Aaron's Blog

Archive for the ‘Holiday’ Category

During the weekend before Christmas, Kelly and I surprised the boys by taking them straight from school to Drayton Manor Park for their Magical Christmas Experience.  Obviously, we went to a hotel first for the night!! But the following day, we got up nice and early and made sure we arrived at the park for opening time, which was 930am.  The hotel we stayed at was only 15 minutes away, which was great, and we had a nice big room and they even had some activities for the boys to do when we got there.  Once of them was to write a letter to Father Christmas and to then post it in a special box in reception before bed to see if he would write back to them.  They all did this and when they woke up in the morning, there were 3 letters by the hotel room door.  They were all pleased with this, especially Aaron and Coby, as Father Christmas had written back to them all!! The Premier Inn must have had a special agreement with Father Christmas over that weekend, especially as it was so close to Christmas!

The day at Drayton Manor Park didn’t start off too well as Ben pushed Coby out of the car which meant the car door smacked against the car next to us, with them in it.  The guy came out and wasn’t very pleased and made sure we knew that, but it was an accident.  He didn’t want to take any money from us so we left it at that – great start!

Anyway, we walked on in and went straight to Thomas Land.  Most of the rides didn’t start until 10:30 am, but some had obviously been through their daily checks and were already going, so we went on a few.  We then went to the 4D cinema which was showing Ice Age before heading back to Thomas Land for a show with the Fat Controller.  We then went on more rides, mostly in Thomas Land, but some in other areas of the park.  Thomas Land had been decorated for Christmas nicely and there were trees dotted around and they had put snow on the roofs of the little houses there as well.  The trains were also decorated with Christmas lights and tinsel, so it was all very nice. We all went on various other rides before walking up to the other area of the park to see what other rides were open.  We had a go at a train shooting gallery ride, which was completely different to anything we had been on before, which we all thought was great, and another pirate ship ride.  By this time it was time for food so we managed to get a table in the burger bar and had some burgers and chips for dinner.  We then walked up around the zoo to have a quick look and listened to a Reindeer talk and got close to a Tiger which was right next to the fence.  It was getting quite cold at this point so we wandered back down towards the main area of the park and got some nice warm donuts, which were delicious! We then went on a few more rides before it was time to queue up to meet Father Christmas.  We got to the queue before our time but we ended up having to wait a good 40 minutes to eventually see him, which was a bit rubbish really! The boys were playing up at this point as well as they were bored just standing around, which was a shame. When we eventually got to see him, he had a chat with each of the boys individually and asked if they had been good and were enjoying the day, and also asked what they mainly wanted for Christmas.  Coby looked in awe of him, Aaron looked worried when he was being talked to and Ben just took it all in his stride but didn’t get too close! haha. The boys then had a photo with him and he gave them each a gift, which turned out to be a nice star shaped Magical Christmas at Drayton money box, a cool looking Elf and a voucher for entry into the park with a paying adult in 2020.  At least Ben didn’t get a magic set this year!!  Once we had seen Father Christmas, we rushed back to the main area of the park for a Christmas parade that had already started. Typically the parade time was the same time that we were in visiting Father Christmas, which we only found out about a week earlier via an email! Anyway, we saw that and it wasn’t too special anyway but at the end of it came the Fireworks display over the lake. This was really good and we got good positions to watch it.  It lasted quite a long time really but there weren’t any really big bangs due to the animals on the park but it was still very good.  And that was that….it was time to go again.  We did nip in to the sweet shop to get some sweets for the boys on the way out and had a final walk around the areas that we could get to before heading out and back to the car.

Overall, we had a lovely day but it definitely wasn’t as good as Paultons last year.  It seemed more organised there and more magical, with less people so we could just walk straight on to the rides in most cases, instead of having to queue a bit here, and they also did a Roast Turkey in their restaurant.  Meeting Father Christmas was also better there as they had a long Christmassy walk to go and see him, with animatronics and other magical stuff, and we didn’t have to queue up for 40 minutes!  Saying that, it was nice at Drayton and the boys actually said they preferred it here – possibly due to Thomas Land!  We had a nice, magical day out and had some fun before our long journey home in the car.

