Yorkshire Sculpture Park

We have been meaning to take Olivia here for ages, so we were super excited to go finally on a day trip with her friend Ivy. The girls had an amazing time and it was genuinely fun for the grown ups too – win win!

Planning your visit to Yorkshire Sculpture Park

YSP is near Wakefield – it takes around 40 minutes in the car from Halifax, but you can also get a bus straight there from Wakefield or Barnsley. There is a cafe and toilets, plenty of picnic spots, and even some tables under cover for having lunch outside if it is rainy.

YSP indoor galleries

They have some brilliant exhibitions on in the indoor galleries. When we went, there was a beautiful collection of woodland creatures by Mr Finch, and, my favourite, a stunning display of tree-inspired sculptures by Guiseppe Penone called Tree In the Woods. When we entered the Tree in the Woods section we borrowed an art park from the box for Olivia to draw pictures of the sculptures. She loved creating different shapes with the charcoal and magnifying glass.

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The YSP gardens

The sun came out halfway through our visit so we went outside to explore the gardens. They are beautiful in their own right, but it is especially fun to come across the amazing sculptures dotted around. the girls loved peeking through them and running round the secret pond.

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We had a fab day at YSP and we are planning to go back again – there is a lot we didn’t get chance to see, especially outside, so it would be good to go back on a sunnier day. One of the best bits was seeing Olivia just loving running round the gardens!

Avenham park and gardens

We ventured a bit further afield recently when Andy had some time off work and did a bit of exploring in Lancashire at Avenham Park. I used to live in Preston but had never been to this park, I was really surprised by how big and beautiful it was.

Planning your visit to Avenham Park

Avenham Park is at the South end of Preston, and is only an hours drive from Halifax. You can also catch the train, and then the park is a 10-15 walk from the station. There are toilets and a cafe, but there are also lots of lovely picnic spots if you want to pack a lunch and go for the day.

Landscaped gardens by the river

We spent a good while wandering along the riverbank at the bottom of the park – the views are lovely and Olivia enjoyed looking at the water and spotting lots of birds. along the riverside there are also lovely landscaped gardens, a fountain and lots of old steps and terraces to climb on.

Toddler adventure playground

We found a really lovely adventure playground just north of the river, next to the cafe. It was nice and quiet as it was late afternoon, and Olivia loved playing on the climbing rope structure and running round and round the willow tree tunnel.

There is also a Japanese water garden, which kids would love exploring, but unfortunately the water was all off due to the extremely dry weather we have been having. I definitely want to visit again after summer when the water will hopefully be back on.

Avenham Park is a beautiful spot, with lots of hidden places to explore, and several different play areas. It makes a good place for a full day out with kids of all ages, so especially great for the summer holidays!

St Ives Park in Bingley – an awesome adventure playground

We love finding new parks and playgrounds to explore – and especially in the summer holidays. We went along to St Ives to check our their huge adventure playground and had an amazing time.

Planning your trip to St Ives

St Ives park is near Bingley, around half an hours drive from Halifax. There is a huge car park with plenty of spaces, and you can also get buses up there from the centre of Bingley. There’s a lovely little cafe with outside seating, lots of space for picnicking, and an ice cream van next to the play park.

Exploring St Ives estate

You can do some lovely walks around the grounds, and there is lots to see with horses to visit, a lovely lake to walk around, and hidden little gardens to explore. You can easily get a buggy around the main parts, or you can off-road with a carrier or older legs if you want to explore the nearby moorland and cliffs.

Adventure playground at St Ives

The star of the show for Olivia was definitely the adventure playground. It has so much to do for all ages, and she particularly loved the tall wooden castle towers with slides, the climbing walls, the tyre swings and the lovely musical playground area with squeaking planks and a musical tile set you can walk on.

After exploring the park we had ice creams on the grass and found this beautiful carved wooden chair to perch on.

Have you been to St Ives? Which is your favourite bit?

A 3 year old’s birthday party with a difference – music, games and crafting

This post is a bit different from my other reviews, as it is less a product and more a service or an experience really – but it was so fab that I felt I had to give the organiser a shout out!

Planning a birthday party for an adventurous 3 year old

We wanted to do something for Olivia’s birthday which she would really love, and where we could include some of her friends from nursery as well as family freinds, but there didn’t seem to be a lot out there apart from play gym parties. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bashing play gyms, but I do find them pretty stressful and certainly wouldn’t choose to spend a hot Sunday morning in one. We wanted something which would be fun, energetic, creative and have space for a tasty lunch, all for around 15 2-3 year olds.

