Category Archives: Countrykids

A Day Out in Barrybados

Countrykids, Holidays, LearnerMother, Wales
Barrybados
You can see why we call it Barrrybados!

So yesterday school was closed for the strike, giving the kids and me a bonus day off. At their request we’d planned for a loom-band-and-lego-fest, and the playroom floor had even been cleared of the usual clutter all ready to go.

This all changed when my little girl came twirling up to be in her new (to her) teeshirt. ‘Look Mum! It says Beach Break! That’s what we should do today – go to the beach! Let’s all go to Barry Island for the day!’

Naturally my first thought was ‘The beach? On my own with the three of them? That’s bound to be a disaster’. Followed by ‘Beach? That means I’ll have to drive. And I’m still being a wimp about that. No way, Jose’.

So I mumbled something about we’d go to the beach another time, when I’d had a chance to get things organised. Only to be met with the rejoinder ‘MUM! What do we need to organise! It’s the BEACH! And the sun is shining! And we have a day off! And we’ll be really good, promise!’

So that’s how we came to be at the bus stop, with an enormous Clas Ohlson bag filled with a blanket, towels, swimmers, sun cream, balls, hats, drinks, buckets, spades and fishing nets. There’s something about kids on a trip to the beach that seems to make everyone smile – even the bus driver didn’t grumble when he had to stop the bus and wrestle one of our fishing nets out of the door mechanism because it had slipped out of the luggage space. Whoops!

That set the tone for the day really. The kids were brilliant on the bus and the train to Barry Island (I’d forgotten that this is part of the adventure for them) and we all had such a lovely day together. It was a proper beach day, with rock pooling, football, digging to Australia, Crazy Golf (more like Crazy Hockey the way we played, but still!), a fish and chip lunch and of course an ice cream at Marco’s.

Barrybados
Crazy Hockey
BarryBados
Digging to Australia
Barrybados
Looking for Pirates

We all had such a wonderful day together, and I learnt a couple of lessons – firstly that though I haven’t really noticed it happening, everything is easier! Even last year I wouldn’t have taken the three of them to a crowded beach on my own – I just wouldn’t have felt that I could manage them all safely. And secondly, that everything does not have to be organised to the nth degree – sometimes the best days are completely random and *twitches slightly* not planned at all!

I’m linking up for the first time in far too long with the brilliant Country Kids at Coombe Mill – why not go and check out some more adventures in the great outdoors, planned and unplanned!
Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

Wheels!

Countrykids, Family

My girl spent the whole of last Summer trying to ride without stabilisers and just never quite got the hang of it, leading to several cuts and bruises, tears of frustration and more than a few stormy moments about the utter stupidity of people who invented bikes in the first place.

She’s not mentioned the bike for ages, using her scooter to get around instead, but when the sun popped out last Saturday, the Husband took the opportunity to get all the  bikes out of the shed, check them for punctures, tune them up and do whatever else one does with bikes that have been sitting in a damp shed over the winter. Unfortunately this doesn’t seem to include stretching the wheels and frames to match the winter growth spurts – I suspect Halfords will be making quite a bit out of us this year!

‘Will you take me to the park with my bike Mum, Just me and you?’

I must admit my heart sank just a little at this, remembering how hard she had tried last year and how upset she’d got with herself when she couldn’t quite master it. But she was insistent, so off we went, with me fully expecting her to ditch the bike after ten minutes and find some friends to play with instead. I even picked up my paper on the way, thinking I’d have time for a sneaky read while she was chasing monsters through Death Valley with her mates!

No chance. This time round, she’d decided she was NOT leaving the park, unless it was on two wheels. Ninety minutes we were there, starting her off over and over again, only for her to wobble to a stop, or fall off,  or at one point crash impressively into a rubbish bin. Ninety minutes of sheer concentration, determination, and refusal to give in – that’s a long time for a six year old! I was so in awe of her, and so proud of her for trying so hard, that a few times I might have had a tear in my eye. Or early hay fever, who knows.

It paid off though! Something seemed to click and suddenly I could see she was right on the cusp of getting it. I think she could see it too – even though she was flagging a bit by this point she seemed to get a burst of energy and confidence and then, hey presto, she was off! Which seemed to coincide with a bit more hay fever on my part….

I’m so proud of my girl x

I’m linking up with the fab Countrykids at Coombe Mill – head on over for an absolute treasure trove of ideas for getting out and about with the kids!

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

Our Countrykids Hitlist

Countrykids, Wales, , ,

It hasn’t been a great week for getting out and about, thanks to school, work, and wet dark evenings, though we did manage to feed the ducks in the rain…

Feeding the ducks in the rain

 

But the week’s not been wasted – we’ve been having fun compiling our Countrykids Hitlist for the next couple of months! Here it is…

  1. The Taff Trail. We are lucky enough to live very close to the Taff Trail, which runs all the way from Brecon to Cardiff; and although we often go for a wander along the part that’s closest to our house, we’ve never explored the rest of the trail – something we need to put right this year!
  2. Bat walks! I’ve been promising my kids that we’ll go and see some bats – the Taff trail is full of them, and there are also several organised bat walks that take place round and about – so there’s really no excuse!
  3. Newport Wetlands Centre. This RSPB bird reserve is less than half  an hour away from us by car, yet we’ve never visited. As well as birdwatching screens, there’s nature trails, guided walks and different family events throughout the year.
  4. Heath Park in Cardiff – we’ve actually never been to this park in all the years we’ve lived here, which is daft as it’s just a short bus ride away…apparently there is a model railway there as well as a pitch & putt and woodlands to explore.
  5. Funfests in the forest – I’ve just discovered the ForestXplorerWales app which has details of forests around South Wales, plus useful info like car parks, activities and trail maps – a great way to get started discovering some new woodlands.
  6. Our garden – I’ve written before about our not always successful attempts to grow edible goodies, but we’re getting better bit by bit!
  7. Castles! We’ve got loads of them here in Wales, but we tend to go back to the same (closest) ones again and again. The kids love running about and exploring them so this year we’ll be dusting off our CADW cards and checking out some new ones – Tintern Abbey and Ogmore Castle are next on the list.

So – that’s our Countrykids hitlist from now until the Easter Holidays, plenty to keep us busy – and we’ll report back via Countrykids of course!

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall