Bikes

As easy is riding a bike!

We bought Eliza has bike for her 5th birthday, but she has always preferred her scooter as she found pedaling quite hard work, but last month she went back to her bike and has been asking us to take her stabilizers off.

I have to admit I doubted my ability as a bike trainer. I love riding a bike and used to cycle everywhere when I was younger, but when it came to teaching Isaac, I tried and failed. In fact we booked him on a course in the end and all it took was someone with a bit more patience than me to get him off and going.

We took the stabilizers off Eliza’s bike last weekend and had a bit of a practice outside the house which showed that Eliza had the potential but that she was, quite frankly, hopeless at steering, so this weekend we headed to Potterne Park in Dorset, which has nice wide pathways, perfect for those wobbly first rides.

It didn’t start well.

There were lots of “I can’t do it”, “I can’t steer” etc and me hanging onto the back seat clearly wasn’t working.

She kept turning the handlebars to the right so I moved my focus to the handlebars which kept her in a straight line. I must have been holding on to her for a good few hundred yards, correcting her balance and keeping her straight and could see her confidence rising.

Potterne Park

I let go!

She crashed, but got straight back on and tried again.

This happened a few times and then she was off!

She was a little wobbly, but she was going.

She was so confident by now that we continued along the path towards Moors Valley, which got narrower and she lost her balance right by a huge ditch and ploughed over the side. Thankfully there was no harm done, but we decided to ride back the way we came, have a break in the play park and then try again.

Potterne Park

She rode back to the park confidently, but it was her second attempt, after a play, that she really nailed it.

She got started herself, rode off with Isaac and didn’t stop. She must have ridden about half a mile, stopping only at the bridge to wait for me as instructed.

Potterne Park Cycling

Again we turned around and headed back, with her so confident that she kept up with Isaac and was waiting at the park for me, as Sebby had run out of steam on his scooter and needed a tow back.

Potterne Park Play

I wish we could have stayed out longer, but Isaac had a swimming lesson so we had to head home. She was straight back on her bike, however, and insisted on doing a few laps around the block at home though.

I feel like a mean Mummy as she wanted to ride her bike to school this morning and I said no, as it is really busy and she hasn’t mastered her brakes yet, but I am sure after a bit more practice, she will be riding to school too.

Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

Paw Patrol at Paultons Park

Meeting Chase, Marshall and Skye at Paultons Park

Sebastian turned 4 last week and like a lot of children his age, he loves watching the adventures of Chase and Marshall in Paw Patrol, so when I found out that they were visiting Paultons Park I knew that I had to take him along to meet them.

Paultons Park is one of the kids favourite days out. Home to Peppa Pig World and the Lost Kingdom it appeals to children from the age of 1 up to about 12 years with a mixture of stunning gardens, animals to see, gentle rides and slightly more thrilling ones for the more adventurous.

We were season pass holders for a few years and knew it was going to be busy as we timed our arrival time for opening time and people were already queuing to get in to the car park. With security threats top of the headlines at the moment, we also had to queue to have our bags searched before being allowed entry.

Once inside it was clear that everyone was heading to see their Paw Patrol heroes first so we took the opportunity to visit the dinosaurs in the Lost Kingdom first and got on every ride without having to queue.

Lost Kingdom

We have been trying to get Isaac on a rollercoaster for years with no success, but after finding his inner adrenalin junkie at Folly Farm a couple of weeks earlier he decided, after a little persuasion, to brave Flight of the Pterosaur with Daddy.

Lost Kingdom Paultons Park

He was a bit unsure at first, but he cracked it and then took Sebby on Dino Chase, before braving the larger rollercoaster again with me, whilst the little ones played in the park.

The Lost Kingdom PPW

By now the queue to see the Paw Patrol characters stretched past the splash park and all the way up to the gardens by the Cobra rollercoaster, where they were holding the meet and greet with Chase, Marshall and the children. We wandered up the queue to see exactly where it was being held and arrived just as Skye came out to say ‘Hello’ to the crowd who were waiting.

Skye

After seeing the size of the queue, we consoled ourself that at least Sebby had met Skye and headed off again with the promise of more rides in the park and Peppa Pig World.

Paultons Park

By now it was lunch time, so we headed to the Wild Forest restaurant, who serve a delicious range of hot and cold food, for a bite to eat and were surprised by how empty it was. Our food came out quickly and was freshly cooked and the best we have ever had at a theme park.

Wild Forest

Full to bursting, it was time to visit our old favourite of Peppa Pig World. Despite Isaac and Eliza being 9 and 6, they immediately reverted to being young again and couldn’t wait to start exploring, excitedly pointing out that they were building a new ride too.

Our longest queue of the day was for George’s Dinosaur ride, but it has always been a firm favourite as they bob along looking at all the characters. We then headed inside for some soft play fun when we heard them announce that the Paw Patrol queue was just half an hour long……..this was our chance.

If you know Paultons Park, we found the end of the queue adjacent to the log flume, so I joined it and sent Daddy off with the kids to enjoy some of the rides close by.

Paultons Park PPW

Sending the kids off with Daddy was a genius idea as the number of children bored in the queue was huge. Our half an hour predicted queue time was actually 75 minutes and mine were bored the instant they came back to wait with me and I am just glad that we hadn’t waited the 2+ hours that people had in the morning. In hindsight, I think they should have offered time slots like they do for their Winter Wonderland.

Paw Patrol

We got to pose for a few pictures and the staff offered to take some with our camera as well as having official ones taken which was a nice touch. You could buy an official photo before exiting through a marquee shop which was full to the brim with every Paw Patrol product you can think of.

Paultons Park

We had hoped to catch the new Summer Beach Party Show, but sadly due to the queue time we missed it. Running throughout the summer, you get to experience plenty of singing, dancing and exciting games with the brand new characters: Bruce the Lifeguard, Shelly the Turtle and Manta the Ray who appear alongside the entertainments crew and their brand new beach buggy, although we did get to meet them briefly when we headed home.

Summer Beach Party

We thoroughly enjoyed our day at Paultons Park despite the length of time we spent queuing to meet the Paw Patrol characters and loved their new gardens with all the topiary hedges and characters to admire. Of course we had to take our annual statue photo too!

Paw Patrol at Paultons Park

Tickets cost from £27.25 per person and children under 1m are free. With toddler friendly facilities all over the park, in my opinion, is the most family friendly park in the UK.

Have you been to Paultons Park before?

 

 

 

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