#CountryKids A Ramble at School Knott, Ings

On Thursday my mum persuaded us to go on a hike with Kendal Ramblers from Ings. We wrapped up warm and set off in a snow storm to the meeting point. Luckily by the time we got there the snow had stopped so it was just very cold as we headed up the gated lane:

Due to the cold my daughter found icicles hanging under the bridge:

Her brother was having fun smashing puddle ice to find ones that had interesting patterns. This one gave him a huge smile:

My children enjoyed helping the walk leader find the route and get us round. They also kept nipping back to check on the back markers as it was a large group of 34 people:

#CountryKids at the Village Fayre

Today we have spent the afternoon at Ings Village Fayre. This is the neighbouring village to their school and the children from both villages attend together. Therefore events at either village are well attended by people from both. The day wasn't looking too promising when we arrived as it had rained all morning:

I was there in my capacity as an Usborne book seller as well as a parent. My children are quite adept at setting up with me then going off to spend their allocated spending money! The great thing about a local Fayre with people we know is that they and I feel safe for them to wander around without me.

It was a nice traditional fete with homemade cakes, card tombola and other tempting games and stalls. My daughter soon went off and my son headed for the coconut shy opposite us. This was being run by the landlord of the local pub the Watermill Inn and my son spent the next hour assisting by collecting the balls that had been thrown.

His sister had to keep coming back more frequently for more of her spending money as she seemed determined to try all the games! It was a lovely family atmosphere with people from all generations finding something to enjoy. Everyone made most of the lack of rain and we just had to occasionally hold the marquees down in the wind! Eventually my son went off with a friend and his sister took over on the coconuts:

By the end of the afternoon our combined winnings included:

• A coconut
• A packet of crisps
• Water bombs
• Mini plane
• Flying saucer toys
• Chocolates
• Hariboes
• Chocolates various
• Wine bottle stoppers
• 2 cuddly toys
• Bottle wine (hic!)
• A pineapple

Such are the joys of village fetes! I missed out on seeing the duck race but my son got to watch. The water luckily wasn't flowing too fast like last year when they had to cancel this part of the afternoon. Just outside the main part of the fair was a street organ but I only caught it right as it was shut down:

In the church my children were fascinated by the traditional lace making crafts on display:

The altar window was also pretty eye catching:

The parish hall which hosted the fete was the village school from the 17th century and rebuilt in 1859 but closed in 1972:

The old school warning sign still exists and is so much nicer than modern ones:

So glad that the community still rallies round for events like this even though most people with school age children can't afford to live there! My children certainly enjoy the village atmosphere so I just need to win the lottery to move in properly... Roll on next year and we will be there again soaking up the village atmosphere.

A Spring Afternoon at Brockhole

It was such a glorious day up here in Cumbria so after washing the car and having a picnic on the front lawn (in March!) we headed off to Brockhole to make the most of the unseasonally warm weather. When we got there just after 3 the car park was still pretty full even though it was less than an hour until the centre itself closed.

We put enough money in the machine for only 2 hours as we thought this would be plenty at that time of day. I had promised the children a round of crazy golf as we hadn't played for months. With it having been very wet the course had been temporarily moved to the hardstanding around the centre and it was a bit of an adventure finding it all. None of us are particularly good at golf but it was good fun:

We were just in time part way through the round to grab afternoon from the cafe as it shuts at 3:45. It was bliss sitting on the terrace in summer layers smelling the beautiful flowers and enjoying the wonderful views across to Windermere.

The grounds are really starting to come to life now and it was wonderful to pass by lovely sights like these as we finished our round of golf: