Stations and Trains

The National Railway Museum

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We’ve been so keen to visit the National Railway Museum in York for a while now, being that the boys are such train enthusiasts we thought this would be absolute heaven for them. After some careful planning we had a lovely long weekend away in Yorkshire with the main focus being to spend a day at the museum.

The museum is very easy to find and has lots of dedicated parking close to the site on Leeman Road, parking for the day is £10.00 per car but being that the museum entry is free I really didn’t think this was too bad at all.

The Museum is set over a large site with so much to see and do for all ages, we enjoyed the Great Hall with its plethora of trains from different eras and countries. We watched the awesome turntable demonstration and saw the Mallard which made the boys jaws drop with excitement! Our older son also tried ‘signalling school’ where he learned how to operate traditional train signals. There were lots of interactive, child-friendly activities and even a children’s indoor and outdoor zone where they can let off a little bit of steam (pardon the pun!). The museum is extremely buggy friendly but there are lots of staircases to climb to see inside the trains so be prepared for getting the children in and out and where a rucksack so that you can easily  keep your valuables accessible and with you. There are plenty of baby friendly toilets and places to sit. Food (as you can imagine) is expensive so we made sure we had a big breakfast and took lots of snacks. We intend to visit again during the Summer so I will investigate further what their picnic facilities are like and if its possible to being your own food and sit in an outside area to eat it.

There is so much to see and do there, I feel like we only covered a few areas and certainly didn’t do all the exhibits justice- hence arranging another visit! The Flying Scotsman wasn’t there on the day we visited but I didn’t feel our visit lacked anything due to its absence. I would strongly advise checking the museum website before a visit to ensure everything is running or there that you hope to see on the day you go. Weekends are naturally when  more things are going on but are also obviously more busy.

The National Railway Museum is a stones throw from York city centre and is easily walking distance or if you fancy for an additional cost (adults £3.00 each way and children £2.00 each way) you can take the road train from the museum to the city centre.

We had such an amazing day out, I just wish this fantastic resource was closer to home, I think we’d be there every day if it was!

I will update further following our next visit…

Snow, Stations and Trains, Walks

…Sorry it’s been a while!

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It’s been a while, I know and that’s not to say we haven’t been busy- the trouble is we’ve been too busy! My last post was before we had the fantastic (well fantastic for the first day, fun for the second, too cold for the third and down-right inconvenient by the forth! …is school ever going to reopen?) SNOW!

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My husband said I should write about the snow being a great thrifty activity and it absolutely is- snowmen et al, but it is sadly wholly reliant on the weather. Saying that, I thought I would mention that besides spending several of the days at our wonderful Eaton Park, sledging on the slopes, playing snowballs, and gazing at the bright blue frozen solid boating lake, we did discover a little area of Wymondham that will be worth another visit even if we don’t see the snow again.

We took a drive out one day (before it got too bad) to Wymondham and parked in Cemetery Lane car park, where up to an hour is free and £1.00 per hour thereafter. This is a nice big car park near the railway station– which in itself is a lovely historic station, with a good bistro, toilets and great views of the tracks from the pedestrian bridge. We took a lovely walk/ sledge around Tolls Meadow nature reserve, which is only a one minute walk in the opposite direction to the train station from the car park and free to visit. When we were there it was covered in several centimetres of snow but from the information on the website it looks like a real haven for wildlife and definitely something I will be taking my little bug hunters back to visit for an afternoon once the good weather finally gets here!

 

Over the last couple of months alongside our usual very thrifty adventures we have had some not quite so thrifty days out, but made the absolute most of them. A wonderful Easter visit to Bewilderwood where we met Cedric the Easter Bunny, the very breathtaking Framingham Castle, Church Farm Stow Bardolph where we saw and fed our first lambs of the season and The Dinosaur Park (we have a season ticket so we have been spending a great deal of time there!) I will probably expand on some of these as I update alongside my super-cheap days out, as I think there may be some useful tips I can share with you.

