Monday, May 28, 2018

A Blackpool Day trip


Blackpool, some people love it and some people hate it.  And I totally understand why. There are some run down parts which are not appealing to the eye and there is definitely a stigma attached too.  Despite this Blackpool is a traditional British Holiday resort and it is easy to see why so many of us flock here each year. Ice creams, Candy-floss, the beach, Fish and chips, arcades, rides, donkeys - what more could you ask for!

The husband and I hadn't been Blackpool since we were kids ,but thought that we would take full advantage of our Merlin Passes and head to Blackpool for the day.  And just like we use to do when we were kids, the first one to spot the Tower won. 


We arrived in Blackpool at around 9.50am and decided to park behind the Coral Island Amusements for the day costing us £12 for 12 hours which we though was reasonable seen as it was a pretty good location.  

With our Merlin passes it entitled us to free entry to the Dungeons, Blackpool Tower, Blackpool Circus, Jungle Jims, Blackpool Ballroom, Sealife Centre and Madame Tussauds.  Not wanting to cram too much into one day we decided to leave the dungeons, Jungle Jims and the Ballroom for another time.  

We had read online that it was essential to book the circus in the morning so we headed there straight away for opening at 10.00am. We booked our tickets for the 4.00pm show and upgraded to front row seats which included pop corn and a drink.  

We then decided to explore the other sites.  



Our first stop was Madame Tussauds and there were no queues on entry - even inside was pretty quite. We took our time explore the wax figures, reading about the different stars. Titch loved having his photograph taken with different Wax figures especially some of his favourite Marvel characters.  We had a drink in the Rovers half way around and then continued through to the end. I would say we spent about 1.5hours inside but could have spent longer in some parts. As it was pretty quite we managed to get photos with many different wax figures and take part in some of the interactive games. The only downside to Madame Tussauds is the photographs. Now whilst they maybe a great souvenir it can become expensive if you choose to buy them seen as we were stoped at least 5 times throughout the tour.  My advice would be that if you don't intend to buy them then be polite and say no thank you when they ask you to have them done. 


After visiting Madame Tussauds we moved next door to the Sea life centre, and I have to say that we were all really impressed by it. We spent just over an hour in here but missed some of the talks as it was lunch and we were all getting hungry.  the saline centre was spacious and had lots of interactive sections including Touching a Starfish.  Titch and his friend enjoyed stamping their books and receiving pop badges at the end.  The staff inside were friendly and informative and did not mind spending a few minute or so answering our questions.  This is definitely a place that we would revisit.  

For lunch we decided against taking a picnic and inside set our sights on chips from the promenade.
Lunch cost around £10 for 4 meals and 4 drinks - which we thought was reasonable considering we were on the fronts.

I had to order the chips in a bucket and this is how they came, in their own little bucket with a spade.





After lunch we still had some time to spare before the circus so we decided to go up Blackpool Tower, which made me slightly nervous.  Before you go up there is a 4d experience that we thoughts was great and then you are escorted to the lifts that take you up to the top.  These made me a little nervous but the view going up was spectacular.



At the top there is an inside viewing platform with a glass floor. Titch and the Husband were straight onto it; I, however was a little more scared and it took em awhile to step on- it was a long way down.

You then had the option to climb up more steps on the outside.  I did manage another two floors but did not go to the top.


Although a little scared at first, I really enjoyed the experience and would probably now do it again.

By the time that we had come down it was time to head to the circus. I was unsure what to expect so did not have any pre thoughts on how good it was going to be. But honestly it was Fab! We laughed and clapped along like we were kids again.  We were having such a good time that I even forget to take any photos - it only means we need to go again. The circus was a great way to end the day and our time in Blackpool.

Would we go again..? definitely! We all had such a good day and made lots of memories - including an incident with a Seagull stealing a donut out of Titch's friend's hand!
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Sunday, May 20, 2018

Warwick Castle - In the Summer


As mentioned previously in our first post about being Merlin pass holder we decided to head back to Warwick Castle in the Summer hopefully getting more opportunity to explore the grounds of the castle.  Each year, during the summer months, Warwick bring back their live show ' War of the Roses' and being Merlin pass holders we were luck to acquire tickets for the preview show.

So we headed off the Warwick castle.  Knowing that we would be spending most of the day there we left a little later than normal, so when we arrived we had to park on the over flow car park which is about 20 minutes walk from the Castle.

