Memory Lane River Mersey & Vale Park Aug 09

Myself, Billy and my Mum all grew up near to the River Mersey. Aaron really enjoys visiting the places were we used to live. Nana came with her mobility scooter, this has improved her life immensely, the scooter has given her much more freedom to get about to places she is unable to walk to. Nana will be 80 yrs old in January. There is still life in the old dog yet as Billy says.



Today we headed for the beach. Parking up with the VW at the Green Hill. Mockbegger Rd in Wallasey.

Nana headed along the top road which over looks the sea wall. We walked along with her for a while before heading down to the beach to give Fred a good run. Nana sat on her scooter watching from above. We were at the part of the promenade which is called Mother Redcaps. t this point there used to be an old house which has since been demolished. The Mother Redcap house was said to have harboured pirates in the olden days, below the house there were suppose to be passages which lead up to the Red Noses in New Brighton and beyond there to the Leasowe Castle Hotel. The passages helped old Mother Redcaps to help the smugglers. They would bring the ships on the rocks by flashing false lights to confuse the crew bringing the ships on to the rocks along the coast of the Mersey.

I remember doing a project on the ship wrecks, smuggling and pirates at school. The history surrounding the Wirral is fascinating.

Fred had a great time running in and out of the sea. Chasing the seagulls along the rivers edge as they played games with him swooping down to make him give chase. His golden tan coat bobbed up and down within the waves.He also enjoyed wallowing in the sand getting very mucky.

The beach here is a great place for dogs. All my dogs have had great fun running wild along the beach it was an everyday dog walk for myself and my pets over the years. The Mersey can also be a dangerous place due to the tide changes, under currents and sand banks. Growing up here and spending so much time on the promenade you learn to be fully aware of the dangers of the Rivers and the tides. It is great to pass on so much knowledge to Aaron he learns not only about the countryside but also sea.

The Mersey was calm today compared to other times when the tide as been that high it reached the promenade road with waves to 50 ft above you.

After a while we headed further up the promenade to Vale Park New Brighton. I spent many a summer day here with my friends. We performed and watched the bands on the old band stand. I will always remember the talent contested they had in the park. It hadn't changed much except a fence around the band stand and the cafe has been done up really nicely.

After a while we headed back along the prom. Fred again running wild and free splashing in and out of the rock pools as the tide had gone further out by this time. The rock pools are great for looking at sea life. There are many crabs and snails to be found hiding beneath the rocks.

After we had walked back, we then headed to visit Aaron's Great Aunty Murial. She lives in Moreton Wirral. We stayed a while before heading off making are way back home stopping at the children's grave on the way. Heading back up the Old Chester Road to Two Mills then on to Queensferry as we had promised Aaron a KFC.

It was lovely visiting the Wirral today and showing Aaron the places were we all grew up.

www.geograph.org.uk/photo/39537 Geograph site with info about Mother redcaps

Cambrian Railways Trust Oswestry Aug 09

Cambrian Railway

We spent the day exploring the old railway of Oswestry and looking into the history of the Railway that ran through Oswestry.

We walked the line in parts past Corney Green. My friend Clare now runs a fitness centre in Corney Green and is doing very well.

We then visited the old Station looking at the history of the Cambrian Railway. We also settled down for a nice cup of tea in the cafe / restaurant. This cafe is lovely set out to replicate old fashioned railway carriages.

The railway are planning to open more of the old rail line. The part open at present is Llynclys to Penygarreg Lane. The Llyncyls site is just off the A483 on the B4396 on the Knockin side of the road. There is limited parking on site. Trains depart from Llynclys South on hourly intervals during the day for a short ride up the track which has been restored. The site also offers a gift shop and buffet car.

The new lines to be opened are from Llynclys to Oswestry to Gobowen. The other line is set to come up part of the valley at present the line is going to be reopened to Blodwell Junction.

We are all really excited about the new rail line as there is talk of a cycle track running parallel to the line also.

Cambrian Railway Trust has received a Heritage Lottery Fund to enable them to carry out the reopening. The lines are already being cleared.

For more info please visit http://www.cambrianrailwaystrust.com/

After our history lesson we visited Subway in town for a heathy treat. Aaron loves the toasted sandwiches.

The Crocky Trail August 09

A group of us mums, dads and children met up at mile end services and followed in convoy to Chester for a visit to the Crocky Trail.

The Crocky Trail is set over farm fields. There are many rides at the start including drop slides, surf riders, gladiators and much more. One of the favourites is the titanic. This is a large moving ramp that lowers and then goes high resembling the sinking of the great ship. It is extremely hard to stay on. Billy went on with the kids, we all had such a laugh as he struggled to get up the slippery slope only to be pushed down by the naughty children. He didn't come down alone as he grabbed a couple and took them with him. The other mums and I were in stiches watching the carry on on the titanic.

