Reviews

Review 2015: Pots2Paint Basingstoke

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Reviews of Things to do 1 Comment

Pots2Paint

I first met Stef, who runs Pots2Paint, when Miss NHM was about 6 weeks old. It was coming up to Father’s Day and I wanted to get Mr NHM something special as it was his first Father’s Day. I chose a mug and Stef very delicately took handprints and footprints from a tiny Miss NHM. Mr NHM was overwhelmed when he got his mug and it remains in pride of place on display.
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Since that first time of visiting Pots2Paint I think we’ve been back every year since!  We’ve decorated a special 60th birthday tea pot for Gran, Christmas decorations for our close friends with Miss NHM’s handprints, more gifts for treasured friends and this time we visited to make gifts for Miss NHM’s nursery ladies. We’ve even been to a birthday party for one of Miss NHM’s peers at Pots2Paint and it was absolutely brilliant!!
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Stef and her team are always incredibly welcoming and have the BEST creative ideas that are always inspirational.

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I emailed Stef to ask to book in about a week before we wanted a slot. Stef came back to me very quickly and confirmed the time.

We turned up on the day and as we were the first ones in we could choose whichever table we wanted to sit at. You pay a studio fee for each person who is painting, to cover the costs of the paint, which is reasonable given the overhead costs of running the studio.

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The colour scheme and paints you can choose.

Miss NHM was very sure about the colours she wanted to use so Stef showed her how to paint them and helped her with her colours.

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I chose which products we were going to paint. There are literally 100’s, a lot more choice than there used to be. I have my eye on the gnome already :-D.

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Miss NHM’s creation. She was very determined about which colours she was using!

Miss NHM then decorated all of the gifts for her nursery ladies. Once she had finished Stef asked her to wash her hands and we handed over our goods. Stef then advised that the finished products would be available five days later.

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Completed orders ready to be picked up!

I’m so pleased with the final pieces and hope that Miss NHM’s nursery ladies are too!

Tips

Book early if you want to make gifts for Christmas. The studio gets very busy in the run up to Christmas so it’s best to book in sooner rather than later.
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If it’s not easy to get to the studio, I have seen via Dear Mummy, that Pots2Paint also offer a Hamper Service which you can book in advance.

Facilities

Although Pots2Paint is small unit of two rooms, it’s part of the Viables Craft centre community, so you can still use the toilets and baby changing facilities. There is a code to get into them though, so you may need to ask Stef for the code.

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Are available, but as I’ve mentioned above, you may need the code to get in.

Pots2Paint also welcome Mum’s who are breastfeeding.

Parking

Is free. It can get a bit tight in the car park but if the field is open then this means that parking is very easy.

Prices

You pay a studio fee to cover the cost of your paints and then pay for whichever items you choose to decorate.

Rating out of 5

I LOVE Pots2Paint so I’m giving them 5 out of 5.

I’ve always had brilliant service from the team and they have always been very helpful and have the best ideas when it comes to creating gifts for people.
You can also find out more about Pots 2 Paint via their facebook page.

Review 2015: The Parlour Tearoom

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Reviews of Places to Eat 1 Comment

The Parlour Tearoom 

I LOVE the Parlour Tearoom. We’ve been visiting since Miss NHM was a couple of months old.

I’ve watched Carole and the team grow the tearoom into a hugely successful local business and it’s been great to see how they have developed over the past five years.

Last year they even won “Hampshire Life Tearoom of the year 2014”!

Plus, the food is YUMMY!!!!!!

About

The Parlour Tearoom is based in Viables Craft Centre.

They are a Traditional English Tearoom serving Homemade cakes and Lunches. They also offer a breakfast service too.

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It’s a really lovely place, very airy and the food is excellent and all home made.

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It’s open from 10am to 5pm from Tuesday to Saturday.

Food

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I chose the Viables Tea which you can see below
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The Viables tea
 The cake was as yummy as it looks!
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I completely forgot to ask for no marshmallows and Carole said she would take them out for me, but I felt that would ruin the picture so I had to drink them :-D.
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Hot Chocolate with marshmallows
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Children’s meal
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Cute water bottle

Picnic in the Paddock

The Parlour Tea room offer a “picnic in the paddock” service. As you can see in the picture below, you can choose a rug, pick what you want for your lunch and your sandwiches are made to order. There are also footballs and outdoor games like coits that you can borrow. If you know you are coming you could bring a picnic chair or your own toys. You can then take everything with you to sit in the lovely field which is right next to Viables.

It’s recommended that you call the tea rooms in advance to let them know that you would like to use the “picnic in the paddock” service so that they have the capacity to make your sandwiches when you get there.

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Tips

It’s so popular these days that you need to book a table in advance on 01256 325795.

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The chairs are a little bit wobbly for a pre-schooler. Miss NHM fell off her chair twice, despite me asking her to stop fidgeting on it. There is a lovely big leather sofa though if you want to relax.

