Days Out

A day out in Liverpool

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Liverpool

A couple of weeks ago, Christine and I ended up with a Friday off work and no plans. So, on a whim, we decided to go to Liverpool.

In the past, we would have caught the train. It takes a couple of hours from Sowerby Bridge, with a change in Manchester. But we decided to drive this time, which proved to be quicker and (probably) cheaper. We decided to stay the night, and we could bring all of our seven-month-old’s paraphernalia in the car as well. We managed to get a room in the Holiday Inn Express in the Albert Dock, which was great. It’s located in one of the old warehouses, above what used to be the studio for This Morning on ITV. The rooms still have the brick barrel-vaulting and ironwork intact, bringing some character to an otherwise bog-standard budget hotel.

We last came to Liverpool in 2010. Back then, we spent a couple of days in the city, before catching the ferry to the Isle of Man. This was before the Museum of Liverpool had opened, so now that it is open and established, we popped in. The gallery about the Liverpool Overhead Railway most interested me, as you can imagine, but the rest of the museum was worth looking around too. It’s also home to several of the Superlambananas that were created for Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture event in 2008. There’s plenty about the history of the city, although some of the exhibits about Liverpool’s suburbs will be more of interest to locals than those visiting.

Liverpool

Liverpool is one of my favourite places to visit. The area around the Albert Dock is fantastic, as is the Liverpool One shopping centre – it’s a great example of a retail development that blends into the city, rather than dominating it. I’m sure we’ll be back again in a few years time.

A day out at Chatsworth

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Chatsworth House

I booked a day off work on Wednesday, and we went on a road trip to the Chatsworth Estate in Derbyshire. The estate is owned by the Duke of Devonshire, and has been in the Cavendish family since the 16th century. There’s a large stately home, gardens, a farm, an adventure playground, and a farm shop, all open to the public.

Christine and I have both been to Chatsworth before, but separately; Christine lived in nearby Chesterfield about ten years ago, and I’d been with my parents in August 2003. Going back was always on our to-do list, and now that we have a car, getting there and back in a day from Sowerby Bridge became do-able.

Google Maps did its usual thing of offering a choice of routes. There was the expected route on the motorways, via Sheffield, or a more direct and scenic one through the Peak District National Park. As it was sunny and the two routes would take about the same amount of time, we chose the latter. It was a great drive, which took in part of the route taken by the riders of the Tour de France when Yorkshire hosted the Grand Départ in 2014. Alas, a couple of sections of road were shut and we arrived about 15 minutes later than planned, due to diversions.

Arriving at lunchtime, our first activity was to fill our rather empty stomachs. Chatsworth offers a number of places to eat, although as we came on a relatively quiet Wednesday, our choice was limited to a couple of outlets in the Stables Courtyard. We went for the self-service restaurant on the basis that the tea room across the way would have probably maxed out my credit card. I’m sure the food is exquisite, but our budget doesn’t quite stretch that far as yet. In any case, the restaurant food was good, and it was busy, suggesting that locals with money to spare come here just to eat.

Guinea Pigs

Our first post-lunch visit was to the farmyard – a part of the estate that I haven’t been to before. It’s not quite as big as the farm at Temple Newsam, and did cost more to get in, but there were more staff on hand to talk about the animals. We got introduced to Maggie the sheep, and were allowed to pet a days old chick that had recently hatched. The farm has over 30 guinea pigs and there are regular handling sessions throughout the day. Entrance to the adventure playground is included with the farm ticket, and I’m sure our little poppet will love it when they’re a bit older.

Afterwards, we went to look around the gardens. Sadly we only managed a small section – enough to get the classic photo of the house and fountain at the bottom, and to go into the temperate house. The temperate house includes some banana trees; Chatsworth was where the Cavendish banana was first cultivated. It’s now the most commonly-eaten banana in the world. We would have stayed longer, but in between baby feeds and staying out of the rain, which was starting to fall by the afternoon, we didn’t manage the upper sections of the gardens.

We called in at the farm shop on the way home. The Chatsworth Farm Shop is regularly voted one of the best in Britain, and it’s easy to see why – it’s huge, and the staff are knowledgable. We picked up some locally-cured bacon and sausages, made from pigs from farms on the estate, and some local cheese. If you’re a foodie, then the farm shop alone is worth the visit.

