Ickworth

Today E, P and myself went to Ickworth (NT) for a walk and then to do their Easter Trail.

 The woodland was lovely - really full of bird song!

 P tried to stroke a sheep - it was having none of it!

 We found lots of trees to climb.

 Then we stopped for a treat at the cafe. I had the scone of the month (a hot cross scone!)...

 and P and E had Hot Brownie, toffee sauce and ice-cream!

 We then did the Easter trail (an extra £2.50 per person).

 We followed the trail, looking for daffodils which the girls had to describe different items in boxes.

 We stopped to try the Trim Trail.

 We then collected the prizes!

cambridge literary festival

Today P and I went to hear both Robin Stevens (author of the Murder Most Unladylike series) and Anna James (author of Pages and co). Both talks were highly enjoyable - Robin Stevens talked about her life and then got the audience to help create a story. Anna James talked about her book and the stories she liked.

  I love the Literary festival and P and I had a lovely afternoon!

Astronight @ The Science Musuem

E, P and myself went for a sleepover at the Science Museum's Astronights!

It was themed around the Sun exhibition (soon to end).

We enjoyed a chance to explore it with the help of an app where we had to answer questions (I would have liked more time to explore it).

Then it was time for a snack before attending a talk on stars.

We then made a UV torch!

Then it was time for bed - well a roll mat on the floor with a sleeping bag. We headed down to the ‘Who Am I?’ exhibit. The room is actually huge so getting a bit of privacy is pretty easy, but if you’re an anxious sleeper – whether you’re worried about snoring, farting or just being surrounded by strangers – getting some shut-eye might be a bit challenging, plus it was quite light throughout the night. We went to 'sleep' about 11.45 and woke up about 6.45 - although I didn't sleep through! We then had breakfast of croissant, a muffin, raisins and a cup of tea before we had time to explore Wonderlab.

We then watched an IMAX film about Earth. That brought Astronights to a close, although you have till 12 to explore more of the museum before you need to collect your bags. We went to the Discovery Motion Theatre: Legend of Apollo which tried to show what it was like on an Apollo space mission to the move with moving seats and 3D glasses!


We then got the train back to Cambridge.

Hatfield Forest

Today we went for a walk round Hatfield Forest. We looked for signs of Spring - plenty of blossom, catkins, new leaves and lots of bird song!

 We stopped for some drinks and chips at the cafe where we were visited by Jackaws and Ducks hoping for dropped food!

 Walking back to the car, we found this cool tree (or is it 2 trees?).

Paxton Pits

In preparation for a school trip, I took the girls for a spring walk around Paxton Pits which is about 45 minutes drive out of Cambridge. The Paxton Pits are 77 hectares of lakes, meadow, grassland, scrub and woodland, famous for its nightingales and cormorants and is home to a wide variety of other birds, insects, mammals and flora. The gravelled paths are pretty much all on the flat so walking is easy going, the choice is about how far you want to walk and whether you want to see pits, river or both. However, during the week the active gravel pits are used by heavy lorries so care has to be taken when driving in to and out of the car park. There is a visitors centre with free toilets and a small cafe!

 Evidence of Miner Bees: