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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An Evening Stroll

We had to move out of our house for a few days this week whilst the builders relaid our downstairs floor. So, in search of some peace and quiet, we headed to a little Airbnb property in Fiskerton, just outside of Southwell.

I love this area of Nottinghamshire, Southwell itself is a wonderful town with plenty of cafes, shops, the minster and of course the Bramley apple, with a fabulous heritage walk that takes you close to the original Bramley tree.

Our little home for the week was in a small village, with a great little pub and plenty of walks close by. We headed out after dinner in search of the last few rays of the sunshine which had proved so illusive all day.

Marching down the lane, the children headed towards the fields, over the fields and across the train tracks, we later got talking to the signal box operator and he told us this one will be closing in October, which is rather sad.

Through the long grass we headed, picking up some dandelion clocks on the way, a favourite pastime of the children and it never gets old. As the children and their Daddy ran through the grass it made me think about how much we need to get outside more, especially since we'd spent last weekend packing up the house ready for the builders.

With the sun shining down on us, walking down country lanes past white painted houses, it felt a bit like we were in France. We'd taken some bubbles, so we stopped in the lane and blew them, the children chasing them all too excitedly as they floated down the road.

Do you like to go out for an evening stroll? With summer on the way it will certainly make it easier.

No Such Thing As Bad Weather

With the weather in England being more than a little unpredictable, you have to be prepared for everything from wind and rain, to sunshine with a bit of snow, all on the same day sometimes.

Last year, we were sent some Helly Hansen waterproof clothing for the family and some fantastic matching wellies for the children, they haven't left our adventures since. So, when they asked if we'd like some fleeces to try on our glamping adventure holiday last month, we obviously said yes.

The fleece jackets are so toasty and warm, whilst also being light weight and comfortable. Meaning we could all wear them under our waterproof jackets to layer up without looking too much like the Michelin man!

Being lightweight meant that they could be worn instead of a coat or cardigan, perfect for jumping about or digging in the sand. The colours are great for children, my daughter loved her sorbet coloured fleece and my son, being a little more reserved, liked his navy with its light blue piping. With little loop holes for their thumbs, it meant they could keep their sleeves down whilst they explored, meaning no cold wrists.

When combined with the waterproof trousers, I think the fleeces look fantastic and they are so bright and just what you need to get children wearing them.

But it's not just the children who love theirs, I love mine too, the colour is great and the arms are the perfect length, even for my long arms. The perfect finishing touch to an outfit for some rock pooling and cool beach walks, I love the softness and the pink detailing on the zips.

Thank you to Helly Hansen for sending us these fabulous fleeces and keeping us warm on our seaside adventures.

NB: We were sent these fleeces for the purpose of this post, all words and opinions are my own.

Bluebells at Rufford Abbey

Spring brings us a time when the countryside and woodlands are filled with beautiful bluebells, these enticing blue flowers carpet the ground between the trees and make theses places even more inviting to explore.

With sunshine a plenty, we ventured over to the wonderful Rufford Abbey, it is a favourite spot of ours and as it's just 20 minutes up the road from us, it is a great place to head out for some time outside. With woodland, a ford, plenty of bird spotting opportunities, a park and gardens there is so much to do.

We headed out into the woods in search of some old logs on the woodland floor, they are great places to find bugs and little creatures, especially this time of the year as they start to come out of their winter slumber.

The woods are a great opportunity to explore and capture some beautiful moments, both of my children love to run and jump about, finding old tree stumps to stand on, we even found a tree that had fallen over and it was a beautiful opportunity to capture some family photos.

This time of year, as the trees start to unfurl their new leaves it and a wave of green washes over the land, is a great time to get out into the fresh air and embrace the outdoors.

After we'd spent an hour exploring the bluebells and woodland, we headed down to our other favourite spot, the ford, for a spot of car watching, we had a warm sausage roll for lunch and then headed back round the lake to park.

The park is always a hit with the children, who love to run through the tunnels and play in the sand. We took a wander back up to the abbey itself, underneath, there are rooms which were once home to the monks and staff who lived and worked in the once great house that also stood there. It's a great place to stop and learn about the history of the abbey and its visitors over the years, which included Charles II.

Wherever you live, I would highly recommend a visit to one of this countries many bluebell woods, last year we visited Bunny Wood and that was a true delight, with a vast blanket of bluebells to explore. I never appreciated them when I was younger, even though the woods near where we used to have a caravan were covered in them. Maybe like a lot of things in life they are something to be appreciated as you get older.

Exploring More of Newstead Abbey

Last weekend we visited one of our favourite places in Nottinghamshire, Newstead Abbey. We have been so many times now and each time, we usually walk around the same bits. This time though, we spotted the old cannon fort on the other side of the lake and decided to take the muddy walk over to see the abbey from a different perspective, as well as seeing this wonderful old piece of history.

When you hear about a cannon fort, you probably wonder how much navel defence was required in landlocked nottinghamshire, but the real purpose of the fort was as a play thing for the 5th Lord Byron, along with his fleet of miniature vessels. The lord would fire real cannonballs at the ships. which were crewed by his unlucky servants. According to the staff, none of the servants were hurt but I can imagine it still being a frightening experience.

I only slipped over once as we headed through the muddy forest, much to my husbands amusement. Along the way, my daughter picked up twigs, trees and plants for her nature project which she happily carried in her jelly bag. 

It was fun to explore a piece of the abbey we hadn't seen before, and it would be good to go back, maybe on a less muddy day next time. When we got to the cannon fort though it was well worth the wobbly trek over, you can only begin to imagine what this would have looked like back in its time.

The view from the other side of the lake was amazing and one we've never seen before and possibly very few people who visit do, I absolutely love the idea of this eccentric Lord playing real life battleships here.

Each part of Newstead feels as though it has been made with the view in mind and it is always a pleasure to take pictures there.

Afterwards, we headed to the rose garden to eat our picnic, the children had a quick game of hide and seek and then played on the park, before we moved onto our favourite spot, the Japanese Water Gardens. We love this place, the sound of running water, the shapes of the trees and stone decorations and there is always time for the children to role play some ice cream selling from the wooden hut.

It was great to find something new in one of our favourite places to visit, hopefully this post might inspire other visitors to go in search of the magical cannon fort too.

Visiting the Fairies at The Trentham Estate

The children had an inset day on Friday, so to make the most of this, we visited The Trentham Estate just outside Stoke on Trent, we had never been before but my mum has often told me about when she used to go with her parents years ago.

The beautiful grounds were once landscaped by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, so called because of his great capabilities, the huge man-made lake which was made from the River Trent is full of wildlife and surrounded by many different species of trees which makes this a perfect spot for bird watching.

We started our visit with lunch at the Italian Garden Tea Room, some hot chocolates warmed us up and then we all had some fabulous food, the cottage pie and soup being particular highlights and the view over the lake whilst we ate was wonderful. After lunch, we headed out to walk around the lake and spot the fairies

This wonderful dandelion sculpture was the perfect place to start, my daughter loves dandelions and is forever searching them out in the summer to blow the clocks and see the time, the seeds on these ones even look like little fairies.

We were given a sheet with the fairy names and locations, to help us find them all, so as we walked round it was great for the children to be able to spot them, some are more hidden than others. They all had their own names and characters and they were well spaced out around the estate.

Next to the estate is the Monkey Forest and you walk past part of the fence whilst circling the lake, we kept our eyes pealed but weren't able to see any monkeys, this may have been as the Monkey Forest was not open yet, we have added it as another place to visit on our list. As we carried on round the lake, we stopped for snacks at the cafe at the other end of the lake, we sat outside and watched the birds as they came to feed, there were so many different ones and it was a welcome stop on our long walk.

Further round, we came across a little train track which takes you down by the river, a great way to have a seat and take it all in. We had so much fun spotting the fairies in their different locations and although the light wasn't great, it did make for some fantastic pictures of them, this one sat on top of the ticket booth looked so stunning and the fairy on the lake was mine and my daughters favourite.

After we'd walked round the lake, we stopped in the gardens and what remains of the old house, this was dismantled some time ago and if what does remain is anything to go by, it would have been a stunning house, the crumbling remains are beautiful and it is so sad that it has fallen into such disrepair.

Next to the house and the tea rooms where we started, is the play area, with several different playgrounds, sandpits and a barefoot walk, there is so much to do and there is no doubting that you could spend a whole day at Trentham. Finally, we headed through the maze, the view from the top of the viewing tower was fantastic. As we walked back down we spotted the last fairy on our list, I loved this one she looked so carefree.

We had such a wonderful time at Trentham, with so much to do in the area I think we'll make a weekend of it at some point and definitely visit again when it's warmer, a picnic on the lakeside would be wonderful.

Whether you are local or visiting the area I can highly recommend this beautiful estate to come and spend a day, see some history, art and wildlife all in one place.

Lazy Days and Rainy Play

Getting out and about in winter is important, with short days and not much light, there is nothing better that a bit of sunshine to boost your Vitamin D and most of all, you don't need to let rain stop play. On what started off as a slightly dull morning, we headed to Rufford Abbey, a regular haunt for us and a great place especially at this time of year.

It was cold but we wrapped up in several layers and headed out for a picnic, some puddle splashing and a hot chocolate, with a spot of bird watching and leaf throwing too. A highlight of every trip to Rufford is stopping to watch the cars splash through the ford. 

We were sent some waterproof clothes and wellies from Helly Hansen a few months back and they are the perfect addition to rainy day play, allowing us to get out and about no matter what the weather and learning to enjoy being outdoors, come rain or shine. Splashing, getting mucky and no more excuses as to why we can't because daddy doesn't want mud in his car!

My daughter absolutely loved being able to splash about in the puddles, with not a care in the world, her little hands as well as her outfit covered in mud.

The great thing about having the freedom to get dirty is that it means you can go anywhere, explore anywhere and be anything you want to be. You can be a puddle jumper, leaf kicker or tunnel crawler. You could even just take a leisurely stroll in the rain.

What I love about Helly wear is that it is all super light, you don't feel restricted and that makes it easier to do all of the things that make getting out and about fun. The jackets have been perfect in the summer rain and now make great outerwear for the colder wetter weather.

Getting out and about last weekend was great fun, we enjoyed some family time and lots of fresh air. We got to see the final flutters of summer as the last of the leaves on the trees fell to the ground and autumn well and truly settled in, with the lake slightly frozen over and the cold chilling any exposed skin, it was clear that winter is on its way.

With everyone kitted out in waterproofs, the splashing and rainy day play can continue and we look forward to more adventures where we can just go where we want to go and not worry about how muddy we get.