For our main holiday this year, we went camping at a Park Dean holiday park in Mullion in Cornwall for 4 nights from Monday to Friday. Typically, the weather was really awful on our first day and caused lots of problems trying to setup the tent and everything else! It took us a good part of 3 hours to get sorted and it was a nightmare trying to get the tent up correctly in the high winds.  We were slightly lucky though, as it had been torrential rain all morning and early afternoon until we got there when it stopped! If it had been raining as well, I don’t know how we would have been able to put the tent up.

Anyway, we eventually got it up and got everything in and setup before having a wash as we were all hot and sticky as it was still a warm day. We had decided beforehand that we would eat out in the complex on the Monday, knowing we would be tired from the drive and effort with setting up camp. So we went to the pub/restaurant and had a nice meal and afters. The food was delicious, thank goodness, and we all scoffed it all! We then went into the entertainment area and managed to get some seats next to the Pool tables, but they were as far away as possible as it was really busy in there. It did allow Ben and myself to have a quick game though, which I won, but Ben played really well!  Eventually, we managed to get a bit closer but then ended up under one of the big speakers which was very loud indeed! We stayed there for a while and had a drink and watched the shows that were being put on (the usual sort of thing!) before we went into the arcade for a bit. The boys were desperate to go in there and had been going on about it all night. So we had a good go in there and got plenty of tickets to store until later on in the week when we would exchange them for some prizes.  There was only the occasional rain shower at this point, so we did manage to get back to camp and sorted for bed whilst it was dry.  The night was horrendous though and I barely slept, even though the boys slept through everything! The main issue was the wind. It picked up really strongly overnight again and the tent was shaking from side to side and you could hear the wind howling along the treeline until it hit the tent. There were also some torrential downpours of rain, so it was a very interesting night!

The next morning, we were able to get up and take in the surroundings a bit more. Our pitch was in a massive field where the pitches were dotted around the edges.  It was ideal for the boys as they had a very large area of the field to play in so they took advantage of this and spent a lot of their time playing football, throwing the vortex and other games.  We had a small toilet and shower portacabin in our field, with the main facilities in a field next to ours. Apparently, they had only been opened in the past few days so they were basically new, but they were very small and were not brilliant at all really. The only good thing was that the showers were electric which meant we could actually choose the heat instead of the usual showers where you press a button in and a stream of hot water comes out, which is way to hot for myself and the boys. So we were happy with this anyway!  We didn’t really do too much during the day as the weather was showery on and off and also still quite windy. We did have a little walk around the complex and went swimming in the indoor swimming pool, which was really good. It was nice and shallow so was perfect for Coby and the boys (if not the adults), so they were having a great time splashing around and interacting with the water guns that were there (it was a Pirate theme so had a big Pirate ship with various water guns coming from it).  It was very busy when we got there but we managed to get in, just about.  Afterwards, we had showers back at camp and had some food that we had brought with us for tea. We then went over to watch the entertainment again, which was mostly the same as the night before, and then went into the arcade. We managed to sit slightly closer this time, but it was still next to the Pool tables, so Ben and I had a quick match which I won again. 2-0 to me!!  In the arcade, Coby and I did win a Spider-man from the grabber machine, so we were very pleased with that! Aaron had also made a friend in the tent next to us at this point, so he played some games in the arcade with him as we bumped into him there as well. He was called Kane and is the same age as Aaron, so they got on very well! We then headed back to camp and put the boys to bed. I don’t think we left the arcade until past 10pm so it was another late night. But just as Kelly and I got into bed, two search and rescue helicopters started circling over us. They were so close that the tent was shuddering a bit from the blades and I could see the lights on them through the top of the tent. It was an awful sound that was so loud it was ridiculous. This went on for over an hour an eventually stopped just after 1am when they either found what they were looking for or moved on somewhere else. Kelly and I got out of the tent to take a look at one point and were glad that we did as the sky was perfectly clear and we could see so many stars and even the Milky Way. We also saw some amazing meteors as it was the Perseids meteor shower!  Somehow, the boys slept through all of this mayhem, so they must have been shattered as it was so noisy! What a first two nights we had had!

On the Wednesday, we had planned to go to Flambard for the day, using our Tesco vouchers, but we woke up to torrential rain again so we decided against it. However, by mid-morning, it had dried up so we decided to get some discounted tickets to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary from reception and go there.  We got there around 11ish to find a massive queue to get in. We nearly turned around and left it but we hung on and went in and, luckily, it was fine once you got inside. The only trouble was, was that the weather changed completely and was now glorious sunshine and really hot! We hadn’t even thought to bring sun cream with us as it wasn’t great when we left the campsite. So we were all boiling and trying to stay out of the sun, which didn’t happen really! We had a good time there though, and went to a few of the Seal and Sea Lion talks. The boys really enjoyed it there as well, as there were other animals such as donkeys, ponies, otters and more, and also a play area where they could run around and do some climbing on the apparatus.  We had dinner there as well (some nice pasties) and stayed until closing time. We then headed back to the car and decided, as the weather was so nice, to go for a drive to The Lizard, as myself and the boys had never been there before. It was really busy there but we parked OK and walked down to the Lizard Point, which was a bit scary really! We had to keep a tight hold of Coby as he tends to trip over and be silly and we obviously didn’t want him falling down the cliff face! We had a nice walk along there and down to the old Coastguard hut and then back up the hill. The view was amazing and there were lots of Dutch people around, strangely! There was also a guy taking photos on the edge of the cliff with his little boy next to him, on the cliff side of him. The boy was so close the edge of the cliff that we couldn’t watch in the end! We also wandered over to the lighthouse but that was closed up for the night, which was a shame. We then headed back to the tent, all tired, sweaty and slightly sunburnt and relaxed for the evening. We all played catch with the vortex and with the rugby ball until it got too dark and so we went to bed.

Thursday was meant to be the nicest day of the week, so we had planned to stay on site all day, which we did. During the morning, we went in the outdoor swimming pool and had a splash around before heading back to camp for a BBQ for dinner, which was very nice. It was really sunny and hot at this point! The boys had a game of football and threw the vortex around with us before we went back to the indoor pool and had a splash there. At this point, Aaron’s friend had to leave so he said his goodbyes in the pool, which was a shame. We headed back to camp for a wash and some sandwiches for tea before we went to see the entertainment for our final evening.  Before this, we did manage to pack some of our things up, as we had to be off our pitch by 10am the next morning! The entertainment was much better this time as it wasn’t very busy for some reason, so we got a good table with a good view. They even had a Danger Mouse show, which we enjoyed! I had my final two games of Pool with Ben and beat him on both, but he was getting better each day and pulled off some excellent long shots! The final score for the week was 4-0 to me. After all that, we went in the arcade to use up our final few pounds and pennies and intended to get our tickets in the machine to claim our prizes, but one of the ticket machines was broken and people in front of us decided to take bags and bags full of tickets to process. So we must have been stood up for 35 minutes or more before we gave up! The prize desk had also closed at this point so we had wasted a lot of time there! The boys all had great fun in the arcade all week and spent too much money really!  We headed back to the tent and to bed but Kelly and I were kept up, yet again, until the early hours of the morning! This time, by a shrew or something like that burrowing under our tent. We had heard a scratching noise and thought it was outside but eventually we stuck our heads out from the sleeping pod and heard it right in front of us and saw a lump under the tent. The animal had managed to get half way across under our tent, either beneath the ground sheet as well, or above the ground sheet and under our tent flooring. We ended up having to block it off to try and get it to turn around again. It was so slow and we gave up in the end and went back to bed and tried to ignore the occasional scratching! Luckily, it had gone by the morning!

