Morecambe Bay holiday
On Saturday we packed up David's car, set up Alex's DVD player and left with a happy boy. We Mum and Dad at Kirby Stephen railway. It was OK, but not running, their was a teenage lad there who was all about railways and he and Alex hit it off. Unfotunately this now means Alex knows all the controls of a diesel! When he started on his spiel I told him we were from the NYMR so he could assume a certain level of railway knowledge, and he shrugged and said "well, you've got to start somewhere!" Alex enjoyed himself even though there were no trains running, and they even produced a toy box for him. Both of us were happy with a Thomas bowl and plate for £2.50. We left there and headed to the holiday cottage. It was a nice big house, in the farm yard, with a loco visible in the distance! After unpacking we headed to Fleetwood beach, Alex had fun then we found a nice fountain to clean him up in and got some cheap but mediocre fish and chips. Shame really, as it was hake and I had high hopes for it.
On Sunday we went to the Ribble railway centre. It was good, with friendly staff and toy filled play areas, locos and guard vans you could climb on and an indoor miniature railway. There was also a hug pile of coal in the car park, but we managed to keep him out of it!
We then went to a narrow gauge railway, which was a bit dull but OK for a picnic lunch. We did the shopping and met the boys at the Knott End cafe, and Simon took Alex for a play in the mud of Morecambe bay. There was some sand, but not much!
Monday we went to Carnforth, looked round the station, and the on to Cartmel. We had tea & walk round. The cheese shop Mum wanted to go to was closed, but the brewery wasn't, so Simon was happy! We then went to the Lakeside & Haverthwaite railway. It had steam engines and big new play ground, so Alex was happy. After that we headed to Stott Park bobbin mill. It was on a nice woodland site, so Mum and I wandered round with Alex outside while the boys took a tour. David, Stephen and Simon came home via a different route, and Dad got quite cross that they'd done something interesting on the way home and he'd missed out as he was back early with Alex, Mum and I to sort out dinner. He really went off on one, while Mum and I pointed out that yes we were pretty much having two separate holidays, but it happened every year and he never noticed as it only affected Mum, Lib and I! Mum and I tried not to laugh too loudly while he railed at the others.
On Tuesday we went to the La'al Ratty. Dad, Mum and I drove so we could go to Muncaster Castle. There is a nice playground at the Ravenglass end, so we had a cup of tea while Alex played and we waited for the other to arrive on Network Rail. I did have to persuade the others we weren't going in an open carriage with no doors, as Alex was in argumentative and bouncy mood! Its a nice journey, mainly through woods full of wildflowers. We found lunch and another playground at Dalegarth, then Mum and I took Alex to Muncaster and left the boys to play. They spend all day riding on the railway, and Simon wonders why we didn't want to join them! Muncaster was good, with massive grounds, a big playground, and the Meadowvole Maze, even if Alex was a bit cautious in parts of it! Meet the birds was also good, but we only got through 2 until Alex was so fidgety we gave up. He was quite interested in spotting the owls in the World Owl Trust Aviaries. A lot of money has been spent on that place since I was last there, and the aviaries are pretty good now. The Heron feeding was not as good as I remembered from last time, there seemed to be a lot less birds and there was no talk or display, they just tossed the chicks out on the grass and left.
Mum and I drove Alex back to the cottage, got him fed and sorted and the boys rolled in eventually.
Wednesday we went to Blackpool. When we got on the tram Simon revealed the plan was to ride to the end and back, so Mum and I got off by the Pier and took Alex on to the beach. We tried to take him to the sea life centre, but he didn't want to leave the beach, or ride on the donkeys. His birthday, his choice! He had a fun hour then the others joined us again and we went to the far end of the trams, took the Fleetwood ferry, froze at Knott End for 30 minutes, then got the ferry and tram back. Mum, Alex and I got off left the boys to ride again. We went back to holiday cottage. We put him in the bath, and were trying to persuade him to pull the plug out, saying "Maybe your boat or your duck could pull the chain?" and he replied "Or maybe not!". Cute.
Thursday was spent on the East Lancs railway. There was a museum which was quite good with some interactive bits, enough to keep a 3 year old interested for a short while!
We then went on to an old Mill, which was OK if you like old knitting machinery! Alex was happy to dash round it, and Simon took him out to play while we watched the demos of felting on an industrial scale. He charmed all the staff too, so he was happy and pampered.
