Thursday, 30 January 2020

A family day out at Beamish

If you are a regular reader, you will know that before Christmas James and Mummy were lucky enough to do an overnight sleepover with our Beaver Colony at Beamish The Living Museum Of The North. We came back full of stories about what we had done and saying we wanted to take Daddy and Freddie next time!

So fast forward to January and Beamish had a competition on Instagram to win a family unlimited year long pass and well mummy only went and won it!!

For us to get to Beamish we had to catch the 28 or the 28A bus from Eldon Square bus station. The buses run every half hour at quarter past and quarter to the hour Monday to Saturday and every hour on a Sunday. Click here for the Go North East timetable.

So Saturday started early with mummy putting our pack lunches together, a lot had been pre made in the days before and frozen so all we had to do was put them in the cool bag. We decided to take our lunch with us as it would be safer for Freddie with his food allergies. 

We then got the bus from our terminal into Newcastle city centre and then we walked across from Haymarket to Eldon Square to catch the bus down to Beamish. A family explorer bus ticket which we could use on both Stagecoach and Go North East cost us £20.60, as it was cheaper than buying separate tickets on each operator. 

The bus ride down was about 45 minutes and it was a long hard trip as we had decided to let Freddie ride out of his stroller!! He literally would not sit still!

We had got the 0845 bus from Eldon Square bus station. In reality we could have got the 0915 bus and still been at Beamish for opening. 

With it being January a few bits were closed like the steam train, Pockerley waggonway and also the chip shop. The boys were gutted the steam train was not running. 

The first thing we did was get the tram from the main entrance down to the pit village! This wasn't too bad till we came to get off and Freddie threw a massive strop! He wanted to stay on the tram! We stopped to see the pit poneys and the goats. We then had a look in the school and the church. The boys then went and had a look in the houses with daddy. 

We then went and looked in the engine sheds which both the boys were loving! Then we went to do the mine. I was a little concerned about taking Freddie in but he did wear his hat. We started off down the mine and got to the first little section and this is where Freddie decided he didn't like it and wanted to take the hard hat off so mummy took him back out while daddy and James continued on!

After we finished in the pit village we decided to walk down to the town. We walked via the disabled access to the station where we found the train was not running which really upset the boys. Once we walked into the town we decided to go and have an early lunch in the park, before we went to the sweet shop and then wandered round the bank and the masonic hall before going back to see how the sweets are made!

James loved being back in the masonic hall as he was able to show daddy the exact spot where he slept when we did the sleepover back. We then took the built in lift upstairs in the masonic hall to show James and daddy where mummy slept on the sleepover!

Once we had finished watching the sweets being made and having a sample of the ones we had watched being made. We got the tram back to the main entrance
and after a quick visit to the gift shop we made it to the bus stop in time for the 1315 bus back to Newcastle. This time we left Freddie in his stroller and he had a nice sleep on his way back to town.

Since we now have an unlimited annual pass to Beamish we are already planning on our next visit hopefully in the Half Term holiday!


Monday, 27 January 2020

Living Arrows 2020 Week 4/52

Welcome to Living Arrows 2020! This is the third year I have taken part in this linky and I love taking part each week! If you haven't heard of the linky before, This was set up by Donna at What the Redhead Said and the name comes from the poem by Kahlil Gibran "You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth" 

Each week I share one photograph of James and one of Freddie and share what they have been up to during the previous week!

This week James celebrated Chinese New Year with some activities at Beavers.

Freddie did lots of fun activities at nursery on their project what would your happily ever after look like?

And to end the week we took a family trip to Beamish The Living Museum of the North! Mummy and James had already been a few months ago and this was Daddy and Freddie's first trip! A full post on getting there and our day out is coming soon!





Living Arrows

Monday, 20 January 2020

Living Arrows 2020 Week 3/52

Welcome to Living Arrows 2020! This is the third year I have taken part in this linky and I love taking part each week! If you haven't heard of the linky before, This was set up by Donna at What the Redhead Said and the name comes from the poem by Kahlil Gibran "You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth" 

Each week I share one photograph of James and one of Freddie and share what they have been up to during the previous week!

This week has been a busy one! James started the week with a school trip to Sunderland Winter Gardens, which he had a fantastic time and now wants to go again in the school holidays as a family!

Freddie also had a school trip this week to Newcastle Castle Keep!



Living Arrows

Wednesday, 15 January 2020

The Siblings Project 2020 - January


Welcome to The Siblings Project for 2020!
This will be the third year I have taken part in this and I really enjoy it as it is a fantastic way for looking back at how much the boys have grown up over the course of the year!

This month the photograph was taken before school one morning. The boys were being very cute together. Freddie also had his first school trip this day! 




Monday, 13 January 2020

Living Arrows 2020 Week 2/52

Welcome to Living Arrows 2020! This is the third year I have taken part in this linky and I love taking part each week! If you haven't heard of the linky before, This was set up by Donna at What the Redhead Said and the name comes from the poem by Kahlil Gibran "You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth" 

Each week I share one photograph of James and one of Freddie and share what they have been up to during the previous week!

The boys have been back at school and nursery now for a week and they are both thrilled to be reunited with their friends! Freddie especially on the first day back woke up and got very excited as he knew he was going to be seeing all his little friends again! Freddie also had his project launch so he had to go in dressed up smart!!

James also went back to Beavers this week and he was thrilled to see all his friends and also to meet all the new Beavers that have joined our colony this term! 






Living Arrows

Monday, 6 January 2020

It's Time to Plan Your Summer Vacation!

Image Credit: Pexels CC0 Licence 

The new year has begun and brought lots of new opportunities with it. But,
unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the weather will be improving any time soon. Perhaps
this is why January is such a popular time for booking holidays! With the rain still pouring
and the wind biting, what better time is there to plan a warm trip for the summer?

So, what do you need to think about to make your summer holiday something to really
look forward to?

Budget
Managing family money can be challenging but, when you know what your priorities are
and you have a fixed budget, it gets a lot easier. Remember that while holidays are all about fun, getting the most for your money is still important. This might mean compromising on some things to get more elsewhere. It might mean expanding your horizons to consider completely different holiday ideas.

Some companies like StudyLink Tours are great for groups of students planning a trip because they make the most of group bookings and create custom holidays. You can take a leaf out of their book by looking at the best way to organize. You might find that booking activities and tours in advance could be a lot cheaper.

Even if you don’t have the money to go on holiday right now, starting to save up is a
really good idea. Think about where you want to go and work backwards from
your planned holiday dates so you know how much you need to save each month
to achieve your dream holiday. 

Dream Big
At this point in the year, you still have plenty of time so dream big. What do you really want
to experience this year? For some families, sun, sea and sand are essential; for others,
a city break with plenty of activities and tours would be ideal. Understanding what you
want first will help you narrow down your destinations.

Now you have a better idea of what you are looking for, it’s a good idea to keep your search
nice and broad. Have a look at holiday destinations that are off the beaten track and
don’t lock yourself into a standard package deal too early on. Unusual family holidays
are the ones that stay with you over the years so don’t assume that you have to do
the same as everyone else!  

Looking at travel costs can often impact your choices. You might find that a destination
you hadn't thought of before is a lot cheaper to get to than your usual haunts. Equally,
you might consider different modes of transport. Taking trains is becoming increasingly
popular and also offers an opportunity to stay in other destinations along the way.
Interrailing is often considered a student holiday but families can get just as
much out of the experience!

With so many options for travel, there’s no need to let the weather get you down.
Start planning your summer holiday now and make sure you have something
fun to look forward to.

**Collaborative Post**

Living Arrows 2020 Week 1/52

Welcome to the first Living Arrows post of 2020! 
If you haven't heard of the linky before, This was set up by Donna at What the Redhead Said and the name comes from the poem by Kahlil Gibran "You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth" 

Each week I post one photo of James and one photo of Freddie and share what they have been up to that week!

So this week has been the last week of the school holidays! We had a pretty quiet week as Freddie started the week ill and then daddy sprained his ankle. Daddy was then back to work on 2nd January so we had a chilled out day at home, then went to tesco on Friday morning!



Living Arrows