We had to be up very early on Friday as, like mentioned above, we had to be off the pitch by 10am.  We just about managed to do this and got everything in the car (just about) but Kelly and I had to have  shower as we were sweating buckets as it was a boiling day! To do this, I had to leave the boys on their own whilst I had a quick shower but, even though they promised to be good, when I got back, there was tears and shouting, so I was very mad with them. Anyway, we stopped in the arcade again on the way out and, again, had to wait for annoying people to empty bags worth of tickets into the machine, before we could get ours and chose the prizes that the boys wanted. Eventually, we got it all done and they were all happy with what they had got! Phew! So, we made our way to Flambards for the day and had a wonderful time there! We went on loads of the rides and the boys absolutely loved it and wanted to go again very soon! Kelly went on a big swing ride with Coby and Ben whilst Aaron and I went on the Log Flume (I have got a bit braver now!). We did this several times in a row and Kelly ended up making herself feel quite ill! We ate food there as well and managed to walk all around the park, including through the Victorian village exhibition. It was lovely and quiet as well, so we were able to basically go from ride to ride without really having to queue. I also went on the Hornet roller coaster with Coby 3 times in a row, just before closing time, which he loved! The day was really great but went way too quickly for our liking. We then had to get back into the car and I drove home and that was our week camping!

So, we had had a very mixed week! We had some awful weather to begin with but it turned out really nice towards the end of the week.  The facilities on the site weren’t that great though, which was a shame. They could have done with a much better, and cleaner, shower and toilet block in our field. However, the swimming pools were really good and the bar/restaurant was nice as well. The entertainment complex was good apart from they had a little bar there so you had to queue up for ages to get a drink. We probably won’t go there again as you could tell camping was low down on their facilities priorities list but we had had a nice week all in all and the boys really enjoyed it as they managed to sleep through all the dramas during the night!

At the end of June, we camped at Whitehill Country Park in Paignton again, the same as we did last year. Alex, Josh, Caleb and Sophia joined us as well, and it was a very nice weekend!

I had the day off on the Friday so Kelly and I were able to go up as soon as we were allowed on the pitch and setup the tent. It was quite windy so we had an interesting time trying to put the tent up! We did it though, and it was hot in the sun. I left Kelly to it and went back and picked the boys up from school and took them straight to the campsite. Kelly had finished everything by then so we headed straight for the outside pool for a swim. It was lovely in the pool and nice and quiet as not many people had arrived by this time. We then went back to camp and Alex and Josh arrived so we started up a BBQ for us all to eat. We then relaxed for the evening!

On Saturday, we went swimming in the morning, but it was a bit more overcast at times although the wind had dropped. We had some fun in the pool before heading back to camp for some food. During the afternoon, we went for a walk around the park and to the two playgrounds where the children could play. It was much warmer and sunny in the afternoon so we were quite hot! We were meant to go back to camp and change before heading out for tea but we were already down there and it was getting close to tea time, so we went straight to the bar and got a table outside and ordered our food. The food was very nice again! We then went in for the evening entertainment, which was basically the same as last year. Coby was up dancing again and taking part, but Ben and Aaron held back, apart from one dance when they managed to get a lolly each! Tut! We then stayed for Bingo and was number away from getting £20, before heading back to camp to relax before bed, including kicking the ball around until it got too dark!

Sunday was our final day camping so we relaxed for most of the morning before heading off to the pool again before lunch. We had a big breakfast to finish off the food that we had left, so we were all fat and full! It was much cooler on Sunday so the pool wasn’t as warm unfortunately. We still had a good paddle though! We then went back to the tent and changed and gave the boys some food, as they were hungry again by now. We then had to start packing the tent up to go home. This took a while and was awkward again as the wind had picked up for the afternoon! We eventually did it and shoved everything back into the car, somehow! On the way home, we all stopped by the entrance and had an ice cream, as we hadn’t had one all weekend. The children then had a short play in the playground before we headed off home.

We had all had a good weekend and the weather was OK apart from the wind! There were some issues with neighbouring tents overnight unfortunately, but we would definitely go back again, probably next year!

Over the bank holiday weekend in May, we camped at Woodlands again. This was our third year taking part in the rally and we all really enjoyed it again. The weather wasn’t as good as last year but it was dry all weekend although cold in the evenings and in the shade. I took a half day on the Friday so I was able to go up with Kelly for 2pm (when we were allowed on the pitch) to set up the tent. There were several other families from School who went as usual (more this year though!) so one of the other mum’s (Faye) went back and picked up her and our boys from School, so we could finish setting up. We also did a BBQ for a few of us that night as part of the arrangement for Faye to go and get the boys. Alex, Josh, Caleb and Sophia came again this year and so did Josh’s brother and family. All of us were in the same field which was great, so all the children were off playing as soon as they arrived again – only coming back for food and drink! I managed to watch Everton beat Burnley 2-0 in their final home game of the season on my phone that evening, so I was happy with that! After the boys had eventually gone to sleep, Kelly and I put out Aaron’s birthday presents for his 8th birthday on Saturday and put a few decorations up (banners and balloons), ready for the morning.

