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That's some cake! Fairytale Gleneagles Easter event

WHO needs Johnny Depp when you can get your chops around that?

Younger guests visiting The Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire this Easter may think they've tumbled through a rabbit hole as chefs prepare a magical Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the special Gleneagles afternoon teas will be sure to set the children on a gastronomic adventure.

A London break with a teenager in tow by Trish at Mum's Gone To

IF this wasn't a family blog, I'd tell you exactly what I thought of the above picture. But it is so I can't. Who needs a city view during a stay in London when you can feast your eyes on such a protuberance?

Here, Trish from Mum's Gone To, explains more about said nose and other highlights of visiting the capital with a teenager in tow.

A day out at The National Motor Museum: 'Family-friendly with something for everyone' by Emily from Babyrambles

Lots to see at Beaulieu in the 1930s garage...

EMILY  was on the right road for a fun day out when she took her children to the National Motor Museum.

She writes:

ON the sunniest day in February we had a day out at Beaulieu, home of the National Motor Museum. It was meant to be a family visit but my husband had to go into work. So this was my first day out on my own with our three children: a four-year-old, a 20-month-old and a ten-week-old baby.

A first holiday with your baby isn't always great, what's your advice?

A choppy tide can await winter UK holidaymakers. 
BLOGGER Aqeela offered this post for Have a Lovely Time and it has brought memories flooding back of the first holiday we spent with our baby twins- in a rainy Welsh caravan park. Surrounded by sick and poo, we might as well have been at home. 

I wished the whole week away as I stood at the sink scrubbing bottles. Can you remember your first holiday with children. Was it a success?

And what tips would you offer to make it one?

Aqeela writes:

We've just come back from a week away in Cornwall. I'd been looking forward to spending some time there for ages - it has been two years since we last went and we are 'supposed' to go every year really. I just love it there, we're not really ones for going abroad, and as I have family in Cornwall it makes sense to go there. Plus the scenery, the villages, the harbours, the beaches, it's all just wonderful. I always come back feeling so inspired, and ready to get rid of the bad habits and incorporate more of the good.

Top five Snowdonia attractions for children of all ages by Jacquie Knowles

SNOWDONIA is a fabulous destination for families. I've always known this as many a happy summer memory is made up from adventures in this beautiful part of Wales.

Here, Jacquie Knowles, who has the enviable job of helping promote the attractions of Snowdonia, outlines her five top picks for families.

1. GreenWood Forest Park

GreenWood Forest Park provides, a family adventure park like no other is in the foothills of majestic Snowdonia. All the rides and activities at this unique eco-attraction have been designed for fun with a difference – you provide the energy! From the famous Green Dragon – the world’s first people-powered rollercoaster – to the therapeutic BareFoot Trail, GreenWood is an all-weather family experience that you’ll never forget. With magicians and pirates, face painting and craft making (during peak periods), who knows what fun you’ll find at the end of the next leafy trail?

A day out at the D-Day Museum, in Southsea, Portsmouth

KAREN Kirk is used to her family's mystery tours being a poor cover for shopping expeditions, so she was delighted when this one unearthed a great day out in Portsmouth, which was both fun and fascinating.

"COME on Mum!” the kids screamed excitedly. “Dad’s taking us on a road trip.”

Now, normally when I hear these words, it is code for: Dad has bought something off ebay and we’re off to collect it.

We’ll drive past some historic building or important landmark and Dad will shout: “Right kids, there’s Stonehenge.”

The kids whine back: “Are we going in?” At which point Dad turns up the radio and we continue our road trip.

So imagine my surprise when Dad whispers the words ‘museum’ and ‘Portsmouth’ in my ear. It took me a while to recover but I didn’t let on to Alex, who's 10, Katy, aged nine and our seven-year-old, Fred.

Probably just another road trip to collect stuff dad has bought from ebay ... and the poor little things believed me!

Go commando for half term or make a model lighthouse...

THIS week, young visitors to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu can go undercover, taking part in a secret agent trail.

Here's what the attraction's spokeswoman says you can get up to:

Test your knowledge on the world’s most famous Special Agent, James Bond, in the attraction’s popular James Bond Experience, then learn about the training of secret agents on the Beaulieu Estate during WWll in the Secret Army Exhibition.

Half term fun from English Heritage

THANK you to English Heritage for passing on news of what they have up their sleeves for next week. Here are some details:

Horrid history tours
Carlisle Castle, Cumbria
Mon 15 - Fri 19 Feb ,Tours at 11.30am & 1.30pm
Explore the castle's bloody and fascinating past with chilling stories of life, death and survival
Beneath the streets of Carlisle lie the dark damp dungeons of Carlisle Castle, home to many prisoners over the centuries including Mary Queen of Scots. The castle has also been the scene of many a gruesome battle when cannon fire rang out and many would have fallen. On the Horrid History Tours visitors will be led by a guide to explore the castle's bloody and fascinating past with chilling stories of life, death and survival
Price: Adults £7.30/ Concessions £6.60/ Children £3.90
English Heritage Members: Free

A walk on the wild side with Skoda's new Yeti

IT’S a name which conjours up visions of a wild and legendary giant – but would the Skoda Yeti live up to its title and be a monster of a hit with the Garrington family, or unable to fill such big boots? Our motoring editor Paul Garrington reports on his family’s experience with Skoda’s new 4x4, which he was kindly given to test drive by the manufacturers.

I'd had the pleasure of driving the Yeti once before, but only for a day, so we were thrilled when the long-anticipated day came and we took delivery of the Yeti – and a very nice red one it was too, which just happens to be Dylan’s favourite colour. He was really pleased, and we were already off to a great start.

We found the car was very good fun. To give it a bit of a run out, we headed up to Carsington Water in Derbyshire.

Kids in Museums: Flexible family ticket watch

 

DOES your family fit the shape of a standard family ticket?

Or perhaps it's Mum plus her four kids, Dad plus his only child, and the young cousin who lives with them.

Maybe it's grandparents and their grandchildren, for whom they care or big sister and very little sister, whom she looks after. Mum, Dad, Auntie and her daughter.

Yet what’s the shape of a typical family ticket to a museum or gallery? Two plus two.