We love The National Trust - Wallington

Wallington is a Stunning National Trust property in Northumberland surrounded by beautiful gardens and exciting woodland.

Climbing Tree

The Climbing Train

The park

It is a HUGE hit with our family for days out. There is always plenty to do come rain or shine! There is of course the beautiful house to explore but the attraction of Wallington to our family is the amazing woodland and play areas, with its own climbing tree, climbing train, 2 play areas den building area and nature hut this really is a great place to explore and really enjoy nature and the natural beauty of Northumberland.



There are endless amounts of places to explore walks to follow and gardens to enjoy.

Den Building

Again free parking and plenty of clean toilets, however unlike the previous properties I have blogged about this is much much bigger and so the toilets aren't always as close as you would like.

As with most N T Properties there is a cafe that serves food and drinks but with all the woodland and greenery we tend to take our own picnics and find a secluded spot to enjoy lunch.

There are plenty of events through out the year here including Bug hunts, Easter Egg Hunts and Book Making. Please follow this link to see the up and coming events at Wallington: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wallington/things-to-see-and-do/events//

Overall highly recommended a fab family day out to really blow the cobwebs away and burn some energy.

For prices and opening times please see National Trust Website: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wallington/visitor-information/

We Love The National Trust - Cherryburn

During half term we paid our first ever visit to Cherryburn and were very impressed, unfortunately due to the weather we have had lately some parts of the property were closed off and of course there were no animals there as its winter so cant wait to go back when everything is fully open.

We had a fantastic day at first we noticed how small it was and wondered if we would actually be able to keep ourselves entertained all day but how wrong we were.

Mud painting was a big hit!

There is plenty of lush green grass to run around on and we enjoyed hours playing games on the lawn tennis, football and domino's to name but a few and the boys even tried Mud painting which was a big hit.

There was also a fantastic den building area and plenty of trees to climb which our 2 boys loved.

We managed to enjoy our first outdoor picnic of 2014 as the weather was glorious and there were plenty of picnic tables in the gardens at the back of the house with amazing views.

Stunning

The boys quickly made friends with 2 chickens and spent most of the afternoon chasing them around and trying to feed them jam tarts :)

Our new best friends

Although we didn't purchase any food from the tea room we did have a coffee which was a whopping £1.20 each cheaper then the coffee we purchased the day before at another N T property.

Parking was free and close to the property and nice clean loos located right in the center of it all.

Den building

Overall a beautiful tranquil property with fantastic views and open spaces to play and explore a beautiful and intimate place where the kids could roam and play safely and happily while we relaxed.

Again as with all National Trust Properties they have regular events planned and also some fantastic printing demonstrations.

Id also like to give a special mention to all the staff at Cherryburn when we visited (19/02/14) they were so polite and helpful it made our visit even more memorable.

Cant wait to visit again in the Spring.

For opening times, prices and events please follow link https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cherryburn/

We love The National Trust - Seaton Deleval Hall

We finally made the decision late last year to become members of The National Trust and honestly don't know how we managed before our membership.  There are so many fantastic places to visit and its great to get the kids out and away from the television or games console. 

To date we have only managed to visit properties in and around our home county of Northumberland but are really hoping to get around to visiting some of the sites further a field once the weather improves, so probably around September time knowing this country.

We have decided to share some of our thoughts about our favourite NT days out and hope to inspire you and your families to visit.

Tranquil Gardens to enjoy.

                        

A lovely little place to visit just a few minutes drive from the coast stunning sea views, beautiful gardens and a truly magnificent building.  
There is a small tea room serving the usual cakes, biscuits and drinks which aren't overly priced a fruit scone with jam and butter, 2 biscuits, a slice of chocolate cake, 2 coffees and a hot chocolate cost us around £12.00. 

There are plenty of activities for children a wonderful play area, the play paddock complete with Hay bales to climb on, basketball and football nets, a small maze  and a make and do craft every Sunday making different things each week.

The Play Paddock.

Our pretend Campfire

Every little boys favourite things trees, mud and climbing.

We often enjoy a peaceful picnic in the gardens before exploring the surrounding woods and our 2 boys LOVE to play Hide and Seek in the cellars all the dark little tunnels and alcoves make the perfect hiding spots.

Parking is free which is always a bonus and the hall and surrounding area is just the right size to enjoy a nice little stroll especially with smaller children who don't like to walk very far, the toilets are nice and central so they are never far away when needed.

There are often special events on please follow the link to have a look at up and coming events at the hall and see what interests you Special Events

Inside Deleval Hall

Special events or no special events we highly recommend a visit to this beautiful property well worth a look and a great family day out.

For opening times and prices or for details on how to become a member of The National Trust please follow this link Opening times and prices

Plessey Woods Autumn Walk

 Plessey Woods Country Park

Visit to bertorelli in newbiggin

 CAFFE BERTORELLI

Newbiggin-by-the-sea

Saturday 9th November

On arriving in Newbiggin we parked in the Church point car park and after getting wrapped up in our coats, hats and gloves we started to walk along the sea front which is just a nice little walk stopping off at the small statue for the kids to get there photo taken again!





After our brisk walk we got to Caffe Bertorelli which looks quite plain from the outside where there was plenty of tables outside but we opted for a seat inside, The staff were all very friendly and made us and the kids very welcome.
I just went for an americano coffee with Hayley having a Latte and the kids asking for some hot chocolate, also Luis and Emilio shared a big lump of the chocolate cake which went down a treat, with Hayley and i sharing a piece of millionaires shortbread which was very nice.
Prices were about what you expect to pay, the bill came to about £12

Luis and Emilio enjoying  hot chocolate