For the drive home, we decided to take the motorway route. But we had good day out and I’m sure we’ll be back there before too long.

Lotherton Hall

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A photo of flamingoes at Lotherton Hall Bird Garden

On Saturday, we went to Lotherton Hall, which, like Temple Newsam, is a stately home with parkland near Leeds. Whereas Temple Newsam has a farm, Lotherton Hall has a ‘bird garden’ – effectively a zoo specialising in birds.

I’ve been quite a few times before, as it’s on the York side of Leeds and therefore very easy to get to from York. I have vague memories of going on a school trip when I was in primary school, and one of the birds doing its business on the head of one of the teachers.

The majority of the birds are not native to Britain, so there are plenty of flamingoes, cranes, ibises and emus. Some attempt has been made to theme the areas, so most of the ducks are in one place, and the parrots and cockatoos are grouped together. There’s also a walk-through area with African birds. Highlights for us were the kookaburras, the owls and an agouti – one of the few non-feathered animals there.

The estate also provides a large playground, café, gardens, and the house itself. We had a stroll through the gardens but didn’t go into the house – bad weather was expected in the afternoon and so we wanted to be able to head off home.

As we’re staying at my parents’ house, I haven’t had chance to edit the photos and upload them to Flickr, so the photo above is as it came off the camera (albeit resized). We’re in York until Tuesday, and so hopefully I’ll have chance to work on the photos later this week.

York Model Railway Show

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Today, I accompanied my Dad to York’s annual model railway exhibition at York Racecourse.

It’s an event I’ve been going to from a very young age – both my Dad and I have an interest in railway modelling and there’s a large train set at my parents’ house in York. Although it’s gathering dust and hasn’t been used much over the last 10-15 years – I imagine that Dad planned to work on it in retirement but he’s been too busy doing other things.

So, the model railway show. It takes place over the Easter weekend and has run every year (I think) since the 1960s. Whilst I used to go every year, this was my first visit since 2013. There are a mixture of layouts, built by individuals and societies, as well as many trade stands.

The layouts vary greatly in size. Some are huge, requiring multiple people to operate, whereas others will easily fit in the back of someone’s car. The smallest was in a flight case, which used the diminutive ‘T gauge‘. Whilst many layouts used ‘OO’ gauge, which is the most widely available to those with trainsets at home, there were many others with bigger and smaller trains.

As you can imagine, model railways attract a predominantly older, male audience, but it’s popular with kids as well – footstools are available for hire for those otherwise unable to see the layouts. We didn’t take our baby this time as they’re a bit young, and it can be rather crowded – not ideal conditions for a pram. Maybe next year, when they can take an interest in what’s going on.

York is one of the larger exhibitions, both in terms of the number of layouts on show and also in length, as it runs over three days. Opening yesterday, it runs until tomorrow.

Home Farm at Temple Newsam

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Pig and piglets

On Saturday, Christine and I took out little one to the Home Farm, part of the Temple Newsam estate near Leeds. It’s a working farm with many rare breed animals, that is open to the public for visits. And, with it being the springtime, it was also full of cute baby farm animals.

Although much of the Temple Newsam estate is free to access, including the parkland, gardens and an accessible adventure playground for kids with disabilities, entry fees are in place for the farm. But it’s free for the under-5s and it’s only £3.60 per adult, and you’ll probably spend over an hour there so it’s good value. There’s also an additional playground that’s only accessible to those who have paid to enter the farm, and a lower field with donkeys.

Goat and kid

At three months old, our little cherub is a bit too young to appreciate the farm (and was asleep most of the time anyway) but it’s great for families with young kids. Most of the animals are willing to be petted, and there are information boards and staff on hand to talk about the animals. Many of the animals are ‘rare breeds’ – breeds that are less common in British farming, and, in some cases, under threat. The pigs, for example, are British Saddleback, Tamworth and Middle White breeds, and the sheep include Manx Loaghtan which are native only to the Isle of Man (although I don’t think any where publicly viewable when we went).

