#CountryKids An afternoon out in Kendal

Some days even when you feel everyone needs to relax there comes a point when you just have to get the family out the door to save your sanity! Today was one of those days with the children starting to get on each other's and my nerves an excursion was required....

So we dug my daughter's bike out from the shed and I pumped up the tyres:

Her little brother prefers 2 feet to 2 wheels so he opted to "jog" and I had to put my running shoes on to keep up:

#CountryKids in Abbott Hall Park, Kendal

One of the great things about being part of this linky is that it makes you go out even if the weather isn't marvellous! Last weekend I managed to squeeze in a trip to the park after going shopping and before we went to the cinema. Luckily Abbott Hall park in Kendal is close to the cinema so we had time to nip in:

across the rope bridge

Funnily on a cold and damp day there wasn't anyone else about:

carefully does it

One of their favourite bits is the zip wire and they didn't have to wait their turn except for each other:

Away she goes

 She just had to be careful coming back to avoid the mud:

Of course little brother wanted to go too:

As you can see the park was just about deserted and we only saw 2 other children the whole time we were in there:

Partly this was due to the temperature as it felt a lot colder than on previous days:

It was a relief when we had to leave to go and watch Frozen as we hadn't really dressed properly for our trip! Glad we got out and about though.

#CountryKids Autumn Walks and Bikeability

After last week's dismal lack of outdoor fun I knew I needed to up our game! So on Saturday I allowed extra time for my daughter and I to walk to our destination. We went over the River Kent:

And had a magical walk through a very autumnal Abbott Hall Park:

Of course darkness had come before we left which made it seem a bit like Narnia but without the snow:

We could see the parish church all lit up:

And enjoyed a brisk walk back along the river:

It was lovely to be out and about together enjoying the fresh air and the surroundings.

This week my daughter's school has been doing Bikeability for the year 5 and 6's who are cyclists. Takes me back to my cycling proficiency days (although that was taught by my mum and another mum and not professionals!). They had 3 days of training and then today took a test. I am pleased to say that my daughter came home with a shiny badge:

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So now she and I can hopefully go out more on our bikes! Just a shame my son has to wait 3 years to do his course.. 

Reasons to be Cheerful Week 30 The Sneezing edition #R2BC

Having spent much of the last week with a stinking cold (thanks kids!) its harder to be cheerful but I have managed to find a few rays of sunshine:

1) Sunny Sunday in the Park

Having been house bound and mostly horizontal on Saturday it was fabulous to be out and about on Sunday. After church the lovely sunshine lured us to spend a few hours down at Abbott Hall park. Whilst the children played I soaked up the sun and enjoyed the local paper with a coffee:

Then we took the longer route home along the canal path and river bank:

2) Last of the sunflowers

It's fellow flowers are now just food for birds and homes for spiders:

3) Picnic teas in the park

There won't be many more of these but whilst they last we are making the most of them:

And yesterday's one by Windermere was wonderful too.

4) Fabulous Roses

Spotted a wonderful bush full of roses whilst walking into town yesterday. Just so beautiful:

5) Moving Up

My daughter is in year 5 so our first chance to start looking at secondary schools! Scary to think she is nearly at that secondary age but we started by looking around the school I work at on its Open Evening. We all loved the musical performances that were put on. Each department had also put out hands on stuff for students to try. Wish we had had more time to see it all (will have to wait for next year!). It was good to see our historical reenacting kit being used in the history department:

And in the PE department my daughter made the most of a mini trampolining lesson:

Easter Family Fun and Fitness

Like many parents I a) have less time to exercise in school holidays and b) worry that my children don't get enough exercise when not in school. So over the start of the holidays I've tried to combine getting/staying fit with some family fun.

First up now I'm running for around 30 minutes non-stop its actually easier to go out with the children. I just need to workout a route that is feasible on their scooters (i.e. not too many road crossings or steep hills) and that has a bribe at the end of it. Luckily Kendal is fairly good for this as we have routes along the river and old canal bed. The bribe at the end was a trip to Abbot Hall park playground. This was the resulting mapped route from MapMyRun:

Yes it was a little bit extra jiggly as I had to retrace my steps a few times to chivvy along a reluctant 6 year old! I also had to run round the park several times at the end to finish the run as my children were about to go on strike so I called a halt to the proceedings for them and sent them to the play area. The run was anything but a steady pace with having to look after the children but my split times weren't bad:

The children enjoyed a good play in the park with a quick picnic whilst I recovered (amazingly its getting easier much quicker!). Then we all needed to warm up so nipped into the cafe at the Abbot Hall Art Gallery (see yesterday's post!). It was then a team decision to cross the courtyard and visit the Museum of Lakeland Life and Industry as we had never been. It cost £5 for me but the children were free so an inexpensive visit. We all enjoyed looking at the recreations of historic shops, industries and homes:

Shoe samples

Victorian Chemists

Bobbin Making from Staveley

16th Century bed

Arthur Ransome's sketches and notebooks

I will have to back sometime on my own as the children didn't let me read a lot of the information as they kept rushing on to the next exciting display!

Afterwards we did some shopping in Kendal (have you ever tried buying gloves in March - apparently its the wrong time of year!). The children had their last Christmas book tokens to spend so we spent forever in Waterstones. A minor miracle occurred as I came out without buying a new book for myself!! I did attempt to run part of the 3 kilometers home but the 6 year old went on strike so I had to content myself with walking.

Today we met up with the extended family and with 3 children and a dog needing some exercise we again mounted up on the scooters (this time I took mine) and headed to the park from my parents' side of town. Once again the old canal path is perfect for this kind of expedition:

It was a bit chilly at the park but the children still had plenty of fun on all the equipment:

We could also just see the Kendal kite festival up at the castle:

And there were plenty of birds enjoying the River Kent:

The scooting looked so much fun that we even persuaded granny to have a go on my scooter:

Then it was a return leg along the canal path and my son spotted this cheeky little thing in the tree:

Later we rewarded ourselves with a yummy Easter tea:

Next challenge is the annual Easter egg hunt at Sizergh but I'll have to get the children to scoot across town first so that I can get in a run!