The following day was Aaron’s 8th birthday, so we started the day with him opening his presents (see his 8th birthday post here) before we had a nice cooked breakfast and spent the day in the park walking around and going on the rides. There were a lot of us this year so we were a big pack! Ben and some of his friends were allowed to go off on their own for a couple of hours at a time before meeting us again, as they are old enough to do this now, and have mobile phones in case of any problems. They were all fine, which was good. We did meet up with them for lunch at the very bottom of the park next to the sand pit but they didn’t stay long before wanting to go off again. Most of them were wet at this point as they had been on the water rides! The rest of us spent the afternoon walking around other areas of the park and ended up in the indoor soft play where I went around with Coby and a couple of his friends until I was sweating buckets! The weather was nice and dry but chilly in the shade but I wore shorts especially for the indoor soft play as I knew I would be sweating!  About an hour before closing, Aaron and I went down to the water rides and had a couple of rides on the Twister. We both got quite wet and it was very cold queuing up for the ride in the wind! We then met up with Kelly and Coby and some of the other families that had wandered down before walking back up to camp where we had a BBQ for tea. It had been a very nice day but the evening came in pretty cold indeed!

On the Sunday, we had some normal breakfast, washed and went down to the park again. The routine was mostly the same as the day before apart from we went to different areas of the park that we hadn’t been too yet. Ben and the others his age went off again on their own and met us for lunch in the same place. Ourselves and a few other families then went on the pedalos in the bottom lake and had good fun chasing after each other! haha It was hard work though as I was the only one who could reach the pedals in our boat (as Kelly was in the back with Coby) as Aaron couldn’t quite reach! My legs were tired after that! We had good fun in the Master Blaster zone, where I got whacked on the nose twice by a lady we didn’t know, and got wet again on the water rides. This time, I went on with Coby a couple of times, but he didn’t want to get wet so gave up. On the way back up to camp, we stopped and got takeaway pizza, which was as nice as it had been the last couple of years that we had been.  I then had a play around with the rugby ball with Coby and Reuben’s Dad, Brad. Nearly all of the other children were in bed fast asleep by 8pm as they were all shattered, so it was a much more settled and quiet evening. It was also even colder and there was frost overnight, so not at all like last year when it was boiling all day and all night!

The Monday morning was quite hectic as we decided to pack up our stuff and tent before we went down into the park. We had a big cooked breakfast to use up all of the remaining fresh food and set about packing up. It took us quite a while and we couldn’t fit everything back into the car, due to Aaron’s birthday presents, so we had to send some of our stuff back with other people! haha Once we had managed to pack everything away, it was nearly lunch time, but we walked down to the park and met everyone else in the big indoor soft play. The boys, and I, had a run around there for a while before we split off from the other families and headed over to the Master Blaster and the last few goes on the toboggan with Alex and Josh. We didn’t want to go on the water rides as we didn’t want to get wet as we would have to stay wet until we got home! Ben stayed with us for most of the day today as he had been off with his friends on Saturday and Sunday so we had hardly seen him during the time in the park.  We stayed on the dry rides until nearly 4pm when we had to leave and go back to the car and drive home. Coby even went on the big pirate ship and another big ride and loved it, but then got in a mood and started stamping his feet when it was time to go (he was tired out!).

We had all had a great weekend again, for our 3rd year at Woodlands Camping. All the families got on well and all the children enjoyed playing with each other inside and outside of the park.  The weather was nice and dry although quite cold in the shade during the day and very cold overnight to the point of frost! So not at all like last year when it was boiling all day and all night. We are already looking forward to next year!

