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.

A Visit to The Tower of London

Back in January, we visited London for a couple of days as a family, during our trip, we took in a few of the wonderful museums that London has to offer, including the Museum of London and the Tower of London.

I've been wanting to visit to the Tower of London for years but it costs quite a lot of money, however we were reviewing a new app called The Entertainer, using this, the tickets were two for the price of one. So, onto our visit, the tower is steeped in history and even today is a working palace/castle, with the Beefeaters, as they are so fondly known, living and working there to protect the crown jewels and should she need it, the Queen herself.

We headed to the crown jewels first but as photography inside is prohibited, I didn't get to take any pictures of the breathtaking crowns worn by past and present royalty, it was an honour to see it all though. The work and craftsmanship that has gone into the gold and the jewellery was just unbelievable, certainly worth a visit if you like all that glitters gold.

Then we moved onto The White House, this is the Castle Keep and stands in the middle of the tower complex, it is such a wonderful building to look at and really is the centrepiece to the attraction.

The White House is home to the line of kings, an amazing display of over 500 years of armoury, the detailed silver and engraved armour was divine and it was wonderful to see so much history in one room. The armour once worn by Henry VIII, with it's rather large codpiece was quite amusing.

Years of history from all over the world are brought to life in the wonderful exhibitions, my son particularly liked this dragon trophy. Trophies were made as a way of showing off the strength of an army, this one was made up with everything from scrolls to maps and rubies to bits of armour, the effect is brilliant and he was very imposing.

After a visit to see the ravens and the slightly gruesome tower torture exhibition, we headed out onto the riverside to see Tower Bridge, a big monument of London and something I have longed to see for some years, even against the grey sky it was beautiful and if we'd had time I'd have loved to walk over it.

We had a great time visiting the Tower of London, however I would say that had the children been slightly older maybe 8 or 9 it would have been a more enjoyable visit. A lot of the information and displays weren't really that easy for the children to understand, however they enjoyed looking at the armour and the jewels and seeing the ravens. After this we headed to the British Museum which I will blog about at a later date.

Looking Back over 2012

So many things happened for me in 2012, it was indeed a busy year.

January saw my daughter turning one...

In March I got to meet the fabulous Theo Paphitis at the first Small Business Sunday meetup.

In June we went to see the Queen at the local park as well as seeing Prince William and Kate land on the playing fields across the road from us...

In July we were lucky enough to go to the rehearsal of the Olympic Opening Ceremony...

In September my son started school, it was a tough time and my little boy took a while to get used to it but he settled in and has come along great.

Finally an amazing magical Christmas with both children getting most excited about it for the first time.

I hope you have had a wonderful 2012 and I look forward to what 2013 will bring, I anticipate a few bumps in the road but will try my best to smooth them over.

One is not amused!

We went to see the Queen visit a local park today where she was unveiling a plaque and all I have to say on the matter is well done to Nottingham City Council and friends, well done on a really poorly planned event!

First of all, there was no PA system...no one apart from those standing at the very front could hear either Her Majesty or Prince William speaking.

We then waited to see the Duke and Duchess and were pushed and spoken to very rudely by some head of police (not uniformed police officers) asking us to get back! People with pushchairs being pushed around with literally no where to go.

I don't normally have a problem with the police doing their job but this one women was a bully, rude and totally didn't have a handle on the situation.

If we had been pushing over a fence or something I could have understood, but instead an after thought of a piece of rope had been laid on the floor and some policemen standing in front of it! That ended and there was then no boundary. Small children were being jostled around by people trying to get pictures, it was a truly awful event, one I don't wish to experience again (sorry ma'am).

Finally and to top off an awful event they wouldn't let us out! We went to the exit to be told we couldn't leave that way and would need to find another way out, we walked to the other end of the park (marked Exit B) to be told the same thing and then finally found another exit on yet the other side of the park!

I think my son enjoyed it but maybe we should have just stayed at home and watched it on the telly!