Swings and Roundabouts...

Originally posted on Cheltenham Maman's Blog, I am reposting here so my words are not lost once her site closes next month. Wishing you the best of luck for the future Kate, thank you for the memories! 

4th July 2016

Me while Pitville Park was under construction: (sharing every Facebook update from Cheltenham Borough Council) How exciting, this looks amazing, can’t wait to go!

Me on opening day: I won’t tell Honey the park is finished, it’ll be rammed on a sunny day like this…..

Me after seeing Facebook posts and photos from friends who had been: Wow! It’s still rammed, we’ll just wait until after half term.

Me after visiting, a week after it opened: What am I doing here? Why is it still so rammed?

It turns out that all the schools in Tewkesbury were closed due to a burst water main on the day we visited the new park and guess where everyone gravitated to? So, it wasn’t quite the calm(ish) quiet(ish) experience I’d imagined but that being said, the zoned layout of the park encourages people to spread out and Honey was able to try out quite a few of the new toys.

There are benches scattered about the place, meaning that older children can run off and play but still have a place to check in with their parents and conversely, where parents can recover from energetic swing pushing, have a chat or drink coffee. On the subject of refreshments, the addition of a small ice cream kiosk is a welcome one. although I can see myself having to ‘forget’ my purse fairly often to avoid having a toddler with a permanent sugar rush!

The designers have clearly thought about their young, yet wide ranging demographic and have catered accordingly. There’s a super cute toddler area with loads of low, easily accessible activities and a ridiculously awesome and MASSIVE tree house inspired climbing frame which is aimed at older children and has sections that can only be accessed by climbing a vertical wall (eek!) For those who prefer something a little more subdued, there’s even a music area where your child can practise those all important scales and arpeggios!

There are however, a couple of things I’ve been wondering about:

1. The sand pit. Kids love sand, that’s true…. But who is going to keep it clean(ish), who’s going to pick out the inevitable cigarette butts (and worse, as the latest, disgusting reports have detailed). My child eats sand and the thought of this sand pit in a few months makes me feel a little queasy!
2. The tree house. It’s high, really high. Don’t get me wrong, I’d have been the first one to the top when I was a child and I’d never discourage anyone from giving it a go…… But it is high….
3. The tunnel through the hill is, at some point, going to have something really disgusting hidden in it. These tunnels always do and in my experience, they usually continue to be minging for absolutely ages because whatever has been left, is left and left and left….
4. My children are likely to learn a whole new lexicon of questionable language. People can’t let things be nice and the inevitable scribbled messily (because it’d be much more acceptable if it was neat) on the side of the climbing frame is sure to be a talking point for my phonics obsessed pre-schooler!

Overall, the new park is incredible and something to feel proud of and thankful for. My main hope, is that people of Cheltenham (and beyond) look after it and protect its awesomeness! It has at least tripled in size and has been finished to a really high standard. It has largely been well thought out, has been built using sturdy materials and is finished in bright, engaging colours. The addition of a water play area is fantastic and I just know that every summer time play date we have, will end up being at Pitville Park, so we’ll probably see you there!

Honey wears…. Strawberry sun hat by H&M 

About Steph

Steph escaped to Cheltenham in her early 20’s after growing up in the small Cotswold town of Moreton in Marsh and lured her then boyfriend (now husband) away shortly after. She is Maman to 3 year old Honey and her baby brother Ace and her blog follows their adventures including groups, classes and days out in and around Cheltenham. Steph is also a supporter of local businesses and loves to review products and services, many of which are created or owned by her fellow Mamans de Cheltenham. Visit Steph’s blog or follow her on Instagram.

Hidden Cheltenham...

With school runs a distant memory, 9:30am felt early to be meeting up with friends in town, but it forced us to be up and at ‘em and was the start of a free, fun filled day! 

We spent a happy hour at Cheltenham Children's Library (with baby bounce and rhyme going on in the background) choosing books for the summer reading challenge, reading and doing some of their activities. After returning the old books and borrowing the new, we all headed across the way to The Wilson for a play in the World of Wonders Gallery. Dressing up, colouring in and making music were the favourite activities, and again we spent a cheerful hour having fun.

Next up, we had decided to follow the Hidden Cheltenham trail, having picked up the map last week. We waved goodbye to our friends, then headed out.

The first clue is in the reception area at The Wilson and they advise you to take a photo of it so you don’t forget the instructions. This turned out to be great advice all the way round, as some of the clues are multi step and it’s good to be able to check what you need to look for or do.

The trail is around 2 miles and I thought scooters would be a good move, so I could pull Ace along on his if he got tired. Between clues, the scooters were a godsend, but I didn’t realise that you actually had to go inside some of the shops, so they were a bit of a pain at times (especially in Tiger as we missed the clue on our first circuit, so had to negotiate the narrow aisles twice).

