Days Out

Quarry Bank Mill

by
Quarry Bank Mill

Christine was working this weekend, and so, to keep our toddler entertained, we went to Quarry Bank, near Manchester Airport.

It’s a National Trust property, and is home to Quarry Bank Mill, a large, red-brick mill. Whilst it is still signposted as ‘Quarry Bank Mill’, the National Trust are spending a lot of money on other parts of the site as well. The mill is still the main draw – it’s big, and still has a lot of existing machinery inside. You enter at the top, and start with wooden looms and spinning wheels, before heading down to the mechanised machinery that were used in later years.

Quarry Bank Mill is also home to a very, very big water wheel. It’s still operational, but has been replaced by steam engines and electric power. Enthusiastic volunteers demonstrated the machines and explained how they work, making it feel more interactive than some industrial museums that I’ve previously visited (Leeds, Calderdale and Bradford).

A special exhibition at the top of the mill is based on Sir Tony Robinson’s book The Worst Children’s Jobs in History (sponsored link). Kids can practice shovelling (fake) horse poo, picking vegetables, sweeping chimneys and looking after babies (dolls). Our toddler loved this, and threw a bit of a tantrum when I had to extract the doll from them to move on. It’s on until the 10th September.

Quarry Bank Gardens

Gardens

Last year, the gardens at Quarry Bank were renovated and this was completed earlier this year. They’re home to some nice decorative planting, a kitchen garden and a newly-renovated glass house. You can even buy some of the produce for a donation. A new visitor centre will open later this year, improving access to the gardens.

Next year will see Quarry Bank House opened to the public for the first time, along with some mill workers houses.

We didn’t go to the Apprentice House, which is a separate guided tour. I didn’t think our toddler would enjoy it, but maybe we can go again when they’re older.

Quarry Bank Mill

Getting to Quarry Bank

Quarry Bank is near the village of Styal and is just to the south of Manchester Airport, so it’s relatively easy to get to. It took me about an hour to drive there from Sowerby Bridge, in light traffic.

As with all National Trust properties, members get in free. I’m a member, and under 5s get in free, so it didn’t cost anything for either of us to visit, but Christine isn’t. Had she come with us, it would’ve cost her £20. That being said, there’s a lot to see and do and it’s a full day out; I got there at 10:30 and left about 3pm, and didn’t do the Apprentice House. National Trust members will find it especially good value for money.

My photos from Sunday are on Flickr, as usual.

Thornton Hall Farm Country Park

by

A couple of weeks ago we had a day out at Thornton Hall Farm Country Park, near Skipton in North Yorkshire. It’s an open farm, where there are various activities for kids along with an opportunity to meet the animals.

Thornton Hall is a relatively small farm, but with a variety of animals – llamas, donkeys, ponies, sheep, emus, cows, rabbits, ducks, pigs, chickens, goats and guinea pigs. We made it in time to feed the orphaned lambs and calves – our one-year-old was a bit young but older kids enjoyed it. There were regular petting sessions with the rabbits and guinea pigs.

Although Thornton Hall lacks an indoor soft play area, there are sandpits, a large slide for older kids, and space to drive toy tractors. Our one-year-old was just about big enough for the smallest tractors. There was also a small outside play area.

There’s a small café with reasonably good food, but not much space to sit inside. We visited on a quiet day but I would imagine that you would need to sit outside on busier days.

Available at extra cost were a ‘safari’ tour in a 4×4 around the fields,  a shorter ‘caterpillar’ tour, and pony trekking. The caterpillar was a series of converted plastic drums with wheels, linked together and hauled by a quad bike around the farm. With our toddler being rather small, we didn’t pay extra for these but may consider it on a return trip.

Thornton Hall farm isn’t very big, and would probably be of more interest for older kids. I think our one-year-old was a bit young – maybe once they’re two years old or more, that they’ll be able to get more out of a visit. But it was a nice, and relatively inexpensive day out – especially on weekdays, when it’s just £5 for one parent and one toddler. I think we’ll go back again in future.