They also sell local produce like home made jams.

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Facilities

Disabled access and toilet facilities although you may need to ask for a code to use the toilets so ask before you have to leave with a toddler or two in tow!

There is a corner with toys and books in for you to borrow whilst you are using the tea room.

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Baby Facilities

The majority of Viables is a breastfeeding friendly area.

There are baby changing facilities in the toilets.

Parking

Ample free parking, especially if the field is open for you to park in.
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Specials Board

Prices

Are very reasonable, especially as everything is home made.

You can even buy cakes to take away!!!

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Rating out of 5

I’m giving the Parlour Tea Room 5 out of 5 because we always have a fab time when visiting.

Don’t miss out on future posts like this – you can receive updates directly to your inbox by email by adding your email address to the box on the top right of this page and hitting subscribe. You can also follow NorthHantsMum onTwitter,Google+,Facebook Page, Facebook Profile, LinkedIn and Feedly. I hope to see you there! 

Review 2015: Bucklebury Farm Park

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Reviews of Days Out 1 Comment

Thank you very much to today’s “NHM Secret Reviewer” who has done a great job below!

Review: Bucklebury Farm Park

Review of Bucklebury Farm Park, Bucklebury, Reading, RG7 6RR

Bucklebury Farm Park is a lovely farm and play park in the village of Bucklebury.

It has a Deer Park, Farm Animals, Indoor Play, Pedal Go Kart track, Tractor rides, Woody’s Cafe & Tea Room, Outdoor refreshments, Adventure Playground, The Wild Walk, Be A Farmer Club, Den Building.

Outdoor Play

There is a lovely wood chipped outdoor children’s play area at the bottom of the main field. It has a large wooden fort, lots of wooden structures such as a fire engine & train for children to climb & play in, some old tractors plus the usual swings etc. There is also a smaller play area for younger babies & toddlers.

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In the main field there is a zip wire suitable for older children, some wooden agility structures and a playhouse. There is a large bouncing pillow (although it wasn’t open when we went) along with a go kart track & a trike track.

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The Go Karts are only really suitable for older children (& adults) unless you prop your child in front of you & have a go.

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The trike track is good fun for younger children and my 4 year old was very happy pedalling his younger sister (2.5yrs old) around on the back of the trike.

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Indoor Play

Just inside the main entrance there is a large indoor play area with wavy slides & drop slides. When the rain came our little ones had great fun for a further hour or so, going up & down the slides repeatedly. The wave slides had woven mats that you had to sit on to go down the slide which they both loved.

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Our eldest did have a look at the drop slide but decided not to go down when he got to the top…personally I don’t blame him as I wouldn’t go down it myself even now (yes I am a big scaredy cat) however there were other children of a similar age who did (& some parents too!).

There is also a double decker bus in the main field which is kitted out as a soft play area. Again my little ones both loved this and were the perfect age for it.

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Every time we went to another part of the park they kept asking to go back on the bus and would run to it whenever we went past. I can imagine it gets very busy but there weren’t many people in the park the day we went as the weather had been particularly bad.

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Animal Petting

There is a small animal petting area called Bob’s Barn which holds animal petting sessions at various times throughout the day (you can find out when these are on the board in reception).  The children got to hold Guinea Pigs, Rabbits, a Chicken & a Tortoise. The staff were very friendly and helpful with young children and they really enjoyed holding the Guinea Pigs.

Tractor Rides

The tractor ride was really enjoyable and lasted about half an hour. You got onto the tractor trailer just past the adventure playground and were then taken on a trip up and around the Deer Park stopping midway to feed the Deer.  The driver was very knowledgeable about the different types of deer and came round everyone to see if they had any questions. Each side of the tractor was given a large bucket of food to feed to the Deer which both my little ones loved doing. Best of all the tractor ride is included in your admission price!

Walks

There is a nature trail and the Wild Walk both of which take you through wooded areas with the chance of seeing Deer. The Wild Walk has a picnic area and a tower you can climb that looks onto the Deer park. We didn’t do these walks as our children were worn out from running around the play area and walking around the park and we hadn’t taken the pushchair in for our youngest so she’d already walked quite a long way over the course of the day.

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Refreshments

Woody’s Café & Tea rooms is open 8.30am -5pm. We didn’t visit the café as we were at a party so had food & drinks provided but I poked my head in and the café looked lovely & charming.

I have heard from many people that the food is exceptionally good and that they make the trip to the café even when not visiting the park (it is open to both visitors & non-visitors). All the food is homemade and freshly prepared from locally sourced ingredients.

There is also the Little Green Food Wagon just outside the indoor play area which sold snacks such as bacon rolls at reasonable prices.

Picnic Areas

Of course the cheapest option is to take your own picnic and there was an abundance of outside space to enjoy a picnic if the weather is kind. There were also plenty of picnic tables around the park.  There is a sheltered picnic area which can be used if it hasn’t been booked for a party. Filled children’s lunchboxes are available from the kiosk for £4.50 and you can also book a hamper in advance.

