Quality time with Nanna and Grandad

It's the school holidays so it's time for grandparenting duties.

We visited the splendid ruins of Corfe Castle with Chloe.  A castle has stood here from 979AD until William the Conqueror built it in stone.  The scene of intrigue, betrayal and ruination during the English Civil War.

The walk to the castle entrance was pleasant with interesting facts along the way, and perfectly manageable for little legs.  There is also a lovely wooden play trail area which we walked along on the way out.

It's not as steep as it looks to climb to the top and Chloe scaled the whole thing in a state of excitement.  There are fantastic views at the top and it's fun to watch the steam trains going past.

There's a little quiz for children to do on the way round, at the moment, and Chloe received a National Trust Corfe Castle wristband for completing it.

You do need to keep a close eye on children, as there are multiple drops, slopes and gaps where they may take a tumble but Chloe was very well behaved and we enjoyed a picnic with fabulous views of the quaint village.

There are also interactive activities to help describe how life was many years ago and clothes for the children and Nannas to dress up in.

The sheer scale of the explosives that the Roundhead troops must have used in 1646 to level this massive castle is impressive...enormous battlements lie on their sides...to have survived siege and then be the victim of treachery changed the face of Corfe...although perhaps not so many fine stone houses in the village if the castle had been saved!!!!!  The Bankes family were friendly with King Charles and it is fortunate that they were allowed to survive and live in such beautiful places, such as Kingston Lacy, thereafter.

After three and a half centuries of ownership by the Bankes family, the castle was given to the National Trust.

A must for Famous Five fans and history lovers.

The following day we visited another National Trust gem.  Mottisfont.

A lovely place for children to run around and have fun on the grass.

There is a Beatrix Potter trail on until mid September.  This is a wonderful trail extending out on neighbouring fields with lots (29) of clues, activities and little fairy doors for the children to open.

As the weather was so lovely we enjoyed a relaxing picnic and then we had the perfect excuse to try the National Trust produced ice cream in the Stables (delicious by the way).

Don't miss the trout holding their position in the stream.  I have never seen so many fish holding their place in the current.  Chloe learnt you had to be quiet and stand and stare, especially in the shadows, and she got very excited when she spotted the fish, some quite large.

An idyllic sunny, happy family day.

Friday was yet another fabulously sunny day so we packed another picnic and headed to Adventure Wonderland.  Chloe and Jamie love it here and we love it because we can use our Tesco vouchers to get in.

We were met on arrival by Alice and White Rabbit.

There is also a very large and complicated hedge maze (be prepared to get lost, on a previous visit it took an hour for Nanna to get out!!!) but Grandad, as always, knew what to do.

The Maze is the third largest maze in the U.K.  Within the beech hedges, made up of 5,200 bushes, there are over 1.75 miles of paths to keep you guessing and exploring.

They had a great day, getting wet at the end on the battle boats.  They would have got a lot wetter but Grandad sensibly went to the car and got his coat which he used to shield them.  Perhaps a good idea to take swimmers and a towel next time.

This retirement lark is quite tiring........

And now Nanna is another year older!!!