RSPB Bempton Cliffs nature reserve

by
RSPB Bempton Cliffs

A couple of weeks ago, at the height of the recent heatwave that hit Britain, we decided to head for the East Coast, and specifically the RSPB nature reserve at Bempton Cliffs.

Bempton is to the north of Flamborough Head, and the tall chalk cliffs are full of nooks and crannies that provide plenty of nesting opportunities for seabirds. Consequently, over 200,000 birds make Bempton their home during nesting season, including puffins, gannets, herring gulls, shags and kittiwakes.

I’ve been to Bempton a few times before, as my paternal grandparents used to live nearby. But this was my first visit in many years, and Christine had never been before. We expected the usual seaside locations like Scarborough to be incredibly busy, and so this would be a quieter alternative. Plus, June is peak season for spotting puffins, which are one of my favourite bird species.

The visitor centre at Bempton has expanded a little since my last visit. There’s now a small café with outdoor seating, toilets and a bigger gift shop. Entry is just £4 for adults and £2 for children aged 5-17, with family tickets also available, and parking is free.

RSPB Bempton Cliffs

Bird spotting at Bempton

Once you’re out of the visitor centre, a network of footpaths takes you to various viewing platforms along the clifftops. On weekends, volunteers will have some telescopes set up trained on key points of interest, including the ever popular puffins. Whilst the platforms over-hang the clifftops, you’ll need to bring a decent pair of binoculars to be able to see anything up close. If you’ve not brought any with you, there’s a good range back at the gift shop to buy or rent.

The platforms nearest the visitor centre are all accessible, with lower barriers for those in wheelchairs (or pushchairs in our case). There are also various information boards for kids to introduce them to the various bird species that can be seen on the cliffs, and how to tell them apart.

Puffin

I was delighted to be able to take this photo of a puffin. It has been cropped somewhat; my longest lens has a 80-250mm range, which is better than nothing but still not really up to taking photos of individual birds. There were plenty of people there with huge zoom lenses and high-end cameras.

Although there was a café, we brought a picnic and there are several picnic areas across the site.

We had a really good time at Bempton. Seeing puffins was a real highlight, but there’s a wide variety of other seabirds there too. If you’re planning a visit, I would recommend doing so sooner rather than later, as some of the birds (the puffins especially) will depart soon.

V&A Museum of Childhood

by
V&A Museum of Childhood

Not all of London’s museums are in the centre of the city. The East London suburb of Bethnal Green is home to the V&A Museum of Childhood, home to a wide range of toys from several decades.

Now that our 18-month-old is an easily-bored toddler, we felt that we needed to go to a museum that would keep them interested. Thankfully, a museum filled with toys fits the bill, especially during school holidays. It’s technically part of the Victoria and Albert Museum, but doesn’t focus on art and sculpture like its larger Kensington sister museum.

A lot of the toys are enclosed in big glass cabinets, but there are some interactive exhibits. The most popular of which was simply a big pile of differently sized cardboard boxes, perpetuating the oxymoron that children are sometimes more interested in the box than the toy inside. Upstairs there was a sandpit, and we arrived just in time for an interactive story-telling session.

Our 18-month-old also enjoyed the sensory exhibit, with bubble tubes and multi-coloured lights. Christine and I appreciated the range of toys, which included the very old and the quite new. At the back is a large display of dolls houses, lit up as if in a large night-time scene.

We didn’t have the time to see everything as we had to go to meet a friend in the afternoon, so we only had a fleeting glance at the upstairs exhibits (sandpit aside). There’s quite a good café in the central atrium of the museum, which seemed quite busy even before lunchtime.

Entry to the museum is free, and it’s just up the road from Bethnal Green tube station on the Central Line. The museum itself is fully accessible but the nearby tube station doesn’t have step free access. We brought Lizzie in her sling as we knew we’d struggle with a pushchair.

Ravensprings Park Model Railway open day

by
Ravensprings Park

On Sunday, the Brighouse and Halifax Model Engineers had one of their regular open days at Ravensprings Park in Brighouse. The park is home to two loops of track for model and miniature gauge railway locomotives, and both were in operation.

For a small fee payable at the gate, you get access to the whole of Ravensprings Park and unlimited rides on the trains. The locomotives are rotated during the day, and, thanks to a signalling system, multiple trains can run at the same time. So although we had to queue for each train, the queues moved quickly. Each ride includes two trips around the loops, and takes 2-3 minutes. The locomotives are a mixture of steam and diesel.

Ravensprings Park

The inner track is raised, and has three track gauges, so that different trains can run. The outer track is at ground level and a wider track gauge; it features a second smaller loop (forming a figure of eight shape) taking you to the far end of the park.

There’s a café and toilets on site. The day we visited was also a charity day, raising money for the Forget Me Not Childrens Hospice, so there was a tombola and a ‘frog in a bog’ – catapulting a toy frog through a toilet seat. Only in Yorkshire.

The open days are generally monthly on the second Sunday through spring and summer, with the next one on the 9th July. After that, the park is open again on the 13th August, 10th September and 8th October. Of course, you could join the Brighouse and Halifax Model Engineers if you fancy visiting at other times. The open days are a fun day out, especially if the weather is nice. Our one-year-old seemed to enjoy the train rides, and there were children there from all ages, so it’s a good family day out.

You can view the rest of my photos on Flickr.

A child-free night out

by

Our toddler is approaching 17 months old now, and yet last night was the first time that Christine and I had a child-free night out, as a couple. We’ve struggled to get childcare in place, and our toddler is still breastfeeding before bedtime. Thankfully, this time we managed to arrange for a friend to look after them.

We went to a recording of I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue in Halifax. This is the second time we’ve seen the show be recorded; we saw the last two episodes of series 61 being recorded in Bradford in 2014. This time, they were recording the last episode of series 67, with guests Susan Calman (who we also saw later in 2014) and John Finnemore. Graeme Garden, one of the three regulars, wasn’t present for the recording, but Barry Cryer and Tim Brooke-Taylor were.

Though not quite a sell-out, the Victoria Theatre in Halifax was very busy. Tickets for ISIHAC recordings tend to only cost around £5, and so it’s a relatively cheap night out. Though each show is only around 30 minutes when broadcast, significantly more is recorded, and two episodes are taped at each recording.

These two episodes will be broadcast in July, I believe. Watch out for Susan’s lovely singing voice (although her vocal range did prove a limiting factor in the Pick Up Song round), and some controversial moves in Mornington Crescent. Sadly, you won’t get to see John’s facial expressions as he sings One Song To The Tune Of Another, such are the limitations of radio.

When we got home at about 10:30pm, our toddler was still awake but very, very tired. Suffice to say they were still asleep when we put them in the pushchair to go to the childminders this morning. Apparently they’d been perfectly happy whilst we were out. Hopefully, if our finances improve and we can get childcare again, then we’ll be able to have a few more nights out.

Going back to Eureka as an adult

by
A photo of the Eureka National Childrens Museum in Halifax

When I was a kid, I used to love going to Eureka, the national children’s museum in Halifax. I was eight years old when it opened in 1992, and so I was in the right age group to visit. I remember going with primary school at least once, and with my parents on other occasions.

Eureka turns 25 this year, and I took Lizzie along a few weeks ago. She’s been three times now – once with me, and twice with her mum. I took her because Christine was working that weekend, and we had a Tesco Clubcard Days Out voucher that was about to expire.

There are still quite a few bits of the museum there that I remember. I remember pedalling on a fixed bike, and seeing a skeleton appear doing the same motions. That’s still there, although the rest of the gallery around it is new. The SoundSpace gallery is new; Lizzie found this really stimulating with lots of sound and light. We also spent a little bit of time in Living and Working Together, and All About Me, but having arrived there after lunch on a Saturday there was only limited time.

