TRAVEL: What to Do on a Family Day Out in Birmingham

*Advertorial Content 

Birmingham attracts over 41 million visitors each year, is home to more canals than Venice and with 90% of the UK within 4 hours it is the ideal place to visit for a city break or family day out. There are so many different hotels in Birmingham that suit all budgets, families and ages, making it a city perfect for exploring. We recently spent a family day out discovering what the city has to offer a family with young children and we certainly weren't disappointed. After a lot of browsing the different options we settled on going to the Legoland Discovery Centre and Sea Life Centre, but other attractions that caught our eye were Thinktank, Birmingham Library, Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Cadbury World. 

PARENTHOOD: What to Expect at The Baby Show at the NEC in Birmingham

*Advertorial Content - Press Visit

When Isabella was only around 4 weeks old we went to our first The Baby Show at the NEC in Birmingham and after hours of wandering around, using all of the baby-friendly facilities and filling the pram with all of the goodies we went home feeling part of a much larger parenting network that was new to us back then. It opened our eyes as first time parents to the incredible world of babies and toddlers, along with the vast array of products there are out there to support the exciting journey throughout those early years. Fast forward four years and we are so excited to be expecting our third baby; although we certainly aren't 'new parents' anymore the world of babies is always evolving and changing.

DAY OUT: Discover The Falconer's Quest at Warwick Castle

*Advertorial Content - Press Trip

Warwick Castle is such a nostalgic place for me, as I used to walk past it on the way to secondary school for years. I spent most of my teenage years living in Warwick, so going back to visit Warwick Castle with Isabella and Poppy was so exciting. If you're not familiar with Warwick Castle then it is one of the very popular attractions within the Merlin Entertainments Group. Located in the heart of Warwick, a beautiful quaint town in the midlands, it's history stretches over 11 centuries and with £6 million spent on it's restoration in the past 10 years alone you can imagine how impressive it is to explore.

TOUR DE TRIKE: Exploring University of Leicester Botanic Gardens

Exploring the outdoors is one of our favourite things to do as a family because it keeps everyone happy. Isabella loves the freedom, Poppy enjoys watching the world go by and we are happy that the children are happy; that's life as a parent for you. Poppy has recently been trying a whole new mode of transport...the Perfect Fit 4-in-1 Trike from Little Tikes* (£89.99) for our family adventures. It's perfect for letting her see the world, while there are many practical features that make it a breeze to use from a parent's point of view. There's something so much more fun and novel about being pushed around in a Trike rather than a pushchair, which has therefore helped Poppy stay entertained during days out. Little Tikes have an impressive range of Tikes, so it is easy to find one that suits your needs, budget and child's age.

SUMMER: Taking Family Photographs at Cotswold Lavender

Despite having been to the Cotswolds many times throughout my life I had never heard of Cotswold Lavender before. It was only after I mentioned to a friend at work that I was heading to The Real Flower Confetti Co. Flower Field that they suggested visiting there too. Located just two miles away from the very popular Cotswold village of Broadway, Cotswold Lavender is the home to beautiful rolling lavender fields filled with many different varieties on offer to see. Not only are the so calming to walk around, but they are a photographers dream. The neat rows on rows of bright purple lavender make for a stunning photograph location for families, couples and children.

FAMILY: Exploring Bourton-on-the-Water and Daylesford Farm in the Cotswolds

Following on from my previous post about Bibury, we then drove around 20-25 minutes to visit Bourton-on-the-Water. Another popular and highly recommended village to visit within the Cotswolds, due to its beautiful bridges, quaint tearooms and tranquil river running through the middle. As with a lot of these smaller Cotswolds villages (though Bourton-on-the-Water is a lot bigger than Bibury), the parking spaces can be few and far between. We ended up parking in the larger car park next to Birdland and the Dragonfly Maze, which also has public toilets. Another thing worth noting if you're heading to the Cotswolds is that almost all of the public toilets we came across you had to pay 20p to use, so make sure you have change with you.

FAMILY: Exploring Bibury in the Cotswolds

The Cotswolds is well-known for being such a beautiful part of the English countryside with it's quaint villages, cosy cottages and rolling hills. Despite growing up just down the road from the Cotswolds I don't remember visiting very often and if we did it was to Cotswolds Wildlife Park. So, last weekend we decided to have a road trip and spend the day exploring the Cotswolds. Prior to visiting I looked around at some of the most recommended places to visit because if you've only got a day there then no time can be wasted thinking about where to go.

WINTER DAY OUT: Truly Stunning Scenery at The Elan Valley in Wales

During our recent mini break in Wales (see where we stayed here) we visited The Elan Valley, which is simply a place of pure beauty. Spread across 72 square miles, there are dams, reservoirs and historic landscapes to explore. We parked at the Elan Valley Visitor Centre to start our day out, as it's where the café is located and the perfect place to get up close to one of the dams. The café is pretty basic, serving hot drinks, jacket potatoes, sandwiches, pasties, soup etc., but has prime location overlooking the dam. There is also a large seating area next to the river outside, which would be such a beautiful spot to have a bite to eat in the spring/summer. There is also a gift shop, large children's play area and toilets within the visitor centre area.

