Blowing Away the Cobwebs at Kedleston Hall

After a few days of Christmas excess and not having left the house for a couple of days we decided to head out into the wind and sunshine to blow away the cobwebs with a walk around Kedleston Hall, on a rather windy day it did exactly that.

Donning our boots and waterproofs for the children, we headed out into the mud and high winds, with the wind blowing through the trees with a lion like roar.

The grounds at Kedleston Hall are vast and the house is beautiful, although we didn't get to go in as it is closed for the winter, but you can see why they chose to film some of The Duchess there.

There was lots of running...

Lots of leaf and stick picking......

I love this sweeping staircase....

Rarrrrrr...

Very Downton Abbey, lots of rooms and bells to ring....

Looking at the animals....

 In the church their was a nativity and beautiful Christmas Tree.

Gorgeous architecture and shadows were everywhere...

I love this bridge it sweeps wonderfully over the river...

Sheep spotting....

Walking through lots of squidgy mud and sheep poo...

It was verrrry windy but it was just what we needed, lots of fresh air and it most definitely got rid of a few cobwebs and hopefully a few calories too.

During the winter it is only £1 to visit the hall which is well worth the money and I think that so we can come back here again in the spring and summer we will definitely be looking at a subscription to the National Trust.

Linking up to Country Kids over at Coombe Mill.

Winter Walks and Scooter Rides

This weekend was lovely, bright blue skies and lots to do at the moment. Saturday saw me take my son to the Lakeside to see A Christmas Carol so I wanted to make sure we took them out for some fresh air on the Sunday.

As it was my dad's birthday we went to Wollaton Hall and Park as they had a Christmas Fair on, the Hall is always a treat for the kids to walk around and see the stuffed animals and the park is always lovely too.

Beautiful wreaths around the entrance to the courtyard

Inside the Hall, loved the feel of it all Christmassy

Looking at the Albatross, they are huge!!!

Dental check for the Hippo

Daddy pointing out the different skulls.

Looking at the snake skeleton

Dino fossils.

George, the well known Gorilla. Scary, but everyone remembers him.

Time for a scoot...

Poor tree blown down in the wind. 

Looking out over the lovely lake

Wollaton Hall is a fantastic place, full of history and is a place for the children to see animals up close, it is also Batman's House so that makes it super special ;)

This week we are linking up to Country Kids over at Coombe Mill.