When Eureka opened, it was almost unique in the level of interactivity offered. So many museums at the time locked their exhibits behind glass cases, and there would only be the occasional button to press. Eureka was different – you could play with just about everything. It was all about learning through play – a concept that it now applies to its nursery, which is consistently rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted. Nowadays, many more museums have exhibits which are accessible to kids, but Eureka was pioneering in this respect.

Eureka entry prices

Although it’s a national museum, Eureka doesn’t receive any central government funding, hence the need to charge an entrance fee. Our local MP, Holly Lynch, has been campaigning to change this. Making it free would be fantastic for Halifax, as it could bring in many more visitors to the town. Work is already ongoing to better link the town centre and the Piece Hall with Eureka and the railway station.

As it stands, for a family of two adults and two children aged 3 or over, a day out at Eureka is almost £52. Whilst the tickets are then valid for unlimited repeat visits within the subsequent 12 months, it’s still a big initial outlay. And that doesn’t include food at the café, parking or travel. It would be great if the museum could become more accessible to those on lower incomes.

Eureka is still a fantastic museum for kids. Quite a lot has changed in 25 years and I’m pleased to see how it’s developed. But it was also nice to go back and see things that I remembered when I was younger. And now that we live nearby, we’ll be getting the most out of our annual passes.

Beningbrough Hall

by
Beningbrough Hall

Easter Monday, despite being a bank holiday, was quite a nice day. So, we went to Beningbrough Hall, near York, with my parents in tow.

I’ve been before, as it’s not far from my parents’ house, and it’s a National Trust property. My parents have been National Trust members for years, and I also joined some time ago. Unfortunately, there aren’t many properties near us in West Yorkshire. East Riddlesden Hall is the nearest to where we live, and so I don’t get many chances to use my membership. So it was nice to be able to get some return on my membership fees. Plus, Christine has never been.

We didn’t go inside the hall itself, although I later found out that there’s a children’s playroom inside – dammit! Beningbrough Hall is a northern outpost of the National Portrait Gallery, and so there are many paintings inside.

Instead, we strolled around the gardens. They’re not the biggest, but they’re pretty and well-kept. Being Easter, there was the usual Cadbury’s Egg Hunt taking place. Our one-year-old was a bit young for this, but I think they’ll enjoy it next year.

There’s also a good outdoor playground. Again, it’s better for bigger kids, but our one-year-old enjoyed the swings. During school holidays, there are opportunities to build dens in the wood, and various other activities to keep children entertained.

As usual, there are photos on Flickr.

The National Coal Mining Museum for England

by
National Coal Mining Museum for England

Yesterday I took our one-year-old to the National Coal Mining Museum for England, which is near Wakefield. Christine was working again and I’d heard that it was a good place to take kids of all ages. Plus, it had the advantage of it being free to enter.

The mining museum opened in the late 1980s, and became a national museum in 1995. You can read more about the history of the site on Wikipedia. However, this was my first ever visit. My parents never took me as a child, and I hadn’t been as an adult because we’ve not had a car until recently. It’s not very well-served by public transport – typically three buses an hour from Wakefield, 2 from Huddersfield and 1 from Dewsbury. But there is ample car parking, and it’s on the main A642 road.

The main attraction is the opportunity to go down the old Caphouse Colliery coal mine. Alas, you need to be at least five years old to do so. So, we’ll have to come back to do that sometime after 2020 when our one-year-old is old enough. Fortunately, there’s a playroom for the under-5s with a ball pit and soft play area. Collectively, this kept our one-year-old entertained for the best part of an hour.

National Coal Mining Museum for England

Two coal mines

The mining museum actually spans two pits – Caphouse, and Hope Pit, which is at the other end of the site. A narrow-gauge railway runs between the two, and on weekends you can get on board a small battery-powered train. Alternatively, it’s a quarter of a mile walk.

You can’t go down Hope Pit, but most of the surface buildings are open to have a look inside, and there are some information panels and interactive exhibits. However, there were no staff on hand to talk about the exhibits – and this is something I noticed generally across the day. It’s a big museum, but I feel it could be brought more to life with more staff.

National Coal Mining Museum for England

Living and working

The entrance to the mining museum includes a visitor centre, and galleries focussing on the human side of the mining industry. How people lived, and the impact of industrial action, with a particular focus on the Miners Strike of the 1980s. I was born during the strike, so was too young to remember it. The museum tries to take quite a neutral line on the dispute; though it covers the hardship that mining families faced, it explains the other side as well. As a national museum, I expect that it receives central government funding, so this perhaps isn’t so surprising. But it’s a different attitude to, say, the People’s History Museum in Manchester.

One thing I noticed about the other visitors was that I was one of the youngest adults there, despite being in my thirties. There were lots of kids there (including a birthday party group) but many were with their grandparents, whom I’m guessing may have worked down the mines in their heyday, or lived in mining communities. Coincidentally, Friday marked the first time that Britain’s energy needs were met without coal for 24 hours.

Stables

Outside, you can visit the stables where two pit ponies and a horse now live. Although horses were used in commercial mining right into the 1990s (something I learned on my visit), none of these three horses has ever worked down a mine. At one time, these would have pulled a Paddy Train up the side of the mining museum site. But said paddy train was lying rusting in a far corner of the site, along with its plaque commemorating its opening in 1990. Indeed, several parts of the site are part-derelict. Unfortunately, being a free museum means that it’s reliant on donations and public funding.

This aside, I think we both had a good day out. Discounting lunch in the café, which serves reasonable but expensive food, we spent about 3 hours there. Had we been able to go underground, I expect this would have been longer. I’m sure we’ll be back when Lizzie is older.

Entertaining a toddler for a week

by

This week, we have no childcare. Our one-year-old normally spends weekdays with a childminder, to whom we pay quite a lot of money to every month. But, the childminder is on holiday this week, and so I’ve taken four days of annual leave to be a full-time parent.

I can’t remember if Christine and I discussed who would look after our one-year-old this week, but we presumably agreed that I was more likely to get the time off. It wouldn’t be fair if Christine was always the one to look after her; traditional gender roles be damned.

Additionally, Christine is working on Friday as well, despite it being a bank holiday. So I have the whole week to entertain a toddler.

Having spent the weekend doing fun things, Monday was spent partly at the supermarket doing boring things – namely, the weekly food shop. But we also went for a bit of a walk, and I took our one-year-old to one of the local parks for a play on the swings. This, of course, had nothing to do with it being a rare Pokémon nest in Pokémon Go, honest. We also dropped in to see my mother-in-law, who lives locally and whom we probably should see far more often than we actually do.

Yesterday, I arranged to meet a friend in Leeds for lunch, and afterwards we went to the Leeds City Museum. Christine and I had been before, which was probably a good thing; keeping my eye on a toddler the whole time meant that I didn’t get much of a chance to see many of the exhibits. It’s actually quite a good museum for kids; the basement is full of stuffed animals, but displayed in a themed way with some activity areas for kids. And upstairs there’s a soft play area, along with a special exhibition which is usually accessible to most ages. And it’s free, and there’s free Wi-Fi. Next time we’re in Leeds, we may drop in just to use the play area to let our one-year-old burn off some energy.

Today, I met up with another parent at another soft play gym. This one was just for the under-5s, so there are no big kids to push the little ones around. And, meeting up with other parents shares the load a bit.

Tomorrow, we’re meeting friends for breakfast, and then I’m taking our one-year-old to the newly-renamed National Science and Media Museum in Bradford. Afterwards, a quick drop into work to say hi, and then a meal out with colleagues.

As for Friday? Nothing major, other than packing to go to York for the Easter weekend.

Keeping a small person entertained is tiring. Not just for me, but for our one-year-old – indeed, the reason why I have a few spare minutes to write this blog post is because they’re fast asleep. Soft play isn’t just fun for them – it also buys you time later on when they need a nap. Hashtag: parenting hacks.