27/02/201726/02/2017 by jo

Painshill Park – We Returned and Found Our Happy Place Again

Painshill Park is somewhere we’ve visited since H was a baby. It’s in Cobham, up the road from Claremont Landscape Gardens. We haven’t been for a couple of years, so put this to rights recently.

Painshill Park view from Turkish Tent

Painshill Park and Claremont are both landscape gardens, and have similarities. Painshill Park has some unique features which make it a place we love going back to – though it has been some time.

Painshill Park looking towards the five arch bridge

Imagine some gardens which have random things built in them because that was the done thing when you’re a wealthy person. So you build a ruin because you can. Or you build a Turkish Tent because it looks great on top of a hill. Then there’s the Gothic Tower, which has fabulous views. Lest we forget the wonderful Crystal Grotto which is now restored and looks amazing.

Painshill Park Crystal Grotto

We used to go on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day as one parent would get in for free, which would keep costs down. We’re now Historic Houses Association members, so can now go whenever we want. It was a sunny day, the kind where you aren’t wrapped up which meant we had to get back to Painshill Park.

Painshill Park

It hasn’t changed, but there are changes. The Crystal Grotto is now restored and looks so much better for it.

The Temple of Bacchus is being recreated and will complete in July this year – that’s going to be one to go back for.

Painshill Park Gothic Tower

Over at the Gothic Tower there are big changes. I don’t remember there being toilets there before, but there are now. There’s a small pop-up cafe on the first floor which has a good selection of food which you can take out. That section of Painshill Park isn’t so isolated any more. I even made it to the top of the tower to check out the views for the first time.

Painshill Turkish Tent and Five Arch Bridge

My favourite view is from the Turkish Tent, looking across to the Gothic Temple. You can see the serpentine lake, and in the middle the island where the Crystal Grotto lives.

Painshill Park Woollett Bridge

What I’ve always liked about Painshill Park is how almost everything is accessible. There are areas which would be difficult for people with mobility issues or buggies, but Painshill have alternative routes. But bear in mind the Gothic Tower has a spiral staircase to the top. While it’s a lovely walk it might be worth having a baby carrier if you want to climb the tower.

It’s a lovely day out, a picturesque walk and even though you’re right by the A3 and the M25, there isn’t any noise from cars. I love Painshill Park.

For more information head here.

Painshill Park reflections

29/01/201729/01/2017 by jo

Beddington Park – The Swans Need Our Help

Beddington Park is one of our many local parks. It has football pitches, an outdoor gym, a play area, a great cafe and a huge area to walk around. Within this huge area is a lake, populated by ducks, geese and swans. Recently, this note appeared.

Beddington Park swans notice 2017

We decided to have a walk around there. Despite living so close to the park I’d never spent a lot of time around that part of it. We had some bread and it made sense to try and do what we could.

Beddington Park

When we arrived at the park it was cold. The kind of cold where if you keep walking you warm up, but a hats and gloves kind of cold where you need to wrap up well. H was on her scooter, she had wanted to cycle around the park but having been ill the previous week I suggested she should take it easy!

Shaun was horrified as we drove there… but it made sense parking near the Pavilion Cafe so we could have some lunch there afterwards. This gave us plenty of time to stretch our legs, feed the swans and try and find some cygnets.

Beddington Park

There’s a big bridge which goes over the lake, ideal for looking for cygnets. Unfortunately we couldn’t see any. There were swans, so we fed them, hoping that it was enough.

Beddington Park

It was good to get outdoors again. H had three days stuck inside as she had a temperature that wasn’t shifting. I’d worked from home for two of those days, and Shaun did one day. We needed to breathe again, but not go too far. There’s so much to do at Beddington Park – even if it’s walking around, scooting around, playing or having a quick spot of lunch there. There are even BBQ’s dotted around the park which you can use (although I wouldn’t fancy it in this weather).

Beddington Park

The full text of the letter in Beddington Park :

HELP NEEDED PLEASE
The swans on the pond are struggling as they are so hungry. The adults are coming and going as they are quicker to realise there is little natural food for them. The cygnets are still learning.

Having sought guidance from the Swan Sanctuary please feel free to feed them bread despite what you have been told.

To share fairly I take a full loaf and skim the slices individually across the water. Someone will no doubt say to you that bread is no good for them. They’ve got little else at the moment so let’s help by at least feeding them.

