Adventures Archives - Page 21 of 36

Orchids in the jungle

Having a day off when you’ve had a few months with little time to yourself is very exciting! Although I should have had a cheeky doze and caught up on some much needed sleep, the orchids were calling.

We were RHS Wisley as a family recently to see the butterflies but it’s been a while since I’ve ventured there on a week day. And I love orchids!

If you’ve not been to RHS Wisley before, the Glasshouse is huge and has three temperate zones. My favourite is the tropical zone. Not just because it’s c.30 degrees inside but because it’s always brilliant. On this occasion a jungle setting with orchids hanging from above. Did I say I adore orchids?!

It was almost as if you were wandering through an enchanted garden and everything around you was perfect. I’ve really missed seeing the colourful blooms while I’ve been in London – it was like heaven. For once I didn’t even mind waiting for my camera to acclimatise.

Although I really wanted the place to myself, I was happy just wandering around in a daze taking it all in.

There was so much variation in colour and the types of orchids on display.

Plus the environment was something else, just beautiful.

As were these Ladies Slippers – the detail is incredible.

What a fabulous location to take time out and gain a little head space. And just because I took too many photographs, I will leave you with some more bloom loveliness.

Linking up with Mammasaurus for How Does Your Garden Grow?

Photographs from the Southbank

The London Eye is always an immense sight but on this particular day it was spectacular. What a brilliant way to welcome in the working day – blue skies, sunshine and a Costa coffee.

Although it’s been a while since setting foot inside a pod, the walk from Waterloo to Farringdon has seen me stand beneath this enormous structure many times.

It’s impossible to walk past without photographing it. All too often I find myself leaning backwards to capture a different perspective – it almost makes you giddy!

The prospect of photographing buildings and boats didn’t appeal when I was working in London initially. But over recent months, capturing the architectural delights of our City has proved pretty special. The fondness is no doubt understandable having lived in the big smoke for nearly 20 years before moving to Surrey.

Early morning along the Southbank is so peaceful. You can hear the seagulls, you can smell the sea and you gain some much needed head space.

It’s almost as if you’re an onlooker to London waking up. The roads on the other side of the Thames gradually get busier as does the volume of people heading over the nearby bridges.

There was so much to look at and with the sky so blue, it was impossible not to stop every now and again to take it all in.

Even the skate park got a look in, there was no-one there. Like the change to the rest of the Southbank, evenings see it full of wannabes showing each other impressive jumping skills.

It may seem hard to believe but there’s even a little beach. Yes it’s not Greece but it’s a stones throw away from the City and great to stroll along when the tide’s out. Frequented by all manner of birds, it’s that final piece of calm before reaching the hustle and bustle of EC2.

On the days the tide is in, there are still plenty of opportunities to take in the surroundings.

Before picking up the pace, heading over Blackfriars Bridge and along Farringdon Road.

Linking up with #whatsthestory here on PODcast.

Daffodils at Nowton Park

While visiting POD’s grandparents, auntie and cousins over Easter weekend, we headed to Nowton Park. Set in 200 acres of landscaped Suffolk countryside there’s an arboretum, maze, bird feeding area, ponds and wild meadow.

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There’s also Lime Avenue which was originally planted to provide the estate with a sense of grandeur. The 100,000 daffodils that bloom beneath the trees were planted in 1989.

POD did well not to touch the daffodils

although it was necessary to ask one what its name was.

She looked so tall and grown-up standing in a gap among the blooms, even more so with her hair back.

But sticks still make for great magic wands

And the bigger ones are brilliant to walk with.

But then the tiredness kicked in. POD had been so excited she’d not slept until 11pm the night before and woke up before 6am.

There was only one thing for it, to sit side saddle on Daddy!

After our walk, there was just time for lunch before checking out the play park and heading back for a film.

Linking up with #whatsthestory here on PODcast.

Discovering Limpsfield Common

You’d think after all the exploring we’ve done we would have seen all there is to see in Surrey. Thankfully there is still much to discover and although we’ve visited (and re-visited!) numerous National Trust sites, there are many more to fall in love with.

Limpsfield Common is an ancient common located in the Surrey Hills. It was once used by commoners for grazing their animals, collecting stone and firewood but today its myriad of footpaths and bridleways take you through ancient woodland.

We’d heard a couple of things about Limpsfield. There are recently restored (to their war time condition) Second World War air raid shelters to be seen and Peter Rabbit has a post office there! We did do a bit of research on the shelters before leaving and discovered the last guided tour was the weekend prior to our visit. We will no doubt be back to experience what life was like during an air raid and check out the shelters which you can do (albeit not inside) if the tour is not running.

We weren’t going to be put off by seeing Peter Rabbit’s post office though! There are seven car parks at Limpsfield Common so pick the right one before you leave as there is lots to do there.

There will be bluebells at Ridlands Grove (where we were) before too long plus there are spectacular views from Scearn Bank and you can watch a cricket match on a Summer’s Day. As well as have the obligatory picnic!

When we arrived at Limpsfield Common, we headed left where we found Fox’s Villas which was surrounded by miniature fencing.

In addition to having a little peek inside and wondering if anyone was at home, there were also dens to explore and logs to ride.

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Not to mention trees to climb. Daddy got a bit carried away clambering up one and POD obviously took the opportunity to jump off it!

There were many trees to climb though and it wasn’t long before POD found another one to investigate.

After taking a short detour across the golf course and down a bridlepath, we headed back on ourselves to discover some more tiny houses.

First there was Hedgehog Hall complete with a working well and a door with a letterbox. The attention to detail is great.

A little further down was Peter Rabbit’s post office. The care that’s gone into creating these splendid houses is just fabulous.

POD was thrilled to discover there was a rabbit inside and would have crept in herself given half a chance!

What a lovely introduction to Limpsfield Common. We shall be back to explore again soon I’m sure.

Linking up with #whatsthestory here on PODcast and #CountryKids at Coombe Mill.

Looking forward to Spring

This time last year we made a spontaneous visit to local woodland. The skies were blue, the sun was shining and it was so mild. It was the first time in months we weren’t wrapped up in layers of clothing and donning wellies.

POD had a renewed sense of freedom that day, kicking leaves and running ahead with her white dress flowing behind her. It was an idyllic setting and we had it all to ourselves.

The sky was an amazing colour and it was uncharacteristically warm for March.

We’d been heading elsewhere that day but made a detour when the traffic was bad. What a fabulous alternative this woodland wander was to returning home.

I remember thinking POD looked so grown up at the time but she looks small. It was an effort to climb onto that bench – now she’d be on it before you could blink!

POD didn’t think we could see her when she had an impromptu lie down, little did she know we caught every moment. Let’s hope this Spring arrives quickly so we can enjoy more glorious days.

Linking up with #whatsthestory on PODcast.

Photographs from the Devil’s Punchbowl

Managed by the National Trust, Hindhead Commons and the Devil’s Punch Bowl is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. You don’t have to venture far to take in the impressive views of the Punch Bowl and the stunning scenery that surrounds it. It’s an awesome place to blow away the cobwebs.

We totally make the most of our National Trust membership and we’re so lucky there is so much to see not just in Surrey but in Hampshire too. POD loves being outdoors and is continually asking questions – in this instance what her shadow was on a tree!

The Devil’s Punchbowl is a great place to experience nature at its very best. If you’re lucky you might even see some wild ponies. We were thrilled we got to see quite a few.

There are many paths to explore either through the woods or across open heathland. We made the mistake once of ignoring the map at the Devil’s Punchbowl, in turn discovering just about every nook and cranny! If you’d like to see what we saw on our three hour adventure, you can check out the Devil’s Punchbowl and Beyond post.

Today was all about having a good time, POD got to exercise her diving and jumping skills – over ditches and off tree stumps.

There were also lots of muddy puddles to jump into. Or in this case, gently wade across!

The highlight was POD having a huge giggling fit and her laugh is so infectious! It started after she took her hat off and refused to put it back on again!

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It then turned into a bit of a game which involved hat on, hat off and running off with Daddy in hot pursuit. It was a hat kind of day, despite the sunshine it was rather chilly. She did succumb in the end.

The views are amazing at the Devil’s Punchbowl as is the smell of nature around you. It’s a brilliant place to restore the balance and generally makes you feel great. The coffee and cake afterwards helps too obviously!

Linking up with #whatsthestory here on PODcast and #CountryKids at Coombe Mill.

Hatchlands Park opens all year round

We love Hatchlands Park so we were thrilled to learn it’s now open all year round. We really miss it in Winter, not just because it’s close but the setting is wonderful. It’s perfect for POD who loves the green space but also Wizard Wix’s Willow Warren which is a natural adventure area for children.

Managed by the National Trust, the park spans 400 acres comprising ancient woodland, open parkland, formal gardens, a wild flower meadow, a bluebell wood, five walking trails, two ponds, one ice house, lots of picnic spots, a stone temple plus fields with cattle, sheep and horses.

So where do we go first? The tea-room of course! Recently refurbished, there’s a brilliant selection including some rather delectable cakes. Our sustenance included tasty flapjacks and great tasting coffee.

After re-fueling POD took the opportunity to stand in the Old Stables courtyard and shout “gecko, gecko”. This was so she could hear her voice echo. Somehow ‘gecko’ has stuck much to the amusement of passers-by. The courtyard was once home to the kitchen, stables, servant’s quarters, coach house and laundry.

What’s brilliant about going for a walk when its rained the day before are the puddles. POD found some amazing ones to wade through and discovered mud is perfect for making footprints! Although the walk to Wizard Wix’s Willow Warren isn’t very far, it took a while as POD had to test every puddle.

The natural adventure area is located in the middle of the Great Wix Wood. On offer are hand-crafted willow tunnels, domes, balance beams, sculptures and a totem pole. There are also wood piles for den building (must cross this off our 50 Things list!) and picnic benches. As you’d expect POD tried out just about everything completely wearing herself out in the process!

The walk back towards the house was just as entertaining as the walk from it although someone required a little piggy back from her Daddy. We were so pleased to see new paths at Hatchlands, we must explore these next time. There is longer walk (4km) which follows the perimeter of the entire estate which sounds great (the Wix Woods walk is 2km).

Back near the house, POD gave us a rendition of “Twinkle twinkle chocolate bar, Daddy drives a rusty car” before looking on while Daddy scrubbed his boots. It was then time for another visit to the tea-room before heading off to explore an antiques market. Thank you for opening in Winter Hatchlands, I’m sure you’ll see us a lot!

Linking up with #whatsthestory here on PODcast.

Photographs from Brooklands Museum

Built in 1907, Brooklands is the birthplace of British Motorsport and Aviation and the home of Concorde. The Brooklands Museum in Weybridge has a range of motoring and aviation exhibits that span racing cars, motorcycles and bicycles through to an unparalleled collection of Hawker and Vickers/BAC-built aircraft. These include the Second World War Wellington Bomber, Viking, Varsity, Visccount, Vanguard, VC10 and BAC One-Eleven.

First up was the motoring village, the highlight of which had to be seeing all the racing cars in all their glory. There’s a lot to see too from The Clubhouse which has displays, exhibits and collections of memorabilia throughout the ground floor to the Era Shed – the workshop and showroom that houses cars such as the Napier-Railton.

How incredible to to see some Formula 1 cars too – not to mention all the memorabilia that goes with them. They look so uncomfortable to drive but awesome too!

Even the pagodas that were built in 1922 and would have supplied the drivers with fuel were cool. After POD refueled herself, we headed off to explore. Having checked out two Hawker Hunters and a Supermarine Swift, we found two old buses before heading into the Wellington Hangar.

The planes were in the most incredible condition given how old they were and it was a fascinating place to be. POD spent a little too much time running around although she’s probably been going stir crazy since her collision with a chair.

It was great to be able to get up close to a Hawker Hurricane in the Wellington Hangar. POD loved sitting in the cockpit and being told what everything did. I’m not sure she understood the comparison to sat nav though given she was recently four! I think Daddy enjoyed sitting in the cockpit as much as POD did. There is much more to see on the aviation front including the AVRO shed with a Roe 1 Biplane, the Barnes Wallis Stratosphere Chamber and the Balloon Hangar.

Brooklands has the only Concorde with public access in South East England. It was the first aircraft ever to carry 100 people at twice the speed of sound and arrived at Brooklands a decade ago after a two-year restoration. You can also do the Concorde experience where you see, hear and feel the plane blast along the runway, soar into the sky and accelerate to Mach 2. We must do this when POD’s a little bigger, it sounds brilliant. For the time being, she was quite happy leaning against the wheels while she ate a cheese roll!

The POD Father took the opportunity to ‘ride’ on the original Brooklands race track through the creation of a 4D theatre in the Vickers Building. Just as John Cobb and Sir Malcolm Cambell did in the 1930’s, he could see, hear, feel and smell what it would have been like.

The London Bus Museum houses a wonderful collection of historic buses, some of which have won awards. The signage is a great reminder of how colourful transport used to be. The signage is great too – no doubt you’ll see some re-appear in the #bwphotoproject! POD was flagging somewhat by the time we reached the buses so our visit there was cut slightly short, a great experience though.

Brooklands Museum is a fantastic place to visit if you’re interested in motorsport or aviation. If POD wasn’t in need of a nap, we could have quite happily stayed longer. Next time we must check out the Test Hill and Track too!

Linking up with #whatsthestory here on PODcast and #CountryKids at CoombeMill.

Winter fun at Bocketts Farm

“Mummy please can we go to Bocketts Farm today. Please Mummy, please?”. A very specific (and incredibly polite!) request from our recently turned four-year-old so off we went with the farm in our sights.

Located in Fetcham, near Leatherhead, Bocketts is a working farm and lots of fun. Even in the Winter months there is loads for us to occupy ourselves with – both indoors and out. We did drop in to see a few of the rabbits and guinea pigs when we arrived at Little Hoppington. After we left them we said hello to each of the horses – by name. POD was most excited about the Big Animal Barn as she wanted to feed the goats. Not before asking this sleeping pig where her babies were though!

It took numerous visits to Bocketts Farm before POD attempted feeding the animals herself. Since then there’s been no stopping her! She happily chats away to them about who their friends are as well as asking the obligatory “are you hungry?”.

These two goats in particular were very interested in POD paper bag and the clumsy way in which she fed them!

After exhausting our food supplies, we checked our the racing piggies and the deer. Then it was playtime.

There is a wonderful outdoor play area at Bockett’s Farm and POD loves it. Even more so than the indoor one!

There is so much to do and she even mastered coming down a larger slide on her back!

Before checking out the local views!

We couldn’t resist a pony ride. POD has only been on one once before and she took to it brilliantly.

She looked so confident and so amazingly grown up!

The lighting was great too with the sun beginning to set behind her. It’s no surprise she didn’t want to leave!

Linking up with #whatsthestory here on PODcast and #CountryKids at Coombe Mill.

A Winter walk at Painshill Park

We’re lucky there’s no shortage of places to visit in Surrey. One of those is the grade I listed Painshill Park – a magical wonderland perfect for stimulating the senses. It’s home to a magnificent collection of follies, including an extraordinary stalactite Grotto, and it’s a great place to unwind.

You can feel that sense of calm almost immediately as the lake is just a short walk from the entrance of this landscaped garden. Much to POD’s delight it’s alive with wildlife including ducks, swans and birds. Even in Winter the vineyard looks pretty special although I do love the sight of the red veined leaves and the grapes when they arrive.

Being outdoors and breathing in that fresh country air does wonders for blowing away those cobwebs. POD had a little bread for the ducks, much to the delight of the local swans that followed us for a short time.

There’s something rather splendid about Painshill. It’s not just those mystical follies either, the landscape is just exquisite. We’d arrived early in the morning just after the mist was beginning to lift. If it wasn’t for POD, you’d barely be able to hear a pin drop.

Painshill Park is set in 158 acres so there really is something for everyone. Although we’ve visited many times, it was great on this occasion just to amble around the lake checking out the ruined abbey, crystal grotto, turkish tent, five arch bridge and gothic temple as we went. Along with a couple of fishermen – one of whom was having a cheeky doze in his tent!

Watching the wildlife really was a highlight, it was almost as if they had the whole of Painshill Park to themselves.

The crystal grotto is the latest 18th century folly to be restored by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It re-opened last year and we’ve been to see it a few times – even meeting Father Christmas there last year. It’s only open at specific times but well worth a visit, it really is incredible inside.

The brilliance of Painshill Park is down to the artistic vision of the Honourable Charles Hamilton. He wanted a tranquil landscape setting enriched with follies, water, trees, shrubberies and a vineyard. That’s what makes it a great place for a wander, even if it is the middle of Winter.

Linking up with #whatsthestory here on PODcast.

Older Posts

Newer Posts

Adventures

Orchids in the jungle

Photographs from the Southbank

Daffodils at Nowton Park

Discovering Limpsfield Common

Looking forward to Spring

Photographs from the Devil’s Punchbowl

Hatchlands Park opens all year round

Photographs from Brooklands Museum

Winter fun at Bocketts Farm

A Winter walk at Painshill Park

Adventures

Visiting Mayfield Lavender Field, Banstead

A wander at Frensham Little Pond, Surrey

7 reasons to love Barracudas camps

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