Warwick castle has lots to offer including The dungeons, The Princess Tower, The Castle itself,  A maze, Archery (payable), Knights school and then the Bird show, the Bowman and the trebuchet.  The shows are allocated times throughout the day with most having at least 2 slots.

This time we were keen to watch both Birds shows, as they use different birds, the War of the roses and the trebuchet - as we had not seen this last time.


We queued up for the War of the Roses show and shortly were escorted towards the Jousting Arena where we had to choose red or white ( York or Lancaster).


We chose to support the Red and took our places in the Arena. From the start through to the end it was amazing.  The performance was truly memorable. Titch didn't move or speak for the whole show which is an achievement and must have meant that he was enjoying it.  The actors tell the tale of the War of the Roses with gusto and the audience were encouraged to be involved - especially with the booing!

The show was full of action, heroes and villains and was a great way to learn a bit of history.


After a walk around the gardens taking a few snaps we sat on the grass in the sun and watched The Might Trebuchet.  A great way to end the day.

Once again this visit to Warwick castle did not disappoint us. And, although we have now been twice, we will definitely be going again.


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Sunday, May 13, 2018

An evening at the park

We often find it difficult to find something to do in the late afternoon once the Husband has finished work.  We love getting out and about and although we live near to the canal there are only so many times you can walk up and down it.

Parks are great places for kids and adults alike to blow off the cobwebs and get outdoors.  We often search for different parks to visit that offer us all a bit of something.  This time we decided to try Brampton park.  Titch had been many times before with his nan , but we had not taken him so it was a great opportunity for us all, including the dog, to get out before Tea time.


Brampton park is perfect for a Sunny evening.  You can walk around admiring the views, or climb a few trees.  Even the Husband got involved this time.


There is a sensory garden and an aviary to explore.  Brampton Park also has a Childhood Museum which is open in the day time, but has we went late afternoon it was closed.  
The park also has a small steam train. This is free to use, but donations are welcome.  


Titch and Dad loved it. 

The Brampton also has a small park, with sings, slides, climbing equipment and seesaws - of which nan couldn't resist joining in on.  There is also a small shop where you can buy drinks and ice-cream and on a wet day a small indoor play centre called Cheeky Monkeys.  


If you are looking for a safe family park I would definitely recommend here.  

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Monday, May 7, 2018

Legoland - Star Wars Weekend

The boys in my house are avid Star Wars fans, and being Merlin Passholders when we saw the Star Wars weekend at Legoland advertise we thought why not.


Prior to going I had done my research on the Merlin Passholders Facebook page so knew what to expect.  We arrived early around 9 after a 2.5hr drive.  The rides themselves do not open until 10, so we knew we had a bit of a wait.  Miniland, however, is open from 930 so we took this opportunity to explore a bit of Mainland on the way to queue to get into the ride part of the park.  



Being a Star Wars themed weekend we expected it to be busy but not this busy.  finally at 10 the gates opened and people stampeded their way through the crowds to join the queues for the rides they wanted.  

We decided to head over the Lego Ninjago ride as this is the one that we had heard good reviews about.  Although the queue time said 20 minutes, which we thought was good, it took are 50 minutes from the start of the queue until we got to go on the ride.  The ride is not what I imagined.  It is a 4D experience ride.  The husband, Titch and Titch's friend all loved it.  For me, it was ok but I would not queue up for it again in a hurry.  

After here we decided to head to other rides with relative short queue times - less than 1 hour: Spinning Spiders, Dragons Apprentice, Vikings River Splash and Destiny's Bounty.  By the time we had done all of these it was around 2 and we were all ready for our picnic lunch so we headed over to the Duplo Valley and found some grass to sit and eat on.  Whilst we ate we checked the ride times for the afternoon and the kids weren't too fussed about going on them as the queues were long and it was an extremely hot day, so instead they voted to play in the Splash Area as luckily we had brought swimwear with us.  


I have to say I think this was the best part of the whole day.  They were in there for two hours in freezing cold water but had a thoroughly good time.  After getting dry the kids then wanted to look more around Miniland and look in the shops which suited us fine.  



Considering it was a Star Wars weekend we didn't do many Star Wars themed activities except watch the parade which was great for Titch and he got to have his photograph taken with many characters from the films.  

For our first visit to Legoland we all had a great time in some way.  The only downside to the whole day is the complete lack of refreshment stalls.  Most were closed and in the ones that were open the queues were 20 minutes long and the staff were extremely rude and unhelpful.  I don't think this will put us off going again but maybe we will take a few extra drinks next time.  
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