Grizedale Forest

Location

Grizedale is located between Esthwaite Water and Coniston. Parking always used to be a problem here, but they've created a larger car park a couple of years ago, so chances are you shouldn't have a problem now.
To reach the forest from the North you need to take the A591 to Ambleside, leave Ambleside A593 to Langdale/Coniston. First left B5286 to Hawkshead. Bypass Hawkshead follow B5286 south then first right at tourist sign "Theatre in the Forest", follow to Grizedale approx 2 miles.

Or from the South M6 junction 36 take A591 first exit A590, Barrow follow A590 past Newby Bridge Havethwaite Crossroads, right turn, tourist sign "Grizedale Forest Park", follow signs for Satterthwaite/Grizedale north.

During the high season (Easter to Oct/Nov) you can reach Grizedale via the Cross Lakes Experience, where you can arrive from either Coniston Water or Bowness Pier. There’s also a bus service that runs from Hawkshead to Grizedale to Newby Bridge.

The Forest

At the old car park (which is still useable) you'll find the visitors centre, the shop, the cafe and a massive playground for the children which is all wood and looks like a ship. There's also a place to hire cycles and the Go Ape tree top experience, where those over the age of 10 can swing through the trees and clamber around 19 metres in the air!! I have to say I've never tried it, the trees would probably bend under the weight, but I've watched people doing it and they always look like they are thoroughly enjoying it, and I admit I'd love to have a go on the zip wire. It's open for children over 10 and adults, currently the prices are £20 for children up to 17 and £25 for adults.

For the less adventurous among you there are several different walks around the forest, all of differing difficulties and distances. Some of the walks are free of stiles, so they are suitable for wheelchair users, although none are actual pavemented walks, so they might still be hard going depending on the style of wheelchair, because I know some are far more difficult to push or handle than others. The other walks range from a 1 mile blue walk which is classed as easy to a 9 and a half mile orange walk, which is classed as strenuous. The walks are all marked out with arrows of certain colours along the route, so you don't accidently go along a more difficult path. All in all there are 8 marked walks. The forest is also home to the country’s largest off road cycling facility, it has 5 marked cycle routes of differing difficulties.

As you're walking round you'll find statues hidden among the trees, I say hidden, some of them are quite obvious and out in the open, but the kids love to be the first one to spot the next statue. The statues are mostly made of natural materials, although some of the newer ones are metal rather than wood. Some of the figures are interactive, for instance you can play the forest xylophone.

At the beginning of the forest close to the Go Ape area there is a small stream running through the forest. Providing they have wellington boots on this stream is just right for the children to jump in and splash about, without any worries about it being too deep.

Visitors Centre

The visitors centre is open all year round, except for Christmas week. It opens at 10am each day and closes between 4pm and 5.30pm depending on the time of year (later opening during the summer). The visitors centre has details of the walks and cycle trails, they have leaflets which show all the walks, but as previously mentioned all the walks are well signposted with colour co-ordinated arrows. They also sell souvenirs, and just across from the main centre there’s a small cafe which has hot and cold snacks as well and hot and cold drinks, although they are a little expensive, so I’d advise packing a few of your own drinks. There are indoor and outdoor seats, the outdoor seats are also available for anyone who wants to take a picnic.

On the opposite side of a small stream you’ll find a cycle hire shop, so you don’t have to take your own cycles, the latest you can hire a cycle is 3pm, and it has to be returned by 5pm.

Also close to the visitor’s centre is a large children’s park. The playground has a large wooden structure in the centre which is shaped like a pirate ship, and has slides and climbing frames. This is usually being used by children aged 10 and under, with a few children around 11-13, after that age it seems like it isn’t ‘cool’ enough to be used.

Just outside the Visitors Centre you’ll find the Theatre in the Forest. There are different plays and performances going on through the year. For instance the Brewery Art will soon be performing their hilarious adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard III.

The forest is busy nearly all year round, but during the summer you’ll find the area very busy. This means you are unlikely to find any quiet time around the visitors centre, and the shorter walks will be quite crowded. No matter which walk you decide to take I would recommend you plan for a full day at Grizedale, the scenery is beautiful and despite what I mentioned earlier about crowds, you’ll still be able to find some time and space to enjoy the tranquillity of the forest.

Final Opinion

I love going to Grizedale because there's something for everyone. My children love it because they enjoy the playground, they love to hunt for new sculptures, and they really love jumping in the stream!

I find the cafe and shop expensive so we generally take our own food and have a picnic, and will just buy an ice cream or something small during the afternoon if we need to.

The routes are well signposted (and by signpost I don't mean great big ugly things that spoil the forest, they are small and don't detract from the natural beauty), however, if you don't pay attention, or head off without looking to see which colour is which, you might find yourself on a much longer walk than you thought. As I did once when I ended up on a cycle trail not a walk, and 4 hours later was starting to worry that I'd never get back. Although in a way it was a wonderful mistake because it took us up quite high and the view was outstanding.

A lovely day out, that's well recommended.

The Golden Compass

I watched this for the first time last night, and only because someone had bought it for my children. I'd spent a long time avoiding buying it because I do not like Nicole Kidman one bit.

~What is the Film About~

The film is based on a book called the Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. It revolves around a girl called Lyra in a world not dissimilar to our own, except everyone's souls live in a daemon which manifests itself as an animal. The daemons of children can change shape, adult daemons appear to be fixed in one form.

Lyra lives in what appears to be a boarding school where her uncle (Lord Asriel) works. After she thwarts an assassination attempt on her uncle, he travels to the north to find evidence of 'dust'.

Then along comes Mrs Coulter who wants to take Lyra under her wing and take her north as well, the school headmaster is reluctant, but eventually agrees that Lyra can go. Before she leaves he gives her an alethiometer (Golden Compass), which only certain people can read.

The rest of the story follows Lyra's fight between good and bad, the introduction of Iorek Byrnison, fighting bear, Serafina the witch and Lee Scoresby an aeronaut. Both of who aid Lyra on her quest.

I could go into a lot more detail, but it would spoil it for anyone yet to watch.

~The Main Cast~

Nicole Kidman - Mrs. Coulter
Daniel Craig - Lord Asriel
Dakota Blue Richards - Lyra
Ian McKellen - Iorek Byrnison (voice)
Eva Green - Serafina Pekkala
Sam Elliott - Lee Scoresby
Christopher Lee - First High Councillor

~My Thoughts~

I quite enjoyed the film, despite still thinking the acting skills of Nicole Kidman let it down, I find her very one dimensional. However, the acting from Dakota was enough to carry the film alone. She did a wonderful job in the main role and the other cast members also did a good job. Ian McKellen was the perfect voice over for the bear.

The story flowed fairly well, although I never really understood the point of dust and what the significance was. Which made it awkward when my children also asked about dust and what did it mean.

The animation was good, and fairly realistic looking, well as realistic as talking bears can be lol.

So altogether I thought it was acceptable as a family film, certainly not worth all the hoo-ha there was when it first came out. Just a pleasant watch with no sex (or innuendos) or swearing, and a fight between good and evil.

Furry Vengeance

Cast

Brendan Fraser as Dan Sanders
Ricky Garcia as Frank
Eugene Cordero as Cheese
Patrice O'Neal as Gus
Jim Norton as Hank
Brooke Shields as Tammy Sanders
Matt Prokop as Tyler Sanders
Billy Bush as Drill Sergeant
Ken Jeong as Neal Lyman

Synopsis

Dan Sanders is a loyal employee of Lyman Industries, so loyal in fact he uproots his entire family from Chicago, and moves them to the Oregon wilderness, in order to supervise the construction of a new 'eco friendly, green' site. Unfortunately unbeknownst to Dan, Neal Lyman is not as eco friendly as he makes out, and is planning to flatten the forest in order to double the size of the housing development, adding shopping malls with woodland themes!

Only the current inhabitants of the forest have other ideas, and they embark on an elaborate plan to make Dan see what a mistake he's making. Unfortunately for Dan, this plan is bound to make him a laughing stock at work.

