Alnwick Gardens- Northumberland

In our pre twins days we got both engaged and married at Alnwick  Gardens so it will always have a special place in our hearts...I can't believe there isn't a blue plaque up there yet! It is also where our boys have a memorial tree so we try and get up every few months. I think it is a great place for a family day out and we always have loads of fun, whatever the time of year.

The Alnwick Garden is quite easy to get to in that it is just off the A1 and there is loads of parking- We have annual membership which is worth it if you plan on going more than twice a year and part of the deal is free parking. If not then you need to pay an additional £3. At the time of writing you can save a bit of money by booking your tickets on line before you go and children under 4 are free!

Entrance to the Garden covers all the bits of the garden and The Treehouse but not The Castle (you can buy combined tickets)  The gardens itself is split in to several parts. The ride on diggers in front of the fountains and the water features are our girls favourite. As is the model of Humpty Dumpty at the bottom of the wall of the formal garden. You can get very wet in the water features- It is definitely worth taking wellies for toddlers and maybe a change of clothes just in case!

Recently, there have been lots of fairy tale additions to the gardens think fairy doors, magic lanterns etc which are fantastic for children. They also sometimes have actors in role as fairy tale characters as part of the trail they have running. Emily and Sophie were pretty freaked out by the Wicked Queen last time we went but it was a nice touch.

Another recent addition is the swinging seats that have been put in the cherry orchard. Nice and relaxing as well as being fun.

For food the restaurant in The Treehouse is amazing and very atmospheric. However whilst it is child friendly in the sense that it is accessible and they do children's portions, it is quite formal. If you fancy the experience of eating up in the trees but have hungry and temperamental kids with you there is also a small cafe on the decking outside among the branches- Even if you don't eat there it is essential to visit and have a run around the rope bridges- (Or reminisce about being younger and more glam if you are us!)

The cafe in the gardens itself is big with plenty of seats and high chairs. The food is tasty and they have one of they typical pick and mix animal lunch box selections- You also get a discount with annual membership.

Alnwick Gardens is very accessible with a double buggy- you can even get in to the Treehouse and around the maze with one. There are plenty of changing and loos at the main entrance but not dotted around once inside the garden- We learned this the hard way with a recently potty trained child so it is worth remembering!

They also have loads of events on all year round ranging from appearances by Peppa Pig to magical Christmas markets so it is worth checking their website to see what's on!

https://alnwickgarden.com/

Centre For Life-Newcastle

The past 2 years we have brought annual passes for Life in Newcastle. It is pretty expensive if you pay per visit (unless you go on a pre-school day more about that later!) but for what you get for a year I think it is pretty good value.

Down stairs there are lots of interactive science games and exhibits- All very hands on and lots of fun! My girls really love the "Magic Shopping Trolley" and the "Freezing Cold Ice Wall" There are also science shows too and a number of them are suitable for little ones. Our favourite is "Little Bear Goes North" which is a planetarium show aimed at the under 7s... very relaxing for parents as well.

Also on the ground floor is the area where temporary exhibitions are held. Currently this is Dino Jaws on tour from the Natural History Museum. It is great! A collection of moving model dinosaurs and loads of hands on stuff- not to mention a huge model pile of dinosaur poo! It has been a huge hit with our girls and we must have been at least 3 times. Prior to this there was a Lego exhibition which was also good and before that a huge collection of playable video games which worked really well as a husband creche!

Where the membership becomes even more useful is when you head upstairs to the Young Explorer's Zone. A huge area with a brilliant role play set up, soft play blocks, dressing up, model making and colouring tables etc too. You could easily spend over an hour in here and we have done on many a rainy afternoon.

Earlier I mentioned pre school days. Throughout the year on specific Tuesdays The Centre for Life is taken over by toddlers! It is really good value as it only costs £7.50 for grown ups and under 4's are free. This is a saving of about £5 on the standard entry. All of the normal things are running plus extras for the under 5's like animal handling, water play, music sessions etc. We have loads of fun on these days but they do get extremely busy so go...but turn up early.
https://www.life.org.uk/events/pre-school-days

One slight issue I do have with Life is that the main of the 2 cafes is often closed at non peak times (mid week mainly) and that means that the smaller one gets rammed with people at lunch time. However in the basement there is a comfortable packed lunch room which is always a good option. It is also worth mentioning that if you get annual membership then part of the package is a discount at the catering outlets.