Everywhere we went, we were met cheerfully and some of the stops even had activities or treats for any children taking part in the trail. Shout out to Middletons for their colouring station and free sweet bowl and also to Lakeland for their lovely gift of an icing bee making kit (another free activity for tomorrow).

The trail itself was very interesting and I definitely learnt some new Cheltenham facts on the way round. It also made me visit parts of town I hardly ever venture into. The route was a little haphazard at times, we were frustrated with having to go back on ourselves at times and Ace didn’t like going past green spots with the ‘wrong’ numbers on, only to come back to them a while later. I will add that this was sometimes due to me wanting to take a safer scooting route, away from main roads.

Including a picnic lunch and a few pit stops for snacks and water, the trail took us around 3 hours. If your children are older, you may need less time, but equally the trail could last all day if you stop to browse in the shops it takes you to or further explore the areas you are led to. We liked the distance updates dotted around some of the stops, Honey was especially motivated by these.

Our last stop was back at The Wilson to swap our trail sheet for goody bags. The kids were excited to find bubbles, balloons and glow sticks in the bags. If you have more than one child, just be aware that the contents of the bags may vary, for example Ace had a beach ball in his, while Honey had a WarHammer figure instead. This initially caused a little friction, but after a quick chat, both were happy with their lot!

As we went round, Honey and Ace also managed to collect another few stickers on their 'No child left behind' summer challenge sheets, so don’t forget to take yours too if you head off on the Hidden Cheltenham trail!

My only suggestion for the Hidden Cheltenham trail, would be to have the option of following the it digitally. Our map and answer sheet were rather tatty by the end and nearly blew away a couple of times when I dropped them due to hand holding or scooter wrangling (having now visited the website, the map is available to download if you sign up for the trail online). It would have been great to have had the option to follow the trail via QR codes and an app where you could also record your answers and unlock the clues, especially as I had to have my phone out to keep track of all the photos of the clues anyway. 

All in all, I would recommend the trail to anyone living in or visiting Cheltenham. It's a great way to see the town and a fun, free way to spend a day. 

Honey wears... Dress by Mini Boded (preloved)

Ace wears... Cargo shorts by frugi

Pick your own...

When we arrived at Primrose Vale this morning, it wasn't looking good for strawberries. The weather over the last few days meant that the crop had taken a battering. Thankfully we managed to find enough survivors to fill a punnet, but they're now taking a little break to replenish their stocks. Don't worry though, as raspberries, loganberries, blackberries and more were all available in abundance and there's a blackboard on the front of the building letting you know what's available, along with prices and picking tips.

The picking areas are vast and really well organised. They are all labelled and there are plenty of staff members on hand to answer any questions you may have.

There is free parking on site and enough to keep you occupied for a couple of hours in my opinion. Honey absolutely loved the new play area, especially the clamber stack at the end of the wooden trim trail, but she was also pleased to see that her old favourites (the vintage tractor and the drainpipe slide) were still there!

There's plenty of space for you to bring your own picnics to eat on site, or alternatively there are plenty of delicious goodies available to buy in the farm shop. The ice cream menu looked amazing too, so we will definitely be heading back to sample it soon!

Honey wears... Pink shorts from Tu at Sainsbury's 

A Squash and a Squeeze...

The summer holidays are officially in full swing here. We have a list of summer ideas as long as your arm, some home based, some local adventures and some days out. Most are free, some will only cost us the petrol it takes to get there and lots will help us 'use up' activity and craft packs Honey has collected over the years.

This morning we went to the cinema to watch Toy Story 4 (which was awesome, but definitely was not free) and this afternoon we made our own play dough. I found a recipe online which promised I'd only need things from my store cupboard, and excited to find out how to make play dough from a tub of out of date Angel Delight and some ice cream cones from last summer, we began.

Obviously, the Angel Delight and ice cream cones are still in the cupboard, but using plain flour, salt, vegetable oil and water, we were able to make ourselves some cloudy soft lumps of dough, adding food colouring to create different colours.

The recipe (credit to BBC Good Food)

8 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp table salt

60ml warm water

Food colouring

1 tbsp vegetable oil

There is a detailed explanation on the BBC Good Food web page, but we basically combined everything then kneaded it on a flour covered chopping board until smooth.

Honey did all the measuring and mixing, then Ace got involved when the time came for kneading. They both enjoyed the making process, but definitely loved playing with it even more! We all loved the vibrant colours, although unsurprisingly they aren't quite as vibrant now they've been slightly mushed together to make triple scoop ice creams and monster trucks! I've reused some bags that Honey's school uniform came in to create airtight packages, so hopefully we will get a few more play sessions out of this lot.

Honey wears... Apron by Emma Bridgewater

Ace wears... Apron by Daphne and Margot