Category: National Trust

Cafes, Children, Christmas, Cinema, Craft Fairs, Crafts, Families, Family Life, Farms, Food, Gardens, Kids Days Out, Large Families, London, National Trust, Parents, Southbank, Surrey

Days Out With The Kids This Christmas

by thejoyoffiveLeave a Comment on Days Out With The Kids This Christmas

Yes I know we have only just put our sandals and summer dress aways but before you know it Christmas will be upon us and if you want to get those special days booked in then you really do have to start thinking about it now!

Christmas is by far my favourite time of year and I have compiled a list of a few of our favourites that I hope you might enjoy:

Lapland UK – This one just had to be top of my list as I have experienced nothing like it before. We were lucky enough to have our first trip there last year and we were absolutely blown away.

From helping the elves in Father Christmas’s toy factory, icing biscuits with Mother Christmas, taking to the ice in the most beautifully setting and finally meeting the main man himself who Frankie has named ‘the real’ Father Christmas it was sheer magic.

It brought a tear to my eye and I don’t think that day will ever be topped!

Hever Castle – For me Hever brings you everything you would imagine when you think of an English christmas celebration. The traditional fairground rides and beautiful christmas trail are perfect for the little ones, whilst the stunningly decorated castle is a sight that everyone will enjoy.

We are off there at the end of November so keep an eye out for what they have in store this year.

Chessington World Of Adventure – The Winter’s Tail event at Chessington World Of Adventure is always a fantastic day out. There is the chance to visit Santa in his grotto, ride on a few selected rides that are specially opened including our favourite – The Gruffly River Ride Adventure, decorate festive treats in the Gruffly kitchen and something new this year will be The Gruffalo Christmas Groove.

alongside all of this they are also offering sleepover packages and we can highly recommend a stay in their fantastic hotel.

Painshill Park – This one for us has the ultimate wow factor when it comes to the grotto. After a walk along a pretty lit walkway you find your way to the crystal grotto where Father Christmas is waiting to hand out his gifts.

It is certainly different from the norm and gets booked up extremely quickly so don’t leave it until the last minute.

Southbank – If you are looking for a day out with festive foods, quirky gifts and the perfect London backdrop then the christmas market at Southbank if definitey one for the list.

Hobbledown – I am so sad that I won’t be going along to the toddlers lunch with Father Christmas this year.

I have visited for many years now and it is the perfect trip for preschoolers where they decorate a biscuit, have some lunch and meet Santa in the cutest little wooden hut.

Winerville – We had our first trip here last year and it really exceeded our expectations. It is an uber cool experience in the heart of Clapham common offering a bit of everything from great food and drink to ice skating, roller skating, fairground rides, crazy golf and a whole lot more.

Disney On Ice – This has become somewhat of a tradition for us to visit a few days before christmas. The culmination of all our favourite Disney characters, the chill of the ice and the excitement of Christmas makes for a great day out.

National Trust – We have visited a fair few properties over the festive period and each one has its on unique and wonderful christmas feel. They offer visits to Father Christmas, crafts galore christmas markets and brilliant trails to wear the kids out which is always a bonus!

CBeebies Christmas Show:Thumbelina – Getting cosy in the cinema is perfect at this time of year and when its to watch a classic such as Thumbelina put on by some of your favourite Cbeebies characters then its always going to be a hit.

We are off to see this later in the year so keep an eye out for what we think!

RHS Wisley – Now the illuminated trail at Wisley is something I’ve heard so many good things about but haven’t actually got there yet. I think it will have to go on my list for this year.

Winter Wonderland – If you want Christmas on a grand scale then this is the place for you. Winter Wonderland is a huge area in Hyde Park full of fairground rides, food stalls, gifts, ice skating, shows and bucket loads more. We had our first trip there last year and had an amazing time!

Bocketts Farm – I love a farm visit over the christmas period and Bocketts offers an amazingly festive day out complete with a trip to santa in his hay barn.

The Snowman – My children laugh at how much I love The Snowman in any form. My first love was of course the illustrated character and I have loved watching how he has evolved over the years. We watched the stage show a few years ago which was absolutly spell binding and keep the attention of my younger two for over two hours which is no mean feat. This year there is also a magical exhibition at the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, an immersive experience at The Backyard Cinema, a special story telling session at Bath Pavilions by the talented author Michael Morpurgo and a the most magical showing of the animated film at the Royal Albert Hall accompanied by the Royal Philamonic Orchestra.

Priory Farm – This has been our Christmas Eve tradition for a few years now. We stop off in the cafe for a mince pie and a warm drink, get the last of our foodie bits at the fab farm shop and a trek round the discovery walk to wear out the over excited little one.

