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.
Showing posts with label lewes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lewes. Show all posts
Tuesday, 15 April 2014
Saturday, 7 September 2013
Blackberry Farm
Last weekend Munchkin's cousin Sweetpea (and her parents) came to stay. The girls really enjoy spending time together, it's particularly nice for Sweetpea as she doesn't get many opportunities to mix with other small children. There's only 11 months between them and they generally want to do similar things, although it's probably fair to say I have the more adventurous child.
We first went to Blackberry Farm last year when Munchkin was a baby. She had her first ride on a swing there. We noted that there was a large play area for toddlers and thought it might be nice to come back with Sweetpea. Blackberry Farm is in the hamlet of Whitesmith, to the east of Lewes. Our Sat Nav failed to find it but luckily I knew it was on the main road so carried on driving until I saw a sign post. It was a lovely day and we were surprised it wasn't more busy. I guess this was due to a combination of people preferring the beach and Blackberry Farm not being particularly well known. We first went there with my step-sister, who lives in Lewes; no-one from outside the Lewes area seems to have heard of it.
Admission wasn't cheap, but there are offers and season tickets available. I was slightly miffed at having to pay child rate for Munchkin but I guess it's only fair considering how much toddler stuff they have. During peak times (Mar to Sept inclusive), it's £7.50 for adults and £7.00 for children over one. We had a pleasant walk around the open farm area. We've been to a few farms just recently and this is definitely one of the better ones. It looks as if lots of money has been invested to make it a visitor attraction. You walk round a circular route, rather than getting to a field or barn and having to turn back as so often happens on open farms. I enjoyed feeding the ducks and goats. The girls were vaguely interested in watching me and they did like the birds and animals but were definitely more interested in the play area.
Last time we visited, we had two slightly older children with us. They both enjoyed the pony rides. Though the little boy almost didn't get one; it's necessary to book as soon as you arrive. The play area has things for children of all ages. We stayed in the toddler area this time. Last time we were in the main play area which includes monkey swings and a zip wire. There's a huge "jumping pillow" suitable for all ages. In the toddler area, there's a range of slides and a trampoline. Sweetpea enjoyed bouncing on the trampoline. Munchkin got everyone else to bounce her! Blackberry Farm also has a cafe, though we didn't use it because we'd brought a picnic. The picnic area is on the perifery of the play area, which unfortunately meant Munchkin ran off once when we were trying to get her to eat. We fared better than Sweetpea's parents. Sweetpea had no interest in eating and just kept running off to check out play equipment. The playground was a real hit, we had trouble persuading the girls to leave! I can't imagine us visiting enough to warrant a season ticket (£45 for a child) but I'm sure we'll be back.
Weather permitting, we'll be back in the Lewes area tomorrow. I'm a member of Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare so we're popping over to see the animals and birds. There's no admission charge, but I'd feel incredibly mean if I didn't give them a donation.
In other news, potty training has stalled again. Munchkin has stopped telling me when she's done a poo. Yesterday she sat on the potty, stood up and pooed on the floor next to it, destroying four Mr Men books in the process. I guess I should at least be grateful that she's potty aware. I know of older children who have less interest in the potty than she does. We went back to swimming and gymnastics this week. Once Munchkin had remembered what it was all about, she started to enjoy them again. This evening I asked Munchkin what she wanted to do tomorrow. She simply replied, "Eat".
We first went to Blackberry Farm last year when Munchkin was a baby. She had her first ride on a swing there. We noted that there was a large play area for toddlers and thought it might be nice to come back with Sweetpea. Blackberry Farm is in the hamlet of Whitesmith, to the east of Lewes. Our Sat Nav failed to find it but luckily I knew it was on the main road so carried on driving until I saw a sign post. It was a lovely day and we were surprised it wasn't more busy. I guess this was due to a combination of people preferring the beach and Blackberry Farm not being particularly well known. We first went there with my step-sister, who lives in Lewes; no-one from outside the Lewes area seems to have heard of it.
Admission wasn't cheap, but there are offers and season tickets available. I was slightly miffed at having to pay child rate for Munchkin but I guess it's only fair considering how much toddler stuff they have. During peak times (Mar to Sept inclusive), it's £7.50 for adults and £7.00 for children over one. We had a pleasant walk around the open farm area. We've been to a few farms just recently and this is definitely one of the better ones. It looks as if lots of money has been invested to make it a visitor attraction. You walk round a circular route, rather than getting to a field or barn and having to turn back as so often happens on open farms. I enjoyed feeding the ducks and goats. The girls were vaguely interested in watching me and they did like the birds and animals but were definitely more interested in the play area.
Last time we visited, we had two slightly older children with us. They both enjoyed the pony rides. Though the little boy almost didn't get one; it's necessary to book as soon as you arrive. The play area has things for children of all ages. We stayed in the toddler area this time. Last time we were in the main play area which includes monkey swings and a zip wire. There's a huge "jumping pillow" suitable for all ages. In the toddler area, there's a range of slides and a trampoline. Sweetpea enjoyed bouncing on the trampoline. Munchkin got everyone else to bounce her! Blackberry Farm also has a cafe, though we didn't use it because we'd brought a picnic. The picnic area is on the perifery of the play area, which unfortunately meant Munchkin ran off once when we were trying to get her to eat. We fared better than Sweetpea's parents. Sweetpea had no interest in eating and just kept running off to check out play equipment. The playground was a real hit, we had trouble persuading the girls to leave! I can't imagine us visiting enough to warrant a season ticket (£45 for a child) but I'm sure we'll be back.
Weather permitting, we'll be back in the Lewes area tomorrow. I'm a member of Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare so we're popping over to see the animals and birds. There's no admission charge, but I'd feel incredibly mean if I didn't give them a donation.
In other news, potty training has stalled again. Munchkin has stopped telling me when she's done a poo. Yesterday she sat on the potty, stood up and pooed on the floor next to it, destroying four Mr Men books in the process. I guess I should at least be grateful that she's potty aware. I know of older children who have less interest in the potty than she does. We went back to swimming and gymnastics this week. Once Munchkin had remembered what it was all about, she started to enjoy them again. This evening I asked Munchkin what she wanted to do tomorrow. She simply replied, "Eat".
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