Outdoor play | TheBoyandMe

Country Kids: Castle Explorers In Caerphilly Castle

March 3, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 12 Comments

At around lunchtime this Saturday, the sun started to break through the clouds and the temperature rose to a balmy 5°C. This could only mean one thing: pack a picnic and time to turn into explorers!

Wales is famed for its castles and we're very lucky that we've got a good selection near us. We've taken The Boy to Castell Coch (where we got married) and to Cardiff Castle, both of which he loved. However, neither are ruined enough to really go clambering on. As a result we headed over to Caerphilly Castle, which is somewhere that I only went to a few times as a child.

Built in the 13th Century by Gilbert de Clare (Lord of Glamorgan), Caerphilly Castle is the second largest castle in Britain after Windsor Castle. History websites inform me that it is 'a double-skinned fortress surrounded by large-scale water defenses', i.e. it's got an inner and an outer moat, with lakes on two sides as well. It's also the first castle in Britain to have been built with the concentric ring system, changing the basic template of future castles.

However, the most intriguing bit about Caerphilly Castle is the leaning tower.

country kids caerphilly castle 1

The south-east tower is astounding. Every child in south Wales will have a photograph of them trying to push the tower back up to vertical. It was during the Civil War that the damage to the tower happened, which means that it leans at 10° (greater than the Leaning Tower of Pisa) with the most gigantic crack, wide enough for The Boy to stand in!

The greatness of Caerphilly Castle is marred by the fact that it was never able to fulfill it's destiny as a large castle or fortress. The threat of invasion (which had seen its building) passed quickly, and it had one last fleeting chance at being an active castle in the 14th Century. Then it fell to ruin until the Bute family acquired it in 1776, the third and fourth Marquesses cleared and restored it in the 19th century and the lakes were flooded by the state in the 1950s.

country kids castle explorer

What it's meant is that there are a plethora of ruined walls, towers and spiral staircases to explore. And even better is that CADW (the organisation in charge of maintaining it) hasn't roped every section off, allowing for little children to practise their knightly deeds and to defend the honour of south Wales!

country kids castle explorers 2

The castle is full of passages in the thick walls, spiral staircases, great halls and doorways to scamper through, as well as the most phenomenal view over the town and beyond into the Rhymney Valley. It's a definite site for visitors to the area, and I think this was the first of many explorations!

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Days 55-61 of Project 365

March 2, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 42 Comments

55-61 of 365 55. 'Hello! Anyone there?' (We went exploring in the woods and had a great time squelching through the mud and finding our echo.)

56. 'Spiderman' (This cargo net is always the first thing he heads for in a local park, it's a bit of an ongoing challenge for him as it is designed for infants and juniors, having different size nets as well as different sized ladders. He likes to measure his progress by how easily he can get over the bigger gaps, but has yet to attempt climbing up the sail of the 'boat'.)

57. 'Can' (He's been using a Reading Eggs app called 'Tap The Cat' to practise his reading, spelling and writing, and under my site's host's recommendation I bought this pen for him to use with the iPad. He's finding it so much easier to overwrite and it's better than finger tracing for the development of his writing skills.)

58. 'New teeth' (He finally got stuck into the chocolate Gruffalo we bought him for Christmas and relished eating various parts of him to make him less scary!)

59. 'Underwater lights' (Kara from Innocent Charmer recently recommended this underwater bath light to me, which arrived this week, and has brought a whole new level of fun to bathtime!)

60. 'National Pride' (St. David's Day!)

61. 'Lean' (We've been exploring Caerphilly Castle today in the most gorgeous Spring sunshine, and in one half of this photograph you can see the leaning south east tower of the castle. More on that in this weekend's Country Kids post.)

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Country Kids: Mill Wood

February 24, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 17 Comments

After a rubbish week with barely any outdoor play, I was determined to get out and about with The Boy today and we went in search of woodland to explore. Welly-bedecked and waterproof ensconced we found ourselves some stout walking sticks to aid our exploration and trekked through Mill Wood.

We found the old mill, abandoned for nearly a century, and pretended to play house amongst the ruins and squelching mud before climbing the steep, stone steps wedged into the hillside and following a path above the stream. At one point Mr. TBaM got stuck in the bog and The Boy decided to try and pull him out before pretending to get himself stuck.

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The most enchanting thing for The Boy was exploring his echo, which was amplified brilliantly in the Wintery woodland.

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Flashback Friday

February 22, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 11 Comments

When we visited a local park last week, and I saw my confident young man climbing trees, traversing cargo nets and swinging independently, my mind flashed back to one of the first times I'd taken him to that park.

To me it's such a short period of time, for him the time lapse is monumental!
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Linking up to Flashback Friday over at Mummy Mishaps and The Real Housewife of Suffolk County.

