Day 13 Winter lights 2019

Today the husband. me and I and P went to the Winter Lights at Anglesey Abbey. This year we walked the other way round and there were more music with the lights. We also missed the smoke machine!

Day 1 Make the house Christmassy

Today the girls put up the nativity scene and the Christmas lights.

Thetford forest and Go-ape

P, E and myself went to High Lodge at Thetford Forest which is about an hour from Cambridge. I love Thetford forest although parking is expensive (although if you work out per person for a day out it is very good value! I paid £12.50 for a day (more than 4 hours!)) and the cafe isn't great  - I would recommend taking a picnic! There are lot of things (paid) to do or you could go for a walk or a bike ride on one of the many trails.
First the girls played on the lovely play equipment.

 Then we went for a walk through the lovely forest...

 ..and P enjoyed playing on the musical trail.

 The girls then went on the Treetop adventure which they loved. P got scared on one little part but managed it. They only got to round once in their hour as it was super busy which they were a little disappointed about.

Chelsea Physic Garden, Body Worlds and Mr Gum and the dancing bear.

We visited Chelsea Physic Garden, a short walk from Sloane Square tube station. You enter by an assuming entrance - 4 acres surrounded by high brick walls. It is a remarkable garden originally created in 1673 by the Apothecaries in which to grow medicinal plants. It’s a living, breathing museum, complete with labels and educational messaging next to every ‘exhibit’. If you want to know where aspirin comes from, you can actually see and touch the plant right here. We just enjoyed wondering round. P did the children's trial which she liked!

 We then went for a wonder round Battersea Park...

 ...and a snack in the park.

 We the took the tube to Piccadilly where we went to Body Worlds, a new permanent museum taking the place of Ripley’s Believe it or Not. Body Worlds is a museum made up of real, plastinated people and is unlike any museum or exhibit you’ll have ever seen. preserved human bodies used in 200 exhibits across 6 galleries giving a thought provoking, educational insight into our reproductive, respiratory, cardiovascular and metabolic systems. All exhibits are fascinating and strangely beautiful! It is worth noting there is a cloakroom before you enter the museum as you are only allowed a small bag for your journey round. There is also lift access and stair access on each floor as well. You get an audio guide which tells you about the different exhibits. 

We then walked over the river to the National Theatre.

 We went to see Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear in which Andy Stanton has adapted his own crazy but kind children's book about the unlikely friendship between feisty nine-year-old Polly and the giant bear she rescues from a miserable life of humiliation, and peppers it with bouncy songs by Jim Fortune. From what I remember it seems quite faithful to the book with shouts of, "The truth is a lemon meringue." It is suitably bonkers and we loved it! 

Cornwall - Day 2

Today we left our holiday cottage and drove to visit the Lost Gardens of Heligan. There are over 200 acres which are now a paradise for the explorer, wildlife, plant lover and garden romantic. Victorian gardens provide the café with homegrown vegetables and the pleasure gardens beckon, along with winding paths laid out over 200 years ago. The Jungle takes you on a sub-tropical journey through bamboo tunnels and under majestic tree ferns, giant rhubarb and banana trees. As well as playing host the UK’s only Burmese rope bridge, these Jungle is 5 degrees warmer than the rest of the gardens! You can wander around the estate and discover traditional and rare breeds, wildlife and ancient woodlands.