Ferry Farm Park at Hoveringham - A Fab Day Out

Farm parks seem to entertain all of the family, no matter what age. They can get a bit expensive though, so it is nice that Ferry Farm Park at Hoveringham offers the farm experience at a more reasonable price.

At just £6.95 each it is half the price of one of the other farm parks in the area, it has all of the animals you could wish of a farm park, animal feeding and petting as well as plenty of space to run around and explore.

With lots of outdoor and indoor play equipment, a sand pit and ride on tractors it is the perfect place to take a picnic and spend the day, it also has a wonderful restaurant offering home cooked food and cakes, which were delicious.

Since it was half term and mine and my daughters besties from Mummy Plus Three were heading there, we decided to join them, and I am so glad we did. It was a really lovely way to spend a sunny half term day.

We picked up some food and set about feeding the animals in the barn, my daughter has so much confidence when it comes to feeding them and loved the goats snuffling at her hands for food.

 

All three children could have spent all day driving round the tractor course or playing on the adventure playground, with the sun shining why not.

There is plenty of space to let off steam and enjoy the countryside and with it being close the to the River Trent you can always take a wander down there too.

My daughter and her friend really loved feeding the ponies and donkeys and chatting to them, it was really lovely to see the kids at one with nature, beats being indoors watching telly and is much better than any fidget spinner.

If you are local and after something to do in the summer holidays then why not pay a visit to Ferry Farm, some areas could do with a lick of paint but it is still well worth it, plus with Gonalston Farm Shop just down the road you can pick up some local produce on the way home.

Autumn Leaves at Rufford Abbey

Nature and Autumn always seem to work together to create the most beautiful colours, for the last few years we have headed out into the woods to play amongst the leaves and this year was no different.

We headed up to Rufford Abbey, a usual haunt for some autumn leaf action. It started off as a sunny autumn day but no sooner had we got our wellies on it started to cloud over. But for us it didn’t matter, we all had our waterproof coats and wellies on, wrapped up so we were snug and warm.

We played in the woods, throwing leaves, running and jumping over logs, then we looked for mushrooms and acorns and talked about the seasons.

The children climbed the trees and even rode them like horses and the ever changing season never failed to give us something to look at and play with.

As we walked through the woods we saw a log pile, so all of us broke into the Gruffalo story, it is a great way to spend a lazy Sunday morning, reciting one of our most favourite stories.

As we got towards the ford it started to rain, so we watched a few cars splash through the water and then headed into the café for a warming sausage roll and hot chocolate, a standard for us on our winter visits.

It carried on raining so we headed back around the river, covered by the dwindling canopy of the trees, the little miss still munching away on her sausage roll and me holding on to the last bits of warmth from my hot chocolate. We came to some rather sodden and hungry ducks who were eager to eat any crumbs that dropped off my daughter’s sausage roll, we befriended a duck who followed us like a little puppy.

As we came out of the woods the rain had stopped but the wind whipped round our ears and so the children decided they wanted to go home and snuggle on the sofa, but not before they pretended to be birds flying with the giant leaves they had found.

I love Rufford Abbey and the fun we have there, it is a place we visit all the time and we still manage to find something new to explore or see. The ever changing seasons offer up new colours, fauna and wildlife and that's why we love it.

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Exploring Hardwick Hall

Last weekend we were invited to Hardwick Hall, one of many beautiful National Trust properties , whose occupants over the years have played a huge part in shaping the history of the area. We visited Hardwick many years ago pre-children and although the house itself hasn't changed, there are now some new stories to learn about.

From Bess's troubled granddaughter and once heir to the thrown, Arbella, to the last Lady of Hardwick, these two new exhibitions give us even more insight into Hardwick Hall's past.

First up though we stopped for lunch, the Great Barn Restaurant has a selection of light bites as well as hearty meals, there is also a fabulous menu for both adults and children.

I chose the cheese and leak scone with ham salad, it was fabulous, a full plate and packed to the brim with tasty salad and accompaniments.  My husband chose the full English breakfast which is served up until 12pm and my son had the cottage pie, all really tasty and big plates. My daughter chose one of the children's lunch boxes, for £4.50 it came with a nice big ham cob, crisps, a drink, some fruit and a chocolate bar as well as a box to colour in, some crayons and a booklet.

There were some wonderful cakes to chose from, so we had a couple of pieces to share, they offer cream teas too and plenty of drinks, both hot and cold. Once you've placed your order, you can take a seat and relax, there are plenty of tables and chairs available, inside or in the cobbled courtyard. The food was served quickly and we all had clean plates at the end.

After lunch we went over to the house, it was a warm day but inside the house was cool and so a welcome relief on the hot summer day. On entering we were welcomed by a member of the team who explained about the house and gave us a quiz sheet for the children to complete as they walked around the house, as well as a sheet of naughty history for the adults.

The new exhibit takes you through the life of Arbella and the history of how she didn't make it to become Queen of England after Elizabeth I died. The story is a sad one and ends with her lonely demise as a prisoner in the Tower of London.

It is a moving story and through the imagery and artefacts presented you really get a feel of what it must have been like for her, I felt extremely sorry for her and what she must of gone through.

The artefacts, beds and furniture in the house oozed sophistication and grandeur, as we moved through to the Last Lady of Hardwick exhibition, you could see tastes and styles change, however the opulence still remained.

Not only do they tell you about those that lived here, but they do also go on to tell you about what the National Trust do in order to look after the artefacts in the house, how they are cleaned, repaired etc. It is very interesting and the kids loved it too.

A final visit to one of the most important rooms in the house, the kitchen, here the children could get involved in some carpet weaving, napkin folding and see what was needed to keep the members of the house fed. All throughout the house in fact, there were things for the children to get involved in, gone are the stuffy days of not being able to touch anything and walking round like soldiers, the staff members got involved, engaged with you and for me this brought to life what the house was about for the children and adults alike.

After we'd visited the house we went outside into the beautiful rose gardens, the smell hit you before we even got close, it reminded me of my grandparents house growing up, they would make some excellent rose petal perfume.

The children amused themselves running around the garden, playing under the trees and looking in the pond. Had we had more time, it would have been a lovely place to sit and read a book as the sun shone down.

The rest of the gardens were equally as beautiful, running amongst the trees and looking at all of the vegetables and beautiful flowers was a great way to spend a sunny afternoon, with plenty of benches and spots to eat a picnic, Hardwick Hall is a wonderful place to spend the day.

We'd had so much fun and even when it got to leaving time, we still hadn't seen everything, there are so many areas to explore, you could really could make a full day of it, from opening until closing.

Our final stop was a trip down Lady Spencer's Walk, with some rope swings, an obstacle course, forest games and dens it was a delightful way to end the day. My daughter didn't want to leave she was enjoying it all so much.

Hardwick Hall is a fantastic way to spend a day out, perfect for the summer holidays too, it is easy to get to, being only 5 minutes off J28 of the M1. With plenty of space to run around, have a picnic and with a great choice of food, there really is something for everyone.

NB: We were given complimentary entry and food tickets for the day, however all words, photos and opinions are my own.

Exploring Nottingham

I have lived in Nottingham all my life and as a child spent so much time visiting many of the city's attractions, whether on school trips or with my parents. Some of those attractions are long gone, like the Tales of Robin Hood for instance and for a time Brewhouse Yard which now only opens at the weekends.

But there is still a lot this beautiful city has to offer and on Saturday as part of the Get Creative Arts Festival we were invited to visit some of the attractions and really experience what Nottingham has to offer.

First of all, we stopped by the wonderful and historic Theatre Royal, this building has been standing proudly in our city for the last 150 years. Meaning that many generations of my family will have seen it and most likely been inside too. The Theatre is as magnificent now as you imagine it would have been back then, with very few changes having taken place in that time, not because they couldn't be bothered but why change something so beautiful and that works. Having only really ever been in there when it's full, I hadn't had time to appreciate the acoustics of the theatre, it was magnificent and a true work of art in itself.

We were lucky enough to go behind the scenes and onto the stage, what a beautiful way to see the theatre. It was easy to see why when the lights go up at the end of a performance the actors were all smiling at the people sat in the seats, truly wonderful. Backstage was all the lighting and props for the current play, i'd love to explore more of this sometime.

We then got to pop onto the stage off the Royal Concert Hall, where they were setting up for the Bodyguard Musical. Compared to it's older sibling next door, the concert hall is the modern youngster, being only the same age a me. Yes, I know, really young!

I have only ever seen the stage from being in the audience and with the set already build, so had never really appreciated how big a space this is. never seen it from the stage or without it's stage props and set you can't really get a sense of the size, It was great to pop in and see some of what goes on behind the scenes.

Next, we headed to the Central Library, it's one place in Nottingham we never really think of visiting but as family who often pop in for a break in Waterstones, this may very well be our new place to drop in and read when in town. We don't have to worry about breaking the books and the kids can play too.

In the holidays there are always lots of activities, so if you are in town shopping then why not pop into the library for a sit down and relax whilst the children find some books to read, you could even take them home with you, as if you are in the Nottingham area you can take them back to any library.

Afterwards, we headed to the Nottingham Contemporary, a usual haunt for us as a family on shopping days, days where we might be meeting friends later and those wet days where we just want something indoors to do.

At the weekend there is always a room with something for the children to do, get messy, read books and make a noise, it basically allows the children to blow off some steam in someone else's house.

There are always lots of art installations to see, some of which are interactive and this month was no different. The fabulous Sun Ra installation was a musical one, with headphones dangling from the ceiling, we got to listen to fabulous jazz music whilst drawing the music we heard onto stickers. Dressed in yellow ponchos to match the yellow room we then stuck the stickers on to ourselves and each other in our own piece of art.