On Friday we went to Morecambe. Mum and I took Alex on the beach, which is a thin strip of sand and a lot of mud! Much improved when the tide came in. The boys had a walk round then came back, and Mum and I left them all on the beach and went off for an Alex free coffee and a bit of shopping. Socks and t-shirts to replace Alex's wet ones, very exciting! We thenw ent back to Cartmel so Mum could spend £40 on cheese! We promised Alex an ice cream and a playground, so when we couldn't find one Alex had a bit of a melt down and Simon was a total bastard to him. Poor boy has had a week totally out of routine, being dragged round all over the place, it was amazing hes been so good. Simon has been spending too much time with Stephen and David, and was out of Alex mode. Mum, Dad and I found a playground and abandoned the others. Simon wasn't happy, but Alex was! We came back via an old mill and a garden centre, where we found some good cakes!
We packed up on Saturday morning, said goodbye to our hosts and the pigs, dogs, chickens, ponies, goats and rhea that had made Alex's week so great, and came back via the Pendle Hills. We stopped for a cup of tea in Newchurch at Witches Galore, which was tacky as hell, great fun! We then stopped at the heritage centre in Barrowford, and took a look at the exhibition while Simon took Alex to the playground. It was interesting, but there wasn't much on the witches. We stopped at the Embsay and Bolton Abbey railway on the way home. It is tiny, but it has a tat shop we managed to get Alex some good toys in, so he was happy. We then headed home the long way round as there was a road closure, and got back to York at 6:30 after a long drive. Lucky we had the DVD player! We had fish and chips and put Alex to bed in the car, then drove down to the station.
Sunday was Womble erection day. We put up the big marquee, then really struggled with the beer tent! It didn't help that Dad and I thought we were erecting the other tent. When it was eventually erected we have marked it all very carefully to avoid the same problem next time. Alex loves Marquee erecting, all the running around, moving lots of little things and big hammers!
On Monday I had to cancel everything as Alex had a temperature and wasn't well. I think it was just exhaustion after the holiday, but a quiet day at home and a bit of calpol seemed to do the trick. When Simon got back we headed off to ASDA to stock up for 60s weekend.
Tuesday was Earwigs, so after a quiet morning we were running around with the other kids, then on to the library to get his 3rd book start set. Not really worth the effort, but I got to catch up with the children's centre staff.
Ruth came over on Tuesday evening and we had a nice catch up. She bought Alex a new digger that he has has been sleeping with!
Wednesday Alex was back at Ladybirds and we spent the afternoon in the garden. I had to do an ironing marathon in the morning as it was raining. I made it to aerobics in the evening, and I could tell I'd missed 3 weeks, back to square one for me! It was so hot, and really hard work.
Today we've been busy at home. Hannah and Oscar had to cancel on us, so we've been playing with salt, ice blocks and food colouring, and making cakes.
On Sunday we went to the Ribble railway centre. It was good, with friendly staff and toy filled play areas, locos and guard vans you could climb on and an indoor miniature railway. There was also a hug pile of coal in the car park, but we managed to keep him out of it!
We then went to a narrow gauge railway, which was a bit dull but OK for a picnic lunch. We did the shopping and met the boys at the Knott End cafe, and Simon took Alex for a play in the mud of Morecambe bay. There was some sand, but not much!
Monday we went to Carnforth, looked round the station, and the on to Cartmel. We had tea & walk round. The cheese shop Mum wanted to go to was closed, but the brewery wasn't, so Simon was happy! We then went to the Lakeside & Haverthwaite railway. It had steam engines and big new play ground, so Alex was happy. After that we headed to Stott Park bobbin mill. It was on a nice woodland site, so Mum and I wandered round with Alex outside while the boys took a tour. David, Stephen and Simon came home via a different route, and Dad got quite cross that they'd done something interesting on the way home and he'd missed out as he was back early with Alex, Mum and I to sort out dinner. He really went off on one, while Mum and I pointed out that yes we were pretty much having two separate holidays, but it happened every year and he never noticed as it only affected Mum, Lib and I! Mum and I tried not to laugh too loudly while he railed at the others.
On Tuesday we went to the La'al Ratty. Dad, Mum and I drove so we could go to Muncaster Castle. There is a nice playground at the Ravenglass end, so we had a cup of tea while Alex played and we waited for the other to arrive on Network Rail. I did have to persuade the others we weren't going in an open carriage with no doors, as Alex was in argumentative and bouncy mood! Its a nice journey, mainly through woods full of wildflowers. We found lunch and another playground at Dalegarth, then Mum and I took Alex to Muncaster and left the boys to play. They spend all day riding on the railway, and Simon wonders why we didn't want to join them! Muncaster was good, with massive grounds, a big playground, and the Meadowvole Maze, even if Alex was a bit cautious in parts of it! Meet the birds was also good, but we only got through 2 until Alex was so fidgety we gave up. He was quite interested in spotting the owls in the World Owl Trust Aviaries. A lot of money has been spent on that place since I was last there, and the aviaries are pretty good now. The Heron feeding was not as good as I remembered from last time, there seemed to be a lot less birds and there was no talk or display, they just tossed the chicks out on the grass and left.
Mum and I drove Alex back to the cottage, got him fed and sorted and the boys rolled in eventually.
Wednesday we went to Blackpool. When we got on the tram Simon revealed the plan was to ride to the end and back, so Mum and I got off by the Pier and took Alex on to the beach. We tried to take him to the sea life centre, but he didn't want to leave the beach, or ride on the donkeys. His birthday, his choice! He had a fun hour then the others joined us again and we went to the far end of the trams, took the Fleetwood ferry, froze at Knott End for 30 minutes, then got the ferry and tram back. Mum, Alex and I got off left the boys to ride again. We went back to holiday cottage. We put him in the bath, and were trying to persuade him to pull the plug out, saying "Maybe your boat or your duck could pull the chain?" and he replied "Or maybe not!". Cute.
Thursday was spent on the East Lancs railway. There was a museum which was quite good with some interactive bits, enough to keep a 3 year old interested for a short while!
We then went on to an old Mill, which was OK if you like old knitting machinery! Alex was happy to dash round it, and Simon took him out to play while we watched the demos of felting on an industrial scale. He charmed all the staff too, so he was happy and pampered.
On Friday we went to Morecambe. Mum and I took Alex on the beach, which is a thin strip of sand and a lot of mud! Much improved when the tide came in. The boys had a walk round then came back, and Mum and I left them all on the beach and went off for an Alex free coffee and a bit of shopping. Socks and t-shirts to replace Alex's wet ones, very exciting! We thenw ent back to Cartmel so Mum could spend £40 on cheese! We promised Alex an ice cream and a playground, so when we couldn't find one Alex had a bit of a melt down and Simon was a total bastard to him. Poor boy has had a week totally out of routine, being dragged round all over the place, it was amazing hes been so good. Simon has been spending too much time with Stephen and David, and was out of Alex mode. Mum, Dad and I found a playground and abandoned the others. Simon wasn't happy, but Alex was! We came back via an old mill and a garden centre, where we found some good cakes!
We packed up on Saturday morning, said goodbye to our hosts and the pigs, dogs, chickens, ponies, goats and rhea that had made Alex's week so great, and came back via the Pendle Hills. We stopped for a cup of tea in Newchurch at Witches Galore, which was tacky as hell, great fun! We then stopped at the heritage centre in Barrowford, and took a look at the exhibition while Simon took Alex to the playground. It was interesting, but there wasn't much on the witches. We stopped at the Embsay and Bolton Abbey railway on the way home. It is tiny, but it has a tat shop we managed to get Alex some good toys in, so he was happy. We then headed home the long way round as there was a road closure, and got back to York at 6:30 after a long drive. Lucky we had the DVD player! We had fish and chips and put Alex to bed in the car, then drove down to the station.
Sunday was Womble erection day. We put up the big marquee, then really struggled with the beer tent! It didn't help that Dad and I thought we were erecting the other tent. When it was eventually erected we have marked it all very carefully to avoid the same problem next time. Alex loves Marquee erecting, all the running around, moving lots of little things and big hammers!
On Monday I had to cancel everything as Alex had a temperature and wasn't well. I think it was just exhaustion after the holiday, but a quiet day at home and a bit of calpol seemed to do the trick. When Simon got back we headed off to ASDA to stock up for 60s weekend.
Tuesday was Earwigs, so after a quiet morning we were running around with the other kids, then on to the library to get his 3rd book start set. Not really worth the effort, but I got to catch up with the children's centre staff.
Ruth came over on Tuesday evening and we had a nice catch up. She bought Alex a new digger that he has has been sleeping with!
Wednesday Alex was back at Ladybirds and we spent the afternoon in the garden. I had to do an ironing marathon in the morning as it was raining. I made it to aerobics in the evening, and I could tell I'd missed 3 weeks, back to square one for me! It was so hot, and really hard work.
Today we've been busy at home. Hannah and Oscar had to cancel on us, so we've been playing with salt, ice blocks and food colouring, and making cakes.