With it being the Easter holidays, I expect the farm to be really busy at present, but it’s well worth a visit, as long as the weather is okay. There are some indoor bits, but most of the farm is outside so it’s probably not the best way to spend a rainy day. Also, if you’re pushing a pram or wheelchair like we were, be aware that there are a lot of uneven cobbles, and that the farm is on a hillside.

Kate Lycett’s Lost Houses

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Bankfield Museum

Running a stately home is a lot of work – you only have to watch shows like Downton Abbey to see why. (note: I have never watched Downton Abbey.) Organisations like The National Trust spend millions every year to keep their properties going. Not all houses are lucky enough to have someone maintain them and some have fallen into disrepair or been demolished.

With this in mind, artist Kate Lycett has painted a series of pieces called the Lost Houses of the South Pennines, which has gone on display in Halifax’s Bankfield Museum. All of the paintings are of houses and stately homes in Yorkshire which are no longer standing, such as Manor Heath in Halifax (now Manor Heath Park) or Horton Hall near Bradford.

What makes Kate’s paintings stand out is her attention to detail. All of the paintings show the houses as if they were still in their heydays – lights on, and with an almost ethereal glow, giving them life again. Gold leaf has been woven in to good effect.

Alongside each piece is a description of the house – who built it, what it was used for, and its ultimate fate. Photographs are also provided, as are Kate’s scrapbooks that she used during her research. Ironically for an exhibition at a Calderdale Council venue, many of those houses were demolished by its predecessor organisations. Dry rot seemed to be a major problem in several properties but I think money (or the lack thereof) has been the major factor in most of the houses’ demise.

We’ve visited twice – Christine and I were lucky to be invited to the opening night by a mutual friend of the artist, but we also popped in with my parents at the weekend. It looks like it’s been pleasingly popular.

All of the paintings are for sale by sealed auction bid, but you can also purchase limited numbered edition prints that are signed by the artist. These include the gold leaf that the originals have. The exhibition runs until early April, and is free to visit.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park

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Amur Tiger

Yesterday, Christine and I took our little cherub to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, near Doncaster. It’s one of Britain’s newest zoos, having opened as recently as 2009. It’s been on our ‘to-do’ list of regional attractions for some time, but it’s not the easiest place to reach by public transport – from Sowerby Bridge, we’d need to get a train to Leeds, another train to Doncaster and then a bus, and then the same going back. Now that we have a car, it’s only a little over an hour’s drive away, and gave us something to do out of the house on Valentines Day.

Despite the name, the Yorkshire Wildlife Park is more like a zoo than a safari park, so you park your car and head in on foot. The park covers a large area, and unlike some zoos, has a narrower range of animals but larger enclosures with bigger groups of animals. Whilst one zoo might have one or two tigers, the wildlife park has six spread across two big enclosures. And there are some animals, like polar bears and an armadillo, that I haven’t seen in other zoos. No red pandas though.

Meerkats

Some of the enclosures allow you to walk through, but those that don’t usually have dedicated viewing platforms without metal railings in the way. Consequently it’s popular with photographers with some very large camera lenses and tripods around. As with most attractions, photography for personal use is fine, but commercial use requires a license.

My personal highlights were the tigers and the polar bears, although I also enjoyed the talk about the lemurs. Again, like most zoos, there are talks throughout the day, every half hour. Although we got there quite early, we didn’t get chance to see everything as what started as a very sunny (but cold) day turned to snow by the mid-afternoon. But I’m sure we’ll be back, especially as our little cherub gets a bit older and is able to appreciate it more. As it was, they were asleep in the pram most of the time.

Armadillo

Another thing that sets the wildlife park apart from its rivals is its range of food outlets; each one has a different focus and it’s good quality. We went to the Safari Cafe by the entrance and were impressed with the food and drink on offer, much of which is from local suppliers. Entrance to the wildlife park is, like many zoos, a bit pricey – we pre-booked online which cost £13.50 each for adults, but children over 2 will be charged £11.50. Tickets booked online are a pound cheaper, but make sure you check the weather first as almost all of the park is outdoors. And there are annual passes available for those who visit regularly – I expect we’ll be back quite a bit in a year or two as it’s our nearest outdoor zoo. We really enjoyed our day out and I strongly recommend it.