Mini Me Time – fun and developmental play

Luckily, Mini Me Time were totally happy to tailor make a party for us, and we knew it would be great fun as we had already been to some of their baby and toddler classes. Lindsay who runs the classes in Sowerby Bridge is super friendly and very talented in engaging kids in fun developmental play. She has the patience of a saint, and her activities are always really inclusive and flexible.

A brilliant pirate party!

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For our party, we wanted a pirate theme, so Lindsay created a pirate playlist with some of Olivia’s favourite songs, and got all the children up and dancing and playing fun pirate games. She also did some awesome parachute and ball games, and a lovely bit of catching the bubbles near the end. We then made pirate hats with stick on sequins, and finished it off with a party buffet, which we were able to bring along ourselves to make sure it had all Olivias favourites on.

Olivia and her friends had an amazing time, and we are now looking forward to going to more of Lindsay’s classes over the summer.

Thanks Lindsay – best birthday party ever! xxx

When a toddler decides to wean from breastfeeding

First of all I need to apologise for the lack of posts recently – I’m sure you all know what life is like trying to balance a career, young children and looking after yourself and family – it is certainly hectic! Aside from the usual busyness though, we have also been dealing with a major transition that has taken a lot of my energy.

The end of a breastfeeding journey

Olivia is 3 this month and, almost 2 months ago, she decided to wean from breastfeeding. Now, I know there will be some reading this who might think 3 is way too old to be nursing and that I should be relieved it is over, or even that I should have made her stop before now. However, I am a firm believer that breastfeeding should ideally end when the time is right for the mum and the little one, and for me this meant waiting until Olivia was fully ready to stop herself.

Nursing as a first time mum

As a first time mum my expectations for breastfeeding were that it would be straightforward and would probably last until around 12 months. And woah was I naive! We had a few issues when she was born with latching, especially as she was extra sleepy from jaundice and an emergency c section. However, with the help of amazing support staff in the hospital, we got going and she was soon feeding well and gaining weight.

Breastfeeding through the first year

As Olivia grew we navigated the changing landscape of nursing, through cluster feeding, weaning onto food, teething, growth spurts, sleep regressions and tantrums. Before I knew it I was nursing a toddler rather than a baby, and by that time it was way too useful as a comfort and parenting tool to give up in a hurry – not to mention the amazing health benefits to both of us.

Gently night weaning a toddler

As Olivia approached her 2nd birthday we gently replaced night time feeds with cuddles, as the constant night time feeding was proving difficult when I was having to go to work and function as a semi normal grown up. However, she still fed during the day, evenings and mornings, and showed no signs of slowing down.

Child-led weaning

Around 32 months Olivia started to nurse for shorter amounts of time, and started skipping some morning and evening feeds, until eventually we were down to once a day, or sometimes once every few days. Then, she started going for days at a time, and then started refusing a feed and just snuggling instead. Before I realised what was happening, she had stopped pretty much altogether, and instead just liked to pop her hand down my top for a cuddle when sleepy or out of her comfort zone.

The physical and mental affects of weaning

And here comes the surprising bit. Even though weaning has been gradual for us, and even though I knew in part that the end was coming, the impact on my mental and physical heath was huge, and really floored me. I have been a big supporter of breastfeeding both babies and older children, and even trained as a peer supporter, so I felt I knew the ins and outs of how it affects both mum and child. What I hadn’t bargained for was what the weaning process could be like when nursing an older child. The thing is, we read lots about nursing young babies, and some about toddlers, but a low percentage of women end up feeding until 2 or 3, and there is relatively little information out there about this stage and especially about child-led weaning.

All mums will experience this differently, but for me I experienced intense hormonal changes, bringing huge mood swings and, what I now recognise as a form of weaning-related depression. I felt extremely low and tearful, and struggled with being apart from Olivia, even though she had been happily attending nursery 3 days a week since she was 14 months. On top of feeling inconsolably sad and guilty, my periods also stopped (after returning regularly 6 months after Olivia was born). This also messed up my hormones, and even had me thinking I was pregnant for a while!

Everything settled down after 3-4 weeks, but it would have been so lovely at the time to have been able to read a blog post or story from another mum who had been through the same situation – it would have comforted me and reassured me that it was perfectly normal and would pass.

You are not alone!

I guess what I am trying to say is, if you are going through weaning from breastfeeding at the moment – I’m there with you. You are not alone. It is OK to mourn the end of your nursing relationship. Rest assured you still have an amazing bond with your little one and you will emerge from the other side.

And finally – I know feel like I have some head space back so hang tight for lots of blog posts on fun days out in Yorkshire – just in time for the holidays!

xxx

Hebden Bridge park and the Park Life Cafe

I have been meaning to blog about this place for a while now. We LOVE going to Hebden Bridge park, and often have breakfast or lunch in the lovely Park Life Cafe, which has tables outside and suits my little Toddlebeast down to the ground as she can scramble and run around whilst I enjoy a coffee in the sun.

Planning your trip to Hebden Bridge

Hebden can get very busy, especially on weekends or during holidays, as it is a popular destination for tourists. However, I’ve found that if you arrive in the morning, there is always a bit of space in the car park near the train station. There’s a path that goes directly from the car park down into the park, so it is super convenient.

Enjoying the playpark in Hebden Bridge

The playground area is great fun for all ages. There are dedicated climbing frames and swings for younger ones, and a really amazing wooden climbing structure for older ones with a huge tube slide. Can’t wait for Olivia to be old enough to scramble up there! There’s also a pirate ship and a water play area with lots of equipment for pouring and splashing in the summer.

Exploring the garden area in Hebden Bridge

In the bigger bit of the park there is a skate park which is great for older ones, and also an outdoor gym area which toddlers love climbing and jumping around. There’s also a huge field for playing ball games or spreading out for a picnic, and you can easily get onto the canal to spot some boats and ducks too.

Food and drink at the Park Life Cafe

The cafe is in the middle of the park, and has outside seating that looks onto a grass play area with some lovely wooden blocks scattered around for climbing and sitting on. They do brilliant coffee and the food is yummy, with lots of choice and a great range of vegetarian and vegan food too. The staff are very friendly and also very patient and welcoming around young children.

Toddlebeast checks out Wellhome park in Brighouse

With Spring just around the corner we have started checking out some of the local parks we have overlooked in the past. We had never been to Wellhome Park before, but had heard good things about the climbing frames and spacious garden bits. We went along to check it out on a sunny days a couple of weeks ago.

Planning your visit to Wellhome Park

Situated just outside Brighouse centre, the park is easy to get to by bus and also has plenty of on road parking round the edge. We took snacks with us today, but there is a cute looking cafe with an outside seating area which we might try out next time.

Exploring the Wellhome Park playgrounds

The play equipment at the park is brilliant – there is a smaller climbing frame for younger children, which Olivia enjoyed as soon as we got there, with some baby and standard swings right next to it. However, her favourite bit was definitely the area for older children, which has an amazing climbing structure, and lots of unusual touches like rope climbing and trapeze bars.

Walking round the Wellhome Park gardens

As well as brilliant play areas, the park has extensive garden areas you can walk round. There is a river running through the grassy area which was lovely for exploring, and I really liked the huge old tree trunks dotted around – we all enjoyed climbing and jumping off those.

There is also a great area for teaching cycling, with a painted on road, and a couple of little paths leading up into some woodland. We are looking forward to coming back to explore again soon, there is plenty to keep young children occupied over a morning or afternoon.

Exploring Judy Woods with the toddlers

We were lucky enough to have some dry, warmish weather at the weekend, and it spurred me to get us into the outdoors and enjoy some fresh air. The winter months can be hard on parents and kids, with little opportunity to enjoy fresh air and space to run and climb – definitely my toddler’s favourite things to do! So we togged up and went exploring in Judy Woods in Norwood Green, near Halifax.

Planning your visit to Judy Woods

Based just next to the village of Norwood Green, the best place to park is on station road near the marked entrance to the woods. If you are going by bus I would probably recommend getting off in Norwood Green or Wyke, and walking from there. There are no cafes or toilets at Judy Wood, so pack your picnic and be prepared for a woods wee if need be!

Exploring the leaves and mud at Judy Woods

Although the weather was dry, there was still plenty of mud for the toddlers to enjoy! Olivia loved squelching in the muddy puddles in her wellies and jumping through the muddiest bits. The woods are really pretty and there were lots of fallen trees to climb, sticks to play with and different plants to look at. There is a beautiful river running through the woods which we didn’t get chance to explore this time, but we will definitely be going back for a splash in the warmer months.

There are benches dotted along the paths in the woods if anyone needs a rest, and the toddlers enjoyed getting their picnic boxes out for snacks on as many benches as possible!

