Days Out in Review – July to December 2016

We have had so many exciting adventures this year that I have had to split my round-up post into two sections.

You can read about our January to June highlights here and welcome to our adventures from July to December.

July 2016

With Sebby being a little older and at Nursery now, I have managed to attend some blogging events that I have only watched from afar and this year I attended my first ever Christmas in July event with Asda.

It was bizarre seeing Christmas decorations and food in the summer but it did give me some fantastic ideas for Christmas and open my eyes to things I would never have tried otherwise and I got to meet the lovely James Martin.

James Martin

This year we were Drayton Manor ambassadors and were invited up to see their new High Ropes course – Vertigo. Isaac was off straight away and hared around the course several time whilst I stayed and watched Eliza and Sebby who were on the Junior course.

VertiGO

The thrillseeking didn’t stop there as we were also invited to try out the new Dorset Waterpark which sits in the shadows of Corfe Castle. I don’t think I have ever heard so many squeals and giggles as they raced around the course, leaping into the water and flinging themselves down giant slides.

Dorset Waterpark

August 2016

We always look forward to Camp Bestival which has become a bit of a family tradition and this year was no exception. This was the best year yet for us, we stayed with Pitch Village which took the hassle of camping away and took part in activities that we had not tried before, with the Dingly Dell being our favourite haunt. We also enjoyed meeting the Tudors on Tour and crafting at Spinney Hollow.

Camp Bestival

We stuck to glamping with a visit to Crealy Meadows and stayed in a magnificent Castle tent that was like a real home from home. The facilities were brilliant and the kids had a brilliant time exploring Crealy Adventure Park.

Crealy Meadows

Regular readers of my blog will know that the kids attend regular swimming lessons as I believe it is a vital life skill to have. This year Isaac took part in a Swimsafe lesson in the sea to teach him water safety in open water.

Swimsafe

August also saw our second visit of the year to Thorpe Park where we learned to dance with Balance Unity from BGT fame,  stayed in the Shark Hotel and had the whole park to ourselves for a couple of hours.

Frubes

September 2016

Although the kids were back to school, the fun didn’t stop and we enjoyed an amazing #FitToDance session with Disney On Ice and Peter Andre.

Fit to Dance

We were disappointed to miss the Bournemouth Air Show this year, although we had the most amazing holiday aboard the Carnival Vista instead, however, we got our aeroplane fix at Duxford Air Show instead.

Duxford Air Show

One of our favourite local days out is Moors Valley Country Park and this year the Railway celebrated its 30th birthday and we were invited to celebrate at the 30th Birthday Gala.

Moors Valley Railway

October 2016

October saw us heading to London and we enjoyed a City Cruise along the Thames which took us to visit the Tower of London.

City Cruises

We enjoyed a weekend break in Cornwall at the Seaview Holiday Village which allowed us to explore the local area with visits to Looe, Springfields Fun Park, the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth and a Naval Harbour cruise of Plymouth Sound.

National Marine Aquarium

We stayed at home for half of October half term, however we enjoyed lots of fun days out including a visit to see the Etches Collection in Kimmeridge and then headed down to the beach to find our own fossils.

Etches Collection

Weymouth Sea Life Centre has been somewhere we have visited regularly this year thanks to our Merlin Annual passes and over Halloween they had their Spooky Seas exhibit which the kids loved.

Spooky Seas at Weymouth

We also enjoyed a fabulous day out at Marwell Wildlife where we got to see their new Wild Explorers enclosure.

For the second half of October half term we stayed at Potters Resort in Norfolk which was great fun. Whilst we were there we enjoyed a day out in Great Yarmouth and found our favourite day out of 2016 – BeWILDerwood. I just wish it was closer to home as we would be there every weekend!

Bewilderwood

November 2016

I have been unsuccessfully dropping hints to Hubby about buying me a helicopter flight over the Jurassic Coast for years, however Red Letter Days came to my rescue and send me up on a fantastic flight over some of my favourite Dorset beaches.

Helicopter

Ever since I organised BlogOn Winchester back in October 2015 I have been promising to take the kids to Winchester Science Centre so when I saw their Horrible Science event was on I just had to take them to visit.

Winchester Science Centre

After my Helicopter flight I really wanted to visit some of the beaches that I flew over and a weekend break at Harcombe House in Lyme Regis saw us do just that.

Lyme Regis

Hubby and I also enjoyed a Segway Tour of Upton Country Park.

Dorset Segway

November is also the month when Christmas days out start launching and we were invited to two. The first being Drayton Manor where we got to enjoy some magical snowfall and pose in giant Christmas decorations.

Drayton Manor

Our next visit was to the Winter Wonderland at Paultons Park where we partied with Billy the Elf, Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.

Paultons Park

December 2016

It was back to Weymouth Sea Life Centre for us to see Santa at their Magic of Christmas event.

Weymouth Sealife

The kids have been desperate to visit a Trampoline Park and we finally got round to booking a slot at Activate Trampoline Park locally.

Activate Trampoline Park

The week before Christmas was busy with a couple of eventful car journey’s. The first to London for Disney On Ice Frozen, where we were challenged with the road closure of the M3 on our way home in torrential rain.

Disney On Ice

The second was to Birmingham to see Marvel Universe Live, Superheroes Assemble which is perhaps one of the best live action shows we have ever seen with aerial stunts, flying, motorbikes, pyrotechnics and live action.

Spiderman

Our final day out of 2016 on the blog is our visit to the Bournemouth Wheel for a panoramic view over our home town. If you are local, I highly recommend you give it a go, but hurry as it leaves on 7th January.

Bournemouth Wheel

So there you have it, we have had some amazing days out over the last year and I look forward to sharing this years adventures!

 

A Magical Christmas Day Out at Drayton Manor

Finding a Christmas day out can be a bit of a minefield, especially when you have a large range of ages to keep happy.

We were invited to Drayton Manor, home of Thomas Land, for a magical Christmas experience and we were not disappointed.

This was our first visit to Drayton Manor at Christmas and they had completely transformed Thomas Land into a winter wonderland, complete with snow on the roofs, christmas decorations and characters wandering around to meet and greet the children.

drayton-manor

There was also guaranteed snowfall over the Island of Sodor which the kids were delighted with as we danced along with The Fat Controller and all his Fungineer friends during their show – even Abbey got dragged up to join in.

thomas-land

All the rides in Thomas Land were open and it was so quite we were literally walking onto each one without having to queue which meant the kids never got bored or cold.

Thomas Land

Thomas was decorated with fair lights and cute antlers and the train ride was decorated with Christmas scenes as you travelled from Knapford to Farmer McColl’s Farm.

The larger rides for teens are not open, however you can still visit the zoo, ride on Ben 10 Rollercoaster and experience the Polar Express in the 4D cinema.

Drayton Manor

We were booked in to see Father Christmas at 4pm and were surprised to find no queue at all. We were greeted at the door by a friendly elf who chatted to the children before letting us inside.

drayton-manor

You enter a large room with a stack of real toys in front of you with another elf explains that he has been making and are then ushered into a room to meet Father Christmas. Eagle eyed parents will notice there is more than one room but the kids were so transfixed by the toys that they didn’t notice.

I have to say that although the journey to see Father Christmas was a little uninspiring, the visit itself was fantastic. He engaged with the children, took a genuine interest in what they were saying and chatted to them for around 5 minutes.

drayton-manor-santa

Santa’s gift to them was a white paper bag which contained a golden ticket to return to Drayton Manor next year, a huge (and I mean HUGE) gold chocolate coin and a cuddly elf which they were instructed to look after and place on the window sill of their bedroom on Christmas Eve so he knew where to deliver their presents.

drayton-manor

If you are looking for an experience that lasts the whole day then this is for you. The park closes at 5pm and finishes with a fantastic Christmas parade and show and then fireworks over the lake.

Park entry plus a visit to see Father Christmas costs £12 for age 2-3, £17 for age 4-11 and £22 for age 12+ which is very reasonable considering everything they have on offer – find out more on the website: DraytonManor.co.uk

The Places We Will Go
VertiGO

All New VertiGO at Drayton Manor

Isaac is fast following his Dad and big brothers footsteps in becoming a bit of an adrenalin junkie, so when I told him that we were visiting the new High Ropes attraction at Drayton Manor he was very excited.

We set off from a beautifully sunny Bournemouth on Saturday morning full of excitement about what was to come, until just 15 minutes from Drayton Manor when the heavens literally opened. We feared torrential rain might scupper our plans, but thankfully after waiting the storm out for half an hour or so, the rain stopped and it was time to climb.

VertiGO is situated just down the hill from the theme park’s on-site hotel, and you don’t even need tickets to the park to be able to try it out. From afar the VertiGo High Rope Adventure looks like a giant climbing frame, only one where adults and children can climb safely whilst attached to a special harness. Unlike some high ropes courses there is no clipping on and clipping off making it a seamless experience

After watching a short safety video, those that were climbing were geared up in safety harnesses. Hubby and Isaac were taking the VertiGO challenge whereas Eliza and Sebastian were testing out VertiGO Tots, which allows younger climbers the chance to test their balance and agility on a low-level course. Hubby and Isaac were the first to go.

VertiGo

It is safe to say that Isaac has no fear! There are two levels to VertiGo, a lower and an upper level with various rope challenges and instead of gradually building up to the challenge but doing the lower level first, Isaac was straight up the top. They had 30 minutes to navigate the course at their leisure and they must have tried every single route in that time – no circuit is the same.

VertiGo

The zip wire was the firm favourite of the day though and they headed back to both the high one and low one time and time again.

Whilst the boys raced around the high ropes, it was my job to supervise the little ones on VertiGO Tots. Like Hubby and Isaac they were put in harnesses before being allowed onto the course which puts agility to the test with rope bridges and balance beams. We have done a similar course before at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and Eliza was off, zooming around without a care in the world.

Vertigo Tots

In fact Eliza tried to make it more interesting by swinging on the harness which isn’t allowed – I think she would have preferred the bigger course but she didn’t want to do it. Sebastian on the other hand was a little more cautious and demanded I hold his hand as he started off.

VertiGo Tots

The course is designed so that you can pop in and out and help your child as you go by lifting barriers, which is great for more cautious children like Sebby. Once he realised he couldn’t fall, he was off and although not running around like his sister, was happily tackling the rope bridges and walkways. He only lasted about 10 minutes though as he wasn’t keen on wearing the harness.

To do the VertiGo course children must be 1.2m (4ft) or taller to climb without adult supervision and those between 1m and 1.2m must be accompanied by a responsible paying adult and stay within arm’s length at all times. The maximum individual weight for VertiGo is 21 stone (136kg).

For VertiGo Tots children must be aged two and above and no taller than 1.2m (4ft). Participants must have a responsible adult with them.

Entry to VertiGO is not included in the price of an admission ticket to Drayton Manor and I recommend you buy your tickets online before your visit as it costs from £3 for VertiGO tots and from £5 for VertiGO.