Robin Hoods Bay

With all this beautiful sunshine we have been having, I am reminded of summer holidays when I was a kid. I don't know if its just my selected memory but summers were HOT twenty years ago and I remember family camping holidays to Cornwall (my favourite place in the world). All of this has me really desperate to go on holiday this year and spend time with Bear and D building sandcastles on the beach, eating ice cream and paddling our feet in the cold Atlantic for two weeks. However this is not to be this year so instead I must be satisfied with day trips and outings so I was very excited when Uncle Phil asked if we could take Bear to the beach!! We decided on Robin Hoods Bay as I don't think either of us could be bothered with the hustle and bustle of busy Scarborough or Whitby and i am very glad we did as it turned out to be the perfect place to take Bear on his first real trip to the sea side! It wasn't too busy and there were a few nice shops and cafes to buy souvenirs and Ice Cream and it was beautiful!

This is me with my (not so little) little brother on our way

Picturesque fishing village of Robin Hoods Bay located just south of Whitby

Phil decided he wanted to buy a boat like this one with like a roof on it and stuff

Bears very own bucket and spade

See the father and son working hard to build the best sandcastle ever? Bear went and destroyed all their hard work not long after this picture was taken, the little boy was heart broken, I was mortified and Bear thought it was the funniest thing ever!

 

Picnic Time!!

This was my favourite part we love chasing the waves!

Not the best picture but there are very few of us together

Bear with his Uncle Phil

Couldn't go to the Seaside without getting an Ice Cream...YUM!!!

Say 'ICE CREAM!!'

Our view of the Bay as we left.

Happy Tuesday x

A Trip to The National Railway Museum

 The National Railway Museum is our favourite place to go when it's dull and rainy outside and Bear can't get enough of trains. This time we took along Aunty Han Jam (not real aunty) who also LOVES trains. The Museum is located in the former steam locomotive depot, it has a huge collection of steam trains and artifacts and is great for the whole family plus its FREE! I love to see all the carriages in the old station, Bear liked to look at the model railway and we all really enjoyed our ride on the miniature railway and it reminded me and Aunty Han Jam of when we were kids together.

Aunty Han Jam and Bear on the Miniature Railway

Station Hall

I can't recommend the National Railway Museum enough! Located just a walk away from York City Center and just round the corner from the train station it is ideally positioned and is brilliant for all ages. We are looking forward to going again this weekend to see the Mallard 75 event which will involve the gathering of all 6 remaining A4's or as Bear calls them 'Spencer'.

Happy Tuesday x

A visit to Farnley Hall

Each year our next door neighbour (the tree surgeon) helps a local bird of prey expert by climbing up trees to bring down baby birds of prey to have them tagged. This year he invited us to come and watch so we picked Bear up from nursery a little early, took snacks and met him at the gates of Farnley Hall.

Farnely Hall is a fascinating building made up of two parts, pictured above is a view of the Georgian addition to the house, the original Farnley Old Hall dates back to the 16th or early 17th Century. Since the 1780's the house has been occupied by the Fawkes Family (yes as in Guy Fawkes) and JMW Turner was a frequent visitor to the Hall which now boasts a collection of his work as well as a sizable collection of artifacts associated with Cromwell.

 So off we trekked across the grounds of Farnley Hall to a patch of woodland where a nest of baby red kites sat in a tree. Bear was very keen to follow our neighbour as he climbed most expertly up the tree (needless to say there was some holding back) and after a little fumbling around down came a bag with an 18 day old baby Red Kite

 

Look he's so fluffy and cute!!

Bear was absolutely fascinated!! 

Once all in the party had the opportunity to look at/hold/take pictures of the Kite a ring was placed on the ankle which contained a number so if the Kite was to be found, they can enter the number into the internet or whatever and they can trace it back to Farnley...cool eh? What a wonderful opportunity for us to go and see this baby kite in the wild and so close up! A lovely way to spend a Thursday evening!

Happy Thursday x

Blue for a rainy day

In an attempt to teach Bear all about colours, I have decided to dedicate one day a week to a colour. This week we had a blue day.

 

Now we couldn't have a blue day without doing a picture of Thomas (Bears favourite). This would be a really good thing to do with some clear sticky back plastic and a picture underneath. 

 Then we searched the toy boxes and his bedroom for all blue toys to put on our colour tray. 

During nap time I made this using sandpaper and some felt (note:drawing the colours on with a wax crayon doesn't work, I learned that the hard way, use pencil crayon instead)

 

 since we enjoyed the sticking so much we made another in the shape of a B for Blue or Bear. 

I got most of these ideas from the amazing Georgina at Craftulate she has loads more super amazing ideas to try, I can't wait to do them with Bear. 

Happy Wednesday 

Kirsty x

Bear and the Magic Railroad

Bear and I LOVE to go for walks with Oliver Biggles (a Dog) and we're always looking for new and exciting places to explore. So hearing rumors of the Old railway line between Otley and Pool, we were very keen to go and discover.

The line was constructed in 1865 and ran from Ilkley - Ben Rhydding - Burley-in-Wharfedale - Otley - Pool-in-Wharfedale - Arthington. The line was then closed in 1965.

Image courtesy of http://www.lostrailwayswestyorkshire.co.uk

 After talking to locals and doing a little bit of Google research, I found that the line used to run right past our house...perfect! The path is not easily accessible and from what I could see there were two points where we could join, one through a field of horses and the other climbing over a metal guard rail at the Leeds road roundabout. I chose the latter as Oliver Biggles can be a little unpredictable around animals. At this point I was feeling rather excited as though we were about to discover a hidden road that would lead somewhere magical! What we found wasn't magical but it was very beautiful. 

 

Bear really loves seeing all the animals as we walk, he was particularly taken with this Horse and the only way to move him along was to see if he could find some Sheep along the way.

Bricks! I wonder what they were there for....

Very excited when we spotted this bridge! I think Bear was able to understand that choo choo trains used to go here!!

 

We weren't able to go as far as I would have liked but I'm so glad we found this! Wouldn't it be nice if this was opened up to make an official cycle path?

 I love finding little bits of lost history and I hear there is more to discover! 

Happy Monday,

Kirsty x

Hooray, Summer is finally here!!

I am LOVING this sunshine! Bear and I have been out for long walks in the Countryside, I feel so lucky to live where we do. Right out side our door step is the lovely Otley Chevin. For those who don't know, The Chevin is a really big hill...sounds exciting doesn't it? The highest point of is 282 meters and is covered with woods and heathland. The views from the top are so beautiful, you can see for miles! There are several trails you can take around the area, I like to go to the very top and look for our house all the way down there!

The View outside our house (note to self: must go back and take pictures)

So Yesterday we went for a little walk with Oliver Biggles (a Dog) and as this weeks theme is green and nature, we collected all kinds of green things to make a collage.

Happy Tuesday!

Kirsty x

Living Local - Day 5 Market Day

You can get just about anything you could ever want from our little market town of Otley. D, Bear and I had a little potter around the market for some fresh fruit, veg and some sausages for tea.

 

We also found some pavement chalk which we played with this afternoon in our sunny garden.

We made up a really fun game to help Bear learn colours. I would shout out a colour and he would have to jump on the right one, He loved it!