Well, if you were thinking we'd had enough chocolate this trip, you were probably right. However, we took Uncle Paul's advice and went to Cadbury World in Bournville just south of Birmingham. This is the original Cadbury manufacturing plant and is still operating. We had an amazing time and a sort of Willy Wonka tour including more samples! Nobody fell into the chocolate lake but we did get to write our names in chocolate! After the tour, there was another building near the kids play area that had another couple of brief movies to watch followed by a warm cup of [View Full Entry]

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Well, today was a pretty relaxing day for us here. We were supposed to visit Woolsthorpe Manor nearby (birthplace of Sir Isaac Newton) but we changed our minds at the last minute. It looked pretty small and we figured we'd be through it in less than half an hour so we hit the grocery store instead for last minute supplies and some supplies for the family who lives here and then home to do some house cleaning (the only down-side to a house swap is there is no maid service....). Also, in the morning, we had a visit from the lady [View Full Entry]

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Well, today was back into Nottingham for the Riverside Festival. We arrived around lunchtime and the weather was not looking great. But we ventured off and first took in the Grand Organs from the early 1900s. There were about 10 of them, they are kind of hard to describe but each of them plays its own music and seemed to be powered by its own steam engine. They were really cool anyways. Then on to the Children's Festival within the larger festival. It was really well done! There were about 8 different large areas (crafts, story time, octopus centre - games, [View Full Entry]

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Today was off to Coalville (well, near it) and a place called Snibston. Russell asked "Why is it called Snibston?" I told him I bet they had a contest to see who could come up with the most ridiculous name possible and it won. Snibston is a discovery centre with tons of hands-on exhibits about science and mining (this is pretty big part of it since it is a mining town) and engines and water power and on and on and on. They got to lift a mini (car) off the ground using a pulley system and a giant magnet. The [View Full Entry]

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Added a couple pics from yesterday at Space Centre. Today was off to Warwick Castle on the recommendation of our friend, Harry, who claims to know a thing or two about this part of the world! It was a lovely day (apart from the two brief showers but we were prepared with our brellie!). The kids loved the jester show, the joust, birds of prey show and all the walking tours around the castle including the torture chambers. They also enjoyed the medieval park which we stopped by 3 different times! The grounds were beautiful and the shows were all very [View Full Entry]

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Well, it finally rained today - the whole day almost! I guess it had to eventually - if I'd come to England and it didn't rain one whole day, I'd probably be disappointed! (not really, just trying to see the positive side....). So, given the weather, we chose the National Space Centre which is an indoor attraction similar to the Science Centre just more focussed on space. The highlight was the simulation ride at the end of the day. We stopped at the shops again on the way home, and believe it or not, bought more chocolate (to bring home, of [View Full Entry]

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Today was kind of a quiet day for the Family Robertson. We had as easy morning, chickens, rabbits, etc. Then we headed into Nottingham which turns out to be quite close! We started off at the Nottingham Castle of which there is really not much of the original buildings left now due to its history of fighting at that location. But there is still a museum on the site and the most recently built part of the castle. The museum had tons of Nottingham facts and was located on top of a big hill so had a great view (if you [View Full Entry]

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Well, today arrived with clouds again but we didn't let that stop us. We headed out past Leicester to a park called Conkers within the National Forest. Conkers is at the site of the Bath Yard coal mine. After it was mined out, the site was left abandoned for years. The National Forest (formed in 2000) took over the site. Filled pits in with water, made lakes, planted trees. You cannot tell it was once a coal mine. You feel like you're in an old forest. Fascinating. This was another kid-friendly day with another assault course which the kids tackled happily, [View Full Entry]

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Well, today was our first castle experience so far! Tattershall Castle which was built by Ralph Cromwell. It had dungeons, 6 stories to the spectacular lookout, and activities for the kids (like spinning cotton wool, dressing up in period costumes, puzzles, and lots of places to hide!). It was our first really cloudy day but it never did rain! We did manage to satisfy Nigel's hankering for fish and chips for lunch. The drive was nice but not as breathtaking as when it is really sunny out. We have been noticing that the village names and the street names in the [View Full Entry]

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Went for a family run today (well, the kids biked) along the canal. Had to stop for every interesting tidbit! Then on to the CLA Game Fair. This is a fair that is held somewhere different in the UK each year so we were very lucky to find it was being held just down the road from where we are staying! There were many interesting areas to take in (over many acres of property). We commented that both of our parents would have loved this fair, especially the dog parts! There was every variety of hunting/retrieving/terrier dog there. They put on [View Full Entry]

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