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Toilets & Baby Changing Facilities

The toilet building is rustic but clean & adequate. I didn’t see any separate baby changing facilities however there was a large worktop surface in the ladies perfect for changing babies, just make sure you have your own changing mat with you. I didn’t spot the disabled toilet so unsure if these had proper baby changing facilities in.

Opening hours, Prices & Parking

The farm park and Woody’s Cafe are open daily for the 2015 season from Sunday 1st February until Wednesday 23rd December…Opening hours from early spring to late autumn are 9.30am until 6:00pm (last admission 5:00pm) and during November and December (until 23rd) between 9.30am-5pm.

Woody’s Cafe is open daily from 1st February to 23rd December from 8.30am-5pm (last orders 4.30pm).

Admission is pretty expensive in my opinion, as seems to be the case for all of these kind of attractions, however if you are going as a family of four then the family ticket is more reasonable.

Admission for 2015:

·         Adults – £9.45

·         Children & Seniors – £8.45

·         Children under 2 years – FREE

·         Family Tickets (2 Adults and 2 Children) – £32.50

·         Disabled – £7

·         Carer accompanying disabled visitor – £7

There is plenty of free parking onsite.

Summary

This is a really lovely place to visit for a day out. There were plenty of activities to keep our little ones entertained despite the weather not being the best & we would definitely visit again.

Rating

4.5 out of 5 – Only due to the price & the fact I felt it could do with some additional toilet facilities.

Don’t miss out on future posts like this – you can receive updates directly to your inbox by email by adding your email address to the box on the top right of this page and hitting subscribe. You can also follow NorthHantsMum on Twitter,Google+,Facebook Page, Facebook Profile, LinkedIn and Feedly. I hope to see you there! 

Review 2015: Frensham Common

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Reviews of Days Out 1 Comment

Yay! It’s the first secret review of the year on NorthHantsMum.

Thank you very much to one of our secret reviewers who has done a fantastic job reviewing Frensham Common below!

Review 2015: Frensham Common

We visited Frensham Common near Farnham last Sunday with myself, the husband and the monkey.  A really great childhood memory for me was a family day out here in the sand so I was excited to take my Son.  There is Frensham Great pond and Frensham Little pond and this review is on the Great Pond.

The reason for choosing to visit Frensham is that the Monkey wanted to go the beach but quite frankly we didn’t have time for an hour in the car each way as I needed to be at home doing boring stuff to “reset” the house before starting off our working week again.  Frensham was the best compromise with the beach area on the shore of the lake plus I owed NHM a review on this :-).

It’s only about 30 minutes’ drive from Basingstoke.  You drive through the main Farnham high street area and out the back.

When we drove into the car park there were plenty of spaces in a wooded area.  If you park at the front of the car park you have a good view of the lake.

If you are visiting here you need to pack for a beach visit with swim suits for the kids, towels, spare clothes, toys, picnic, wind breaker etc.  We’d brought along a bucket and spade so our Monkey could dig happily in the sand and if he is happy we are happy.

On the shore of the lake it’s ideal for sand castle building as the sand was quite damp so moulded nicely plus we could build a good moat.  We stayed on the larger beach area for most of our visit, on the smaller beach area on the same stretch we noticed a white froth on the lake shore when we went on our walk and nobody was using this area at all.

What we liked here was the family feel.  There were lots of families sitting on picnic rugs having their lunch with the kids running backwards and forwards to the water.

If you haven’t brought your picnic along there was a kiosk that sold everything you would need including bucket, spades and balls.

There were no whippy ice creams but there were soft scoop ice creams at £1.60 each and lollies.

Lattes available as well as plenty of hot food choices all cooked to order plus picnic tables to sit at.  We only tried out a portion of chips which were good chunky ones.

We did go on a walk eventually when we could prise our monkey away from the beach.  There are 7 miles of footpaths for walkers in the area.

Unfortunately we only had time for a short walk but the countryside was really pretty and we’d like to try it again.

Baby changing & toilets

When we were outside the toilets they didn’t smell very nice but when inside they smelt ok.  There was 1 flap down baby changer unit in the wash basin areas of both the Ladies and the Gents.

Buggy access

Only certain areas are suitable for buggies and your buggy would need to have good suspension to do some of the walks on offer.

Play area

There was no play area with swings, slides etc.  We think they could easily fit this in as it looks like they have the space to do this.

Car parking

There is a car park charge at weekends and bank holidays of £4 per car.  This only applies between Easter and the end of September.  National Trust members and blue badge holders are free to park at all times.  In peak Summer months expect the car park to be full by noon.  You can’t park on the country lane outside due to access for emergency vehicles.

Getting there

The post code for your sat nav is GU10 2QB.  The post code sends you to a lane and not necessarily the car park so they advise you to look at a map before you set off.

All in all it worked out as a cheap day out for us.

We have visited in off peak and it wasn’t busy at all but I’ve heard this place is heaving in the Summer months so visit soon if you want to give it a try.

You can download a visitors leaflet on the area at: https://www.waverley.gov.uk/news/article/354/advice_for_visitors_to_frensham_great_pond_and_common

If you want to find out more about Frensham Little Pond visit http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/frensham-little-pond/

Don’t miss out on future posts like this – you can receive updates directly to your inbox by email by adding your email address to the box on the top right of this page and hitting subscribe. You can also follow NorthHantsMum onTwitter, Facebook Profile, LinkedIn and Feedly. I hope to see you there! 

Review 2015: Centreparc’s – Sherwood Forest

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Reviews of Days Out, Travel 1 Comment

We went to Centreparc’s at Sherwood Forest in March of this year and I made a couple of notes about things to remember in case we are lucky enough to go again.

They might be useful to you and, after a NHM Reader contacted me asking me if I had any recommendations after our holiday at Centreparc’s, I thought I would add them as a post.

Several of these notes will also be relevant to other Centreparc’s in the UK.

Review 2015: Centreparc’s – Sherwood Forest

  • Arrive for 2pm. You have to queue for 30mins on the drive into the site anyway. They open the barrier at 2.30pm ish, so you can get into your apartment early. However, you can arrive from 10am, so if you can get there earlier and don’t mind leaving your things in the car, then this could also be a good plan.
  • Go swimming as soon as you arrive. Don’t even unpack. Just dump your stuff in your accommodation, park the car in the car park and go swimming. It’s the quietest it will be during your stay.
  • Dining in is free delivery on Mon and Fri. £2.75 delivery for the rest of the week.
  • We took our slow cooker with us. Great to come home, after a busy day, to a cheap, cooked meal with limited effort in the morning.
  • The Pancake house gets packed so get there before 11.30am or after 1pm
  • Most restaurants are heaving from 11.30am to 1pm and you have to wait at least half an hour. You couldn’t reserve tables when we went because people were reserving them and then not turning up. All literature says you can reserve, so check when you get there.
  • Scooter – very handy but bring a lock for it.
  • Don’t over book yourselves like we did (something every morning and afternoon. You need some time to relax!)
  • Pottery was wicked and we have something to keep as a memory but it’s really early in the morning!!! Plus quite expensive. Was worth it though as it was a lovely family activity to do together.
  • Need £1 for swimming lockers which you get back. We had a locker each, with coats, bags and shoes.
  • Twlight spa was awesome. We organised babysitting through Centreparcs at £6.50 an hour. Miss NHM loved the girl who came to sit for her.
  • Geo caching was a brilliant way to explore the site. It takes two hours and is 5k though. All on road so you can use the pushchair.
  • Very set up for children. Every restaurant on site has a microwave for heating food, a soft play area and parent/ toddler and baby changing rooms. The staff are very used to dealing with families with young children.

Review 2015: Ideal Imaging, Lifestyle Bespoke Family Photography by Alistair Jones

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Family Photographers, Reviews, Special Offers for NHM Readers 2 Comments

Alistair runs Ideal Imaging and I met him a few years ago, via NorthHantsMum. I’ve been desperate to have a photography shoot with Alistair for a couple of years now but the timing has never worked.

Alistair has always been very supportive of NorthHantsMum and when I saw that he was running a special offer earlier in the year, I leapt at the chance.

I’ve been following the Ideal Imaging facebook page since I met Alistair. I’ve seen many of the pictures that Alistair has taken and thought they all look fabulous. I love that the pictures are taken at several different locations including Tylney Hall, a beautiful hotel near Basingstoke.

Pre Session briefing with Alistair

About a week before our shoot, Alistair came to our house to talk us through what to expect and to advise on how we should prepare for the shoot.

We discussed what to expect, what we should wear and the pre session also gave us a chance to introduce Miss NHM to Alistair, so that she knew who he was when we saw him a week later.

It also gave Alistair an opportunity to meet us and to understand the personalities involved and to stress that he wanted to make it into an “adventure” for Miss NHM.

We talked through what to avoid (big logos and high heels!) and what to bring with us on the day (wet wipes was a key thing to remember!) and Mr NHM and I learnt about the colour wheel and how important this can be to ensure that the colours we were wearing didn’t clash with the colours of Spring at Tylney Hall.

Mr NHM also asked questions about the weather. Alistair explained that if it’s bad then we’ll simply re-schedule but said that 95% of the time it’s fine. We learnt that you don’t really want bright sunshine on the day of your shoot as this can cause shadows, squinting and the sun can wash out colours. It’s actually much better for the photographs if the weather is overcast as the colour come out better. Not really difficult with our English weather! :-D.

