Blogs from Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 7

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Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire July 29th 2009

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 course)..... This next bit is a tribute to both our lovely chickens and Forest Gump.... We've had fried eggs, scrambled eggs, sunny side up eggs, over easy eggs, poached eggs, hard boiled eggs, pickled eggs, ... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire July 28th 2009

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 aren't afraid of heights so Nigel enjoyed it much more than Lori...). Then we found our way over to a shopping mall very close to the city centre which had even better shopping out in ... read more
Mr. Happy
Ministry of Magic Visitor Entrance
Family Robertson

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire July 27th 2009

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, a train ride from one part of the park to the other, an enchanted forest, a tree-top climb and lots of nature hikes. The day started cloudy and at one point it poured for about ... read more
Teeter swing
Conkerchoo
I can hear you!

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire July 26th 2009

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 villages are really quite interesting. Today we saw a street off the main road through a village called "Labour in Vain Lane"....wonder where that one leads? And what the heck is a Wold? There are ... read more
Sling thy arrows!
From the ramparts
Carding wool

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire July 25th 2009

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 shows and demos of their skills! Really neat. The birds of prey were also pretty amazing and very up close! There was also clay shooting, target shooting and other types of shooting as well as ... read more
Belvoir Castle
Lunch Visitor
Bald but not American

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire » Leicester July 24th 2009

Today was shopping day. We went to Melton Mowbray for Market Day (the kids spent a lot of time with a clown learning to do the Diabolo sticks, stilts, hoola contests, and this bizarre pedal sneaker thing). Then on to Highcross in Leicestershire. It has a giant outdoor pedestrian-only shopping streets area plus a fancy indoor mall. The shopping was fantastic. The driving in the "big city" was a little more difficult but we made it in and back out somehow. Went to the Windmill Inn for dinner in the nearby village of Redmile. Nice dinner and Lori enjoyed Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert (pudding). Nigel enjoyed a few different bitter ales. And Lori drove to the Inn and back - her first driving experience! Pretty good! Nigel had a tougher time adjusting to sitting in ... read more
Clowning Around
Sweets!
Highcross Market

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire July 23rd 2009

Another fab day! Gorgeous weather again and both Nigel and Lori got out for a longer run along the canal away from town. Sightings of 3 swan families with babies, sheep and lambs (cute), cows and a chicken and her chicks! All along the canal path but conveniently on the other side of the canal! Really enjoyable running path. Then after lunch we all headed out to Sudbury Hall and the National Trust Museum of Childhood. It was another spectular home that we toured around. Then on to the museum where the kids had a blast exploring toys from all the generations back to the 1800's. They even went up a chimney and came out another chimney! We stopped at Ye Olde Pie Shoppe in Melton Mowbray to pick up some pies, but alas, at 5pm ... read more
Chimney sweep
Biking along the canal
Riding in Harby

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire July 22nd 2009

Well, no chance to blog yesterday as we spent the night in Norwich (Marlingford to be specific) visiting Audrey (Lori's dad's cousin). We arrived around lunch time and after grabbing a quick bite to eat (beans on toast & melton mowbray pie), we took a tour of the area with her providing interesting commentary. Lori's dad will be pleased to hear we went to St. Edmunds Church and saw where his grandfather was buried (Walter) and grandmother (Ann). We drove around Old Costessey and saw the farmhouse where Cyril was raised and lots of other family historical tidbits. Then to our first pub, The Red Lion, for dinner and some pints. Woke up Wednesday to more sunshine (is this really England??) and strange quiet (ahhhhh, the chickens are back in Harby). So, after visiting with Audrey ... read more
Tiniest frog ever
Audrey's back garden
Lori and Audrey

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire July 20th 2009

In the a.m., I went for a run along the canal towpath. Thought it was an irrigation canal. Turns out it was a coal-towing canal from late 1800s, abandoned for that use when the trains came in. Right near our house I came across two swans and a family of Mallard ducklings. Later we took the kids to "England's Wonderland." It's like Canada's Wonderland only in some ways better. There are roller coaster rides of course but there are also animals, a corn maze, and loads of physical things for the kids to wear themselves out on like an obstacle course, zip lines, enourmous play park, and nerf ball shooting. They had a blast. The park was in the town of Melton Mowbry - world famous for their pork pie. I got to eat exactly none ... read more
Scale that wall
Easy does it
Zooooom!

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Leicestershire July 19th 2009

Lori went for a run along Colston Lane passing many farms and a Stilton cheese factory (Uncle Paul might like that). Then we went to town (Grantham) and shopped for groceries at ASDA (not unlike Loblaw's) which was busy. After lunch, we went to Belton House. We had a bit of a "european vacation" driving experience doing some traffic circles a few times. The driving is actually not bad, it's the signage that keeps things interesting (putting it nicely). We also were able to check out the city centre of Grantham several times (maybe we just liked it or maybe we could not quite get in the right lane at the right time) but we managed to make it back to our home in one piece! Phew! Belton House was gorgeous. It was the location of ... read more
Chickens 1; Robertsons 0
Belton House
Zip Line




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