Next post Yorkshire, where we visited the wonderful and very thrifty FREE National Railway Museum…

Castles

Bigod Castle- Bungay

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After visiting Fen Farm Dairy we headed into Bungay to visit the castle. As it was a Sunday we found a free parking space in the town near the butter cross. There are several car parks around Bungay where you can park for up to 2hrs for free.

Bigod Castle is situated in the centre of Bungay and can be accessed via several points around the town, it is well sign-posted, accessible with a buggy and free to visit.

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The castle has a walk way over where once was the moat, impressive turrets and some exciting nooks and crannies to explore. The children had a fabulous time, running around the enclosed grassed areas, up steps to lookout points and into and around the main castle keep. Although not a large castle the ruins provided plenty of interest for a good hour and four very tired little legs!

It’s a really fantastic castle and from talking to the Chair of the Castle Trust, who was there working on the castle while we were looking round, they are just about to embark on a huge renovation project. There is even a ‘siege gallery’ (one of the only remaining in the country) situated under the castle which we saw through an iron gate and which is planned to be opened up in the next 18 months.

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After walking through the town we saw that the old King’s Head Hotel has also been bought by the trust to renovate as part of the heritage project. The building currently has lots of large interesting historical images related to the castle on the front windows.

Bigold Castle is absolutely somewhere to visit (at the moment) on a fine day, as there is no shelter should the weather not be as kind as it was to us today. It’s also worth noting there are no public toilets at the castle; I believe the nearest are in Priory Lane (where there is also a car park) but do not have baby changing facilities. However, that said, it really is a hidden gem and a great place to let little ones go and enjoy watching their imaginations run wild. The castle is surrounded by a grassed area and has a grass common in front of it which I can imagine would work perfectly for picnics on warmer days.

The renovation certainly sounds like a very exciting project and something we will hopefully see develop on our next visit to Bigod Castle.

Farms

Fen Farm Dairy Bungay- Raw Milk

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We’d been watching a farming programme on the BBC and saw Fen Farm Dairy in Bungay where they produce raw milk, cheese and butter to sell. The children were really fascinated by this, seeing the relationship between the cow, milk and diary based produce- so we thought we’d go and see the real thing!

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Today was a gorgeous February morning with the sun shining and a perfect opportunity for a drive out and an explore. We’d driven past Fen Farm Dairy a few times and seen the ‘raw milk’ sign but had either been pregnant or on our way somewhere else! Today we stopped in, it’s really easy to find on Flixton Road, full directions can be found on their website here. There is a good stopping area, with ample room for several cars right outside the barns where the diary herd are kept. There were tractors and trailers working on cleaning out one of the barns and through the gate near to the milk shop you could see the cows feeding. The boys were fascinated by seeing the cows feeding and then the association with the milk we were going to get in the shed.

The milk shed has vending machines so that you can pop a pre-chilled milk bottle into the sterilising machine and then fill it. Two litres of milk costs £2.50 but as a treat I think it was worth it and my goodness it tasted good! Because of the milk vending machine I think the boys thought there was an actual cow plugged into the back of it! The farm also has butter, brie and a coffee machine where you can purchase a raw milk coffee.

Obviously this isn’t a day out but it’s a nice little stop off, we were on our way to Bungay Castle however would work equally well if you were having a few hours round the Norfolk Aviation Museum at Flixton (watch this space for a post on our visits there).

 

Playgrounds, Walks

High Lodge- Thetford

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We made two visits to High Lodge this week as the ‘Highway Rat’ trail was closed due to storm damage on Monday and I sillily had not checked the website. Both days were absolutely fantastic, the weather was sunny, clear and crisp- if a little bracing at times! High Lodge is a firm favourite with the boys, there is so much to do there for all ages.

 

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We visit at least once a month and while it does cost £2.20 per hour up to a maximum of £11.50 for 5hrs +  to park on the site; I think it is worth it for a really superb day out in the forest. There are lots of trails to choose from, we love the sculpture and play trail and the music trails. 

There are great facilities including plenty of very clean toilets, a cafe, bike hire, gruffulo sculptures and lots of play equipment and picnic tables to keep little ones happy on the visit.