The children had a great time on the rides as did all of us. They are very different many not for the faint hearted.

After a while we headed on the crocky trail. The trail takes you on a few miles journey around the country side. The trail has lots of challenges along the way. There are many challenges over mud filled ditches so be prepare to get very mucky if you fall in. There are rope bridges, bendy bridges and rocking bridges. Tunnels and swing gladiator challengers.

There is also a canon to climb on. Aaron managed to get himself stuck up the tube. Marja and the boys had to pull him out not before Marja teased him she was lighting the fuse.

On the trail there are also mazes to enter and stepping stones across little streams surrounding the fields. We all had a great time.

We stayed for hours with home made picnics and the camper as the tea and coffee machine for all us thirsty mums and dads.

The crocky trail is well worth a visit as it offers something very different for the children to enjoy in the natural environment. Below is a link to the web site.
http://www.crockytrail.co.uk/

Start of The Football Season

The lead up to the weekend saw us attending a car boot sale at Wittington. We picked up some odd and interesting items which we were all pleased with. We met up with Helen & Jez our friends along with their children. Conner & Abbey are my beautiful little god children, they love to spend time with us. Were happy to have them. They are a mischievous pair so its nice to be able to hand them back after a few hours for the peace and quite.
Car boots are really good places to find all sorts of items. I love clothes, shoes and jewellery, a girl thing. There is no need for anyone these days to walk around looking like a tramp or a clown from Billy Smarts circus but you still see that even these days even at the car boots were really nice clothes sell for as little as £1 or £2. At the car boot we had a few giggles as we walked around admiring the items on sale and the views between.
Afterwards Helen and Jez and the children followed us home for a chat and a cuppa giving us more time to play with the little hooligans.
Saturday - saw the start of the 09 / 10 football season. Both the boys Billy and Aaron are really excited. They are both football fanatics. We headed to the venue at Parkhall to watch the game. Everton V Arsenal. Everton got a thrashing 6 - 1 which brought Billy near to tears.
Sunday - afternoon it was the Liverpool V Tottenham game. The boys watched the game on sky at home. Aaron sulked as his beloved team Liverpool sank to defeat 2 - 1 at White Heart Lane.
The season has a long way to go yet.

Sculpture Trail Lake Vyrnwy Aug 09

After our walk to Rhiwargor Waterfall ( blog bellow ) we headed for the Sculpture park at Lake Vyrnwy. Picking up an ice lolly on the way.

Aaron had his bike on the cycle rack on the back of our car. We took it off. The sculpture trail is a good place for him to cycle around especially as he has a mountain bike. The park offers a safe place to cycle.





The views form the sculpture park are again spectacular. The rear of the Dam can be seen clearly as it holds the water back from flooding the valley and the park.

We walked around looking at the wooden sculpture. After a while we headed back to the car for our short journey home.

Rhiwargor Waterfall Lake Vynwy August 09

A beautiful summers day took us to Lake Vynwy. Today we followed the Rhiwargor trail at the top end of the lake. This is a lovely peaceful untouched area of Lake Vynwy. We have walked here many time before the Rhiwargor trail offers a lovely walk for Fred our dog too.

Walking through the valley the trail leads you to the Rhiwargor waterfall. These falls are the highest around the lake. The view is spectacular. We stayed up here for some time with Fred and Aaron paddling in the stream at the bottom of the falls.

The path leads you around through the forest area offering you the sights of nature. We decided to take the river path back as the boys Billy and Aaron wanted to play skimming stones across the river. The both had a great time.

Fred also enjoyed this walk. He was kept on his lead at all times due to the sheep and hidden drops on this walk.

next stop was the sculpture park ( blog above )

More photographs can be seen on our on line photographs link opposite under summer hols 2009

below is a link for more info about the Rhiwargor trail and waterfall.
www.snowdoniaguide.com/rhiwargor_waterfall.html

Camping At Orcheston Stonehenge Wiltshire Aug 09

What fun we had camping at Stonehenge. The village of Orcheston is just a few short miles away in the heart of Wiltshire.

We set up camp and headed off for a look around.

There are plenty of paths bridleways and footpaths. Fred had a great time along with us all exploring the local amenities.

With early morning starts we made cooked breakfasts of bacon, eggs and sausage on out outdoor camping stove. Tea and hot chocolate were on hand from the campers kettle.

Lucky for us the sun shone down on us. The camp site was really nice a proper family run site. People from near and far were camping here Billy got chatting to some bikers from Holland, he is very good a speaking different languages especially German.

Aaron made friends with some children from Belgium.

We had a great time camping read on to see what we got up to whilst on our camping trip to Wiltshire.