Rita Mullins
Chairman
Friends of Beddington Park

Beddington Park

07/01/2017 by jo

A Trip to Folkestone and Sunny Sands

Folkestone always made me think of ferries. That’s about it. Same as Dover, again ferries, although Dover of course has white cliffs too.

Every New Year we make a trip to the seaside. As creatures of habit we’ve always alternated between Brighton, Eastbourne or Bognor Regis as they’re about the same distance. This year we wanted to try somewhere different – and Folkestone won.

Sunny Sands is right next to the harbour at Folkestone and is the loveliest of beaches. In January it’s pretty quiet, but I can imagine it would be busy in warmer months.

Folkestone mermaid

As you enter the beach, to the right is a statue of a local Folkestone girl, modelled in the same way as the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen. She’s sitting on the rocks looking out at the sea. The Folkestone Mermaid. I love finding quirky things like this!

Unfortunately the light didn’t let me get a good photo, but you get the idea.

Arches at Sunny Sands

Along the sea wall at Sunny Sands are archways. They’re sea defences which have recently been restored to help preserve the coastline for years to come.

You sink into the sand at Sunny Sands like it’s a giant memory foam mattress.

The beach itself was great, loads of space to walk by the sea and of course H went for a paddle with her shoes on for a second time. I have no idea why. Fortunately we had spare socks and her wellies back in the car.

Paddling in shoes at Sunny Sands

A quick bite to eat for our lunch (fish and chips for the non-vegetarians of course) and we wandered around. I would love to live by the sea – as soon as we got out of the car my aches and pains went away immediately and I felt like I could breathe again.

When we visited Sunny Sands this was my favourite photo. I love the reflection of H in the sea, but also how carefully she’s trying to get her feet wet. She succeeded again. I stand by my claim seven year olds are a bit crazy.

Look at those deep footprints in the memory-foam sand. Squish…

Sunny Sands Folkestone

We’re joining in with Country Kids this week – and it isn’t that long before we’re staying at Coombe Mill – I can’t wait!

02/01/201602/01/2016 by jo

Bluebell Railway and Sheffield Park

We’ve wanted to go on the Bluebell Railway for a long time now, but never seemed to time it right. We finally went on New Year’s Eve, driving down to Sheffield Park where it starts, making it with minutes to spare.

Bluebell Railway

From Carshalton to Sheffield Park on a good day it takes an hour, which isn’t bad at all – we bought tickets for the Fairy Godmother Specials (£17.50 per adult, £9.00 per child – slightly more than a standard all-line return), which gives you third class seats plus you get a mince pie and are served drinks. After a crazy end of year I was more than happy to sit down, watch the world go by and drink a glass of white wine.

For H’s ticket she got a pack of smarties, a balloon character made (Tigger!) and a little bag with a toy lion in it which was lovely.

The journey there and back took around two hours, and it was good to switch off and take in the Sussex countryside.

Sheffield Park National Trust

Afterwards we decided to head up the road to Sheffield Park, a National Trust place we’ve never visited. Our main purpose was to grab some food, and then spend their last hour open of 2015 wandering around the grounds. They had a trail which immediately appealed to H, looking for various wicker sculptures (A Winter’s Trail) around the grounds – so once we had eaten we headed out – and it was fairly easy to do in an hour.

One sculpture had blown away, but otherwise there were eight sculptures of varying designs dotted around the grounds which H loved finding (as well as stopping to splash in a few puddles). Sheffield Park is a landscape garden with much of the layout and design coming from Capability Brown, who worked on a few gardens and houses we’ve been to.

Sheffield Park National Trust

Sheffield Park has many lakes, joined together with interesting bridges, walkways, paths and gardens. You can hear the whistle from the Bluebell Railway from time to time as you walk around, but most of all you can breathe; the fresh, crisp country air is all around you.

We arrived at Sheffield Park train station for the 12.15 train, and left Sheffield Park National Trust at 4pm – and could have stayed for longer too!

19/07/2015 by jo

Eltham Palace

We lived in New Cross for years, and travelled through Eltham many times, but never went to Eltham Palace. Shaun has English Heritage membership for the family via his work, so we got to visit today – and what a glorious day!

