How to make a family beach trip less stressful

How to make a family beach trip less stressful

Today I have a guest post all about one of my favourite things – family beach days! We live in Swansea which is right on the South Wales coast so we are no strangers to a day out on the beach. Family trips to the seaside do differ massively to the days we used to spend on the beach kid free, there is a lot less reading on a sun lounger and much more sand castle building and jumping over waves in the shallows. The logistics of taking kids to the beach can feel a bit overwhelming but you can have fun by the sea with kids, you just need to prepare. This post is full of really useful tips and will hopefully help you to feel more confident about going on your next family day out to the seaside. View Post

Disclaimer: This is a collaborative guest post. I did not write the main article but had full editorial control. Remember, I would never publish anything I didn't think you would find interesting or useful.

10 pram and wheelchair friendly family days out in the UK

10 pram and wheelchair friendly family days out in the UK

*sponsored post* 

The summer holidays are coming at us full speed my fellow mums and dads, how are we all feeling? I am a bit stressed about it, I won’t lie! My baby girl is due on Sunday July 14th and Leo finished school on July 18th, talk about being chucked straight in to the deep end of life with three kids. Despite my fears of spending my days having to soothe and crying baby and break up fights between the boys and the dreaded cries of ‘I’m bored!’ every ten minutes, I am really looking forward to the summer. The long summer break is the perfect time to fit in as many family days out as possible. The only thing is, when you have a little baby you often have a pram in tow too and it can be difficult to find days that are fully accessible and suitable for families with buggies, and for families including wheelchair users too. To make sure no one misses out on a fun family day this summer, I have asked my fellow parent bloggers to share their best buggy and wheelchair friendly days out around the UK , there are accessible days out in Yorkshire all the way to some of my favourites here in South Wales. I hope this post help you find a perfect and accessible place to enjoy a day of making memories with all the family this summer. View Post

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. All words and opinions are my own (unless otherwise stated)

Pumpkin picking in Swansea – Penyfodau Fawr Farm pick your own fields

Pumpkin picking in Swansea – Penyfodau Fawr Farm pick your own fields

Yay, it’s October! Well, the end of October to be precise. I love this time of year, crunchy leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, chunky knits and the sun sits low in the sky making everything just look that little bit more beautiful and cosy. You know why else I love October? Halloween! Ever since I was 9 months pregnant back in October 2016 and obsessed with finding a pumpkin the same size as my ginormous baby bump, we have been venturing out to a pumpkin patch to pick our own pumpkins for carving. I was a bit worried this year as we have moved back to Wales and I didn’t know where we were going to be able top pick our own pumpkins in Swansea. Penyfodau Fawr Farm came to the rescue though and we headed out there on a sunny afternoon at the beginning of this week to select four pumpkins to carve and decorate ready for Halloween.  View Post

Exploring Swansea with kids – Rhossili

Exploring Swansea with kids – Rhossili

Last year Rhossili bay was voted as the best beach in Europe and my family and I are lucky to have this gorgeous sandy beach right on our doorstep (well, almost). Since moving back to Swansea we have spent loads of time at the seaside and exploring the Gower peninsula, this is where you can find the idyllic Rhossili bay. It may be breathtakingly beautiful, but is Rhossili family friendly? In this first post in my ‘Exploring Swansea with kids‘ series, I am going to share all my local knowledge of different places we have visited in and around Swansea so if you are planning a family holiday here, you will know where to take the little ones for a day of fun. View Post

Day out with Thomas at the Watercress Line

Day out with Thomas at the Watercress Line

*collaborative post*

When Leo was two he was obsessed with Thomas the Tank, I mean ob-sessed! His bedroom is still full of various bits of track, he has about five little Thomas trains and a James, Gordon, Harold the helicopter, Percy and, well, you know all the rest right? We took Leo on a Day out with Thomas at Eastleigh miniature railway when he was two and he loved it so when we were invited along to go for another Day out with Thomas, this time along the Watercress Line, I knew my Thomas super fan would be desperate to go. Last week, during the Easter holidays and on the sunniest day Hampshire had been blessed with in months, Leo and I headed out for a Day out with Thomas, singing the theme tune the whole way there in the car. View Post

Stick Man Live – the perfect first theatre experience for toddlers

Stick Man Live – the perfect first theatre experience for toddlers

What toddler doesn’t love Stick Man? Actually, what adult doesn’t love Stick Man? If you have no clue what I am on about, let me quickly fill you in. Stick Man is a children’s story written by the brilliant Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, the people who brought us the modern day children’s classics of The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and so many more beautifully imagined story books. The story of Stick Man captured my Leo’s heart a couple of years a go and when I saw Stick Man Live was coming to our local theatre I just HAD to take him.  If you have a Stick Man fan in your family then you are definitely not going to want to miss this. View Post

A day out at the Roald Dahl Museum with Mr Kipling

A day out at the Roald Dahl Museum with Mr Kipling

If I had to write a list of all the things I love to do in life, two things that would make it pretty close to the top are reading and eating cake. I have been a massive book worm for as long as I have been able to read and my all time favourite author as a child was Roald Dahl. So, I am sure you can imagine how excited I was to receive an invite to an event celebrating the collaboration between Mr Kipling and Roald Dahl this summer at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre. A chance to get to know more about my favourite children’s author and the opportunity to eat loads of cake? Obviously I said yes and this morning the kids and I headed off to Great Missenden, Roald Dahl’s home and inspiration for several years, to discover more about the wacky world of Roald Dahl and to find out all about the Mr Kipling Splendiferous Summer. If you are partial to a French Fancy (or 5), would like to find out how to win some amazing prizes this summer holidays and love the children’s literary mastermind that is the amazing Roald Dahl, then you are definitely going to want to read on.. View Post