Trying out Norwood Green playground

Just round the corner from where we parked there is a small village playground, which was great for burning off some extra energy before a lunch time nap. The swings there a fab – old fashioned long chains which means really lovely high long swings, which Olivia loves. There’s also a great climbing frame with different bits for older and younger kids, and a slide.

We had a great morning exploring the woods and the playpark, it was fun to see the little ones enjoying the first nice spring day we have had. I’d like to try more woodland walks with Olivia and would love to hear about your favourite places to go.

Pimping up your dolls house furniture – a bargain craft activity!

We have had a wooden dolls house with natural unfinished wooden furniture for around a year now. Olivia, who is 2.5, does play with it a bit but seems to enjoy her coloured wooden toys a lot more. As she is really into colour sorting at the moment, I thought it could be fun to pimp up her furniture with a different colour for each room.

How can you stain wooden furniture with little mess?

I ordered my liquid watercolours from Amazon, and they came the next day for a pretty reasonable price. Once you have chosen your furniture pieces you simply put a couple in a zip lock bag, add around 10 drops of liquid watercolour and then smoosh them about before removing th pieces and leaving to dry for several hours.

It is great fun to do and, because it is all contained in a bag, the little ones can have a go too without fear of dying them permanently blue!

What kind of results can you expect?

I found that the colours saturated the furniture very intensely, so these results definitely arent for those looking for an understated style. We have ended up with very bright rainbow coloured furniture, and we love it! Remember these are stains, not paints, so if your little one likes to put things in their mouth I would recommend using a toy safe sealant once the stain is dry.

This really is a fab easy way to brighten up a doll’s house without spending a fortune. I would love to see your pictures if you give it a go!

The Deep – learning about sea creatures with your toddler

First things first – I know The Deep is in Hull and not technically in Yorkshire, but it is included as part of Yorkshire and The Humber, so I think we get to count it! Also, it only took an hour from our home in Halifax so it is close enough for a pretty easy day out. We went along in February this year for our first visit with Olivia and had an amazing time, there is a lot to see and do for young children.

Planning your visit to The Deep in Hull

The Deep is based on the river Humber near the centre of Hull and is a sealife centre with huge aquariums, housing over 3000 sea creatures. It takes just over an hour to drive to from Halifax, and they have a big car park which is free to park in. We went early in the morning and there was plenty of space. By train it takes under 2 hours from Halifax, so still manageable as a day trip, and there are lots of bargain hotels, including a Premier Inn, near by if you did want to make a short break of it. If you prefer to avoid the crowds then definitely go first thing. We arrived at 9.45 and they let us straight tin and there were no queues. Until about 11.30 it was very quiet and Olivia was able to go right up to all the tanks and take her time looking at the exhibits and the creatures. By 12 noon it was VERY busy so we were glad to have had some time to explore by then. We were delighted that the tickets we paid for are valid for 12 months – so we can come back as many times as we like this year, making it really good value.

Checking out the aquariums at The Deep

One of the most amazing things about the Deep is the sheer scale of their tanks – they are full of the most beautiful array of sea creatures and also a really impressive range of underwater plants. It was brilliant to see Olivia pressing her face up against the glass and asking questions about it all. She loved seeing the huge turtles swimming by and watched them for ages. In one of the larger tanks there was a particularly large fish which she followed round and round watching it pop up to the surface and dive all the way down again.

Not just fish to see at The Deep

As well as the beautiful fish there were some great chances to get up close with some of the creatures. There is a penguin area where you can see the penguins swimming under water and, at scheduled times, where you can listen to a talk about them and watch them have their lunch. There is also a small area at the beginning where children can learn about different rock pool creatures and even get the chance to touch some. Olivia was really excited to have a good look at an anemone, which she named a ‘pink sea hedgehog’, and she bravely gave it a stroke and said it was very spiky!

Lunch and snack time at The Deep

We took a picnic and found a small picnic area on one of the lower floors. Unfortunately, it was only when we stood up to leave the very crowded picnic area that we spotted a much bigger seating area round the corner! Moral of the story – scope out the area properly before you choose your picnic spot! The bigger seating area looked lovely with big windows to look out of and a counter to buy drinks and snacks. There is also a cafe at the top floor, and a small soft play area on the very bottom floor to run off some steam after lunch.

Toddlebeast rating: 5/5

We had a brilliant time exploring the sea creatures at The Deep and will definitely be making the most of our annual tickets to come back again this year. It is great to know that we can get to Hull so easily for a day trip out – do you have any favourite places you like to take children in Hull?