Jake’s Playworld has been a great find this month and somewhere we’ll definitely be visiting again. Jake’s is split into two – the playbarn and mini farm. The playbarn is a giant indoor soft play across 3 levels and The mini farm is all outdoors and has a huge range of activities. Reopening on 12th April, we can’t wait to go back.
Chiltern Open Air Museum
We visited Chiltern Open Air Museum a couple of times last year and really enjoyed it. It’s a lovely place to visit with loads of space, a great little adventure playground and farm animals.
Hazlemere Recreation Ground Playground
On our way back from the Monster Zoo we visited the playground at Hazlemere Recreation Ground. This is a great little playground, most of it is enclosed with a zip line and trampoline outside the fence. It’s a particularly good park for little ones.
Widmer End Monster Zoo
*THIS HAS NOW CLOSED PERMANENTLY**
The monsters of Widmer End have relocated and found a new home at the Monster Zoo. Local farmer AJ has given the monsters a home at the forest school on his land. You’ll find over 70 monsters in the Monster Zoo, with new additions being added all the time. Plus there’s an added bonus of them being next to a field of pigs with some gorgeous little piglets.
How to use baby carriers safely and choose the right one for you
As you’ll see from our walks we love taking Ashley out in our backpack carrier, as it means we can go off the beaten track. We’ve always been big fans of carriers ever since Ashley was little.
I get sent a lot of questions about baby/toddler carriers so I’ve asked Jodie from Jenni Bean Consultancy CIC (JBC) to provide a guide to safe babywearing and how to choose a suitable carrier. JBC work to support families in the Marlow and High Wycombe area with baby carrying. They work with families on a ‘one to one’ basis, as well as providing online services, workshops and social meets.
Flackwell Heath and Little Marlow Walk
We took the opportunity to combine our daily walk with a visit to Home Roots charity stall in Flackwell Heath to pick up some of their incredible sausage rolls. At the stall you’ll also find carrot cake and soup, but you need to get there early as it sells out quickly! The walk itself is full of incredible views, a field full of sheep and woodland.
Tips for Finding New Local Walks
Since we’re stuck in a lockdown and not able to travel far I thought I’d share with you some great resources for finding local walks. It can get a bit monotonous doing the same walks over and over so hopefully this will help expand your options without having to travel far.
Everything You Need for a Muddy Walk!
Is it just me or does everywhere seem extra muddy this year? With everything closed and restrictions in place we have been embracing the mud and getting stuck into our daily walks. The bonus is that Ashley, like most toddlers, absolutely loves the mud, the muddier the better! She’s far more likely to walk on our walks (rather than demand to be carried) if there’s mud to jump in. So I’ve put together a list of everything we use on our walks to stay warm, protected from the mud and to make our lives easier.
Mess Around Mess Kit – Dinosaur Messy Play Review
Rainy days in lockdown always leave me stuck for ideas on how to entertain Ashley all day! My go to activity for most days involves getting out and about as you know. So the activity boxes we’ve been reviewing for Club Hub have been amazing. They come with everything you need to do fun activities at home, so on a rainy day they are a life saver! The latest one we’ve reviewed was a dinosaur detective mess kit by Mess Around and we loved it.
The Best Lockdown Takeaways in Bucks
As parents we don’t get the chance to go out for fancy meals very often, so lockdown forcing a lot of local restaurants to offer takeaway is actually a real bonus for us! Whilst it’s obviously not a great time for the restaurants, now is the perfect time to support them and take full advantage of the amazing takeaway food that’s temporarily on offer. Here’s my guide to the best takeaway food on offer this lockdown.