Bournemouth Family Festival

It has been a busy old week, what with the Mudeford Lifeboat Festival, a visit to Weymouth Tower and Weymouth Sealife Centre, but I wasn't going to miss the Bournemouth Family Festival.

Promises of nice weather, free activities and Titan The Robot pulled persuaded us that it was going to be amazing.

Sadly we were a little disappointed!

Although there were a lot of stalls, it did seem to be a huge marketing event and most people were charging to do activities and the Bouncy Castles were pricey too!

I did however get to meet some people whom I have been chatting to on twitter, so it was lovely to put faces to names.

We did have some fun though, even though my two slept through meeting Chris Jarvis!!

We got to hold an actual Olympic Torch!

 Do some Fossil hunting:

And watch some mad people throw themselves off a crane!

I was really disappointed to miss Titan the Robot too, but it was my fault for not checking the times he was on stage!

Will we go next year?

Maybe!

Mudeford Lifeboat Funday 2012

On Sunday 22nd July we finally made it to Mudeford Lifeboat Funday.  We say we are going to go every year but never seem to get there and I have fond memories of the event from childhood.

We got there at about 11am, with our picnic and crabbing equipment, to enjoy a full day of fun.  Mudeford Quay was very busy, but there was room to move and still places along the quayside to stop and set up our crabbing equipment, which the kids were itching to do.

Mudeford Quay

Within minutes we had our first crab, and it proved a very fruitful day as we managed to pull 4 and 5 up at a time at one point!! (they seem to like cheap catfood).

Within an hour it was time for the Raft racing and we had a prime spot.  Some of the rafts had obviously had hours of time loving spent on them and everyone made a valiant effort not to end up in the sea, despite hurling water at each other with varying degrees of success!

It really was a fantastic spectacle to watch and the kids enjoyed joining in with the whopping and cheering crowds.

Once the racing was over, we decided to release our bucket full of crabs back into the water and explore all the other activities going on.

There was plenty to do for the kids, including a funfair with Dodgems, A Big Wheel and a Helter Skelter, as well as the traditional games stalls.  Luckily we managed to avoid those as the kids were more interested in buying a duck for the Duck Race later on that day.  We did stop to speak to the Fireman though!

Next on the agenda was a demonstration from the local Coastguard Helicopter, who was actually delayed by a real shout over in Swanage.  When they finally arrived they didn't disappoint and even hung out of the doors to wave to their adoring public!

After they had finished their display, we wandered around the rest of the quay and was delighted to find an abundance of craft and food stalls mixed in with live music - it had a real party atmosphere and everyone looked as though they were having a great time.

The Mudeford Lifeboat Funday is an annual event and we will definitely be going next year (Sunday 28th July 2013) - I hope to see you there too!

Home to a Cuppa

My entry for the Come Home to a Cuppa Linky Challenge, sponsored by Cravendale

We haven't been on a family abroad holiday since 2003, but we have been away to stay with family in various parts of the country to get a change of scenery.

Packing for a family of 7 is always a challenge, and despite my eldest being more than capable of doing it themselves it always seems to be my job!

So, what is on the list I hear you ask?

• Underwear - a pair of undercrackers & socks for every day you are away and a couple of spares (especially important for the toddler)
• Capsule wardrobe - I always try and pack things that can be mixed and matched and I make them wear there jeans as that always makes the cases heavier, also including at least one snuggly warm jumper for those days when the temperature cannot seem to get above freezing.
• Pac-a-Macs - I don't care if the five day forecast says glorious sunshine all week, on past experience THEY LIE!!
• Toiletries - The usual Shampoo, Conditioner, Shower Gel, Deodorant, Toothpaste and brushes.  I do tend to buy unisex ones (apart from the deodorant), as I refuse to cart about several shower gels just because they all like different ones.
• Swimming Costumes - just in case we get to a pool or the beach!
• Nappies & wipes for the baby

I rarely take towels as these are normally supplied, but I do check first.

Then there is the really important stuff:

• iPods
• iPod / iPhone Charger
• DS (and games)
• DS Charger
• iPad
• iPad Charger / Case / Car Head Rest

The iPad was a family Christmas present last year and has been invaluable.  We have bought a headrest attachment so that the kids can watch films on long car journeys and it has been a real life saver in stopping bored children whinging!

We then have to fit in the buggy, raincovers, a few much loved toys and a whole heap of patience!

Hubby normally sorts out the house as he is very particular about switching everything off at the plug, with the exception of the fridge / freezer, which I ensure is stocked with a loaf of bread and something I can put a meal together with for our return and Cravendale Milk for that well earned cuppa!!

Silent Sunday - 29th July 2012

Weymouth Sealife Tower

On a visit to Weymouth Sealife Centre we were excited to find out that the new Weymouth Tower was infact run by Merlin Group and as such we could use our annual Merlin passes to get in.

It has only been open four weeks and we were excited to be one of the first few to go up the 170ft tower.  As we drove towards it I was a little unimpressed, it didn't seem as big or visually stunning as I expected like Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth.

Up close however, the tower soars high above the resort of Weymouth and provides a stunning view of the Jurassic Coastline - The UK's only World Heritage site, Weymouth Bay, Portland and Chesil Beach.  The capsule rotates at the top so there is no need to even get out of your seat if you don't want to!

It was a short wait to get on, and after we presented our tickets we had to sit on a bench in front of a green screen and have our photograph taken.

We then got in the queue ready for the next "flight"

The viewing platform holds 70 people but there was only 29 of us on our flight, so we got to space out a bit. Isaac was intent on looking down to see if he could see how deep the foundations went!













There isn't much to see at first, as the platform is surrounded by boards.  You get a brief safety briefing from the flight attendant and then off you go, raising gently into the sky.

The views of Weymouth Bay, Weymouth town, the Jurassic Coastline, Portland and Chesil beach are breathtaking.  The flight attendant talked us through what could be seen as we rotated at the top of the tower.  It was quite a hazy day, so I was disappointed that I couldn't make out Durdle Door, but we got a good view of The White Horse on Osmington Hill, along with a brief history as to why it was there.

Weymouth Bay

Weymouth Bay

Weymouth Harbour

Jurassic Coast

Looking down!

Portland and Chesil Beach

If you are visiting Weymouth then I highly recommend you take this amazing flight.  My only grumble is that it is very short (approximately 5 minutes).

The photograph taken at the beginning became clear as we got off.  They super-imposed our picture onto a picture of the tower as if we were sitting on top of it.  It was quite expensive so we didn't buy it as our photo wasn't very good, but it is a nice souvenir of the day.

going up

and up

and up!!

Weymouth Sealife Centre

On Saturday we made the decision to go to  Weymouth Sealife Centre .  It is a 45 minute drive from us and the scenery is stunning all the way down, only this time it was more exciting as there were lots of flags and signs up because the Olympic Sailing event is being held in Portland.

As with most Merlin parks now, we had to pay for parking and I was surprised that it cost £5 for 4 hours.  However this time I cannot blame Merlin as it is a council run carpark, and you also have Sandworld and Lodmoor Country Park on the same site.

We had the briefest of waits in the queue to get in, and were surprised that the Sealife Centre also runs the new Weymouth Tower and was offering combined tickets.  As were are Merlin annual members we would also be able to do this for no extra cost, which was a real bonus to our day and I will tell you all about it in another post!!

We got there nice and early and it was lovely and quiet, so we decided to follow trail and explore the exhibits in order.  Weymouth is slightly different to other Sealife parks I have been too, as much of it is outside and the aquariums are in lots of buildings dotted around the plot.

Shortly after this picture was taken we had a heart stopping moment as just outside this building is a large paddling pool, which isn't cordoned off or sign posted.  Eliza ended up soaked, but luckily I had a change of clothes and towels as we planned to take advantage of the splash zone later in the day.

After a cuddle to warm her up, we continued our adventure and Isaac was very excited that Timmy (from Timmy Time) was there.  Sadly a 6ft sheep up close is very scary for a four year old!

We then visited the rock pools which are fantastic.  There are number of staff on hand to talk through the various creatures and even pick some up to stroke!

He had lots of fun exploring the park, coming face to face with some beautiful and some not so beautiful creatures!

We even got to create some sea creatures of our own!

And got eaten by a Lego shark!

And then we got to enjoy all the fun of the fair!!

Then the boys decided that it was time for some water action at the splashpark!

We did the entire park comfortably in about 3 hours, but it was a quiet day.  We didn't take a picnic, although they have a lovely picnic area complete with deck chairs, sandpits and windbreaks, but decided that the restaurant at the park was too expensive, so we got our hands stamped (to allow re-entry) and nipped out to McDonalds for a bite to eat.

I like the fact that you can come and go as you please, as Lodmoor Park has a lot to offer with Go Carts and a giant slide for the kids, as well as a miniature train and Sandworld.

We did look at going to Sandworld but at £16 for a family ticket we decided to give it a miss!

We cam back to the park after lunch and revisited some of our favourite creatures, and enjoyed the fun of the fair some more.

With the exception of Eliza's unexpected dunking, we had a fabulous time and can't wait to go back again!