At the end of our initial pre-shoot session Alistair gave us a few print out’s that reiterated what we had talked about, just to ensure that we got the best out of our experience. This was great because it meant I didn’t have to remember everything, I had a handy sheet reminding me of it all! Lol.

I really loved the Pre session briefing with Alistair. It gave Mr NHM and I a chance to ask lots of questions and helped put my mind at ease as to what to expect on the day.

Photo Shoot at Tylney Hall

On the day of our shoot the weather wasn’t great. However, we weren’t worried as Alistair had already mentioned that this wouldn’t be an issue when we saw him at our Pre-Session.

If you have ever been to the hotel before, you will know that it is a very grand location and the drive up the main road to the entrance is beautiful. We met Alistair in the car park to the side of Tylney Hall.

I took a couple of outfits with us because I’m like that (no comment!). When I asked Alistair which outfit he thought would be best, he chose the same one I wanted Miss NHM to wear so I should really have just gone with my gut instinct. So we did a quick change for Miss NHM in the car.

Alistair then pulled out his teddy bear assistant and Miss NHM chose a name for the teddy bear and we were off to start the shoot.

I’ve only ever been in the hotel for Afternoon Tea and a work do, so never spent time in the gardens at Tylney Hall. They are Stunning!! It’s the perfect backdrop for some gorgeous photos. There are lots of different areas that you can walk around so you get a lot of variety in the pictures taken.

I have to admit that Miss NHM was a bit of a rat bag during her photo shoot. She really wouldn’t do anything we wanted her to and Mr NHM and I found it very challenging. Mr NHM and I even reverted to reverse psychology which seemed to work really well. If we asked Miss to do the opposite of what we wanted her to actually do, she would then do it!

Alistair took it all in his stride. He did a great job of letting Miss NHM do her own thing whilst he captured the best of her character and natural personality. When I look at the pictures now, I’m amazed that they came out so brilliantly. It just shows how good Alistair is, at what he does.

We walked all over the grounds and the photos tell the story of our experience. The shoot lasted about an hour which was just the right amount of time for Miss NHM. We finished in the daffodil area and despite Miss NHM getting tired at this point, you can see that the pictures are still fantastic.

Reviewing the pictures

Alistair came to our house about 10 days after the shoot and we looked at all of the pictures on his laptop. It must be wonderful for Alistair to do this because literally every picture we saw we were saying things like “Wow” or “Isn’t that fab”.

I was very nervous about reviewing the pictures. I was still worried about the fact that Miss NHM had been a rat bag on the day. However, I should have trusted in Alistair’s professionalism because I’m not lying when I say that every picture was brilliant. We had over 50 pictures taken during our shoot and every single one is just perfect.

As the pictures were taken outside and not in a studio they aren’t staged, so the expressions on Miss NHM’s face are really natural. I love this! I will always be able to look at these pictures and remember her at four years old, having the time of her life running around outside! Lol.

Alistair brought a number of samples along with him, to show the pictures at their best. One thing I really like all is that all items purchased are built to stand the test of time and become family heirlooms. For example, the Wall Art is all UV protected and stain resistant.

There is no obligation to buy but when you see the pictures it’s very difficult not too want all of what’s available!

Final Thoughts

When you book a lifestyle session with Alistair you get the complete service. I really liked the idea of having the pre-session briefing and then the follow up review. I was very impressed at how Alistair goes out of his way to make you feel comfortable and relaxed. It was clearly very important to him that we got the most out of the whole experience and had some fantastic pictures to take away from the experience.

The pictures themselves are just perfect. We couldn’t have asked for any better.

You can find out more about Alistair’s Lifestyle Bespoke Family Photography at:

Website http://www.idealimaging.uk.com/

Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/idealimagingphotography

AND Alistair has kindly agreed to give all NHM readers 20% off his Family Lifestyle sessions! Simply quote NHM when you book (expires 31st December 2015)

Thank you very much to Alistair for a fabulous experience and for the wonderful memories that we have of our shoot!

Disclaimer: This post is a review of Ideal Imaging. Our photography shoot was supplied free of charge for the purposes of the review. I was not expected to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own. 

Don’t miss out on future posts like this – you can receive updates directly to your inbox by email by adding your email address to the box on the top right of this page and hitting subscribe. You can also follow NorthHantsMum onTwitter, Facebook Profile, LinkedIn and Feedly. I hope to see you there! 

Review 2015: Sir Harald Hillier Gardens

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Reviews of Days Out

Sir Harald Hillier Gardens, Romsey nr Southampton

Review 2015: Sir Harald Hillier Gardens

The first time I went to Sir Harald Hillier Gardens was when Miss NHM was 4 months old.

It was so fab but I didn’t get to really experience it because Miss NHM was too young.

However, we went back in October 2014 to meet up with friends and had a fantastic day. Miss NHM was three and a half when we visited so she loved all the different areas that we visited.

Unfortunately the weather was appalling that day, it rained for most of the time we were there, but that meant it was really quiet and we still had a brilliant time.

