Summer fun at Kelsey Park

Last Friday, the weather was once again glorious and Granny was visiting us, so we decided it was a great day for a picnic.  The youngest one wanted to go on a slide so a park was of course the obvious (only?) option for this excursion and we chose to go to the lovely Kelsey Park in Beckenham.

When we arrived we discovered that we weren't the only ones to have had this idea and we drove around for a bit before finding a parking space.  Happily, the roads around the park have free parking on them, although I'm sure the local residents must get a bit fed up with all the visitors coming to park on their roads.  But then they do get to live right next to a wonderful park, so I guess that should kind of make up for it.

It was lunch time and we were hungry so we headed straight for the fenced-off grassy area on the west side of the lake (this area does probably have a proper name, but I'm not sure what it is) to enjoy our picnic.

After we'd eaten, my oldest daughter made friends with a couple of other girls and they had fun doing cartwheels and handstands together, while I wondered how long before all her lunch came back out again..  Fortunately, it didn't.

This summer, we've been taking part in the Big Butterfly Count with a handy app on my phone.  Basically, on a sunny day, you just count how many butterflies you spot in 15 minutes and then submit your results via the app.  You can do it as many times as you like and in as many locations as you like.

We'd spotted a few small white butterflies over the flower beds while we'd been eating our lunch so we decided it would be a good place to do a count.  However, once we started the count, I think most of the butterflies had decided to take a siesta so we only spotted a few, but it was still fun.

Next we walked past the lovely rose garden, around the lake, stopping briefly to say "hello" to some ducks, and over to the play area, which was absolutely heaving with kids.

Sadly, the big rope climbing frame with a slide was still shut (I do hope they fix this soon - it's my five year-old's favourite thing there!) but both girls still had fun on the other slides, swings and other play things.


We then treated them to an ice cream at the cafe and (I probably should have been a bit firmer here) both girls chose the lurid blue "bubblegum" flavour ice cream.  I tried very hard not to think about how many artificial colourings and flavours were in them, and, needless to say, they both ended up with blue tongues, chins and cheeks, which they both thought was hysterically funny.  When I tasted a little of one of them (just catching a drip) I really couldn't see why they liked them so much (besides the hideous colour, I mean).  My pistachio cone was delicious though, so I can recommend at least that other flavour.

After our ice cream there was time for a short last play on the play area again before walking round the rest of the lake and back to the car.  It had been a lovely afternoon.

Ten of the best picnic spots in and around Croydon

We are big picnic fans in our family.  Alfresco eating always seems to make food taste better and it's a great activity for the summer holidays.

Here are ten of the loveliest picnic spots that we know in and around Croydon.

1.  Coombe Wood - these woods and gardens to the south-east of Croydon are a brilliant spot for a picnic.  There is a flat lawn area with beautiful colourful borders and when you've finished all of your food, there are more gardens, hilly woods and a pond to explore.

2.  Heathfield is just up the road from Coombe Wood and has always been really quiet whenever we've visited.  It has a walled garden, which is our favourite picnic spot here, and also more gardens and woods to explore, including an area with streams and stepping stones.  Just don't fall in the water!  There are lovely views over the surrounding fields.

3.  Kelsey Park - this great park in Beckenham has lots of lovely areas to picnic on so you're spoilt for choice really.  My favourite though is the grassy area over looking the lake (which is also great for scooting around).  The park has a huge play area with play equipment to suit a wide range of ages.

4.  Park Hill Recreation Ground is a great choice if you're looking for somewhere close to the centre of Croydon.  It has beautiful flower beds, an attractive old water tower, and a great view over Croydon whilst still managing to create a quiet oasis separate from the noise of the town.  It also has a play area, a walled garden and a small cafe.

5. Morden Hall Park is a short drive or tram journey from Croydon and provides a beautiful spot for a picnic, for example in its rose garden or by the rivers and streams that pass through it.  It has lots of grass and woody areas, a play area, a river (great for Pooh sticks), a cafe and also a garden centre.  It's a National Trust property but is completely free to visit and often has activities on during the holidays for children.

6.  Croham Hurst Woods are on a hill so it's a bit of a challenge but the promise of a well-deserved picnic at the top should be enough to lure kids up this hill.  It stunning views to the south from the top.

7. Beddington Park - this is a lovely big park with big grassy areas, trees, a lake, a river and a super play area and cafe.  There are great paths around the park for scooting and riding bikes on to help you work up an apetite.

8. Wimbledon Park isn't in Croydon but it's not too far by car or by tram and tube.  As well as providing lovely spots for a picnic, it has a paddling pool so it's great for kids on a hot day.  It also has a lake with lots of swans and ducks, a cafe, two play areas, a crazy golf course and beach volleyball.

9.  Emmett's Gardens is a National Trust property a little over half an hour drive or so from Croydon.  There is a glorious meadow for picnicking in, with wonderful views over the surrounding hills, a play area, a cafe and lots of gardens to explore.  There is a small hut by the picnic meadow which has a selection of outdoor games to play.

10. Crystal Palace Park is a short drive or train journey from Croydon.  It has plenty of grassy areas for picnics.  It also has dinosaurs, a maze, a lake, a play area and a cafe, so it makes a great day out.

Chester Tuffnut at the Polka Theatre

The other week I took my girls to see Chester Tuffnut at the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon and we had a brilliant time.

Polka recommend that the show is suitable for 2-5 year olds, so with one two-year-old and one five-year-old it seemed like a perfect match for us!

It was shown in Polka's "Adventure" theatre which is smaller and more relaxed than their main theatre, and perfect for toddlers.

We arrived in plenty of time so the girls had a chance to do some colouring, try out the rocking horses and rocking lion, and play outside for a bit before the show began.

We went in to the Adventure Theatre and settled down on the softly-carpeted floor to enjoy the show.  (There were some benches around the back of the room too for adults who didn't want to sit on the floor).

The girls were captivated right from the start.  The show was very gentle but full of fun and lots of laughs.

Chester is a "tree mole" who loves adventure, sleeps very little and is always on the lookout for new friends.  The show is the story of a few days and nights in his life, during which he seeks out new adventures with new friends, with varying degrees of success.

The set is beautiful with lots of lovely details to spot, and the woodland creature puppets were wonderful.

At the end of the show the children get a chance to "meet" some of the puppets and give them a gentle stroke.  My daughter was thrilled when one of the bats landed on her head!

I would definitely recommend this show to anyone with young children.  It's a wonderfully fun and gentle introduction to theatre and the setting of the Adventure theatre is perfect for the very little ones.

A fun afternoon at Priory Farm

The other weekend we headed down the A23 to spend the afternoon at Priory Farm.  It's at Nutfield, just outside Redhill, and is about a 30 minute drive from Croydon.  We go here quite often as it has two play areas, a lovely cafe, a farm shop and a garden centre, so it's great for families with young children.

It also has a Discovery Walk, which is a trail around the surrounding fields and woodland, leading up to a ridge and back down again.  It had been a while since we'd last done the Discovery Walk so we thought it was a great time to do it again.

The Discovery Walk costs £2.50 per person and non-walkers (babies in carriers/buggies) go free.  It is possible to take a buggy around the walk although it's quite hilly so probably easier to use a carrier if you have one.  It's also well-worth (in my opinion) spending another £1 to buy a bag of fish food to feed the fish in the lake at the end of the walk - it's quite a spectacle!

The walk takes around 30-60 minutes to complete, depending on how fast you go.  You could spend a lot longer if your kids want to spend a long time playing on all the bits along the way.

Around the walk there are lots of different things for kids to see and play on.  There's a big wigwam with a huge drum to play on, logs and climbing apparatus to climb over and balance along, a "fort" with underground tunnels to explore, a lookout point, and a labyrinth with its own dragon.  So there was plenty to keep our reluctant walker going!

The views from the highest point of the walk, over the surrounding hills are really beautiful too.

Included in the admission, you also get a free nature quiz to do along the way.  The answers to the questions are on boards along the route.  My five year-old really enjoyed doing this and filling in the answers.

The final part of the walk takes you down around past the fishing lake where you can use your bag of fish food to feed the fish.  When we were there they seemed to be so hungry that they were almost swimming on top of each other, out of the water, to reach the food.

After the walk we headed to the pirate ship play area for a play and a cup of tea from Wendy's kiosk before heading home.

It was a lovely afternoon.