An Autumn Break

This week we decide to book ourselves a holiday in the U.K for 4 nights - but this time with the dog in tow. never before had we taken the dog with us so this was a new experience for us.  Now one thing to bare in mind is that although our Huffy is loveable and cute, when he is in the company of another dog he is a nightmare. Whether he is scared or being territorial we are unsure, so we knew this was going to be an interesting break.  We wanted somewhere that would offer us opportunities for days out with the dog and, if it rained, accommodation that we could stay in during the day, so we finally chose a Log Lodge in Gloucester. It was an ideal location as it was not too far from the Cotswolds and was next to the Forest of Dean.

The journey down was relatively peaceful and surprisingly the dog enjoyed sleeping most of the way - except when we went around roundabouts.

When we arrive we were greeted by the owner who showed us around the lodge and gave us all the relative information. The lodge of beautiful. There was nothing on the site other than lodges and a small walking area for the dog. Inside the lodge it was clean and spacious and definitely perfect for a 4 night stay.

Over the week we wanted to get out as much as possible.  Taking Huffy with us we needed to find places that were dog friendly.  The first place we visited was a National Trust - Croome in Worcester. We obviously couldn't go into the house but the grounds were open to dog walkers.  It was spacious and lots of different walking routes and , although it rained a bit, was a great few hours out.

The next day the weather was a beautiful Autumn crisp day, so we decided to head to the Forest of Dean to Symonds Yat. After a few wrong turns and scary up hill drives we managed to find a place to park and went exploring.

The Forest of dean was beautiful and Symonds Yat offered stunning views of the Wye Valley.

On the Thursday we decide to take a drive to the Cotswolds and headed to another National Trust place Woodchester Park.  It was quite scary on the drive up as the fog descended on us and this was the view of the Cotswolds that we had.

We did finally arrive and it rained non stopped.  This did not dampen our spirits. After a good walk around we ventured back to the car for a picnic after cleaning the dog with baby wipes!

Huffy enjoyed the mud and so did we.


After getting back he slept, actually we all did.

Titch enjoyed himself so much that he decided he wanted to draw a picture of the Lodge to remember his holiday.

The British weather was not on our side, but we had an amazing week.  We laughed, spent time together. played board games, and just had fun.  Holidays are what you make of them and no matter the weather you can still get out and about - even if you do end up covered in mud.

Back in Time

We are quite lucky that Titch still enjoys days out with us and learning knew things.  We are all interested in History so took the opportunity to go back in time to the Victorians and visit Blists Hill Victorian Town.  Blists Hill is part fo the Ironbridge Gorge Museum trust and ,like many place now, they sell Annual Passport Tickets. For a family of 3 is cost us £66.50 of which may seem a little steep at first but you do get 9 other attractions for a year within that price.  You can buy individual ticket , but as we like to get out and about we thought it would be worth it for the year ticket.

From the moment that you enter you are transported back in time and you are able to exchange your money into Victorian coins. Titch enjoyed this and was fascinated by the old money.  We then explored the town, where there were opportunities to talk to staff, purchase goods and interact with actors - such as the teacher and police man.  All staff are dressed in costume which really adds the the real life experience and they were really engaging with the children and adults.

For lunch there is a fish and chip shop which was surprisingly quite.  We paid with our Victorian money and then sat in the pub court yard to eat them.  They are fried in beef dripping so my husband was delighted with the taste of these and , of course, were love by Titch too.

The is loads to see and do at Blists Hill, including shops, workshops, mills, a school, Victorian games and of course and Carousel.  Some parts are not always open , but there is still plenty to do and see.


When we asked Titch what he enjoyed the most he said the Sweet shop and the chips - why am I not surprised?

Blists Hill is a living museum and this is something that definitely interested our boy. It offered hands on learning and experiences that children need in order to fully understand what life was like.  So not only did we have a great day spending time as a family but we also learned a lot too.

'The un-stately home'

As I have previously mentioned this year we become members of the National Trust, so wanting to get the most out of them we decided to take my Dad and his partner out for the day to Calke Abbey.

It is often difficult choosing places that we all would like to go,  so we often look for events that are on that Titch would enjoy.  This time its was 'Apple Day,' and anything to do with food would interest him.  We also had read the reviews and descriptions on the National trust web site and seemed an interesting place to visit, especially being called 'Un-stately.'

As with most National trust places the grounds were superb and got a thumbs up from Titch due to the fact the the trees made good climbing ones- it really isn't hard to please my child.

Entrance into the house was timed so we took the opportunity before our time slot to explore the grounds and visit the ' Apple day' activities.

We had the opportunity to taste and buy the different varieties of Apples that are grown on the grounds and Titch made himself an apple spiral of which he was extremely proud of.

By the time we had done all of these, it was time to visit the house.  It was definitely different to the other places we had visited and it is understandable why it is called the 'Un-stately home'.  And a word of warning, if you don't like Taxidermy do not go - the house is full of it.

Titch though did enjoy waling through the cellars and paths under the house.

This time we didn't take a picnic with us so we ate in the Cafe in the stables. The food was reasonably priced and tasty too.

All in all a great Autumn day out.