You are probably aware that I’ve been championing the “Save the Culture All Passport“. This was one of the places that you could visit under the scheme. I really hope they don’t lose out on families visiting because they can no longer afford to visit.

Play

The Gardens are HUGE! There are so many different areas to explore. I’m just going to post the pictures up and you can see all of the different areas to visit.

You can’t really tell from the rubbish picture, but this is a maze made out of bamboo. It even had a seat in the middle. We had much fun playing in the maze!

This is a stream that Miss NHM wanted to go paddling in. It was a cold October day. She wasn’t impressed when we said no! lol.

As you walk to the end of the garden there is a long ramp and you walk past a waterfall. Lovely part of the gardens

This is the restaurant at the other end of the gardens from the entrance. Unfortunately the restaurant is closed in winter but it’s open in summer.

As you can see, there are lots of picnic benches outside the restaurant.

My favourite tree in the gardens :-D. 074

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You can just see the tree art in the picture below. Miss NHM was fascinated with this!

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This is the children’s area. There are different sensory areas. The picture below shows the ponds which had different types of pond life in.

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Miss NHM enjoyed standing on top of these. I wasn’t sure that was what she was supposed to be doing!!!

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This is the education centre, where the indoor activities take place. It’s next to the entrance. 092

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This is a picture of the restaurant. As you can see there is also outside seating for summer days.

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The views were spectacular.

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There are lots of sculptures dotted around the gardens. We loved this one, near the entrance.

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The treehouse is by far my favourite place in the Gardens.

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Tips

Take welly’s on a rainy day as it can get very muddy. We recommend an umbrella too.

Harald Hillier Gardens has lots and lots of activities for children so we recommend checking the website out before you go, to see what activities are on.

Dogs are not allowed in the gardens.

Food

I’m just going to let the pictures do the talking 😀

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The food was excellent and really good value for money.

I was very impressed with the children’s meal which had some nice healthy options available and a free seed tray. Wow, I sound old! lol.

Facilities

There are toilets at the main entrance, the main restaurant and at the other end of the gardens.

There are covered places near the main restaurant to park pushchairs and wheelchairs.

Baby Facilities

There were baby changing facilities in each of the separate toilets.

Parking

Is free and there is lots of it.

Prices

  • Under 17s Free (must be accompanied by an adult)
  • Adult £9.30*
  • Concession £8.40* (Seniors, job seekers, full-time students and people with disabilities)
  • Groups (10+) £7.50 per person
  • Guided Tours £60 standard

*Become a Gift Aid Visitor. Admission includes a voluntary donation to enable us to conserve, develop and exhibit our world renowned Gardens and plant collection. Standard entry prices Adults £8.45, Concessions £7.60

You can also become a member of the gardens, which looks very reasonably priced if you plan to visit lots: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/hilliergardens/hilliers-membership.htm

Open

  • April–October 10am–6pm (last entry 5pm)
  • November–March 10am–5pm (last entry 4pm)
  • Open all year (except Christmas and Boxing Day)

Rating out of 5

We’ve given them 5 out of 5 as we love the gardens and if we lived closer we would be visiting all the time.

Review 2015: The Cafe Project, Brighton Hill

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Reviews of Places to Eat 1 Comment

I’ve been meaning to go to the Dome Cafe ever since it opened.

So when a friend invited Miss NHM and I to lunch there, I jumped at the chance!

I used to be a volunteer youth leader for Gateway Award Project (GAP) in the early 2000’s and haven’t been back to the Dome in at least 10 years.

It’s changed a lot and I was REALLY impressed at how they’ve smartened the place up! lol.

Review: The Cafe Project, The Dome, Brighton Hill

The Cafe Project Website

The Cafe Project Facebook Page

Food

Was excellent.

We had tuna and sweetcorn jacket potatoes and Miss NHM had a huge plate of pasta and sauce. It was yummy and the salad had clearly been prepared upon order.

We were thinking about having cakes as they looked sooooo scrummy, but in the end we were full up!

Tips

The Cafe is open from 9am to 3pm, Tuesday to Friday and food is served until 2pm.

They have easy access and lots of space for buggies and wheelchairs.

Facilities

Are what you would expect. It’s very light and airy and warm considering the high ceiling.

There is a book case with books you can borrow to read and a small selection of toys for children.

Oh and please take note of the menu holders. My Father in law made them, and BOY did he go on and on about them! haha.

Baby Facilities

There was a baby changing table in one of the toilets and it was in good working condition.

They’re also part of the breastfeeding welcome scheme.

Parking

Is Free.

The Dome is just behind Asda in Brighton Hill. There is limited parking, about 8 spaces, but you could always park in Asda car park and walk over.

However, best to check if there is a time limit on parking in the Asda car park though. (The team at the Cafe Project have confirmed that, to their knowledge, there is no time limit for parking in the Asda car park.)

Prices

Are incredibly reasonable. Very good value.

