Review: Ravensburger The Brighton Belle 1000 piece jigsaw

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Once again I was pleased to be offered the chance to review a Ravensburger puzzle. This time it was a 1000 piece jigsaw called The Brighton Belle. This was the perfect puzzle for a soggy few days in the summer holidays:

Here is the official blurb on the jigsaw:

This wonderfully bright and vibrant jigsaw imagines a scene from the fascinating history of this very special train. If you weren’t lucky enough to have travelled on the Brighton Belle, or you haven’t yet booked your tickets for a trip on the rebuilt train, enjoy this puzzle instead and discover days of opulence and glamour on British tracks. The Brighton Belle ran daily between London Victoria and Brighton from 1 January 1932 until 30 April 1972. The all-Pullman Belle was unique, its sumptuous Art Deco décor comprising exquisite marquetry panels and furnishings and managed by white-jacketed Pullman stewards. The entire Royal Family was carried on it to observe the Spithead Review of 1953 and the Queen used it as a Royal Train on a number of occasions. In 2009 a charity, the 5BEL Trust, was formed to return the train to the mainline, thus filling an important gap in Britain’s railway heritage. The engineering challenge to meet modern safety standards and faster mainline speeds was so daunting that many thought it was an impossible dream, But after six years of work by professional rail engineers and craftsmen - and an expenditure of some £6 million - the public can once again experience authentic 1930’s rail travel. Includes in-box A4 colour leaflet showing puzzle image for reference, information about the image and the charity responsible for the train's restoration. Sales of this puzzle support the work of the 5BEL Trust.

This is traditional jigsaw to complete so I started with the edges and the obvious lines around the inset picture:

Reasons to be Cheerful: Family Fun #R2BC

So many folks joining in last week which was great as it was a mix of familiar and new blogs to read. Hopefully everyone will be back this week with a few more blogs for us all to enjoy. We are getting close to the end of our school holidays and still packing in the fun:

1) Jumping for joy at parkrun

Our parkrun had a temporary course this week due to the National Stone Skimming Championships and it poured with rain but it didn't dampen the spirits of the volunteers including my children:

2) Quirky signs

Whilst driving through Castle Carrock we noticed that the sign was rather amusingly subtitled. Unfortunately we could only photograph the one on the way out that wasn't quite to easy to read (it says please dance):

3) Tidy tween bedroom

My daughter tackled her room to remove all the clutter and now has the nicest room in the house:

#CountryKids on Hadrian's Wall #WhateverTheWeather

We had a three generation trip to Hadrian's Wall on what turned out to be a pretty hot day. It was going to be a proper hike so when we got out of the car at Steel Rigg car park we all donned our proper boots and slapped on the sun block:

The route to the wall is very well signposted as this is one of the most popular sections of the Wall to walk:

Once we exited the trees the reason for the Romans building the wall here became clear as they used the natural contours as part of the defences:

#CountryKids in Kirkby Lonsdale #WhateverTheWeather

Family up from the south gave us an excuse for Sunday lunch at Kitridding Farm near Kirkby Lonsdale. This little gem is so popular you need to book a table. All the food is locally produced and three generations found something to suit our taste buds. Have to say I just about squeezed in this sundae after my lamb roast: 

On the way back out through the award winning Farm Shop there were plenty of local temptations (good job I hadn't got any money on me!). This well loved carved pig sits on the patio outside the entrance:

After a big lunch we all needed to burn off some calories so headed to the historic market town of Kirkby Lonsdale:

#CountryKids The Hobbit at Williamson Park, Lancaster

Williamson Park in Lancaster is 54 acres of public park which is most famous for the Ashton Memorial which was built in 1909 as a memorial to Lady Ashton by her husband. This is the building you can see from the M6 when passing the city:

As we had family up from down south my mum had booked us tickets to see The Dukes Lancaster's walkabout theatre production of The Hobbit. They have been putting on productions in the park since 1987 and this was the first time we had been to one. We arrived in time to have a picnic at the foot of the memorial although it rained before we had finished eating: