Cuisine & Culture the Chinese Family Way
Stargazing Pods is Alton Towers Resort’s brand new accommodation that had just opened to the public on the 12th April 2019! These unique and cosy pods are set around a picturesque village where guests can embrace the outdoors and use the telescopes to look at the night sky with easy access to the theme park.
Octopus Hideout is a brand new underwater attraction that will mesmerise visitors at Birmingham’s National Sea Life Centre. It features Beverley the giant pacific octopus named after local singing sensation, Beverley Knight! She is a true master of disguise who can blend into her surroundings with her camouflage skills and squeeze into spaces as small as the head of the needle. In fact, she did hide so well that we couldn’t see her and her friends! Did you know that octopus have three hearts and blue blood? There are a lot of interesting facts that we learnt by visiting on this occasion.
To mark the 70th birthday of the world famous Staffordshire brand JCB, National Adventure Farm have teamed up with them for their 12th annual maize maze. This year in their 10 acre JCB Maize maze, it will feature an intricate design of a huge JCB digger and include three miles of pathways, viewing towers and bridges to navigate. You can either take part in the maze trail to collect the parts needed to build a JCB or a shorter mini maze in the shape of the JCB logo.
Conkers is a great family-friendly centre, in the National Forest with indoor and outdoor play areas, discovery zones and an amphitheatre. This coming 13th July 2015, they will open the High and Low ropes course which we are looking forward to go on. The High Ropes course has 15 aerial sections to complete while the Low Ropes course are for junior visitors to take on 10 different elements of adventure.
Although it rained non-stop, it didn’t stop us from enjoying ourselves with the Bush Craft Survival session, Barefoot Challenge and other outdoor activities. After meeting up with others, we were divided into groups and were given a map to locate our own survival equipment.
Recently, I was invited by my children’s school to make a short video clip on their Multi Faith school trip. We are hoping to use the brief introduction video to show parents what the trip is about and to educate children who will be going in the near future.
Before we headed off, we had to make sure that all the children’s clothing was appropriate and the girls had a scarf and the boys had a hat/cap. If girls were wearing dresses with socks, they were asked to wear trousers with it. It is important to observe the dress code when you are visiting a temple. We had quite a few children who didn’t wear the appropriate clothing so hopefully this video will help others in future!
After the helpers were assigned to their group of children, we all hopped on the coach and promptly set off. The first place we went to was the Guru Arjan Dev Gurdwara (Sikh) in Derby. Our coach was parked outside the temple’s bus stop. Before we entered the temple, the children were lined up into groups of girls and boys. The group of girl were ushered to the left hand side of the temple while the groups of boys went to the right. Everyone had to cover their heads with a scarf or hat, remove their shoes and wash their hands before entering the prayer room.
This coming Summer, Jurys Inn have launched a new range of packages that include a 2 night special offer package, Peppa Pig World Package, Cadbury World and West Midlands Safari Park. Their affordable deals start from as low as £136 for a family of four and with up to 25% off 2-night stays in one of 22 city-centre locations across UK. To book a Jurys Inn attraction package, visit http://www.jurysinns.com/deals to find out more.
We chose the Peppa Pig World Package which includes overnight accommodation with Full English breakfast buffet for up to 2 adults and 2 children and one day entry tickets to Paultons Park for 2 adults (children under 1 metre do not require a ticket, children over 1 metre will be charged at £23 per ticket).
This coming half term, National Forest Adventure Farm is packed full of activities with Get Wild and Deadly. They have also opened the brand new JCB Big Dig Zone to celebrate the forthcoming JCB Maize Maze open between 11th July to 6th September 2015.
Get Wild and Deadly (open only from 23rd – 31st May) is a show that runs daily at 11am, 1pm and 3pm in their Barn Theatre. It is best to get in early to grab a seat to get a better view. They show a series of some of the planet’s craziest creatures from Burmese pythons to giant bird eating spiders plus lizards, stick insects and chameleons.
Each year, Warwick Castle brings interesting new activities and development to their castle and we find that it is worth going back again and again to explore new things there.
Living so close to Birmingham, we have visited Cadbury World a couple of times before. There is always something interesting to do there, new features and experiences and not forgetting the delicious chocolate to devour! It is not just a chocolate factory tour – they have something for everyone to do there, big or small. My children particularly like the Cadabra ride, plus the new 4D cinema experience and there are a lot of outdoor facilities like the African Adventure Play Area and table tennis.
Last week, we were invited to visit the Blithbury Reindeer Lodge. Even though it was raining cats and dogs, my children and I had such a wonderful magical time there, which is home to over 150 reindeer who roam freely across the beautiful 30-acre site.
It is located in the small hamlet of Blithbury, on the outskirts of Rugeley. I had used my sat nav to help me to get to the place, but in the end, it took me away from Blithbury. Luckily after driving around, I found the pub car park (The Bull & Spectacles) which is next to the lodge. The lodge’s green sign is not very visible at dusk, so if you travel there during the daytime, you should be able to spot it more quickly.
The October half term is well under way and we started our week by driving over 200 miles to get to the Canonteign Falls which is the England’s highest drop waterfall. Driving down the motorway was a nightmare as there were so many road works everywhere. Mr K asked why we don’t invent a teleport. How I wish I could! By the time we got to the Falls, they were closed as winter is approaching and it gets dark earlier. So we went back the very next day early in the morning.
Autumn has finally arrived and is in full swing! I always love autumn as I enjoy the crisper clearer air, the changing colour of trees and of course you don’t get crazy daylight at 10 pm which makes it difficult for the kids to sleep! With the October half term fast approaching, Vita Coco kids has set us a mission to find the best autumn picnic spots across the UK.
Last week, we were really fortunate to get invited to attend the launch event for the Mike the Knight: Journey to Dragon Mountain DVD at Warwick Castle. We set off and reached the castle within 45 minutes from our home.
We all settled in soon and watched the movie while eating jam tarts! Mr K and Ms C love Mike the Knight and have been watching the show since young. Mr K would always pretend to be Mike and Ms C would be Evie!
Earlier this week, we went to the National Forest Adventure Farm which is located in Burton upon Trent, within an hours drive from Stafford, Stoke, Nottingham, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Leicester etc. We are only 30 minutes away, driving up the A38. There is plenty of free parking plus disabled parking right at their entrance.
This year, National Forest Adventure Farm are aiming to break the Guinness World record for the largest display of scarecrows! The best scarecrow creations will win an annual family pass to the farm. You can either bring your ready-made scarecrows into the farm or make one in their Scarecrow Workshop for free if you bring your own clothes or for just £1, they will provide everything you need to make one!
After you make your scarecrow, remember to tweet your selfie photo with a hashtag #scarecrowworldrecord #scarecrowselfie. This is my children and I choosing clothing for the scarecrow.
At the moment, The Sun is running a promotion where if you sign up to Sun+, you can claim free tickets to Thorpe Park worth £99.98! Of course there is a minimal investment of £1 (first month) and then £8.67 (second month). As a Sun+ member you will also enjoy money-saving deals with Sun+ Perks and more free tickets with SUPERDAYS, including Chessington World of Adventures, Legoland Windsor Resort and Thorpe Park.