Eltham Palace sounds very out of place. Eltham isn’t the kind of place you’d imagine a palace (sorry Eltham residents, I can only go on the few times I’ve been there) but it’s hidden away and has an interesting quirkiness to it. The house has been restored back to the 1930’s, when the Courthald’s lived there- Stephen and Ginny. You can wander around several rooms and get a feel of the place – and indeed, one room, the map room has recently restored maps which would have been used by them to plot their travels.

Eltham Palace has a much longer older history which is touched upon, but most of what’s on offer dates back to the 1930s, and two parts which H loved the most. Both involve dressing up – of course.

The main hall has the more regal costumes (and the court jester hat) – H enjoyed trying them on, though some people laughed at how cute she looked which made her feel a bit conscious of herself. Although on saying that, once she wore her princess gear she happily paraded around!

In the basement there’s much more dedicated to the war – as this was the area the family would shelter, as Eltham suffered badly when London was bombed. Down there are many uniforms and hats to try, as well as the original billiards table you could probably have a go on – it’s all set up!

H finds information about the war interesting, and indeed has decided history is her favourite subject at school so this appealed a lot. We probably spent the longest in the basement, though a lot could be to do with dressing up!

Eltham Palace has a little map for over 3’s, where you spot things in each room (usually an animal) and get a stamp, with a letter on each stamp, to work out a clue. H cracked the code pretty easily and got two chocolate gold coins and a sticker which pleased her a lot! It’s free, and definitely worth doing to keep your child interested.

Eltham Palace outdoors

The gardens are good for a wander around and sit down too – on a Sunday at the moment there’s jazz on until 4pm too – so it was quite busy as we got there, but glorious weather.

As well as Eltham Palace and Gardens, the area you park your car, where the shops and cafe are, also has a fabulous play area. H spent a lot of time there trying to master the climbing rails there – and coming out with blisters. Whoops! The nice lady in the restaurant gave us a couple of plasters as she was quite upset. But she had a brilliant time – I think she was so fixated on being able to do it she worked through the pain until it blistered! At least it shows she’s determined!

Eltham Palace play area What I liked the best about Eltham Palace, is that it stays open until 6pm on a Sunday. Proper non-Sunday-like opening hours – and on a day like today it was just right – wandering around and having a fun time. I’d highly recommend a visit to Eltham Palace if you’re in the area anyway.

The English Heritage site is here. Eltham Palace reopened in April 2015 with five new rooms to explore. We had a brilliant time!

10/04/201510/04/2015 by jo

Keeping It Local

Sometimes when it’s warm and it’s a Friday and you’ve spent the week recouperating, working, being at holiday club or whatever, you don’t want to venture too far. Especially when you’re wearing your Elsa dress over shorts and a t-shirt.

So when I got home from work today we wandered up the road to the Honeywood Museum as they’ve just opened a new cafe. On the way to Honeywood is the Sutton Ecology Centre – a fab area in Carshalton which has nature information, allotments, a pond and plenty of things to learn about as well as making good use of everyday things (like tyres – I love how they’ve based a garden around them). Our trip was just a short cut as I was fairly sure the cafe closed at 5pm (I was right) and we made it with five minutes to spare.

The Honeywood Museum is at Honeywood House on Carshalton Ponds, and is a lovely old house dedicated to the history of Carshalton as well as the people who have lived in the house and life there through various times. There’s a war room which H found really interesting and lots for kids – including dress up and an activity area – and it’s free. The cafe is new to the house and serves Movenpick ice cream – and a fine selection too! We grabbed a table right next to the ponds and enjoyed our cones.

The daffodils are still in full bloom, and the area around the ponds looks lovely – though people still seem to throw their rubbish in there. I have no idea why people would do that. Madness.

We walked around the ponds, crossing into Grove Park which has a cut of water from the ponds which leads further down, turning into the River Wandle (which then runs into the Thames) – and where there are many ducks and even a heron. It’s one of the few places locally that I love and go back to as it has a great sense of calm. It feels safe too – I can let H wander ahead and she’s happy, whether it’s chatting to squirrels or just wanting to get to the play area at the top of the hill.

Her favourite things in the park are those dizzy-inducing spinny things you sit in that I can’t even look at, and the fireman’s pole.

We stayed for a play for a while and for the first time H was able to almost climb to the top of the castle in the playground. She’s grown.

We walked past the Carshalton Water Wheel which has had the main hut area restored recently. It doesn’t say what they’re doing there, but there is something going on. Intriguing…!

After a busy afternoon playing we popped into The Sun pub, our local which is right by The Grove, H was super happy as we got the little cubby hole area to sit in, and Shaun joined us.

I do like living here. As I’ve said on The Adequate Parent, it’s a lovely place. It’s just annoying our rent situation is set to change, though fortunately the landlady isn’t selling (she’s just increasing our monthly rent by £280 a month). The rent hike means we can still do all the free things, but helping the local businesses exist by having a quick beer or stopping for an ice cream might be something we have to do without. That makes me sad. I like to spend money on things which help other people locally.

06/04/201501/01/2019 by jo

A Cheaper London – Transport Museum and Sheep

On Saturday we headed out into Central London, a fairly easy journey for us as it’s around 25 minutes from Carshalton. We decided on a trip to the London Transport Museum as it’s somewhere we’ve wanted to go for a long time, and as well as that the Shaun in the City exhibition of Shaun the Sheep figures is happening around London right now.

The London Transport Museum shows the history of transport in London; in case you hadn’t guessed. There’s plenty for kids there, and with it being in the heart of Covent Garden, there’s enough for adults too. Your entry gives you an Annual pass to the museum so you can keep going back, which is a really good deal too at £16. All under 18’s get in for free.

A Zone 1-6 travelcard costs £12 each, which has gone up rather a lot since the last time I bought one – so we decided to use the 2 for 1 deal to get our Transport Museum tickets, which requires a rail ticket to qualify(Oyster cards don’t count). With a Transport Museum ticket at £16 we’d still be in credit. The downside of this was we didn’t read the small print, and the free ticket has to be a day pass – fair enough, they’re a museum and had we done then we wouldn’t have done the deal, so bear in mind when you go!

There was loads for H – dressing up, trying out vehicles, sitting in old carriages, learning about London’s history – and quite a topical one, there’s a small area made to feel like a tube station but set up with seats and bunks like an air raid shelter. I insisted H sat and watched the video, and she was asking lots of questions and really engaged by it. At the start of the trail everyone gets a stamper card – you look for numbered signs along the way and stick your card into it, press the stamper and you’ll have a shape cut out or stamped upon it. There were lots of activity cards at the entrance as well which we took a few of to do in our own time.

As well as the Transport Museum, there’s the Shaun in the City tour happening right now in Central London. We downloaded the app to find them as we’re the kind of people who walk right past things without seeing them (this has happened several times) – so having something which shows us the direction and whereabouts of each sheep was helpful. You can get the app for Apple and Android phones, and it costs but with all money supporting sick children in the UK – so we didn’t complain!

We managed to find seven of the 50 in London at the moment – starting at Buckingham Palace (we got the train in to Victoria), we found one in St James’s Park, walking up The Mall to Trafalgar Square there are two further ones there, then head towards Covent Garden for another two. (then we had a break and went to the museum)

Waterloo Bridge has them at either end, so another excuse for a sit down (or in H’s case a game of Duck Duck Goose outside Somerset House) before we finished at the London Eye, using our Merlin passes to have a sit down for 30 minutes, the lure of any further sheep long gone as it was nearly 7pm!

It was a fun day out, it didn’t cost us too much money and we got to walk around rather than relying on public transport. Had we realised we’d do so much walking it would have been cheaper to get a London Terminals return ticket (approx £8 for us in Zone 5) – so if your child enjoys walking distances (this was approx 5.5km) then it’s worth considering if you’re doing the 2 for 1 deal and need a railcard.

*please note – when we visited the London Transport Museum they were getting back to normal after the powercut on Kingsway. We’re more than aware of it as it affects Shaun’s work. When we went they couldn’t serve hot food and had a limited supply of sandwiches. Some people had shouted at staff which is a bit rude and unfair – they’re doing the best they can given the circumstances. Hopefully things will be getting back to normal now for them anyway.*

28/03/201527/05/2018 by jo

Kingston, Ham and Teddington

A while back it was a warm-ish kind of day and sunny – perfect for getting outside. We have a few projects going on right now, one of them being to get H into a cabin bed as we’ve seen some good looking ones over at Noa and Nani which we’re going to buy. In doing that, it frees up a bit of floor space in her room and we’ve needed a good solution for having friends over for sleepovers – something we haven’t done for over a year as the blow-up mattress is too small for most children now. The Futon Company was the first place I thought of, as an old flatmate from around sixteen years ago had some of their zip up mattresses which convert into cushions – perfect for a child who occasionally likes her own space and sits and reads upstairs – so we headed to the Kingston branch. They were in the sale, so I was pleased I paid just £49.

