Trails and Thomas

We've been out and about for a big chunk of the Easter weekend.  On Good Friday, we did the Easter Egg Trail at Petworth House.  We signed up as National Trust members a couple of years ago and aren't exactly making the most of our membership. The trail cost £4 per child. As members, we got free parking and admission to the house, though we didn't look round on this occasion.  Munchkin was given a goodie bag which contained all the bits she'd need to make an Easter chick. We followed a trail around the park, which led us to instructions on how to make our chick. At the end of the trail, you present your chick and are given an Easter egg as a reward.  We really enjoyed it, but get the impression they might do the same thing every Easter, so we'll have to try somewhere different next year.

This is the chick we made.  The poor thing has been dismantled twice and is currently awaiting surgery.

On Saturday, we went to see Thomas... Toot Toot! Thomas the Tank Engine is a firm favourite of Munchkin's so we were disappointed to hear he wouldn't be making an appearance at our local Bluebell Railway this year.  However, a web search revealed that he would be at the Watercress Line in Hampshire over the Easter Weekend.  At £18 per adult and £12 for a child over 2, it wasn't cheap but you got a lot for your money.  Family tickets are available for two adults and two children for £54.  Had we booked in advance and used the promotional code 'NICK' on the Days Out With Thomas website, we could have got a 10% discount but we chose to just turn up on the day.  Thomas will be back at the Watercress Line from 9th to 17th August.

This was a really good day out.  The railway had clearly done this before and had an efficient parking system (the only drawback being that the disabled parking was a bit of a hike from Ropley station) and had shipped in additional toilets and baby changing facilities.  Parking at Ropley was free, but you had to pay & display at the other stations.  The railway meets the mainline at Alton if travelling by train suits you better than driving.

We saw a lot more than just Thomas.  Many of the trains and brake vans had faces on them.  We rode on Thomas's train -I don't think he had Annie and Clarabelle with him though- and in the cab on a "Friend of Diesel's", in addition to having a couple of standard steam train rides between stations.  The lady giving commentaries at Ropley station, where Thomas was, was excellent.  She presented the whole thing as if she was talking to Thomas.

Munchkin went on her first ever tea cup ride and loved it.  There was also a giant inflatable slide for older children.  We spent some time in the Imagination Station at Arlesford station, where she enjoyed playing with wooden trains and bricks, and acquired two temporary tattoos; one of Thomas and one of Percy.  We also met the Fat Controller, Bulgy the Bus and George the Steam Roller.  There was so much to do elsewhere that we never made it to Alton station.

I discovered that there is a train in the Thomas series with the same name as Munchkin and Googled it for more information.  It turns out there is a Thomas wiki.  I found it highly amusing that the wiki is used by train geeks who argue over the statistics of fictional engines!

Pubs and Puddles

Another weekend, another lunch date for Munchkin...  This time we met up with some former work colleagues.  Since our friends are childless, we always have to pick the venue.  They live in Brighton and don't drive so we generally pick them up and go somewhere in the Brighton or Lewes area.  I stumbled upon a site called Child Friendly Brighton & Hove, which is a godsend for finding Munchkin friendly eateries.

We went to The Half Moon in Plumpton.  The food was really good.  Munchkin and I both had sausage and mash.  We promised to leave some for Daddy to try but it was so nice, we scoffed the lot.  The children's menu was £6 for two courses. The children's dessert was anything you like, as long as it was a scoop of ice cream...  The children's facilities were good, but not as good as we were expecting after the write up on Child Friendly Brighton & Hove, for example there were no crayons and paper on offer.  The play area in the huge garden was great.  Munchkin loved the slide and the sand pits.  However, the pub let itself down on service and we wouldn't rush back for this reason.  Strike 1: Our drinks didn't arrive. It turned out that they'd run out of stout. Rather than telling us, they just forgot our whole drinks order.  Strike 2: The wrong menu had been put out and the dish Angmering Daddy wanted wasn't available.  Strike 3: I couldn't find the baby change promised on CFBH.  The waitress told us they didn't have one so I changed Munchkin on the toilet floor.  I later discovered there was a tiny changing table tucked away in one of the toilet cubicles.

Yesterday was a little dramatic.  Munchkin has finally worked out what the toilet is for so I bought her some training pants.  I've gone for the fabric variety since these are meant to promote quicker potty training.  She had a tantrum and refused to get dressed yesterday morning.  I gave her the choice of a nappy, disposable training pants or the new pants.  She settled on the new ones, but the tantrum didn't subside much.  Five minutes later, I found her standing in a puddle.  Thankfully she'd been thoughtful enough to stay on the changing mat.  Note to self: Training pants hold a small wee, not a torrent.  The morning didn't improve much.  She had a friend round to play and spent the first half hour avoiding her and the second half hour screaming.

Munchkin has a busy Easter weekend ahead of her.  She's going to two Easter egg hunts and may be going on a day trip to Butlins in Bognor and/or a trip to see Thomas the Tank Engine.

Little Ladies that Lunch

We've been for several meals out with Munchkin and her cousins recently.  The first one was a Mothers' Day meal when we were staying in the Midlands, and a total disaster because Munchkin threw up everywhere.  Luckily she's now back to her usual self and eating everything in sight.

This weekend, we went out for two meals.  On Saturday, we visited my step-dad and went to The Sergison Arms in Haywards Heath.  The Serg is a pub that I know well; it was originally called The Sergison Arms, then changed its name to The Dophin after a refurb and image change.  It's recently changed its name back to The Sergison.  Irrelevant fact = dolphins are in the Sergison family's coat of arms.

The Sergison is owned by Vintage Inns - one of the better pub/restaurant chains in my opinion.  There was something for everyone on the menu, which is no mean feat; Angmering Daddy has adventurous food tastes, mine are moderately adventurous, my step-dad's are conservative and very British, whilst Munchkin will have a go at anything put in front of her.  It ticks all my boxes for a child friendly hostelry... apart from there being a number of steps for small people to negotiate.  High chairs are available, though we don't use one any more, and there's an easily accessible baby change area.  The children's menu includes quite a lot of variety, including mini versions of some of the main menu dishes.  Munchkin had BBQ Chicken followed by Churros.  It was £6.95 for two courses and a drink, which I thought was reasonably good value.  She scoffed the lot!  I was pleased that the chicken was served with baby potatoes rather than chips.  Vintage Inns provide children with a paper activity menu and a jar of crayons.  The only drawback with this is that Munchkin drew on Daddy's menu.

On Sunday, we went to an old favourite of mine, Montagues Tex Mex in Worthing, with my step-sisters and their families.  It was the first time we'd been there since Munchkin was born.  There were nine of us, including Munchkin and her cousin, Flower.  As always, the food was brilliant.  Montagues offers children under 10 a free two course meal and drink if they are accompanied by an adult who orders a main costing at least £10, so it was free lunch for Munchkin and Flower.  Like The Sergison, it has an activity menu and provides crayons, though Munchkin managed not to draw on any grown up menus this time.  Munchkin had the Loaded Shells and Flower had the Quarter Back Rack.  Both girls had Marshmallow Dream for dessert.  Daddy helped Munchkin finish her marshmallows but I'm not sure she needed any help!  The staff are friendly and very helpful.  There's even a gluten free menu should you need it.  Booster chairs are available.  Unfortunately there's no baby change table.  I changed Muchkin standing up in the ladies' but I wouldn't want to change a young baby in there.

We're going to The Bull in Ditchling this weekend, so I'll add a review if I remember.