We were then invite to paint sun ra inspired images on the walls in the family room which was great fun and the children loved it, although the amount of paint dripping around did leave me a little bit panicky.

The contemporary have a great cafe which we have visited many times in the last few years, with young children, older children and family it is a lovely place to have a coffee before you carry on exploring. With the addition of the explorer pack which has lots of activities for the galleries it means you could spend a good few hours in there with lunch to break the day up.

After this we headed onto the new section of the tram, having used the tram park and ride we already knew what a handy service this was, spending the whole day in town having travelled in by car would have cost a lot more than the tram for all of us, with a weekend all day family pass costing just £5.

We rode the tram over to the Lakeside, with the new tram section this is now so easy to get to from town with just a short 5-10 minute ride meaning you are there for a great park, lake and the wonderful lakeside arts.

Our task was to look at the current exhibition which were some beautiful clay bugs and beetles and then make our own.

Using air dry clay we took to making our own bugs, my daughter chose to make a butterfly, there were so many beautiful ones to take inspiration from on the wall that my daughter found it difficult to choose which one to make.

With so many more attractions in and around Nottingham, including the Castle, Newstead Abbey and Green's Windmill to name a few as well as plenty of shops and restaurants, Nottingham is such a great place to spend the day.

When you live in a city you don't always think about exploring it as a tourist, a place you always visit sometimes doesn't seem as interesting as another, but this has opened my eyes to a city I loved as child and to explore more of it with mine.

Thank you to the teams from the Theatre, Library, Contemporary and Lakeside for having us for the day, it was brilliant and we had a great time exploring our lovely city.

Why not look and see whats on in your city and have some family fun.

Exploring Clumber Park

At the weekend, we were invited to Clumber Park, to explore the grounds by bike and enjoy some of the facilities on offer.

When we have visited previously, we walked around the pleasure grounds near the chapel and played on the woodland play park, so the cycling was a first for us, not just here but I don't think I had even sat on a bike since I was about 12 or 13!

After parking the car, we headed first to the cycle hire centre, where the staff kitted us out with bikes, helmets, a lock and a map of the cycle routes, as well as offering advice on which route to start off with and where not to ride. 

As the children do not ride, my husband had my son on a tagalong bike and I had my daughter on a seat on the back of mine. It was a bit wobbly at first, but got easier as we went along. Traveling by bike meant that we got to see parts of the park that we had not seen before. Past the village of Hardwick, on the other side of the lake, there are fields, full of butterflies, insects and birds of prey, it was wonderful to be able to stop and look at these.

The view from the other side of the lake is amazing and I am quite sad we haven't seen it before, it is definitely a walk or ride we will be taking again. The cycle paths are flat and steep in equal measures, though if you don't mind dismounting, then you can follow the flat path along the edge of the lake.

With the kit Clumber Park gave us, we had binoculars and bug spotting kits so the children enjoyed being able to spot the wildlife across the lake and beyond.

After we'd been round once we stopped for lunch, there was a short wait for lunch from the restaurant itself so we opted for the BBQ outside. 

My daughter chose the child's lunch box which contained a freshly made sandwich, mini cheddars, cheese and crackers, yoghurt, biscuits and a drink, not bad for £4.50. I had the pork cob, hubby had the burger and my son had the sausage cob, with two portions of chips and a couple of beers it came to £31, it certainly filled us up for the rest of the day.

Afterwards we payed a visit to the second hand bookshop and the discovery centre, this is a great little spot to chill out with lots of space to explore, sit and read, learn and play.

After another cycle round the lake, we headed up to the walled garden, you have to pay to get into this area unless you are a National Trust member, it isn't much though, it's free for children and then £3.65 per adult without Gift Aid.

You could spend a good hour and a half  to two hours in the garden and they run talks and tours too, as it heads towards the summer holidays they also have lots of activities for children with the new Sunflower Alley opening this week.

There are so many beautiful flowers and areas to explore in the gardens, from the fruit and herb gardens to their many varieties of rhubarb. It was great to be able to get up close and personal with so many different plants, many of which we hadn't seen before. There was a bug house kit in the bag of goodies we were given so we took a look at the ones in the garden, which made the children excited about making this.

We really had an amazing time at Clumber Park, getting to see so much on the bikes was great and although my legs ached for days afterwards, it was by far the best way to see and explore. As a final treat before we left we headed over to the cricket pitch where there was a match on, we had an ice cream and then took it in turns to fly the pocket kite from the gift shop.

These things are normally something we might overlook in the shop, but actually they made our day out that little bit more special.

Clumber Park is a great place to visit this summer with so much to offer, see and do whether it is just to kick a ball around, go exploring in the woods or go biking round the lake.

NB: We were given free entry to the park, cycle hire and meal voucher to form this review. All opinions are my own.