Country Kids: Park Explorer

February 17, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 14 Comments

We're well into the pattern of getting our minimum of 15 minutes of outdoor play a day now, striding past week two and entering week three. It's been significantly helped by the fact that the past week has been half-term and so I didn't have the stumbling block of my work days getting in the way and effecting our fun and games.

The beach is a top, and easy, venue for us as there aren't enough hours in the day to explore every pebble there, but for a bit of variety we've been going to the parks as well. Turns out my council is a bit unimaginative when it comes to playgrounds in parks and we're bored of them already; there seems to be a set template of poxy climbing frame, baby and junior swing, one slide and a wobbly roundabout. A far cry from the treasures I see other people visiting!

However, we have enjoyed the one decent one in our town which is just around the corner from where I grew up and as such is one I frequented a lot as a child.

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I used to climb that tree as a child, so proud of him for learning how to do it too! I'm sure it used to be bigger though?

We've also been to Victoria Park in Cardiff, which is a brilliant park with plenty of money thrown at it; different authorities have different priorities I guess? In the Summer, the paddling/swimming pool is packed with children splashing each other and shrieking with laughter. Winter turns the pool into a curiosity for young children. The Boy managed to find himself a friend in the shape of four year old Phoebe who took his hand and guided him around the playground.

country kids park explorer

Today we've been down the beach front (again) on The Boy's bike and I have had to tell Mr. TBaM to stop wrapping him up in cotton wool; he's more capable on his bike than his father gave him credit for! If we can just get him to keep his speed up then those stabilisers will be off in no time!

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Days 41-47 of Project 365

February 16, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 38 Comments

41-47 of 365

41: 'The Terrific Trio' (We were fortunate enough to be able to visit Mummy Mishaps and her boys today, and true to form we dragged them outside into the fresh air for their minimum of 15 minutes outdoor play a day. Hoods up, wellies on, find an old hoop and some puddles, and what more could you want? Really enjoyed our day, thank you Jenny!)

42: '3D' (Today I took The Boy to the cinema with Nana and his cousins, to see 'Sammy's Great Escape'. It's only the second time he's been to the cinema, the first time to see a 3D film. I'll confess that I wasn't sure how well he'd see it, I wasn't sure on the development of vision in tiddlers. However the moment he put them on, he reached out to touch the fish swimming towards him and he repeated this at least a dozen times throughout the film, before then lowering his glasses to try and understand why it looked like he could touch the images. It was really very magical and endearing.)

43: 'Zoomy paint' (Hugely productive day today: playdough, painting with cars and a themed waterplay – more on that another day, gymnastics, and outdoor play again. The Boy loved exploring the different way of mark-making with the paint.)

44: 'Solitary' (After nursery we went down the beach for a blast of fresh air to the system. 'Blast' and 'fresh' are both understatements here. It was freezing and windy. Oh and raining that irritating fine precipitation that gets everywhere! We managed a scoot to the end of the pier and back before collapsing into the warmth of the car. It is worth noting that we were the only people on the seafront!)

45: 'Shake and fizz' (A little science experiment today with some frozen vinegar blocks and coloured ice cubes, liquid vinegar, salt, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of inquisitiveness.)

46: 'Morning scoot' (I took him for his eye test only to discover he needs a more complex one involving dilating drops to check for a stigmatism, so we had to rebook. As it was 9.30 and we were dressed and out, we headed to Victoria Park in Cardiff which we last went to when he was too young to appreciate. He befriended a four year old little girl and they spent an hour happily racing around, holding hands, zooming down the zipwire, slipping on the ice, helping each other onto the equipment, and having a marvellous time.)

47: 'Hello up there!' (A bike ride through the foggy parks overlooking the beach and back along the seafront to the car, interspersed with some pebble 'plopping' down on the beach. 15 minutes? CHECK!)

I can't choose a favourite this week because I'm very pleased with all of them; they show a mummy and her son who have had a brilliant half-term together.

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Country Kids: Three Boys, A Hoop & Copious Amounts Of Rain

February 10, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 13 Comments

I detest this time of year; from the second week in January until the third week of February, the post-Christmas blues hit me and Spring seems such a very long time away. It was alleviated somewhat by our snow days, but this past fortnight has been foul. I needed a break and so we booked into a Premier Inn in Weston-Super-Mare and headed directly across the channel. (Or rather around it, due to a lack of ferry or barrage.)

As we were in the area, I checked with Jenny from Mummy Mishaps if she and her gorgeous family were free; they were and we spent the day with them in their gorgeous, palatial, new house. Both Jenny and I were hopeful we could go to the beach or one of the beautiful parks in the area, but the torrential rain put pay to that. We did however spend a fun half an hour in the garden with the boys and an old hula-hoop, and really tested the theory that there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing!

Giddy up, horsey!

A friendly game of tug of war!

Running through a rolling hoop!