On a practical note there are lockers next to the entrance where you can stash your coats etc for a small fee which is really useful when you carry round as much stuff as I do! There is also loads of changing facilities.

https://www.life.org.uk/

Role Play- Hebburn

In the past few years several role play type places have opened within a half an hour drive of our house. We have been to several of them and always had a great time. However, I just love Role Play at Hebburn, for me it is simply the best of a pretty good bunch and here is why..

Firstly, it is really secure, you have to be let in and out and therefore one twin can't escape when you are dealing with the other. The building itself is an old hall of some description and the role play areas are organised around the outside with the tables for parents in the middle so you can see everywhere from where you are sat. This means that, to date, it is the only place that me and my fellow identical twin mum friend have managed to have a proper catch up with all 4 children!

The role play areas themselves  include a cafe, post office, hair dressers, builders and shop. They are imaginative, well resourced and surprisingly tidy. the picnic baskets under the tree are a nice touch as is the area with books- Emily sometimes likes a bit of a quiet place to chill (don't we all) . The fact that you book a 1.5 hr session and the room is tidied in between times means that it is always pretty tidy and well organised which given that it is full of small children is impressive!

Cost wise at £4/£5 a session Role Play is roughly the same price as soft plays etc nearby and in many ways much nicer. Once you are in refreshment's are pretty cheap too. It would be good if they did a sibling discount but the price point I think is good value for what they offer.

I also love the fact that they do a story time under the tree at the end to finish the session. The last 2 times we have been we have had tears over leaving.....whilst that has meant I have had to use chocolate buttons as a distraction for walking back to the car it obviously means that a fab time has been had by all.

Role Play doesn't have car parking on site but there is absolutely tons at the shopping precinct opposite and on the streets nearby.

http://www.roleplayhebburn.co.uk

Thought Foundation- Birtley

I'm always keen to check out a new venue for coffee and cake so was happy when Uncle Ben (AKA my youngest brother) suggest we meet up at the Thought Foundation.  Thought Foundation describe themselves as -"A thoughtful arts and cultural space, to inspire, promote and support" I thought this sounded really interesting (although I was a little concerned about the lack of any mention of cake in the initial description!)

From the outside Thought Foundation looks like an ordinary unit on a business/industrial park, although some landscaping was going on at the front when we went, so I was really impressed by what greeted us inside.

At one end of the large room was the cafe and play space and at the other an exhibition area with some interesting installations and sculptures.There was also a small shop with some locally produced funky looking gift ware and cards on display. I didn't buy anything but was very tempted! Think the Baltic Shop but on a much smaller scale.

As someone who works in early education I was really impressed with the play area. Although small there was lots of lovely, creative activities that kept the girls really engaged (a fave was putting pipes together and rolling ping pong balls down) and I am quite tempted to re create their switches wall at work!

Down to the cake... I shared a chocolate brownie with the girls (I probably had about an eighth!) and it was one of the best I have ever had. Ben is vegan and they had a selection of things that he could have so that was a major bonus too.

All in all we had a great time and I am definitely going to add Thought Foundation to my list of places for twin friendly coffee and cake!

http://www.thoughtfoundation.co.uk/

Hall Hill Farm

On an unusually hot Occasional Day off School/Nursery last month we decided to take a trip out to Hall Hill Farm. Of all the farm type attractions locally (and there are quite a few) Hall Hill is my absolute favourite. In my pre twin days it was my number 1 place for booking school trips and I have loved it ever since!

They have loads of lovely activities (donkey rides, bottle feeding lambs etc..) and very little costs extra once you have paid to get in and even the entrance fee isn't as much as other places. There are loads of opportunities for hands on activities too. Sophie got to hold and stroke a Guinea pig that I had to prize off her and Emily loved holding the new chicks!

There are all the usual farm animals and some more unusual ones like alpacas and gorgeous highland coos! You can buy small bags of animal feed to feed most animals as you go round which my girls really enjoyed.

Away from the animals there is a huge indoor soft play area with ride on tractors, an outside play park and a fab new area with pretend diggers to climb on. The absolute favourite of my duo though was the bouncy pillow... I couldn't get them off.

Hall Hill is fairly compact so easy enough to manage with 2 preschoolers it is also pretty buggy friendly and there are plenty of changing/toilets/hand washing facilities. When we went it was a gorgeous sunny day so we sat out at one of the picnic tables to have our packed lunch but there is a cafe which is reasonably priced and has a good selection of sandwiches etc.

http://www.hallhillfarm.co.uk/