Thought Bubble 2015

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Christine and I at this year's Thought Bubble

After enjoying it so much last year, Christine and I made a return trip to the Thought Bubble Comic Con at the Royal Armouries in Leeds yesterday. I wore basically the same steampunk outfit as last time, but Christine had to wear something rather different as she’s now seven months pregnant. Sadly, her octopus headpiece (called Derek) was not playing well with her and so it was left in the car this time.

As with last year, we spent rather a lot of money, although our most expensive purchase was a babygrow from Genki Gear, so technically it wasn’t for us. We also picked up a couple of books, some comics, some decidedly bizarre Christmas cards and a few small pieces of artwork that we’ll frame and put on the (still mostly barren) walls of our new house.

We saw some great costumes – the £4 entry discount for cosplayers once again acting as an incentive to get people to dress up. I saw at least three female Thors, suggesting that Marvel’s decision to pass Mjölnir to Jane Foster has been well-received, several Starlords and a small boy dressed as a TARDIS. There was also a Hogwarts cosplayer with an actual owl, although I understand she was a paid professional. And the owl later did a poo on the floor.

It was great fun, and I’m sure we’ll be back again next year – all three of us.

The Old Brewery, Greenwich

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Lunch at the old brewery

This is the second in a series of posts about what we did on our recent trip to London.

After visiting the Cutty Sark, we took the short walk to The Old Brewery. Originally, this was the brewery of the Old Royal Naval College, opened in 1836 in Greenwich. In 2010, the Meantime Brewing Company moved in; at first, this was their main brewery but nowadays most of their beers are brewed elsewhere. Some brewing equipment remains, but the rest of the brewery is now a bar and café, owned by Meantime.

Meantime is one of my favourite brewers, and I’ve sampled most of their range of beers before. So I was pleased to have the opportunity to visit, even if it was just to have lunch in the café. As you’d expect, the full range of Meantime’s beers are available, either on tap or in bottles, and we had a happy couple of hours getting merry on good beer.

A northerner like me would find the food and drink a little pricey, but then it is in London, and slap bang in the middle of a UNESCO World Heritage Site to boot. Meantime’s beers are on the expensive end of the spectrum anyway.

The Meantime Brewing Company had humble beginnings, back in 2005, and was one of the first ‘craft beer’ breweries in the UK. However, this year it was taken over by SABMiller, the world’s second largest brewing conglomerate. This has seen some of its production moved to the Netherlands, where its beers are produced alongside Grolsch. SABMiller is itself in the process of being acquired by its largest rival, Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Whilst Meantime may no longer have its hipster credentials, they still produce good beer, and The Old Brewery is worth popping in to if you’re in Greenwich. You may struggle to get a seat at lunchtime, although there is plenty of outdoor seating if it’s a nice day.

The Cutty Sark

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A photo of the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, London

Slightly later than planned, here is the second in my series of blog posts about our recent trip to London.

On the Saturday, we went to visit the Cutty Sark, a ship in a dry dock in Greenwich, east London. The ship was built in the late 19th century, initially to deliver tea from Asia to Britain. In 1954, the ship was moved to a dry dock in Greenwich, and became a tourist attraction. I first visited it with my parents in the 1990s.

In 2006, the Cutty Sark was closed to visitors to allow it to be restored; forty years of standing on its keel meant that the ship began to sag. Despite a major fire, the ship re-opened as a museum in 2012, now raised on a series of supports. The dry dock has been glassed in, to make it an all-weather attraction, and to mimic the effect of the ship on water. This also means that visitors can walk under the ship for the first time, and there’s now a café at the bottom of the dry dock.

The tour starts inside the ship’s hold, with various displays telling the history of the ship and the cargo it carried. Some of these are interactive, and I particularly enjoyed the bench seats which simulate the swaying of the boat on rough sees. You then climb up to the top deck, which has been extensively restored, and you can pop into the captain’s quarters.

At £13.50 per head for adults, it is a little pricey for somewhere that most people will spend a couple of hours at, but discounts are available. We used a 2-for-1 voucher from Days Out Guide as we’d travelled to London by train. Cutty Sark DLR station is just around the corner so it’s easy to reach by public transport.

It was nice to see the Cutty Sark again, having been as a child. The restoration has been done very well, and the glass enclosure is a nice touch.