Bug Hunting, Cafes, Cakes, Children, Egg hunts, Families, Family Life, Farms, Memories, Messy play, Morden, Morden Hall, National Trust, Outdoor Play, Parents, Photography, Surrey, Woodland

Easter Fun At Morden Hall Park

by thejoyoffive8 Comments on Easter Fun At Morden Hall Park

I think this has to be the first year for as long as I can remember that we haven’t taken part in a National Trust easter egg hunt and I have to say that I’m pretty sad about that! The Easter weekend just seemed so fun that we didn’t get a chance to fit it in.

That said we couldn’t get through the holidays without a trip to one of their properties and we decided on Morden Hall Park as its been a good while since we’ve had a visit there.

After a pitstop at the cafe for coffee and cake we were greeted at the main entrance by a super friendly volunteer who set about telling us how we could join in wth the Duck Trail which allowed the children to set off around the grounds in search of different species of ducks, ticking them off on their sheet as they go and showing them some food along the way.

Morden Hall Park has had a lot of work done to it since we were last there and absolutely loved the wooden pathways and lookout points that had been added to the wetland area.

The boys spent ages dipping in sticks and trying to find the crocodiles my Dad had told them were lurking beneath!

We played Pooh Sticks on the bridges, ran through all the open spaces, climbed trees and got covered in mud…exactly what a day should be full of!

Morden Hall Park is also perfectly positioned for a short walk to Deen City Farm where the children got to feed and get up close to lots of lovely farm animals from pigs, sheep and even ferrets.

The children were filthy dirty and thoroughly worn out after a wonderful day and Morden Hall Park certainly come with a big thumbs up from us.

Country Kids

Children, Dinosaurs, Education, Families, Family Life, Gardens, History, Imagination Play, Kids Days Out, Learning, London, National Trust, Outdoor Play, Reviews, Stately Homes, Uncategorized

Dinosaurs Invade London At Jurassic Kingdom

by thejoyoffive14 Comments on Dinosaurs Invade London At Jurassic Kingdom

Who would have thought that tucked away in a suburban part of town there would be grand Georgian house with stunning grounds homing a whole host of dinosaurs!

Last week we went on the hunt for them and wasn’t disappointed.

After a more than a little fraught journey to from South London we made it to Osterley House in Isleworth, which a a stunning National Trust property with acres of beautiful land that is just perfect for hosting Jurassic Kingdom which is there from now until the 17th April.

It is accessible by public transport but a long walk from the train station for little legs or a short bus journey but the buses are only scheduled every 20 mins which was a long wait for my impatient children.

The car park however is huge and free to National Trust members of £7 all day.

Time slots are available to book easily on line for the event and I would suggest you allow yourself plenty of time as there is lots to see and do.

The Jurassic Park style entrance paved its way into the attraction itself which has you following a path through the grounds spotting dinosaurs as you go.


Some are static but the majority have moving limbs and sound effects which the children loved.

It is a far more interactive experience than I had imagined and there are dinosaurs that you can climb onto, a sand pit that lets the little ones try their hand at becoming an arciologist and digging out bones and an education tent where you can sit and watch a short show that explains a little more about dinosaurs.

As far as eating goes the places is perfect for picnicking as there are so many great places to pitch up. There is also a small selection of fast food stands where Izzy count resist the churros!

The children also has a great time making us of the National trust facilities which are always a winner by tree climbing, den building and swinging on the rope swings.

All in all it is the perfect day out for dino fans and even those that aren’t so keen could easy make us and enjoy everything else Jurrasic Kingdom has to offer.

*we were given tickets for the purpose of this review and they are all my own, honest opinions.

Country Kids

Education, Families, Learning, National Trust, Outdoor Play, Photography, Picnics, Reigate, Surrey

Exploring Reigate Hill

by thejoyoffive19 Comments on Exploring Reigate Hill

  

In my opinion National Trust sites offer the perfect day out, and our family have covered most of the local ones but until this weekend Reigate Hill had eluded us.

My sister had recently moved to the area and suggested we took a picnic up there to explore.

We took a short drive to the top of Reigate Hill where we found a small car park which also homed a nice little coffee hut run by Urban Kitchen that serves some great drinks and snacks but remember to take some money with you as they only except cash.

We didn’t sample anything but the boys loved trying out the deck chairs!

  
We set ourselves up at a fantastic view point and ate our picnic whilst the kids ran around with their pots of bubbles.

   
       

Once fed and watered we started our walk across Reigate Footbridge to Reigate Fort. 

The Fort was built in 1898 and was storage for tools and ammunition for the soilders; and was a fascinating site for the children to look around.

   
       

As you climb to the top there is a large area of open space where we stopped to climb hills that reminded me of something out of the Teletubbies!!  

   
 

From here I dragged my sister another ten minutes along the path to find the stunning Inglis Memorial.

She was really pleased I did as when we got there the views were absolutely  breathtaking.

   
   

The memorial itself was donated in 1909 as a drinking fountain for horses.  I myself think it is far to beautiful for anything like that.

   
     

We could have walked on further and taken in some more historic sights but for us this was perfect.

National Trust you have once again supplied my family with a beautiful and informative day out that we will always remember.

  

  

Bluebells, Families, Flowers, Kids Days Out, Large Families, National Trust, Peter Rabbit, Photography, Spring, Surrey, Woodland

Searching For Peter Rabbit’s Post Office In The Bluebells

by thejoyoffive13 Comments on Searching For Peter Rabbit’s Post Office In The Bluebells

  

Spring is my favourite time of the year for many reasons.  I love the longer days, the warmer weather(hopefully) and the abundance of beautiful spring flowers that you have the opportunity to venture out and see.

We always have an annual trip out to walk through the bluebell woods.  I am always taken back by the majestic sight of the beautiful purple bonnets covering every inch of the woodland.

   
   

It is said that in folk law that bluebells are known as ‘fairy flowers’ and they are used to capture small people!

   
    

We had a change of venue today and after seeing some great pictures on a friends Facebook we took a trip to the National Trust site Limpsfied Common in Surrey.  There are several car parks across the common but if you want a little something special added to your trip choose the Ridlands Grove car park.

From here a wonderful people have created five mini wooden houses through the woodland for you to find.  There is Peter Rabbit’s Post Office, Hedgehog Hall, Owl House, Fox Villas and a couple more.

   
      

Owl house was nestled high in the trees so was a tricky one to spot, hedgehog hall came complete with its own working wishing well and my favourite was Peter Rabbit’s Post Office where you can leave a donation in the little red post box or write a letter to pop inside the office.  Number four enjoyed getting Peter out and giving him a carrot.

   
   

We spent the rest of our trip climbing trees, walking along logs and searching for Fox Villas which eluded us.  We will be back to to hunt it out again soon!

   
               

  

  

            

             Mummascribbles

  

           

Dorkong, Easter, Easter Eggs, Egg hunts, Egg Painting, Kids Days Out, Leith Hill, National Trust, Photography

Egg Rolling At Leith Hill

by thejoyoffive2 Comments on Egg Rolling At Leith Hill

Getting back from a weekend away and deciding to paint boiled eggs was not one of my best ideas!  My mind was more on my huge piles of washing, which resulted in a lot of mess and number five sticking his finger right through the middle of his egg.

        

As I have said in a previous post my favourite egg hunts are put on by Cadburys at National Trust venues.  We set off to try Box Hill this year but unfortunately hundreds of other people had the same idea and we were turned away due to the carpark being full.

Luckily enough Dorking is home to many beautiful countryside attractions so we made our way to another National Trust site called Leith Hill.

We got out of the car and loaded the buggy up, but as we started our three quarters of a mile climb we soon had a change of heart and opted for a shoulder carry for number five as it was not really suitable for a buggy as the terrain is very uneven.

    

My children are not great fans of walking but there are plenty of trees to climb on the way up to take their mind off of it.

Once at the top the views are truly breathtaking.  We grabbed a drink at the snack kiosk and found a bench to take in the sights while the little ones went hunting for eggs in the undergrowth.  As we missed out on the egg rolling at Box Hill we made our own on the many slopes at Leith Hill.

            

The main attraction for the children was to be able to climb the gothic tower to check out the immense views of the majestic Surrey Hills.

It was a not the best idea for my sister and I to take three bounding, over exited children up there as neither of us are great with heights and were both a bag of nerves.

            

This is a must see place for anyone that loves spectacular views with something a little different with the added attraction of a spectacular tower to add to your visit.

    

Box Hill, Chartwell House, Chocolate, Easter, Easter Eggs, Egg hunts, Kids Days Out, Morden, Morden Hall, National Trust, Tadworth, Westerham

National Trust – The Perfect Easter Egg Hunt

by thejoyoffive2 Comments on National Trust – The Perfect Easter Egg Hunt

I’ve had quite a few emails over the past week asking for advice on where to go for Easter egg hunts.

In my experience you can’t beat one of the National Trust homes or gardens.  We have been to both Chartwell House in Westerham and Morden Hall in Morden.  Both of which come highly recommended.





Your start the trail by going to collect your map from the start position which is put on by Cadburys.  You then get the chance to trail the beautiful grounds searching for clues to complete your quiz.





We always find that they are really well run and it never feels to busy so there is plenty of space to for the kids to run around looking for clues without the fear of them getting lost in the crowds.    We have never paid more than £5 and last year for this we got our trail maps, a cute hat to wear and a yummy Cadburys chocolate egg to collect when you have completed your trail.  They also put on a variety of activites for the children to take part in such as ball games, crafts and hook the duck.

We are hoping to try out Box Hill in Tadworth this year as you can try your hand at egg rolling.





What have you all got planned for this years Easter break?  We have been predicted a scorcher!

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