My Thoughts

I've rated this a 3, but it almost got 2 star rating. For an adult it is very poor indeed, but my daughter and all the other kids in the cinema were laughing hysterically, so it must have hit their wavelengths.

The one good thing about this film was that it avoided the 'talking animals' pitfall that so many of these films fall into. It did however have amazing animals, with the ability to communicate that would make special intelligence jealous! This is where it fell down from an adult point of view, it was way too far fetched, but the kids enjoyed the 'nah-nah' type noises the animals would make once their plan had come together.

The film used real animals and stuffed ones too, I think they knew that the stuffed animals were never going to look realistic, so they went for the exact opposite and made them so totally unrealistic you couldn't help but laugh at them.

There were a few points in the film that most adults would find themselves chuckling away to. But unlike Shrek for example, there are no adult themes in the film, so it's not a case of there being laughs for kids and double entendre jokes for adults, all the laughs hit the lowest common denominator.

I don't think Brendan Fraiser did himself any favours with this film, he is a far better actor than the storyline of this film allows.

The storyline is a rehash of so many other nature v developer films or tv shows, and the outcome is pretty obvious from the beginning.

Still it was worth the entrance money to hear my daughter laughing away, so it wasn't all bad.

Beningbrough Hall

Beningbrough Hall is located just outside York near the small village of Beningbrough. It is 8 miles north-west of York, and 2 miles west of Shipton along the A19.

Admission and Prices

As with most National trust properties opening times aren't simple as they could be.

Grounds/Shop/Restaurant

Most of the grounds, a shop and restaurant are open 11 until 330 Monday to Wednesday, and at the weekends. During the high season March until early November they are open until 530, and during July and August they are also open on Friday.

House

House opens later in the year, (March rather than February) and until mid-March is only open at the weekends. From March to November it is open Monday to Wednesday and weekends from 11 until five. And again as with the grounds during July and August it is also open on Friday.

Galleries

The galleries are open all year round, but they are only open in from 11 until 330, and their only open at the weekend.

Prices

Gift Aid Admission (Standard Admission prices in brackets) Summer: £8.40 (£7.60), child £4.20 (£3.80), family £20 (£18). Groups (£7.30). Winter: £5.50 (£5), child £2.60 (£2.35), family £14 (£12.50). Groups (£4.40).

Again as with all National trust properties the admin prices include a gift aid donation, but you can pay the standard admission if you do not wish to pay the gift aid.

What to See

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House is a 1716 Georgian mansion, which can be visited all the several floors.
The upper floors house the galleries with some interesting interactive galleries. In one gallery you can take a picture of yourself and superimpose it onto an 18th-century portrait and then e-mail copy to yourself. In another area you can dress up in Georgian clothes (although they are not full outfits, they are specially made outfits which will hook over your shoulders).
There are also rooms which have puzzles for children to do.
Some of the ground floor rooms and some of the rooms on the first floor don't have any electric light, so if you are visiting out of high season then the best time to view these rooms would be around midday, as the natural light may be too dull early in the morning or later in the afternoon.
A lift is available to all floors from East Courtyard, for anyone using a wheelchair. There are also five wheelchairs available from the reception building.

Grounds

There are lots of lovely gardens to see, one of which is a fully functioning garden which supplies lots of the produce used in the restaurant.
Also in the grounds you'll find a wilderness area, which is a large play area for children which incorporates lots of wooden climbing frames and other activities based around a large wooden fort.

For cyclists there are two miles of National trust permitted cycle routes, which are available to use.
Some of the paths in the grounds and gravel are paths, so wheelchair users may struggle at these points. But mostly the grounds are accessible to all users.

Refreshments

There is a restaurant called the walled garden restaurant which sells a variety of hot lunches, snacks and cakes. It also has a selection of hot and cold drinks including alcoholic beverages. Gluten-free and vegetarian options are also available, as is the children's menu.
You don't want a sit-down meal you can also use the kiosk window to buy snacks.

Shops

On-site you will also find a National trust shop, selling the usual variety of National trust souvenirs, there's also a small plant centre and a second-hand bookshop.

My Thoughts

We really enjoyed our trip to Beningbrough Hall, the interactive galleries really made all the difference for my children; it turned what could be a dull trip around a musty old house (in their opinion) into a fun day out. Being able to e-mail the fruits of your labour to yourself is also a great idea, and it means you can have a laugh at yourself when you get back home as well.

The gardens were really beautiful, and of course the children enjoyed a wilderness area which is suitable for children up to around 11 or 12.

The food in the restaurant was very nice but it was rather expensive, and had we thought about it in advance I would probably have taken a picnic to eat, and then just bought a couple of tea and perhaps a cake for a mid-afternoon snack.

The Book Of Lost Things

I am a huge John Connolly fan, I was hooked from the first few pages of his first novel Every Dead Thing, and although this book wasn't part of the Charlie Parker series I wanted to read it.

Synopsis

Set during the war, the story follows David who is a young boy who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder, he is compelled to tap items such as the tap an even number of times before and after he uses them. He does this in the hope it will help his mother, who is very ill. Unfortunately for David it doesn't work and his mother dies.

Not long after her death his father takes up with another woman, David doesn't like her because he thinks his father is betraying his mother's memory. David is forced to move away from the house he grew up in, and where the memories of his mother reside, when his father moves into the home belonging to his father's girlfriend (Rose). Eventually his father gets remarried and pretty soon David has a half brother.

David feels alone in this new situation and he is angry at the world, and is angry at his new brother Georgie. After a huge fight with Rose, David is lying in his bed, when he hears the voice of his mother calling him. He follows the voice as it leads him through the garden, but suddenly a german bomber is hurtling towards him and he dives into a gap in a tree truck to avoid it. The gap in the tree is a passage though to another world.

A world ruled by a king who has lost control, and full of mysterious monsters and strange fairytale creatures.

My Thoughts

Th first word that springs to mind when I think of this book is strange, but it's then changed to strangely compelling. The story is weird to say the very least, but it's the sort of story that you just have to carry on reading because you just don't know what's going to crop up next.

Some things are really amusing like the alternative Snow White who's a total chav hag and the dwarves who are uptight about perceived sizism. Then other parts are quite disturbing, for example the use of lost children to fuse with the bodies of animals in order to hunt for sport, or Red Riding Hood sleeping with wolves to create a wolf/human hybrid.

The book also raises the issues of how parents deal with the death of another parent, in this case David's father cared little about David and his feelings, and was only interested in his life and how he was affected. This is a situation many real life children of David's age find themselves in, and as with David, many find themselves shoved to the sidelines as the new partner and partner's children take centre stage.

Connolly adapts very well to this new style of book, and makes the book just as interesting and compelling as the Charlie Parker series.
Because his writing is so good I felt a great deal of sympathy for David, as well as some of the characters who helped David on his journey, and Connolly can also make you really detest the bad guys.

I would definitely recommend this book, but on the basis you are buying a great fiction novel, not on the basis that you're buying a John Connolly book, because it's so far removed from his others, you might find yourself disappointed if you're hoping for anything similar to Charlie Parker.

Petit Nieulle

Located in a small village just outside La Rochelle on the west coast of France, this cottage is a lovely base for your holiday.

The cottage is actually located in a village called Nieulle Sur Seudre in the Charente region. The village is very small but without a satnav the cottage would have been rather difficult to find, as the instructions for the final few miles were very basic.

However, once you’ve navigated the small roads of the village the cottage is a very pleasant surprise. It seemed to us that it may once have been two separate cottages that have been joined together, as not only are there 6 bedrooms in the cottage, but there is a studio flat attached where the key holders can be found.

As just mentioned there are 6 bedrooms, one of the three downstairs bedrooms has an en-suite shower room as well. There is also a separate shower and toilet downstairs, and upstairs there are the other 3 bedrooms and a separate shower and toilet. All the bedrooms downstairs are double rooms, and one has a double and single bed in it. The main bedroom upstairs is a double and also has a cot in the room, the second has a bed which is larger than a single, but smaller than a double (so may suit a new love bird couple who still enjoy the closeness, rather than a wizened old couple who sleep at separate ends !) The third bedroom upstairs has a single bed, but it is still a reasonable sized bedroom.

There is one main living room which is very large, it contains a 3 seater settee, a 2 seater, 4 single ‘comfy’ chairs (2 of which are designed for style rather than comfort I think), a dining table and 8 chairs, TV, video and DVD combi, a wood burning fireplace (which we didn’t need, so I can’t comment on that), there’s free wifi, which took a little sorting out, but was fairly speedy and there's a billiard table. There is a 450€ deposit for the billiard table, so we never bothered with that, but it is covered so makes a wonderful junk stop for putting bags, hats, car keys etc. The living room has patio doors out to the garden.

The kitchen, considering the size of the house, is mighty small. Although they have managed to fit in a washer, a dishwasher, a microwave, kettle, toaster and a full sized fridge freezer, but the worktop space is at a premium. Having said that, we did manage to cook meals for 8, and there is more than enough crockery and cutlery to go round.

The linen and towels are included in the rental costs; pets are welcome in the property and most important of all there is a private swimming pool, which has an electric pool cover and a small diving board. There is plenty of space around the pool for 8 sun loungers, and still leave room for kids to play. Next to the pool there is a shower which sprays short bursts of cold water for you to rinse off after coming out of the pool.

The inside of the cottage is very oldie worldie and quaint, the main room has lovely beams across the ceiling, and the furniture is old fashioned. Only on the final evening did we discover that the coffee table actually opens out into a large gaming table, perfect for playing cards, or Pictionary as we were.

The garden isn’t huge, but is big enough for playing badminton and scatch, and there’s also a shed for storing the sun lounger covers and any floating toys for the pool. Anyone visiting now will find a the tree missing a fair few leaves after being bashed by badminton racquets in order to get the shuttlecocks back down again. There’s a wooden table with wooden benches under a vine covered canopy for eating outdoors, plus there are a couple of white plastic tables and chairs for sitting out in the garden. Behind the pool area there is parking for two cars and a grassed area with a couple of washing lines, handy from drying out towels, or I suppose washing some of your clothes to save a job when you get home.

When we arrived we were greeted by the key holders, who were absolutely wonderful, very enthusiastic, and far better at English than we were at French, much to our shame, although we did try our best. They showed us around the cottage and showed us how the oven, dishwasher, etc worked. They also had juice and water ready in the fridge and served everyone a drink whilst they were chatting, and had very kindly bought a bottle of the local wine for us. As the gentleman went off to show a couple of us how to work the pool cover should it be necessary, his wife showed us some of the areas to visit and gave us details about which beaches were manned and safe, and which beaches were without lifeguards and were more dangerous. All in all you couldn’t fault the reception we received, and after such a long journey it was nice to be greeted properly, rather than being thrown a key over a reception counter and left to get on with it.

As the cottage was in such a small village, there was no street lighting, so the rooms were pitch black at night, which I loved, because I cannot stand even a sliver of light during the night, it was also absolutely silent, no raving drunks banging around at night, no cars racing around, absolute bliss. Probably the most noise came from us, with my nephew and niece becoming highly competitive over a game of Pictionary and Monopoly! The beds seemed comfy enough, no one had any complaints about mattresses, but luckily we’d had a good look at the photos on the Frenchlife website, and decided in advance that the pillows looked flat, which indeed they were, so we’d taken our own pillows as extras and they came in very handy.

The cottage is also well situated in the village for walking to the local Patisserie for early morning croissants and fresh baguettes, and the local supermarket. Although we only used the supermarket once as it was just small and a little expensive. A much large (in fact huge) supermarket can be found in Marennes, a town about 15 minutes away by car. The villages all seemed friendly enough, whilst we never had long conversations, they all said hello and gave a smile as we walked past. There’s a small cafe bar, but no restaurant in the village, so if you’re eating out you have to travel by car for about 10-15 minutes.

Can be booked from various site such as this

http://www.holiday-cottages-in-france.com/fc/franceLB653.htm