Aaron's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘wetherspoons’

The weekend after my birthday, we went down to a caravan at Newquay, at the Trenance Caravan Park. The caravan was owned by one of our neighbours so we knew it was going to be in a good state as we had stayed in one of his before in St Merryn. We didn’t tell the boys until the night before, which obviously got them very excited! We didn’t go down until late on the Friday evening as Aaron had a Halloween Party at Beavers which Kelly was also helping at, so we didn’t get there until past 9pm. It was a nice drive down though and the caravan site was very quiet. Coby was so tired that he fell asleep on the sofa in the caravan and we had to practically carry him to his bed asleep! As the caravan was only a 6 berth one, Aaron and Coby had a small bed in a little room, Ben had a double bed in his own room and Kelly and I slept on our camping air bed in the lounge area. We could have slept on a pull out bed but we decided that we would probably be more comfy on our airbed. We had a decent night’s sleep anyway!

On the Saturday, we had a nice cooked breakfast to start us off before we headed to Mawgan Porth for the rest of the day. The weather was stunning with not a cloud in the sky for most part, but we did go dressed up nice and warm, as it was the middle of October! As the day went on, we got hotter and hotter until we were paddling in the sea when the tide was fully in, as it was boiling! The tide was mostly out when we arrived but was on its way back in, so we managed to go as far into the rockpools as we could before the tide started creeping up on us. As usual when we go there, the boys got wet! Every now and again, a wave would come in and come in much further than usual, which caught us out, but one of the boys always ended up a bit slow and either walked into a deep rockpool, and got water all in the boots, or tried to stand in the small wave, with it ending up going in their wellies. All three of them got soaked to the point that when they took their wellies off, they could pour water out of them! It was funny watching them though! As the tide came in, we gradually started walking back in whilst making sand castles, rock pooling, playing football and making pictures in the sand with the fishing nets. It was good fun, apart from having to dodge the occasional lump of dog poo! Disgusting! Eventually, when the tide was fully in, it was so hot that we had taken our wellies and coats and jumpers off and were paddling. We also got sun burnt as well as didn’t even think to take any sun cream! Doh! We were all tired out by the time we had decided to leave, which was past 4pm, and the beach was still busy with people. But we drove back to the caravan, washed and had some food for tea. We then relaxed in the caravan for the remainder of the evening and played some card games. It had been a brilliant day at the beach and a lovely day in general!

On Sunday, we went in to Newquay to look around. We parked up in the normal car park in the centre of town and then walked from one end to the other, stopping in shops on the way. The weather was amazing again! We had dinner in Wetherspoons, which was lovely and tasty, and also spent some time, and pennies, in the arcade.  The boys earned enough tickets to get a goody bag to share between them which had a selection of sweets and some little toys, so they were happy. We also had an ice cream as well and sat overlooking Towan whilst eating it. We then went back to the caravan late in the afternoon as we had to pack, clean up and then go home. Our neighbour had said that we could stay until 7pm, which was great, as it gave us plenty of time to have a nice day out and then be able to pack without having to rush around too much. Typically though, a family had arrived next to us and their boys asked Ben, Aaron and Coby to play with them just as we were getting ready to go. They did go and play with them whilst we were finishing off but it wasn’t for too long.

We had had a really excellent weekend in the caravan in an amazing location and the weather was awesome. We were very lucky with that! We will definitely be going back to this caravan again in the future.

This year, we went and stayed in Largs for a week again, the same as last year.  This time though, we rented a different house and didn’t go with anyone else. The house was lovely and clean and was in a nearby street to where we had stayed before, so we had the same access to Largs as we were used to.  On the way up, we stayed in a hotel in Stafford again, though a different one to last year, just to break the trip up for the boys. We left later this year as Ben and Aaron only broke up from school on the Friday 27th that we were travelling, so they had been at School all day. I had taken the afternoon off work to help Kelly load the car, also with the help of Coby!  The journey up went very well, unlike last year when it took 8 hours to get to Stafford, and the boys were quite well behaved, even though we had to tell them to quieten down on several occasions! We did it in roughly half that time this year, which was much better. There wasn’t even any stoppages for traffic – amazing really! The hotel we stopped in was fine and we attempted to get some sleep before setting out early in the morning, but Kelly and I didn’t really get much, due to the lack of pillows available. At least it meant we were up early and out the door a decent time to finish the drive!

Saturday

We arrived in Largs around 3pm and unloaded the car. We had already booked a Tesco delivery for between 4pm and 6pm, so that we didn’t have to rush off to the shops to get some food, and it turned up just after 4. By this time, the house had been explored and the boys had chosen their rooms although there were a lot of changes as one room was an attic room and Ben was unsure if he wanted to sleep up there on his own. The other room was on the same level as the one Kelly and I were sleeping in, and had bunk beds for 2 people, so in the end, Ben brought his mattress down from the attic room and slept in the room with the other two! He did manage to sleep in the attic room on one occasion during the week though! 😉

After the delivery had come and we had put it all away, we drove into Largs and went to Wetherspoons for tea. We had been there last and it was nice, and it didn’t disappoint again as our food was again lovely. Unfortunately, whilst going to the toilet, Ben decided to take his fit watch off and ended up leaving it in the cubicle.  By the time he had remembered that he had done that, it had gone, so we were all very annoyed!  The weather wasn’t very nice at this point (which is why we drove in) and we were tired out from all of the travelling, so we didn’t have a proper look around Largs but instead went home and relaxed. We did spot that the arcade on the front had closed down though, which we were quite shocked about! Thank goodness there was another one in Largs! 😉

Sunday

On the Sunday, we had been invited to Kelly’s Auntie’s house for food in the afternoon, so we didn’t do too much in the morning. I went for a 4 mile jog around Largs early on, until my knee started hurting and the rain came in. Kelly was going to go for a jog as well but decided not to due to the weather. We had a cooked breakfast and chilled around the house until the early afternoon. We then drove in to Glasgow to Aunty Christine’s house, where we also met up with the rest of the family including Kelly’s Gran. There was loads of food to eat so we all ate loads and had a catch up with everyone. Luckily, they had put some gazebo’s up as there were some heavy downpours. The boys didn’t mind though, as they were playing football in the garden in the wet.

We left there in the early evening and decided, whilst we were out and the weather had become nice and sunny, to visit Ibrox stadium, as it was just down the road. So we parked up there and got out and took some photos. We then went over to Hampden Park and did the same. We didn’t go to Celtic though as it was in the opposite direction. We then headed home, by which time it was dark and nearly 10pm, and put the boys to bed. We stayed up for a little longer before heading to bed as well as were tired out.

Monday

We were going to go to Edinburgh Castle on Monday but the weather wasn’t great so we decided to postpone that until Tuesday and instead went to Braehead for the day. Firstly, we went to see The Incredibles 2 in the cinema, which we all enjoyed. We had a big tub of popcorn and Coby and Aaron had a tub of candy floss, so they were happy! After the film, we had a few quick goes in the arcade that was next to the cinema and won a Mr Incredible soft toy in the grabber machine. I was extremely pleased with that! 😉 We then went to TGI Fridays to have some dinner. We had never been to a TGI Fridays before but enjoyed the food, even though it wasn’t as big a portion as most other places. Finally, we went over to the indoor shopping centre, which is situated in a different area of Braehead and looked around the shops. The boys spent some of their holiday money in a toy shop that we had also been in last year. By this time, the weather had come out much warmer and sunnier so we drove home, grabbed a sandwich for tea and went for a walk along the seafront at Largs, all the way to the Pencil monument. The boys took their scooters, so they were happily zooming around! We also found a geocache at the Pencil and also were told by some passers by that there was a Seal sat on the rocks nearby, which we saw, but swam off when we tried to get closer. We were all shattered by the time we got back to the house but had had a lovely day and still had to make sandwiches to take with us to the castle on Tuesday, so it ended up being a late night!

Tuesday

We got up nice and early and left to drive to Edinburgh Castle. We had already booked tickets online and decided on a car park to park in, so everything was pretty straightforward until we parked up and walked out of the car park and then didn’t know where to go to get into the castle. As the Edinburgh Tattoo was being setup and taking place that evening, a lot of the roads and paths were closed, which didn’t help, but there were no signs outside the car park telling visitors where to go. The car park was literally right next to the castle as well. So we ended up setting off in a direction we hoped would lead to the front and luckily, we found some very steep steps which led up to the castle entrance. It was absolutely heaving though, so we were glad we had bought tickets already so we could just walk in. The weather was a bit murky and windy, but once you got to the top of the castle, the wind was really strong. Until you are in the castle you don’t realise how high up you are as you can see the whole of Edinburgh from the top of the castle walls. It was an amazing view! We had a good look around and had a short tour with a tour guide who explained certain areas of the castle before leaving us to look around ourselves. There was lots to see and the queues for certain buildings were massive, so we ended up not quite seeing everything. The best part of the castle, which we all agreed on, was when we queued up and saw the Scottish Royal Crown, Jewels and Sceptre.  It all looked amazing, especially to think they were all made hundreds of years ago. We all spent quite a while looking at those, and Coby was excited to see a real Crown. We stayed wandering around the castle until closing time before we made our way back down and through the Edinburgh Tattoo stands (which was crazy to see as the seating stands either side were literally hanging over the side of the castle courtyard with a massive drop just below them!). We walked out the proper entrance this time, which was still really busy, and walked the other way around the castle grounds to get back to the car.  Along the way, we stopped to hear a band play a few times and walked through the park below the castle. We didn’t get back to the car until gone 6pm so the boys were hungry as we had only had a slice of pizza each from the cafe for lunch, along with some snacks. So we cracked into our sandwiches and I drove back to Largs. We were all exhausted again by the time we had got home so it wasn’t long before we all went to bed. It had be an enjoyable day exploring the castle though!

Wednesday

We had a much quieter day on Wednesday as we had been non-stop since we arrived up until now. So we didn’t rush getting up and having breakfast but, when we did, we went for a walk around Largs and along the seafront to the boating lake at the other end.  We did some geocaching along the way and found a couple, and the boys whizzed around on their scooters again. We also stopped in the park for a play this time, as the weather was dry enough to begin with.  On the way back from the far end, we went in the arcade and won a few items from the 2p and had a bit of fun. We then decided to walk back past Morrisons and get some pizzas and goodies to eat back at the house whilst watching a film, which we did. So we had a nice relaxing afternoon and evening. Once the boys had gone to bed, Kelly and I watched ‘Blair Witch’ which made us a little jumpy in the house overnight! 😉

Thursday

We had arranged to meet Aunty Rosena and Uncle Graham, and their dog Ollie for a walk around Largs during late morning, so there was no rush to get up again, which was good! 😉 We ended up meeting them at the park, so the boys could have a play whilst they parked and walked over.  We then had a walk along the beach section and over to the Pencil again.  The boys all took turns holding Ollie’s lead and throwing a ball for him to fetch, which they all loved. He was very well behaved, which was great. We then walked back the other way and into Largs town and stopped in a pub for some food. The food was very nice and we all enjoyed it. Kelly and Aunty Rosena even had a large cocktail! We then got some Ice Creams and walked on a bit further before it was time to turn back and for them to go home again. It was a lovely walk around with them. Once we had said our goodbyes, the boys went on a couple of rides on the small fairground before we spent some more time having fun in the arcade. We had been collecting up all of our tickets ready for our final visit on the last day of our holiday to get some good prizes! We then walked back to the house and the boys had some tea before we decided to drive down the coast to Ardrossan, the same as we did last year.  Because of our plans for Friday, we knew that if we didn’t do it today then we wouldn’t have chance to view the coastline again this year.  Typically, Coby well asleep during the drive so when we parked up at Ardrossan, myself, Ben and Aaron got out and walked up to the little parapet overlooking the sea and left Kelly in the car with Coby. We didn’t stay out for long though, as the weather turned and the rain came in. We did stop in Asda there on the way back and bought a couple of things before heading back to the house.   Ben actually slept upstairs in the attic room on his own as well, which I think was very brave of him! 😉

Friday

As the weather was going to be nice on Friday, we had decided earlier in the week that we would get the Ferry across to the Isle Of Cumbrae and then get a bus to Millport for the day.  So we got the ferry, which was very exciting for the boys, especially Coby, and travelled the short journey across the Clyde to the small port on the other side, where we got on a bus and travelled to Millport.  The bus journey was a little scary as the driver was bombing along on the small roads and was so close to the edge on a number of occasions! We were all hanging on tightly! Once off the bus, we stopped for some snacks and then had a good look around. We firstly went in one direction and ended up climbing on some rock pools and going through a park, where the boys stopped to play, and then further along to find a geocache in a spot which overlooked the other side of the island and where you could see the next set of islands. It was a beautiful spot and a great place to put a geocache. We then walked back and along to the other end, looking for geocaches as we went, and found a few. Once we had walked along to the other side we went out on a rock that was painted to look like a crocodile, which was a tourist spot on the island. By this time, we were all hungry som we got some fish and chips for tea, and the boys has chicken nuggets (Coby), a jumbo sausage (Aaron) and a burger (Ben). We ate this and then wandered back up to the bus stop. We did stop in the very small arcade on the way, but it was so small and we didn’t feel comfortable in there, so we left straightaway. The bus trip back to the ferry was just as bad as on the way, but we got there in one piece, before catching the ferry back over to Largs and walking home. We were all shattered by this point and crashed out for a while before we started to pack our stuff up as we had to be out of the house by 11am in the morning. Once the boys had gone to bed again, Kelly and I sat down and tried to relax for the remainder of the evening.