Cycling in the New Forest – Our child free weekend

Cycling in the New Forest – Our child free weekend

On the weekend Oli and I had our first night away since Alex was born last October. Obviously, we have had nights away from home since becoming a family of four but the kids have always been with us. Last Saturday was the first time we have had a whole night child free since our babymoon in Reading last June and it was so needed. If you read my blog regularly you may have seen my post the other week about how I have been desperate for a break from parenting these last couple of months. To make the most of our freedom, Oli and I decided to do something we are nowhere near brave enough to do with our 3 year old and baby – we spent the day cycling in the New Forest and decided to drag out our child free time even more by camping just half an hour from our house. View Post

Pumpkin picking fun at Pickwell Farm

Pumpkin picking fun at Pickwell Farm

Don’t you just love autumn? The crunchy leaves, the beautiful colours, an excuse to drink hot chocolate whilst wearing your favourite jumper and scarf? One of the reasons I love autumn so much is because I love Halloween and what better way is there to get the whole family into the spooky spirit than to go pumpkin picking. After reading about Pickwell Farm over on the fabulous Dear Mummy blog and knowing how much Leo loves going to pick your own fields, on Saturday I knew exactly how we would be spending our morning and we all had a great time searching for the perfect pumpkin. View Post

5 reasons you need a National Trust membership

5 reasons you need a National Trust membership

Family days out are just the best, aren’t they? There is nothing like getting everyone in the car and heading off somewhere in search of adventure and fun. There are loads of free things you can do as a family out of the house, trips to the beach, country walks and so on, but some days out can cost a small fortune. I don’t even want to work out how much money Oli and I have spent on trips to the zoo, farms, aquariums, theme parks and activity centres since we had Leo 3 years ago. My guess though is that it would be a lot! When my super generous sister bought Oli, Leo and I an annual membership to the National Trust earlier this year I was so happy. What a fantastic way to get us out and about and exploring new places as a family. Since March we have visited lots of National Trust properties and we will most certainly be renewing our memberships when they expire next year. If you don’t know what the National Trust is all about you should check out their website and see if there are any properties near you waiting for you to explore. I love my National trust membership and here are 5 reasons I think you might just love having one too. View Post

Animal fun at Kington Small Breeds Farm

Animal fun at Kington Small Breeds Farm

I honestly don’t think there is a better day out for a toddler than visiting somewhere with animals. They get to see the real life versions of all the animals from their books, they can stroke them’ hear them and if they are lucky they even get the opportunity to hold and feed them. A day out with animals is a full on sensory experience for your little one. Zoos are great fun but can be a bit pricey and I am not ashamed to say sometimes I class a trip to a garden centre to look at the fish and the rabbits as a fun day out. Leo loves animals and a family trip to a farm always brings a smile to his face. Last weekend my mother in law and I took Leo to Kington Small Breeds Farm and Owl centre , we had such a fabulous day and I can’t wait to tell you all about it. View Post

Our day out at Paultons Park and Peppa Pig World

Our day out at Paultons Park and Peppa Pig World

It was Leo’s third birthday a couple of weeks ago and to celebrate a group us headed off to Paultons Park in Romsey for a day full of pig and dinosaur fun. We have been living only 15 minutes away from Peppa Pig World for nearly a year and I honestly can’t believe it has taken us so long to go. Like most kids his age, Leo is obsessed with Peppa Pig and I’m sure spending a day completely immersed in a world based on his favourite show is like some kind of dream come true. Paultons Park is not just about Peppa Pig World though, there are loads of rides to suit all ages and the new Lost Kingdom part of the park is a must for any dinosaur fan. For anyone planning a trip to Paultons Park you can find out all about it here and my thoughts on it as a family friendly day out. Spoiler alert – we LOVED it. View Post

Thomas Land, a fab day out for toddlers

Thomas Land, a fab day out for toddlers

On the weekend Oli, Leo and I were up in Leicester visiting our lovely friends for their little boys 3rd birthday party. As we were up in that part of the country we decided to head on over to Thomas Land on the Sunday for some locomotive, tooting good fun. We have previously visited Thomas Land in December on one of their magical Christmas days, Leo loved it and I couldn’t wait to take him back to meet his favourite engines all over again. If you have a toddler who loves trains and is also a Thomas fan, I can’t recommend Thomas Land enough. I have decided to write about our day to convince any parents out there that a trip to Thomas Land is always a good idea. I hope you enjoy reading about our fun filled day and I have also chucked in a few tips to help make your day as fun as possible too. View Post

A day out with Thomas at Eastleigh steam railway

A day out with Thomas at Eastleigh steam railway

My boy Leo loves Thomas the Tank. If you have read my blog before or if you know my family in the non-blog world then you will know just how much my boy adores that little blue steam engine. In December we took Leo to Thomas Land in Drayton Manor as an early Christmas present and he loved it. Unfortunately, it is quite a drive for us to visit Thomas Land so when I saw Thomas and his friends were coming to play at the steam railway just 10 minutes from our front door, I just had to book tickets. View Post

Our camping holiday in Somerset

Our camping holiday in Somerset

It has become a kind of family tradition for Oli and I to go on a summer holiday with my parents every year. Last June we went on holiday to Majorca without them, whilst I had a great time with Oli and Leo I did miss having my Mum and Dad there. When it came to booking a holiday for this year we all decided a UK break was the best option and we booked 5 nights camping in beautiful Cheddar, Somerset. View Post