Jumping up and down in muddy puddles!

We had a brilliant time with Jenny and her lovely family, the boys played beautifully together and it was so great to see The Boy enjoying the company of his friends. I've also got a new vegetable recipe to try out with alongside my Jenny Craig meals, and need to try and convince Mr. TBaM that we don't really need an XBox Kinect (while I actually want one myself!).

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Days 27-33 of Project 365

February 2, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 48 Comments

27-33 of 365

27. 'One Giant Leap' (Off to Porthkerry Park on Sunday to play in the sunshine and check out how high the water was in the brooks.)

28. 'Hello, Down There' (a trip to the local Victorian park on the way back from the supermarket. This is part of our bid to spend 15 minutes outside in the fresh air every day, inspired by Jenny from Mummy Mishaps and Cerys from Nature and Play. Some days are really easy, other days – like a work day – are harder. Today was also the day of the epic play-dough making session; three colours and still he wanted more?!)

29. 'Do You Like My New Hat?' (Big activity day today, Tuesdays often are as I try to cram as much quality and quantity time in as possible before having to go back to work the next day. We made a wintery hat which ended up looking more like a space hat, did a science experiment involving moving water, went to gymnastics and also went scooting in the pouring rain in Cardiff Bay. Thanks for that Jenny and Cerys!)

30. 'New Jigsaw' (A work day but when I came home The Boy was able to play with his brand new jigsaw from Orchard Toys. Watch this space for a review!)

31. 'The Gruffalo' (Thanks to a 'heart-pressing' session when The Boy saw one of his friend's wearing a Gruffalo hat, he decided he wanted to dress up in his costume. I got the mirror down so he could see what he looked like. The irony was that five minutes later, the nanosecond I'd finished taking photographs, he insisted the costume came off. I think he scared himself!)

32. 'Slumber' (Absolutely exhausted, I let him have a longer nap today. I certainly paid for it as we had a ridiculous wake-up time of 5.20 this morning. Now where's that Gro-clock I was sent for review?!)

33. 'Rebel!' (We nipped down to Cardiff Bay Barrage for a cycle and a scoot in glorious sunshine, but dear God it was Arctic! The road across the barrage isn't used by vehicles and is a safe route for cyclists of all ages. The Boy has a minimal awareness of the highway code and road signs, clearly!)

My favourite photo of the week is The Gruffalo photo.

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Country Kids: Exploring

February 1, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 25 Comments

Sunday dawned bright and sunny; time for the wellies and to don the thermals to venture out to the park.

First off, showing us his moves in the playground there.

Country Kids Porthkerry 1

When it was first built, a little over a year ago, he was too young to be able to enjoy any of the facilities. However, he's now at a prime age for exploring them and being challenged by what's available. Scampering up the cargo net like Spiderman, throwing himself down the slide (normally headfirst) and standing up on the swinging rope, seem to pose no concern to him anymore. It's like he's a different child now when it comes to his physical confidence.

Charging off into the distance, he'd clearly had enough of the confines of the playground and needed a run with Mr. TBaM. It's just as well; there's a ditch running alongside the path which is usually little more than a trickle with 3ft high banks. Due to the recent snow and rain fall, it's now level with the grassy banks and the path.

In fact…

Country Kids Porthkerry 2

The Boy is actually stood on one of the bridges crossing the stream. Mr. TBaM is very nervously out of shot ready to jump forward if necessary as we were pretty sure that the edge of the bridge was two foot to The Boy's left, but it wasn't visible!

Country Kids Porthkerry 3

He wanted to do some 'plopping' on the beach, but the tide was out and walking on stones down to the shoreline takes a long time with a three year old. We gathered up pebbles and 'plopped' them in a different part of the stream instead. Then we tried pooh sticks, but the sticks kept getting stuck under the bridge.

Finally, The Boy tried jumping around the fairy ring but his legs weren't quiet long enough.

country kids porthkerry 4

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Country Kids: In The Snow

January 22, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 24 Comments

The Boy woke up at 6am on Friday morning. Much earlier than normal and he wouldn't settle back down to sleep.

He wasn't the only one!

I'd looked out the window and spotted my longed-for inch of snow blanketing the neighbourhood, and despite the opportunity of another 45 minutes worth of sleep, I couldn't settle for the anticipation of whether or not school would be closed. I only work half days on a Friday so it wouldn't have been so bad if I'd had to work, but the hope was still there.

7am the text and e-mail arrived, my prayers were answered and I showed The Boy the wonderland that lay outside the window. It took a few more hours for us to get organised before we descended upon the snow, but when we did we made good use of the fluffy, white stuff.

First up: snowman!

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Then: a sledge ride around the block, followed by colouring the snow, making snow angels, and then warming up with a hot chocolate while worrying about our snowman, "Snowman, are you alright out there? Are you cold?"

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