Saturday

We couldn’t believe Saturday had come around already! The week had gone so fast and we all had had a great time and enjoyed everywhere we had visited. We had to be up early as we had to finish packing and then put all the gear into the car. We managed to do this all on time and were just finishing when the cleaner arrived to start sorting the house out for the next set of visitors that were arriving that afternoon.  I then drove the car down to the sea front and parked up there whilst Kelly and the boys walked down with their scooters. We then walked to the park and the boys spent some good time playing in there before heading over to Wetherspoons for some food. We were very lucky to get a table though, as it was heaving for some reason! The food was very nice again and we ate it all up before heading to the outside rides to use up the remaining tokens that we had.  The boys had a couple of rides each and we then went to the arcade to use up the rest of our change and to get the prizes that the boys had earned with their tickets that they had won. We ended up with some good prizes including a couple of superhero mugs and some sweets. They were all happy with what they had, which was good. We then wandered through the shops and bought some tablet and fudge before heading back to the car, to start our journey to the hotel in Liverpool for the night, ready for the surprise that we had in store for the boys on the Sunday morning.

We all had had a great and fun time in Largs this year.  The weather was slightly better than it was last year but typically the hot and sunny weather that we had had over the past couple of months decided to change to cool winds and clouds as soon as we arrived. However, it was nice to not be boiling hot all the time! The house we stayed in was very good as well and we would definitely stay there again. As usual though, the time there went too quick, but we will definitely be back at some point in the near future!

Over the final Bank Holiday weekend in May, we stayed at a Lodge just outside of Tiverton. It was basically Kelly’s birthday present. The lodge was on a farm and was part of 3 other buildings that were rented out but we were on the end next to a large field with sheep and a pond. The farm also had a proper tennis court and a games room, so it was very nice really. The only problem that we had was that our Lodge didn’t look to have been cleaned down on the outside as it was covered in massive spiders webs and there were quite a few cobwebs in the corners of the rooms inside. Oh and the sheep woke us up at 4am each morning by ‘baa..ing’ extremely loudly! 😉 There was free wi-fi though, even though it was quite sketchy and kept cutting in and out.  We had a good weekend there though and visited several places. 

On the Saturday, we went into Tiverton and had dinner at a Wetherspoons before having a walk alongside the neighbouring river before heading to Wimbleball Lake, which was on Exmoor. The weather wasn’t great unfortunately but was dry enough for us to have an ice cream and go for a walk along the lakeside path. Ben managed to get stung along the way though so wasn’t very happy and Coby was moaning as he didn’t want to walk. So the usual then really! On the way back to the car, we had a look at the campsite and the boys had a play in the outdoor wooden play area for a little while, before we headed home. It had come out really hot in the evening, especially as we were trying to play Tennis, and then we started to hear the rumbling of thunder in the distance (which had been forecast). Typically, the thunder and lightning started as the boys went to bed, although Ben, who was in his own room, came out to watch it with me as he was a little worried being on his own. Aaron and Coby managed to sleep through most of it though. It didn’t last too long and Ben went back to bed, although it did come back a bit again in the night.

On the Sunday, we didn’t really know what to do as the weather was quite iffy and rained each morning, but we eventually decided to go swimming in Tiverton. It was a nice pool and the boys all enjoyed it there. We then ended up at Bickleigh Mill, just outside of Tiverton and had a look in there and had an ice cream. The weather was quite hot and sunny by now, which was typical! At the same place was the Devon Railway Centre, which is where we had hoped to go before we woke up to rain that day. The boys really wanted to go in but it was way too late for that so we decided that we would go there on the Monday instead, even though we had planned to go home in the morning. After leaving here, we stopped off at the Great Western Canal (as it was on the way back to the lodge) and had a very short walk along the canal and the boys played in a brand new play area there, before driving home for tea again. We did some packing in the evening and we all went to play Tennis again and the boys in the games room before heading to bed. Luckily, there was no thunder or lightning that night!

On the Monday, we had to be out by 10am but for some annoying reason, the owner came over to us at about 930am and asked if the cleaner could go in and strip the bed as ‘they wanted to get them washed and dried in the nice weather’. We weren’t very impressed by that but couldn’t really say no. So we eventually left at 10am, after making sure we had picked everything up, and drove to the Devon Railway Centre and spent the majority of the day there. It was boiling hot with not a cloud in the sky, so the weather was too perfect really! The place was really nice and we had lots of rides on the steam and electric trains and the boys had a good play in the soft play area. They also had a model village and a nice picnic area where we had our sandwiches for dinner. They had lots of little model railways in an old train carriage, which was great, but so hot in there due to the weather! We had to make sure we put plenty of sun tan lotion on all day! Whilst we were having our picnic, Ben got bitten by a horse fly, so he was in tears again. Luckily, Kelly has some cream on her to put on it. On our way out, we stopped in the shop and the boys bought something each with their money. It took ages for Aaron to decide, but he eventually settled on something! We then got back in the car and drove home.

We all had had a nice weekend and enjoyed the quietness of the lodge (apart from the sheep and thunder) and went to some nice places. The lodge was OK, although it had lots of cobwebs outdoors and a few indoors, and the farm was nice with the tennis court and games rooms. It was a shame that the owners were a bit strange though!