days out with kids

Pecorama

A Short Break in East Devon

I have been suggesting for a long time that our school bolts its teacher training days around a half term holiday so we can enjoy an extended break and over May half-term I got my wish.

By the time the kids go back to school on Thursday they would have had two weeks off and we have been busy with lots of days out, including a short break to Andrewshayes Holiday Park in Devon.

The family run park is situated just off the A35 in Axminster and is close to the popular seaside resorts of Lyme Regis, Charmouth and Seaton, making it the perfect base to explore both Dorset and East Devon.

We stayed in a 3 bedroom static caravan, although they also offer pitches, an area for motorhomes and camping pods. The caravan, which sleeps 6, is the nicest we have ever stayed in. It had a well equipped kitchen, a comfortable lounge and dining area, bathroom, 2 bedrooms with 2 single beds in each, a master bedroom with a double bed and en suite toilet and a decking area outside with a patio set.

Andrewshayes Holiday Park

It was the onsite facilities that really sold it to us. They have a large shaded play area, a large heated swimming pool, small toddler soft play room, games room, a field for ball games, nature trail, a shop and the Ploughman’s Bar and take-away.

Andrewshayes Holiday Park Axminster

The kids would have stayed in the pool all day given half the chance, but the caravan also came with a comprehensive list of days out to suit all ages and I also had a place on my list that I really wanted to visit – Pecorama.

Pecorama

You can read my full review of Pecorama here, but it is a great place to visit with or without kids and we spent the whole day there. It sits above the village of Beer and offers stunning views over Lyme Bay below. It is the perfect day out for railway enthusiasts, garden lovers and families and features manicured lawns and stunning flower beds, model railways, 4 play parks, crazy golf, indoor soft play and the Beer Heights Light Railway.

The following day we visited Wildwood Escot which is based in Ottery St Mary and is home to a wonderful collection of native and formerly native wildlife, a fascinating Saxon village, a rather tricky beech hedge maze and lots of woodland paths to explore.

Wildwood Escot

Because it wasn’t the weekend or school holidays we didn’t get to see the Bird of Prey display, but we did get to see the red squirrel talk which was fascinating and one of the squirrels, Bramble, came over to collect some nuts and say hello.

Wildwood Escot DevonThe kids were fascinated by the Saxon village and seeing how people once lived and of course we got lost in the maze. There is also a pirate ship play park for them to let of steam and a rather scary death slide that they were not quite brave enough to try!!

Our final port of call for our break was recommended by my Dad who lives locally, the Axe Valley Wildlife Park. It is a small and friendly zoo recommended for under 12’s which offers wildlife encounters, animal feeds and keeper talks to its visitors.

Axe Valley Wildlife Park

My Dad and his wife had been there before and raved about the animal encounters, but sadly with it not being half term the lady that did them was on holiday. We did get to see the Lemurs being fed and enjoyed wandering around the park, playing on the equipment and spotting the animals.

Axe Valley Wildlife Park Devon

We had a lovely time exploring some of what East Devon has to offer visitors and visiting my Dad and hope to be back very soon.

Kenilworth Castle

Exploring Kenilworth Castle with the Kids

Since visiting Scotland and some of its magnificent castles back in February, we have got a real thirst for history.

Visiting castles with children is lots of fun, not only do you get to pretend you are knights of the realm, or a real life princess, you can climb the ramparts, investigate the history of the castle, or simply take in the atmosphere. Most of the castles we have visited also have some of THE best hills for rolling down too!!

Over the weekend we were on a Stay, Play, Explore break in Leicestershire and were invited by English Heritage and Mumsnet.com to visit Kenilworth Castle which is located in the town of the Kenilworth, a short drive away in Warwickshire.

Kenilworth Castle was constructed from Norman through to Tudor times and offers a real “WOW” factor as it comes into view.

You enter the castle from a long track which is where they used to have jousting tournaments – cue some galloping children upon their imaginary horses racing up and down the track. Once inside the grounds there are many different parts of the castle to explore and the kids radiated towards the old Tudor stable block where they pretended to be put in jail.

Kenilworth Castle

Kenilworth Castle has been linked with some of the most important names in English history and was a favoured residence of the Lancastrian kings. Today, with its Elizabethan gardens, its impressive Norman ‘keep’ and John of Gaunt’s Great Hall, it is the largest castle ruin in England, perfect for exploring.

Kenilworth Castle

The castle is sat on top of a large hill, perfect for rolling down and the kids made the most of the dry and sunny weather by rolling from the top to the bottom. The castle grounds are accessible for buggy’s and wheelchairs but if you want to explore the ruins, there are a lot of stairs to navigate – some modern wooden stairs with viewing platforms and some fun original stone spiral staircases so be prepared for some climbing.

Kenilworth Castle

There were lots of information plaques dotted around, explaining which part of the castle you were in, or looking at and giving you information about events that happened in the castle. Isaac especially enjoyed finding out all about what happened in the castle whereas Eliza and Sebby were content finding all the nooks and cranny’s and seeing where they could make their voices echo.

Kenilworth Castle

One of the castle’s most famous periods was the 16th century and Elizabeth I visited several times. In 1575 her and her entourage were lavishly entertained for three weeks with pageants, music, dancing, fireworks, hunting and feasting and there is a fabulous display of paintings and information about the event in Leicester’s Gatehouse.

Kenilworth Castle

Kenilworth Castle is also home to the Elizabethan Gardens, a recreation of the garden built by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, for Elizabeth I’s visit in 1575. It is a stunning garden and I can only imagine what it would look like in the summer when all the flowers are in bloom.

Elizabethan Gardens

On our visit to Scotland we were intrigued by tales of the Civil War and here we discovered that Kenilworth was taken by the Parliamentarian army in the opening month of it. Although the castle didn’t see much action, the army wanted to make the castle untenable and so the north wall of the keep was destroyed and the outer curtain wall beyond breached. In the years after the Civil war the mere, that once surrounded the castle, was drained, trees were felled, and interiors stripped out and sold, leading to further destruction of the castle.

Kenilworth Castle

Visiting castles with kids opens up their imaginations and during Easter, English Heritage will be running a series of Easter Adventure Quests across the country, where families can meet a costumed character, solve clues and win chocolate rewards.

I really would recommend visiting an English Heritage property as a fun family day out and you can read about our visit to Bolsover Castle here.

I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity. I have received a voucher in return for writing this post.

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