After that we headed to Ham House & Gardens as it’s a short drive north from Kingston, and somewhere we haven’t visited for far too long. I sniggered on seeing the ‘Warning – this car park floods’ sign as the main car park is right next to the Thames, and it would be just our luck.

Ham House is a short walk from the car park, and you get a real feel for how it was when it was lived in as you walk up the main driveway towards it. Our first port of call was the Orangery cafe which has recently been done up – a quick baked potato (for just £5) and we were set for a wander around the grounds. Part of the gardens were blocked off to allow the grass to grow, but there were still plenty of snowdrops and daffodils in bloom which always makes me happy.

H and Shaun had a run around the grounds while I sat and relaxed, enjoying the sun on my face. After that we headed inside the house to the Below Stairs Rooms which have plenty to see and do, and is where the servants lived and worked. It also had a big room with crafty things for kids to do, and of course, dressing up. It was great for getting a feel of what it was like when people lived there 300 years ago. H enjoyed making frames for a picture she had coloured in.

In the Beer Cellar there was tasting for adults, so Shaun and I had to try. The beer was good, not at all fizzy and how it would have been 300 years ago – even children drank it then (but that’s before they realised you could boil water and it’d be fine to drink) – but not this time!

After Ham House I decided I’d quite like to visit a place from my past, somewhere I haven’t visited for almost seven years – Teddington. Given how close we were and how H had never seen a fully working lock, it made sense. Unfortunately no boats were passing through, but she still got the idea. We walked into the central area between the two main locks, then over the Teddington Bridge, popping into the Anglers Arms for some food – except we were ignored so we eventually left and headed back over the bridge. Teddington Lock hasn’t changed much – my great aunt and uncle lived in Teddington and many a childhood would be spent going for walks down to the lock, walking past the old Thames TV Studios (we saw Rod, Jane and Freddy from Rainbow once at Teddington Station – very exciting).

Our trip was about fresh air, rediscovering old haunts and introducing H to them – or in the case of Ham House reintroducing, as the three times we’ve been she’s been a tiny baby!

As National Trust members, Ham House doesn’t cost us anything, Teddington Lock is also free. We’re linking in to Country Kids again this week!

22/03/201526/03/2018 by jo

Limpsfield Common

The National Trust have lots of lovely houses and gardens, and it’s often forgotten how much land is owned by them too. After the National Trust – Surrey Hills Facebook Group posted a photo last weekend of a mysterious Peter Rabbit’s Post Office, a few of us bloggers tried to work out exactly where it was. Luckily someone posted on the group where to find it, so a week later we headed there to find out more – to Limpsfield Common.

Limpsfield Common is east of Oxted – take the A25 and drive towards Limpsfield Chart on the B269, but turn left before you get there and drive down Ridlands Lane. You will find a car park called Ridlands Grove, which is the best place to park.

Limpsfield Common is quite a large area, and I felt this was a good place to start. H really enjoyed looking for the five little homes within the wood – most of which are fairly easy to find – though we struggled with the Fox Villa – there’s no clear trail but that makes it even more fun. The little homes have been put together by the Friends of Limpsfield Common who keep it maintained. We popped some cash into the little post box at Peter Rabbit’s Post Office as a way of saying thank you. Each shelter had enough H had a good explore, and the area they’re all situated was enough for a good hour wandering around outside.

Limpsfield Common also has an Air Raid Shelter. It has been renovated, there are six shelters in total, though only one is occasionally opened to the public. (the last time was Mother’s Day last weekend) The other five are used as bat nesting sites. This is situated back on the A25. We parked on a road in Limpsfield village and it took no more than ten minutes to walk there. They are situated near the British Legion building, around the back of Limpsfield Infant school.

Getting H to imagine how it was in 1940 as the Battle of Britain was happening, with the whole of Limpsfield Infant school spending most days in the shelters was quite an eye opener for her. The children were alerted to an attack by siren or the headmaster ringing the bell and had to run to the shelters. If they didn’t make it in time they had to lie flat on the ground – and it’s quite a run to the shelters.

