enough of.  The day we chose was overcast and misty with light rain at times but it didn't bother them one bit.

At one point we found signs explaining everything in front of us including a beautiful white tower but the fog was so low we couldn't see any of it!  I imagine the views are beautiful on a clear day though!  There was plenty of insects to observe along the way and spots of colourful flowers amongst the trees.  In the main area all the dogs were on leads but as we went into the forest we realised that dogs were allowed to roam free which did cause a few issues for us as some super friendly dogs bounded over and two of the boys are very afraid. I would say the forest isn't the best place for dog-fearing children as the most friendly dogs usually didn't have an owner in sight.  For most of our walk this wasn't a problem as despite the main area being quite busy, the walks were not, possibly due to the number of choices.

The forest is really well looked after and some areas were cordoned off as the new trees are growing and need to be protected from humans and animals.  There was also lots of information about how sustainable the forest was and how much timber is produced which was fascinating.  

Haldon Forest is a beautiful and well looked after area with plenty of trails for walking, running and cycling. The kids loved exploring the dens and getting off the track and I would love to visit the Gruffalo trail when it is back up and running although I think two of the boys need to stick to places with dogs on lead policies for now.  You can find out more about visiting Haldon Forest here. 

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A Little Winter Sunshine

The ordinary moments are often the most precious, the everyday things are worth remembering and recording and that is exactly what this blog post is - little moments from an ordinary day.   The park is a big part of our life, we go there to blow off steam, to learn new skills, to be close to nature, to climb and swing, to picnic, to meet friends and to breathe some fresh air into a lazy December weekend.

The weather was mild at the weekend and the boys were restless so we popped down to the park after lunch (Finn is on nap strike) to run around.  The sun sets so early that we knew we didn't have long, but there was long enough to play and they love the freedom to explore.

The big two boys don't seem to notice I am there, they become wrapped up in their own little world, playing make believe, racing, driving the pirate ship and escaping from sharks.  They get on so well, and with the freedom and space of the park there are fewer reasons to squabble.  Finn doesn't like to be confined in any way so he goes in and out of the park gates asserting his independence but staying close.  We took his little Toddlebike and he mostly zoomed around shouting 'bike'.

The biggest two boys had these Little Bird gilets when they were small and I have been buying other sizes when they comes up on selling sites as they are perfect for brightening up a cold day and for keeping an eye on them in a crowd (Cora has one too but she wasn't wearing it here). 

And of course Cora came with us, she started off in the sling, but I popped her in the buggy so that I could run around with the boys a bit easier and she could watch on.  She loves being outside and she looked pretty snuggly wrapped up in the footmuff.  

I hope these babies of mine always love to run and climb and explore, that the park continues to capture their imagination (and wear them out) and that they look back on these photos remembering the fun they had on a warmer than usual December Sunday.

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