England 2011, Day 7: Lambs on Trams

Another quiet, lazy morning, complete with a nice stop for coffee a few doors down the road at Rosie's Cafe, and another lovely walk up to 20 Trees.  Then we took the kids to Crich Tramway Village, a full hour away, where you can ride on a cool old trams, visit a tram museum, and watch the engineers work on restorations and repairs.  The tram ride was a lot of fun, and the kids also loved the little indoor children's play area. 

On the way home we stopped for a few groceries and some more coal, and then had a wonderful evening at home with Steve and Al, T & N - a sleepover!!!  Soooo much excitement, it's hard to overestimate.  Bangers and mash.  'Nuff said!

England 2011, Day 6: Monster Ride, Otters, and Cousins, Oh My!

No rain this morning, so Andy headed out early for his "monster ride," while the rest of us had some lazy playtime at home.  After that we set out for the Chestnut Center, an "Owl, Otter, and Wildlife Refuge."  We wandered through the park on various paths that took us past lots of different animals... it's definitely the place for you if you're an otter enthusiast! 

We had a nice picnic lunch at the side of a hill inside the park, and then made plans with Alison to meet up with the girls after school got out.  After we got to their house, we all walked together around the corner to the school to surprise T & N (Ollie and Maddie's cousins), then walked to a new tea house

nearby and had wonderful snacks and drinks.  After lots of playtime back at the house, we headed home to Hayfield, got the kids to bed, and promptly had a power outage for an hour and a half!  Which turned out to be quite lovely, with the coal fire giving us warmth and light, and candles all around. 

England 2011, Day 5: Speedwell Cave & New Mills Torrs

Andy had to postpone his mountain bike ride in the morning because of rain, so after breakfast and a shower for me, we headed out with Carole for Castleton and the Speedwell Cave - a perfect rainy day activity!  We all walked down 106 steps of a narrow tunnel carved into rock, glad for our hard hats, down to a tunnel channel.  We climbed into a heavy boat that traveled about 1/2 mile in a tunnel

just bigger than the boat, which opened at the end to a small cave that you could walk around in.  The kids liked it, despite daddy's talk of hungry trolls.  Then on to Castleton, a nice stroll around town and a stop at a pub for lunch.  After that we drove to New Mills and walked along the Torrs and over the

Millienium Bridge, so nice.  Back home for a cup of hot tea, ahhhhh... Andy set out on his bike, then Ian and Anne came by around 7 to say hello to the kids then whisk us off for a lovely curry, one of the yummiest dinners of our whole trip.  Thanks to Grandma and Granddad for babysitting!!!

England 2011, Day 4: Conwy Castle, Wales!

We all headed out this morning around 9:45am for Conwy Castle, Wales!!  Pretty drive, pretty day.  As soon as we arrived and it was in sight, the kids were beside themselves with excitement -- "Wowwww, look at the CASTLE!!!" It's one thing to say you're going to visit a castle,
but another thing to see it right in front of you, so beautiful and unlike anything else that you've ever seen.  We all wandered in and out of the endless rooms and passageways, up and down the impossibly steep and narrow stairways, holding on for dear life to the rope railings.  Ollie loved the hidden passageways and the super high turrets.  The views of Conwy, the harbor, and the countryide beyond were just stunning from the top,

and it was soooo windy up there!

We had a mini-picnic lunch in the castle green, then on to the Knight Shop where Ollie and Maddie each got toy swords.  Carole and I took the kids on a quick trip out on the sightseeing boat, then we all drove a few miles away up Great Orme, a great big hill that has a famous tramway going up and down it.  Ollie and Carole took the cable train back down to Landdudno, while the rest of us drove down. Big fun for a little boy!  In town we walked out the big

long pier, got ice cream, and then headed home. We saw a rainbow on the way home! At night we made a lovely coal fire to keep us toasty.  Pizza and salad for dinner, then Carole's coffee walnut cake for dessert (YUM), followed by another quick trip t'pub with Andy.  After today, for weeks and weeks Maddie would often exclaim, apropos of nothing, "I LOVE castles!!"