Next to the shelters is a restored Spigot Mortar – one of five that once existed in the area. From the National Trust information “The gun was extremely heavy, weighing in at about 350lbs. It fired a 20lb high explosive anti tank mortar bomb propelled by black powder. It had an effective range of 100 yards. It was also capable of firing a 14lb anti personnel bomb approximately 500 yards, although the gun was found to be most effective at shorter range.”

Really hard to get your head around these days, but an important reminder of how it was.

We had a brilliant day anyway, and would recommend Limpsfield Common – it doesn’t cost to go there and there’s easily a good couple of hours worth of things to do, and wander around. Limpsfield itself looks like a lovely village too, although all the shops were closed when we were there.

12/12/201413/12/2014 by jo

Christmas at Kew

Every year we try to do something a bit different for Christmas. While H still believes, it’s about finding good Father Christmases, but as she gets older it’s also about finding things for us parents too – so this year we bought tickets for Christmas at Kew.

Christmas at Kew

Christmas at Kew lives within Kew Gardens, a place we’ve only been once before (which is shameful!) – we knew there would be plenty of walking and it would be a cold night, so wrapped up warm to make the drive.

I have to say, Christmas at Kew isn’t well signposted from the Mortlake direction. I know, I know, you should know where Kew Gardens are, and we did – we just missed the turning to had to do a u-turn on the bridge. Once parked there was plenty of space (we booked in for 6.30) and we were in the grounds quickly, heading for the lit-up pathway which takes you around the park.

My memories of Kew got muddled with a few other places (like Wisley) but the trail was easy enough to follow – we headed straight for food and bought calzone pizza at £5.50 each – take plenty of cash with you! There were hot drinks stalls and snack (biscuits, marshmallows, doughnuts) stands around the gardens, but we stuck to the drinks.

Father Christmas was a bit of a walk, and once we were there, there was quite a long queue. They do allow everyone in groups of 20 so be prepared to wait (we had 10-15 minutes) in the cold – it was about three degrees! Once we were inside, a Christmas Elf kept us entertained until it was our turn to go in. Father Christmas handed all the children a well wrapped book (one we don’t have), and while there was no individual photo opportunity, it was still fantastic. Coming out of the Grotto, you’re right by the butterflies – ohhh the warmth! You just turn up to Father Christmas and it costs £4.

Aside from that, alot of Christmas at Kew is walking around the grounds – things you would recognise in daylight look different in the dark, which made it enjoyable for all of us. H got to say a Christmas wish into a lantern, which you could pay £2.50 to keep, or it could be lit and put on the wishing tree for free. We went for the latter, mainly as we were rushing to Santa’s Grotto (which was in the Princess of Wales conservatory)!

The Palm House had a great light, fire and music display, while the lake at the front had a nice music and water fountain display – cue lots of “wowwwwww!!!”s From H – she loved it.

Seeing the grounds all lit up, and having a funfair was a great idea too. H went on the Helter Skelter and Carousel – both were £2 with the Helter Skelter price including Shaun to accompany her and slide down. There were lots of food choices, though less vegetarian options other than inside the main cafe.

We left, pretty cold but happy. We had a wonderful time and if you’re reading this and are set to go, the main advice I can offer is – wrap up warm, and take enough cash with you! You do keep moving around but there aren’t that many warm places other than indoors. H loved Santa and I was impressed with how they did it – each child got a gift and had a huge smile on their face. I could smell the mulled wine (hurrah! My sense of smell must be returning!) and enjoyed a hot chocolate while walking around.

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the things we do, the things we like

Tag / Country Kids

Painshill Park – We Returned and Found Our Happy Place Again

Painshill Park is somewhere we’ve visited since H was a baby. It’s in Cobham, up the road from Claremont Landscape Gardens. We haven’t been for a couple of years, so put this to rights recently.

Beddington Park – The Swans Need Our Help

A Trip to Folkestone and Sunny Sands

Bluebell Railway and Sheffield Park

Eltham Palace

We lived in New Cross for years, and travelled through Eltham many times, but never went to Eltham Palace. Shaun has English Heritage membership for the family via his work, so we got to visit today – and what a glorious day!

Keeping It Local

A Cheaper London – Transport Museum and Sheep

Kingston, Ham and Teddington

Limpsfield Common

Christmas at Kew

Every year we try to do something a bit different for Christmas. While H still believes, it’s about finding good Father Christmases, but as she gets older it’s also about finding things for us parents too – so this year we bought tickets for Christmas at Kew.