FAMILY: 50 Things to do in the Midlands

Having lived in the Midlands for the whole of my life I've enjoyed many days out across the region in my time. Now that I have my own family we are constantly trying to think of places to visit and things to do at the weekends or during holidays. Below I've put together my top 50 things to do in the Midlands, many of which I can personally recommend as you can see by the photos dotted throughout. Let's get started... 

TODDLER: Tips for Embracing the Outdoors with #MamiaDaysOut

Exploring the outdoors with a child in tow has to be one of the best ways to spend a day. Enabling them to discover the world around them, burn off some of their endless energy and all for free! What's not to like? Believe it or not prior to Isabella I used to think I loved the outdoor, but when it came to it I would much prefer to cosy up with a cup of tea inside. That all changed when Isabella was born, the outdoors has become my favourite place to be and somewhere we spend most of our time.

DAY OUT: Running free, watching meerkats and collecting pebbles at Castle Ashby

A few weekends ago we ventured over to Castle Ashby, the ancestral home of the 7th Marquess of Northampton. The beautiful house is set in the heart of a 10,000 acre estate, with 35 acres of stunning gardens so as you can imagine there's lot of space to explore. There are romantic Italian gardens, a unique Orangery and impressive Arboretum to discover, with plenty of sensory experiences a long the way. The gardens are open 365 days a year, which I feel is pretty rare with older houses. During the winter time you only have to pay £4 for parking because the toilets, gift shop and café are all closed. However you could always take your own picnic and enjoy a vast amount of beautiful space for a very affordable price.

DITL: Conkers, family day and rare DVD time together

I have another 'day in the life' style post for you today - this day involved making breakfast together, having some very rare DVD time together and a family day out at Conkers. On the weekend we usually try to have one day sorting stuff out at home/going food shopping/not going too far from home and the other day we'll do something fun as a family, which may involve travelling a bit further away. It's always hard to try and get the balance right between jobs that need doing around the house and having quality family time, we're constantly trying perfecting this.

FAMILY HOLIDAY: Day Out in Brighton

 

 Brighton has been somewhere I've wanted to properly visit since looking around the university there back in 2008. I actually applied to Brighton University, but ended up going to Durham - talk about other ends of the country! There just seemed to be so much to discover in Brighton and the combination of sea/beach/shopping is perfect. 

DAY OUT: Family walk at Rutland Water

 

There's nothing quite like getting wrapped up warm and embracing the cold winter weather outside. I was never one to particularly enjoy going for walks, but since having Isabella it's one of my favourite things to do as a family. It's free, refreshing, encourages Isabella to discover the world around us and gets us away from technology for an hour or two. Bliss.

DAY OUT: A trip down university memory lane...

Back at the end of February Tom took me away for my birthday (a bit early, as the weeks were quickly flying by towards my due date). I had no idea where we were going, oh I do love a good surprise! As soon as I noticed we were heading North, my geography isn't the best, I knew exactly where we were heading - Durham. Tom and I met at Durham University, so it holds a special place in our hearts. We had wanted to have a reminiscing trip before we got married last August, but time ran away and we just didn't have time. With our imminent daughters arrival I had really wanted to visit Durham again and all of the places we had spent days out while we were at university. 

On the way up to Durham we nipped into York, I love it there! The shops are amazing and it's such a beautiful city. Thanks to being heavily pregnant I couldn't wander around for as long as we usually would like to, but after having a tasty lunch we got back on the road to head further North. We also went to Yarm (the cutest town/village) where we went to one of our favourite restaurants when we were at university- Starters. The concept is pretty self explanatory - all they serve is delicious starters! Wheb we arrived in Durham we pulled in at the Radisson Blu Hotel on the riverside. We stayed there the day I graduated all those years ago, so it's somewhere special to us. 

The next day we headed to Seaham, a small seaside town which has the most fantastic ice cream parlour called Lickty Split. I used to get the train with my university friends there, as it was one of the nearest beaches. We headed back to the hotel around lunch time, where I had a much needed nap! Then Tom announced we needed to go down to the foyer, I was so confused - until I saw one of our best friends from university! Then another two of our best friends appeared! It was so lovely that they had made the effort to come to Durham for my birthday and it also meant we could spend some quality time together before our baby arrives. We wandered around Durham, had long catch ups and then went out for dinner at a small restaurant called Spags. It's a firm favourite with students because the portions are big and it's relatively cheap. 

 

I had such a lovely time reminiscing and will treasure those memories forever. 

Do you like going back to special places for a good old reminisce? 

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

DAY OUT: A Freezing Cold Day In The Capital

Not too long ago Tom and I made the trip down to London for the day, which was a rare treat. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with London - I love everything that you can visit/see/do but the sheer volume of people can be overwhelming sometimes. We visited quieter places this time, which was lovely but did break that rule with a trip to Borough Market. That place is incredible.

London through my lens...

Where are your favourite places to visit in London?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x