A wet day...

..... so got the train to Liverpool and went to the World Museum. We saw all the old favourites - the dinosaurs, aquarium and bug house. M and A went on a behind the scenes tour, whilst B and I played in the Natural History Centre, and after we all met up again we did the solar system tour in the planetarium.

With the giant elk!

B was facinated by the giant spiders web..... ...and then, whilst he spent ages using the microscopes.
There were bug craft activities to do...
...and he made this cute beetle.
Afterwards we popped into the Walker Big Art children's centre - and M was most taken by this outfit!

Flamingo Land

And yet more from our holiday (we were only there a week - honest). We had a great day at Flamingo Land. A used to stay here as a chilkd - when it was a zoo with a bit of a fun fair. Now it is a proper theme park with some serious rides. We kept to the tame family stuff this time - though M did get her first go on a looping coaster - the corkscrew.

A proper coaster fiend in training...

... B isn't so keen on fast rides- this little dragon was enough for him.

Yes - we went on the river ride - just look at that splash...

....and yes, we got VERY wet!

Bempton Cliffs

We've only been back from York for just over a fortnight, and it seems months ago already. So here are some pics from our day to BEmpton Cliffs, just north of Flamborough Head. It's an RSPB reserve - and home to tens of thousands of gannets, guilemots, razorbills and puffins.

A battled the winds to take this sort of picture

M, B and I enjoyed a lovely cliff top walk and picnic in the sunshine

The flowers were beautiful
B enjoyed running off - left to his own devices I think he would had kept going until he got to Filey.
We all met up again eventually :)

The Revenger's Tragedy

Last night's theatre trip was to the Royal Exchange in Manchester to see The Revenger's Tragedy. Not a play for the faint hearted - it was extremely blood thirsty and very very funny and Stephen Tompkinson was just magnificent as Vindice.

The Royal Armouries - Leeds

On the way to York we called in at the Royal Armouries. This is one of my favourite museums, and we have visited lots of times. As always the best bits were the interpreters - actors who speak in role as historical characters. M was fascinated by Rifleman Harris of the 95th - and though I have read his story previously - it is wonderful to hear it being brought to life.
Being a Bank Holiday weekend - they had a great joust in the afternoon. It was Wars of the Roses - and we got M and B to cheer for the Red Roses - but we were well outnumbered (we were in Leeds after all) - and it was no surprise when Yorkshire won...

Sunset Cottages - Part Two

So here we have it - a rare photo of the 4 of us - outside Gillings Gap at Sunset Cottages. We had a FAB holiday. The cottages were just as we remembered from our last visit 4 years ago. They are about 25 minutes north of York, right in the middle of the Howardian Hills. So quiet - apart from the sheep and lambs that is!

We managed to mix trips to York with the time in the countryside and a day at FlamingoLand!
Snowy Solo (the White Tiger) went pretty much everywhere with us - and only got left behind once.....
The horses were still in the field opposite the cottages - and still as greedy as ever - ready to be bribed by an apple or carrot.

National Railway Museum

At the NRM in York.

A future engine driver???