Enjoying a Winter Little Adventure

Do you realise just how lucky we were last week? It was half term here and we actually had a day where it didn't rain. And for a little while the sun came out too!

I know I do bang on a lot about how "there's no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing" but this winter has challenged even my Yorkshire optimism about the weather. I've never seen so much rain! All is well when children can just pull on a pair of wellies and head outside regardless, but it's a bit more challenging when you have a 17 month old who seems to think puddles are for sitting in and wellies are for kicking off the second your parents have put them on your feet.

Not deterred by Master C's hatred of waterproof attire Mr C and I bundled both kids in the car and headed off to the National Trust's Anglesey Abbey for a day of little adventures in their extensive grounds. The beauty of so many National Trust sites is that there's loads of space for children to run around and they are actively encouraged to climb trees and make dens. Child heaven.

The kids were absolutely thrilled to be outside and loved having the space to run around freely.

LMC also enjoyed getting close to nature too. She's really paying attention to what is around her and loves spotting creepy crawlies or interesting fungi on fallen trees.

Now that he's more confident on his feet Master C had a ball running around freely. He might not have always run in the direction we wanted him to mind, but when there is so much to explore keeping to the paths wasn't always his preferred option.

With children and role play in mind the National Trust have built a pirate ship in a tree in part of their woods and when we arrived there were three young boys acting out mutiny on the high seas much to the amusement of the watching adults. Sticks had become swords and pine cones grenades (although as one boy was keen to point out to me they didn't really have grenades on old pirate ships, but his teacher at school as told him that when he uses his imagination he is allowed to break the rules of history!) Little Miss C decided she would go into hiding to escape from all the fighting though. Sensible girl.

One of the things I love most about days out outdoors with our children is that I never know what is going to appeal to them the most. Whilst for adults we might just walk a long a path, look at the views and appreciate some of the nature around us children see things so differently. One of the greatest parts of LMC's little adventure this time was running through a vast expanse of fallen leaves. 

Also, us encouraging her to climb trees seemed to be very exciting – although there were a few tears when we had to tell her it was time to come down from the tree and we needed to head home!

 

The day was a huge success and felt like a little holiday in the middle of half term. It certainly shows just how much fun you can have outdoors and how you only need your children's imaginations for entertainment. 

We took with us the Barny bars that we had been sent to try – after all snacks are important when you've been running around and burning off lots of energy. Unfortunately though LMC is currently of the opinion that jam is the work of the devil and whilst she loved the look of the cute cakes and the taste of the sponge, the apple or strawberry filling was just a step to far for her! I'm trying to seek out their chocolate variety in the hope that we have more success with them.

Mr C and I aren't ones for food waste though and we both thought Barny sponges were delicious and for once the children's fussy eating played to our advantage! 

Even the littlest member of the family loved our little (family) adventure. I'm just hoping that we're nearly at the end of this very wet winter and that the rest of 2014 will include many more adventures outdoors as a family.

Disclaimer: This post is an entry for BritMums ‘Winter Little Adventures Challenge’ sponsored by Barny, individually wrapped bear-shaped sponges with a hidden filling. Find out more about Barny here