The Friday before Christmas, we went to Paultons Theme Park for the day. We travelled up on the Thursday evening after school and didn’t tell the boys where we were going, so it was a big surprise until Aaron noticed that there were bags in the car at school pickup! They were then all very excited! We stayed in a hotel about 2 mins away from the park and got there nice and early, so we could have a relaxing evening, before the big day on the Friday.

We got up nice and early on the Friday and had some food, which we had brought with us, before heading over to Paultons for opening time at 10am. Although there were a few cars there already, the park itself was nice and quiet so we headed over to Peppa Pig World and went on several of the rides nice and quickly.  There was a new area in Peppa Pig World since we had visited a few years ago, so we made sure we went on those rides! The weather was perfect as well. Nice and sunny and not that cold. We had been worrying for weeks that it would be rainy, but were lucky it was so nice! After we had gone on several of the rides we went to the 4D Cinema to watch the show. It was a bit strange and Coby couldn’t really get on with the 3D glasses and typically, just as he took them off, a squirt of water (part of the experience) shot out of the chair in front and went straight into his eyes! haha He was OK though and managed to watch the rest of the show as best he could. Ben and Aaron enjoyed it as well although I think it made them feel a little sick – it certainly did to me! By the time this was over, we wandered back through the street area and to the restaurant, where we had some dinner. Kelly and I had Roast Turkey, which was very nice, and the boys had other childrens meals. We then walked over to the other side of the park where the more grown up rides were and had a go on a few of those. Not all of the rides were open, due to it being out of season, but all of the rides that we would have gone on were open, so it was perfect for us. So we spent the majority of the afternoon working our way back towards Peppa Pig World from the other side of the park, going on the rides that we wanted to. We were very lucky that it was quiet enough to basically walk on to any ride whenever we wanted to without really queuing. We did have to book the tickets beforehand and there was a limit to how many were sold, but it was ideal. On the way back over, we stopped at the show stage and watched the Christmas show that the park put on, which was a bit of fun. As part of our tickets, Kelly and I could have a free Mulled Wine and chocolate brownie slice, so we had that during the show. We then carried on over to Peppa Pig World and managed to get on a few rides before it was time for the snow in Show Street. The snow wasn’t brilliant but was a bit of fun as well and Coby seemed to love it! Aaron was also playing around in it and having fun, but Ben was in a mood at this point! Tut! We then had to go and see Father Christmas in his grotto, which was awesome. The grotto was amazing as we had to walk through snowy and magical scenes to get to see him and when we saw him, it looked like it was the real Father Christmas! He asked the boys if they had been behaving and what they wanted for Christmas and said they were all on the good list. He then asked my name and said I was on the good list as well, but when he asked Kelly, he said she was on the naughty list before he eventually found her name at the very bottom of the good list! He had a good chat with the boys and they were very polite and looked very nervous but excited as well. He then said that they could all have a present, which we could get from the elves just outside the grotto, but he did give them each a nice Christmas 2018 at Paultons badge. So we said ‘goodbye’ to him and went across and the boys got a present each. Ben got a Magic Set, Aaron got an Egg Splat game and Coby got a cuddly penguin called Pom Pom, which he absolutely loves and takes to bed with him every night! Unfortunately, the magic set was a bit childish for Ben, and he always gets a magic set from Father Christmas when we go to see him.  By this time, it was dark outside so all the Christmas lights were turned on around the park, which made it look very magical! We quickly walked back over to Peppa Pig World but we were too late to go on anymore of the rides as they had all closed for the day but we did stay a little there to take in the lights and magical atmosphere before heading back to the exit via the shop. Unfortunately, the boys were all very naughty in the shop as they wanted to buy things but we kept saying ‘no’ as it was Christmas in a few days time. So that was a bad ending for the day which was a big shame. Eventually they got some pencils and rubbers, etc and we went back to the car and set off for our journey home.

All in all, it was a fantastic day at Paultons.  The park looked magical with all the Christmas lights and trees and the fact it was quiet enough that we didn’t have to queue to get on to any rides was awesome. It was much better than in the Summer when you usually have to queue for ages to get on each ride. We would definitely come again out of season if it was this quiet. The weather was perfect as well – we all had a great time.