My Sunday Photo

"As soon as I saw you I knew an adventure was going to happen" 

- A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh 

My Favourite Trip #17

Welcome to week 17 of #MyFavouriteTrip! Many thanks to everyone who joins in. Have you all had a good week? Mine has been busy as usual but I'm so glad the warmer is here! Today was a scorcher! Well, an English scorcher at least, with temperatures reaching 20c (68F). I know that is nothing in some countries but I actually got a tan sitting in the sun today, it's a rare thing! This week I'm linking up my Summer Holiday Ideas in the UK. Remember that the definition of a trip is "a journey or excursion, especially for pleasure" so #MyFavouriteTrip is designed for any trip, big or small! If you're joining in please remember to add the linky badge, comment on my host post (always first on the list) and a couple of other posts, thank you :-) This week's winner is....

 Ethan & Evelyn: Beautiful Bluebells and My Birthday Girl 

© Ethan & Evelyn

Summer Holiday Ideas in the UK

The Royal Pavilion

If you read my blog regularly you'll know I love to travel. At the beginning of the year I wrote about my own travel experiences growing up and my reasons for doing the #take12trips challenge. I've been on a trip each month and so far these have included visiting Devil's Dyke, a day trip to Lewes, a weekend in Dorset and a holiday in Amsterdam. This year I also started the #MyFavouriteTrip linky and this has increased my desire to travel even more especially to beautiful cities such as Venice.

I've also had some fantastic holidays in the UK. Such holidays often referred to as 'Staycations' are usually cheaper and offer certain benefits such as avoiding long flights or waiting around in airports when your flight is delayed. They are also more environmentally friendly. For me, I do love the British countryside, it's unique and like no other and it's one of the biggest things I missed when I lived abroad. Cornwall and Devon are two of my favourite counties and are both stunning in their own ways. I love exploring the rolling hills of Devon and the rugged coastal areas of Cornwall. My little boy celebrated his first birthday in Cornwall and we spent the day on the beach in the sunshine.

Silent Sunday

My Favourite Trip #16

Hello! Welcome to week 16 of #MyFavouriteTrip! As always thanks to everyone that joins in, it's always a pleasure to read your posts. I have been taking my son to 'Saplings' classes, a new pre-school group entirely outside and based on Forest School principles. We've been having a lot of fun so I'm linking up our review this week. 

Remember that the definition of a trip is "a journey or excursion, especially for pleasure" so #MyFavouriteTrip is designed for any trip, big or small! If you're joining in please remember to add the linky badge, comment on my host post (always first on the list) and a couple of other posts, thank you :-) This week's winner is....

 Bumble Bee Mum: Gotemba Kogen Toki No Sumika - Slow House Villa Review 

Saplings Classes in Brighton - Forest School Review

For the past few weeks we have been attending Saplings classes in Brighton. Run by The Outdoors Project, Saplings is a fun outdoors class for pre-school aged children and is inspired by the Forest School ethos and principles. The outdoor approach has many benefits for children. It is shown that children develop their personal, social and technical skills through learning and play in a natural environment and this in turn builds independence, confidence and self-esteem.

If you read my blog regularly or follow my Instagram you'll know we love spending time amongst nature but I've only came across the Forest School principle recently. I was asked to review the Saplings classes and thought it would be a lovely chance to experience something different. I've been to so many baby and toddler classes since having my little one but none have been only outside. In an age where kids spend so much time indoors, something I try to resist, it's great to see new classes like this in our area. The Outdoors Project states "With long-term, regular access to nature and the outdoors, it has been proven that children are happier, less likely to be off sick, develop better levels of concentration, are less stressed and irritable, more respectful and have a high capacity to work in groups." 

Silent Sunday

My Favourite Trip #15

Welcome to week 15 of #MyFavouriteTrip! Thanks to everyone that joined in last week. As Summer approaches I have that urge to travel even more at the moment. Remember that the definition of a trip is "a journey or excursion, especially for pleasure" so #MyFavouriteTrip is designed for any trip, big or small! This week I'm linking up with my Ten Tips for Travelling on a Budget. If you're joining in please remember to add the linky badge, comment on my host post (always first on the list) and a couple of other posts, thank you :-) This week's winner is....

 Love From Scotland: Gimme Shelter Campsite 

© Love From Scotland

The Beatrix Potter DVD Collection Review & Giveaway

One of my favourite books when I was little was The Tale of Peter Rabbit. I loved listening to the stories of the little rabbit and had a matching bowl, spoon and egg cup set! My son received his first Beatrix Potter book at Christmas which happened to be Peter Rabbit and I've been reading it to him ever since. 

To celebrate Beatrix Potter's 150th Birthday this year we were asked to review the new Beatrix Potter DVD Collection Box Set including nine beautifully animated stories:

Silent Sunday

My Favourite Trip #14

Welcome to week 14 of #MyFavouriteTrip! Apologies for the delay with posting this week. #MyFavouriteTrip usually goes live on Thursdays but I've had problems with my computer this week. I'm using a friend's one at the moment and will take mine in on Monday for a proper check, I'm hoping it's nothing too serious. As always thanks to everyone joining in last week, it's lovely reading all of your posts. I've written a post about my recent trip to Amsterdam and would really love to go away again soon. I don't know what it is but I definitely have itchy feet at the moment! Amsterdam made me realise how easy it is to travel with kids even when things don't go to plan. Which leads me on to this week's winner... :-)

 Globetrotting Mom: What's Outside the Touristy & Fancy Bubble of Buenos Aires?

© Globetrotting Mom

Our Trip to Amsterdam

Our four days in Amsterdam were just lovely! It was so nice to be away on holiday, forgetting about all the mundane stuff back home and spending time exploring the area and seeing all the sights. I had nearly forgotten what it feels like to be on holiday, the excitement and adrenaline you're on just from being in a new place and exploring all it has to offer. A change of scenery does amazing things, changes your outlook and makes everything much clearer doesn't it. I most definitely have the travel bug again. It was just me and my two year old son for a couple of days and then over the weekend a couple of friends joined us. It was a lovely combination of spending some quality time with my boy then chilling and catching up with friends as I hadn't seen them in a couple of months. Amsterdam is a great city to visit especially with kids and I'll write about that in a separate post. I'll also write about some of the attractions we visited in more detail as there is a lot to say/write about most of them plus I took a million photos. For now though I wanted to share some of our highlights.

Silent Sunday