England 2011, Day 3: Buxton

Today was our first big excursion to Buxton, a nearby town that's much bigger than neighboring villages, and has loads of shops, a big, beautiful park, a famous opera house and arboretum -

a great place to spend a few hours.  Maddie wore her new yellow dress with navy blue tights, just as cute as a button.  One of our favorite new expressions of Maddie's is, "I'm a carry you!!"  Which translates to, "Carry me!" and always makes us smile.  We had lunch in a fancy cafe inside the pavillion, and I had wild mushroom and tarragon tagliatelli -- insanely delicious. 

After lots of time at the playpark, Andy and Carole took the kids back home and I got to stay on for a bit and do some shopping on my own!!  Very luxurious.  Later in the day, Andy headed out on his bike while Carole and I played

with the kids at home and then at the little Hayfield playpark.  This was definitely a night when Maurice was away, because for dinner we got Indian takeaway!!  Delicous.

England 2011, Day 2: 20 Trees and Fun Fair

Lovely to wake up in Hayfield!!  In the morning, we all walked up to "20 Trees" (an aptly named local landmark) -

our favorite little walk!  Last year on this walk, Maddie was in the Bjorn!  This time she enjoyed navigating the cattle grids and stiles with the best of 'em.  Ollie trudged along in a manly way, ever curious, full of observations.   We all met

a very social cow who must have been hired by the tourist board -- he turned to look at the camera whenever we took pictures. 
Back to the house, had a bit of lunch, then off to the fun fair right down below our house on the cricket pitch!  Ollie went on all the rides he could - bouncy slide, carousel (twice),

whirly cars... and Maddie liked the bouncy slide as well.  We bought tickets for the duck race fundraiser... what's a duck race, you ask?!  This was my first ever.  For a pound, you "buy a duck," which is a rubber duck with a number on it.  You know the number

of your duck, and HUNDREDS of ducks (we overheard that this race consisted of twelve hundred ducks!) are released all at the same time at the start of a little stream that skirts the edge of the cricket pitch.  Loads of spectators line the edge of the stream to watch the fun and root for their duck, and the first duck to reach the finish line

wins a big cash prize!  We all thought this was pretty much the coolest thing ever, even though we had NO idea where our duck was within the throng of identical ducks!
Dinner was Carole's fabulous chicken pot pie, and after the kids went to bed Andy and I met Steve and Sabina at the George Hotel's pub for some catching up.  Such a nice day!

England 2011, Day 1: Ah, Hayfield

So, we've figured out the trick to traveling across the ocean with kids... daytime flights! Leave in the morning, have a really long day, arrive at night and go to bed, and you pretty much skip jet lag all together. Nice! Granddad Maurice met us at the airport and after lots of hugs, Ollie announced that he wanted to drive to the Hayfield House with Granddad! So off they went, Ollie's feet barely touching the ground, he was so happy. Grandma Carole was already at the house, which was full to the brim, again, with fully stocked fridge, cupboards, freezer, books for the kids, toys of all sorts... everything we could possibly need... Grandma's magic handiwork. It's so neat to go back a second time to the same house, which already feels so familiar, like a home away from home. After more hugs and a bit of relaxing, we all went to bed and slept like logs for ages.

In the morning we walked into town with Ollie's trusty fishing net (left from last year, but not forgotten), to see what we could catch in the little river (we never seem to get lucky, but he loves trying). Later on Andy and I had a quick trip to Buxton to pick up a booster seat for Ollie, while the kids played with Grandma and Granddad at home. Before heading back, Andy and I had our first of several fish and chips lunches, on the main street in Buxton. Meanwhile, Maurice picked up Auntie Mavis, and Steve and Al and the girls came by for a big afternoon of crazy playing and a fantastic bbq picnic dinner on the grassy patio. We were so happy to see Rusty again on the back deck - the neighborhood cat who must remember that we're the ones who give him a saucer of milk every single day we're here. We were lucky again to watch one of the last Hayfield cricket matches of the season right in our "backyard," as the house overlooks the town green/cricket pitch. We made our first of many pilgrimages to the nearby playground; Ollie remembered learning from Andy last year that if you go down the slide atop a fleece jacket, your speed increases dramatically! We didn't have a fleece with us, but Andy gave up his shirt for the cause. Maddie liked the swings best of all, along with Steve and Al and the girls. There's even a zipline at this park... hard to say what Ollie liked best.