The ‘Highway Rat’ has been a favourite in our house since it was first broadcast on Christmas day (2017) and so the children were really excited to explore the trail. It’s about a mile long and definitely aimed at younger children. The trail is focused on identifying all of the major characters from the story, finding food supplies (via crayon rubbings) and exploring key aspects of nature and the environment. We purchased the activity pack for £3.00, the pack definitely adds to the experience through enhancing the activities but isn’t essential to enjoying the experience.

There’s lots of work going on at High Lodge in preparation for the warmer months so some access to parts is limited, but on a clear winters day it’s always worth a visit to get some fresh air and enjoy the outside, even if you do end up having you picnic in the boot of the car!

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Shopping, Stations and Trains, Walks

Buffer Stop Books at Wroxham Station

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I’ve talked about the Bure Valley Railway here before but I wanted to set aside some space for the wonderful ‘Buffer Stop Books’ based at the Bure Valley station in Wroxham. This stop is a really excellent diversion, especially on a cold winters’ day when you find yourself short of something to do for an hour or so.

We have already visited a couple of times this year; mixing it up a little bit by parking in the Roy’s free mid-length stay carpark on Station Road near to the mainline Wroxham Station, taking the footpath through the station and onto the Bure Valley Station. Lots to see on the way and a reasonably decent footpath with ramps through the station all accessible to buggies.

During the winter months Buffer Stop Books does have slightly limited opening hours so its worth checking the website before setting out to visit. The shop has a fabulous range of pre-owned books, all in great condition. On our last visit we bought 20 children’s books for under £10.00, many of which were previously between £3.99 and £6.99 when new! The boys love to play with the train table and it affords a few moments ‘grown-up’ browsing while the boys are engrossed in their play.

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On the way back you could choose to carry on the path towards the river and take a meander along the river or back round to the boardwalk (which eventually heads back to the station via a more muddy route. The riverside walk is lovely, although can be a bit wet in the winter months so wear wellies and take lots of bread to feed the water fowl!img_2264.jpg

Beaches, Christmas, Fireworks

Cromer Fireworks

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Every New Years Day, Cromer holds a truly fantastic firework display. We went along to see it last year as it was a week later due to bad weather and we were a little short on things to do that weekend. What we saw was so wonderful and the atmosphere in the town so lovely we thought we’d go again this year actually on 1st January!

We had also hired a beach hut from North Norfolk District Council this year for the Christmas period at a bargain £21.00 per week. This worked well as a place to get away from the elements when out for walks etc in Cromer and so we luckily had a lovely base for the evening.

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The fireworks started at 5pm and ran for 12-14 minutes which was really spectacular, they were launched from the pier allowing the sea to reflect each explosion really adding to the stunning sight.

Our beach hut was on the Cromer West beach to the right of the pier as you look out to sea. This was a great position as we were close to the RNLI Henry Blogg Museum, which has a lift, cafe and toilets.

I would advise to get into Cromer by at least 4pm on the day as it gets amazingly busy. We parked at the Co-op car park right in the centre of town, this was a bold move but both years has paid off as people tend not to park there. It is worth noting you can only park for a maximum of two hours (£3.00- half of which is redeemable if you spend over £5.00 in the Co-op). With our little ones out in the evening it really was just about enough time to allow getting home and in bed at a decent time.

IMG_8385I’d also recommend that if you go along you take a picnic and a flask as all the restaurants, cafes and especially the fish and chip shops in the town get crazily busy. The queue for Mary Jane’s Fish and Chips was almost back to the Co-op food store wall (if you don’t know Cromer thats about 50 metres!)

We wandered through the town centre to our beach hut, via the church gardens where there was a beautiful steam organ playing and the church was open for visitors. As I noted earlier the atmosphere was really lovely with Christmas lights and the beautiful Christmas tree set in the church grounds.

Having popped to the loo, we installed ourselves in the beach hut, set our picnic out and waited, the beach and surrounding promenades get very busy (its estimated an additional 10,000 people come to the town for the event). It really is an amazing sight to see the onlookers waiting on the cliff top promenades and the surrounding beach areas. It felt very luxurious to have the beach hut, seats and a table, we even made a cup of tea for the firework donation collection bucket people!

Cromer fireworks is a real treat and for us felt like an excellent finale to the Christmas festivities. The kids loved being out in the dark and having the beach hut made it just slightly easier to keep an eye on the boys in relative comfort whilst enjoying the evening.

 

Walks

Burlingham Woodland Walks

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Just after Christmas the boys tend to get a bit stir-crazy, so when the weather is good we try to get them out in the morning for some fresh air and a walk. It’s nice to explore, but sometimes we don’t want too long a car drive but still want to feel like we are going somewhere different.

Burlingham woodland walks are just outside norwich off the A47- you can find everything you need to know here with a great downloadable PDF of the actual walks.

We always park at St Andrews Church, which is free but can get quite busy on weekends. I’ve also noticed people park on the roadside but we have always managed to get a space by a waiting a little while as people seem to regularly come and go. The car park can be a little muddy (especially after the rain we have had recently) but once you get to the walk the mobility access path is perfectly fine for a buggy. On a fine dry day, many of the walks deeper in the woods and on the footpaths and bridleways would also work with a buggy but in the depth of winter these are very muddy and boggy.

There are lots to see on the trails including art projects by local schools, bronze plaques and a sun dial further along in the woods. There is also a lovely ‘swap box’ where you can take unwanted items and swap them. Today we even found a ‘Norfolk rock’ which we moved and found a new hiding place for.

The woods are absolutely beautiful and feel very magical to wander around with the boys, there is lots of wildlife to see and is perfect for a good stomp to blow the cobwebs away. I’d throughly recommend a visit, we took a packed lunched and enjoyed a good few hours out costing us absolutely nothing except little fuel money for the drive.

 

Christmas, Walks

Christmas Lights

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Visiting Christmas lights this time of year in any town or city is a fantastic ‘thrifty’ activity.

We’ve been working our way round Norwich City Centre on foot, enjoying the castle projections, tunnel of light- which continually offers at least 20 minutes if not more of excitement as we watch it work through the differing lighting cycles, the wonderful forum lights and the Christmas tree festival at St Peter Mancroft to mention just a few highlights.

Christmas tree festivals are becoming increasingly popular and we’ve visited a few in the past years, Fakenham is another really lovely one to visit, as are the town lights which are really beautiful too. It’s a lovely activity to take all the spare coppers we have and give the kids two tubs to take round the trees and pop in the charity collection boxes of the trees they like. Generally we end up putting something in each one as we don’t like leaving anyone out!

Another evening activity we tend to enjoy this time of year is a drive around our neighbourhood to look at the houses with Christmas lights, we have created a map with all the best ones on which we add to every year. Thorpe St Andrew in Norwich have lovely lights by the river which are definitely worth a look and there is one of our favourite houses near-by, hope you have fun searching for that one!

We’ve discovered lots of great places to drive through looking at Christmas lights including Rackheath, Attleborough and Wymondham to name but a few! We’ve found this one of the best activities to really get us all in the festive mood.

Gardens, Playgrounds, Stations and Trains, Walks

Eaton Park

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We absolutely love Eaton park at any time of the year. It has good bus connections from Norwich City Centre- number 25, great parking at both ends of the park, toilets and a fab cafe.IMG_5150

We love a good stomp around the paths which are super buggy, scooter or bike friendly. It’s a lovely, safe environment for the kids to practice on their wheels. There’s a miniature railway that runs on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays throughout the spring and summer months and at Christmas with a Santa Special. Even when the train isn’t running the children love looking at the station buildings and track. The boating lake is also a great source of entertainment with people regularly sailing their craft on it.

On top of all that there’s a skate park, band stand, tennis courts, table tennis, football pitches, basket ball court, crazy golf and probably lots of other things I’ve missed! The jewel in the crown is the fantastic playground suitable for all ages!

We visit the park almost weekly and always have a lovely time exploring and enjoying different events as the seasons change.

As Christmas is coming, I thought I’d make a particular note of the next event- ‘Carols at Eaton Park’ on 19th December starting at 7.30pm. It may be a little late for the younger ones but is guaranteed to get the family in the festive spirit!

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