Rating out of 5

I’m giving them 5 out of 5 because it’s such a brilliant concept and clearly is a hub of the local community, given how busy it was!

I was so impressed at the quality of the food for the price we paid.

Totally recommend this cafe for catching up with your friends and it’s a great way to support the local community!

Review 2014: The Natural History Museum

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Reviews of Days Out, Things to Do 0 Comment

Natural History Museum, London

Review: Natural History Museum

We went to the Natural History museum last year in August, during the school holidays.

It’s been one of the places I’ve wanted to take Miss NHM for a while, but we were waiting until she was big enough so we didn’t have to take a pushchair on the underground.

We drove up to Richmond and parked in DeerPark car park (only £8 for the whole day) and caught the train into Waterloo. We then navigated the Tube with Miss NHM across to Kensington. The tube was a bit of a challenge, even with two adults. I have no idea how people navigate London and the tube with more than one child!

We had a brilliant time, but it was quite a gruelling day. I wouldn’t recommend taking two or more children on your own. You definitely need at least a “one adult to one child” ratio!

Play

As we went during the school holidays it was MANIC. We had to queue for 20 minutes just to get into the building. Luckily it was lovely weather and people seemed to be in a fairly good mood.

The reason for the queue was because you have to have your bags scanned and checked. Once your belongings have been checked over, you walk into the main lobby. It was crushed with people. As it’s free entry, LOTS of people visit during the school holidays. The picture doesn’t really do it justice as to how busy it was.

There weren’t as many skeleton exhibitions in the main lobby as there used to be. Also, there seems to be a lot more cafe’s inside.

I’ve noticed that our culture is becoming a lot like the US (I’ve spent over 10 years living and working in the US, so understand their culture well) where everything seems to revolve around food these days.

We walked up to the stairs to the top of the Natural History museum, up to the great Secoya tree.

If you have vertigo, I recommend not standing near the edge when you get to the top! lol. We spent a lot of time in the mineral and rocks room, not least because it was quiet and fairly empty.

It was pretty cool seeing the diamonds in the vault and Miss NHM loved looking at the different gems.

We then caught the lift down to the bottom of the museum so we could find the blue whale. I wanted Miss NHM to see the blue whale whilst she is still young.

However, she REALLY didn’t like this area. She freaked at the stuffed animals and couldn’t wait to get out of this section.

She has mentioned the blue whale many times since though, so he/she clearly had an impact!

I couldn’t get a better picture unfortunately because I only had my iphone on me and there were so many people it was difficult to get a good shot without people in it!

We then stumbled into the “Human body” section. I remember when this was a brand new exhibition and the highlight of coming to the Natural History Museum. It was a bit depressing to see how dated and run down it was. Clearly I am really old! lol.

We avoided the Dinosaur section because I knew if we saw T-rex Miss NHM would probably have fainted. However, we went to have a look at the exhibition near the Dinosaurs. The TV screens were amazing:

After an hour and a half, Miss NHM had had enough, so we had to leave.

Miss NHM was three and a half when we took her along. I thought she would be the perfect age, but it was a bit too much for her.

Tips

Take a picnic. Food is expensive. If you stand with your back to the front entrance there is a very quiet grassy area to the left with seats that not many people sit in.

There is also a wildlife garden in the corner but Miss NHM had had enough by this point so we didn’t get a chance to check it out.

The other side grassy area, near the Science museum was packed, so it was nice to find a bit of peace and quiet.

The earlier you can get to the museum the better. The afternoons are the busiest.

Don’t take anything with you that might set off an aeroplane scanner.

Food

There are lots of restaurants and cafe’s throughout the museum but they were London prices. Recommend taking a picnic.

Facilities

Were excellent considering how busy it was.

The toilets were confusing though. Very arty but could not work out how to get in! lol.

Baby Facilities

Mr NHM said they were in good condition.

Parking

No idea as it’s central London so we always use public transport.

Prices

FREE!!!! Although you obviously have to pay for transport into London.

Rating out of 5

4.6 out of 5. I was a bit disappointed at the exhibits that were on offer, it was just too busy and you had to queue for ages to get in.

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Review 2014: Airkix in Basingstoke

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Reviews of Things to do 0 Comment

Warning: These are the only photo’s that you will ever see of me on NHM :-D. 

I committed to myself at the beginning of the year, that this would be MY year. (and it REALLY has been. 2014 has been an amazing year for me!!)

As part of this I made a decision early on this year, that I would do a Sky Dive for charity in 2015. (A few people have been very critical of this as I’m a parent, but life’s too short not to take the odd risk now and then, whether you are a parent or not!!)

Next year is a “big” birthday for me (21 again!!!) and I would love it if my family and friends donated money for me to Sky Dive to raise funds for Sebastian’s Action Trust, instead of buying me a birthday present.

I wanted to try Airkix first, to see if I could *hack* a Sky Dive.

So, Mr NHM bought me an awesome birthday present, which I cashed in on Sunday.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and was a little terrified.

But…it was SOOOOOO AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was so amazing that I have booked my Sky Dive, two days after Airkix! lol.

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Play

Once you have brought your Airkix ticket you need to book your slot online. During school holidays and weekends it can get very busy, so I booked at least a month in advance and then promptly forgot about it. DON’T DO THIS! Make sure you read the paperwork that gets sent to you at least a few days in advance.

When you arrive, you will need to complete a “Statement of Risk” disclaimer on the computer terminals. You are supposed to complete this at home, in advance, but I completely missed this bit. (Sorry Airkix!!!) It takes a bit longer than you would think because the keyboard has clearly been used many times before.

If you’ve had shoulder problems, you also need to confirm that you are ok to jump.

Once everyone arrives (I was dying of embarrassment that we were late), you then get taken upstairs to a room with a video and asked to watch the 5 minute video which explains everything you need to know and remember.

I was very pleased to see that I wasn’t the oldest person in the room. However, it was a little misleading as a few parents were sitting with their children and the parents didn’t actually jump. Sneaky!!!

The video covers quite a bit and I’m sure if you are younger and not so stressed about being late, you would take in a lot more. I tried to concentrate on the hand movements that you need to watch for, as you can’t hear or talk in the wind tunnel.

Luckily, I didn’t really have any time to become nervous. Once the video has finished, you then suit up.

You are given a lovely jump suit and helmet, goggles and then you can also have ear plugs. I wore these as I’m partially deaf anyway, so really couldn’t hear anything! lol.

Then, it’s time to go. You are taken into the ar-locked area of the wind tunnel and you sit on the bench. The other side of the wind tunnel are the spectators. I think this was the worst bit! Knowing that people were watching you!?!?!?!

I was 5th in the queue. It was fab watching everyone else, but this was the point where I started to get nervous.

When it was my turn, I could literally feel all of the spectator’s eyes on me. I was by far the oldest “girl” and I think they were expecting me to freak out of flake out. (I didn’t, I loved it and am REALLY proud of that fact! lol.)

Then, before you know it, it’s your turn….

airkix_1460075

I didn’t realise how much you needed to concentrate. I think I just expected it to “happen”. It did happen but you need to make sure you were paying attention to the hand signals. It actually takes a lot of control.

I had two jumps of two minutes each. About 1.40 seconds into the first jump I had to get out. My back was KILLING ME! It’s not used to being arched in such a direction, so the instructor did two, one minute sessions next for me, rather than two minutes in one hit. This was much better.

I managed to do a 360 degree turn in both directions, went sideways and up and down. It was amazing how little movement was needed to move around.

In my last “jump” I was taken up and down the wind tunnel by the instructor. This was AMAZING and, despite grinning like an idiot and trying not too dribble everywhere, it was a real highlight. This is the bit that secured the Sky Dive booking for me :-D.

After everyone has done their jump and the photo’s have been taken, you then take off your gear and are given your certificates. I’m very proud of my certificate and it’s displayed next to the award I won for NHM earlier in the year.

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The instructor said I was a natural, which I’m sure is what helped my enjoyment, plus not having the time to get nervous in advance.

When you have finished you check out downstairs and have the option to buy repeat jumps at a reduced price.

Guess who knows what she’s getting for Christmas :-D.

Tips

Check your paperwork BEFORE the day of your jump. DO NOT do what I did and check it the morning of your jump, only to realise that you have to be there AT LEAST an hour before your scheduled time. We left the house in 7 minutes. This was the fastest time we have EVER left the house! lol.

(Thankfully, I was only 20 minutes late and the staff were lovely about it. We were THAT family though! I think if we had been 25 mins late, I would have lost my slot.)

Breath. I didn’t realise until after my first jump that I had been holding my breath. Nearly two minutes of holding ones breath is a long time. Make sure you breath!!!!

You will dribble. Not just at the “easy on the eye” Instructors ;-).

You will also ache the following day. Three days on and my stomach muscles haven’t quite forgiven me. So worth it though!!!!!

Leave your jewellery at home. It’s not recommended to wear it in the wind tunnel.

Non-participating children cannot be left alone, so make sure you bring someone along with you to watch them.

If you have long hair, tie your hair back as you don’t want it whipping around you in the wind tunnel.

Food

n/a

Facilities

Are excellent as it’s a very new facility. To be fair though, we didn’t do much exploring. Did I mention we were late? <blush>.

Baby Facilities

Not really sure, I was too excited to check these out.

Parking

Is free in Basingstoke Leisure Park

Prices

Are actually very reasonable for what you get.

There are also a few special offers that you can book on the day, for your next Airkix flight, which I may or may not have booked on the day because I loved it so much :-D.

Rating out of 5

10 out of 5. If only to prove to yourself that you aren’t JUST a Mum. 😉

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