Best day ever

We plumped for Kelburn. The sun was so fantastic that I decided to get us both dressed up and crash the festival for a couple of hours.  I figured that if we failed to get in then at least we were near to beaches and the sea and would find plenty of other treats in that direction.

But lo and behold we got in no bother, for free seeing as we were staying until 6pm. And holy crap but it rocked!!! I was actually jealous of the children (and there were many) present as the whole place would have totally blown my mind when I was a kid. There was so much effort in to decorate trees, creature sculptures hiding in bushes, lots of folk dressed up as fairies and spirits to tell stories and throw riddles and secrets to unravel to kids in the secret forest. 

There were illustrated maps of where are the stages, bars, toilets etc were with the music and entertainment line-up on the back.  There were plenty of food stalls, and lots & lots of stalls selling crafts, hand made toys and lotions etc.  It was very hippy, I was very happy, but very aware that my toddler was not so laid back and chilled as the rest!  On saying that, there was a great mix of people, so don't let the hippy vibe deter you if that's not your thing, man.  There were entire families there, from old grandparents right down to ickle babies, with men in football tops basking in the sun right next to teenagers decked out on all their day-glo glory swigging from their merry carryouts.  It was a completely eclectic affair, with a lot of truly imaginative and sensational fancy dress.  We even stumbled across a mad hatters tea party where some poor sweating folk were sitting all day in full character costume to entertain surprised kids who stumbled across their path.

All of course back dropped by the stunning painted castle.  Well done to the folk at Kelburn -  a lot of hard work and effort, and it all paid off for a great weekend.  I shall be going back again next year, for a whole day at least, and will be bringing every child I know!

Afterwards we couldn't resist a quick trip to the playground in Largs for an ice cream and a play on the slides in the evening sun.  Messy, sticky but extremely happy, I think one toddler had the best day ever this weekend.

PS - here's a list of other things nearby in Largs....

Out and about this weekend.. decisions, decisions

The sun is shinning and I owe Baby Wild some quality fun time. We're just back from a holiday in Ireland and I have been so depressed back at work and the monotony of the working week/cleaning/unpacking/washing/having to talk to office colleagues/parenting dullness now that the party with friends is over! So I think she needs some 1 on 1 time to make up for general lack of patience this week.

So what to do? We are so lucky to live near Kelburn Castle and they are hosting their fabulous Garden Party festival this weekend. My dilemma is that I am kinda skint after the hols, and I'm not sure I can afford £42 for the Saturday day pass, especially when I am actually only going to manage a few hours with a toddler. I think I might chance my arm at the gate and see if they will let in the 2 of us for a discount for simply a few hours in the afternoon before most of the music stages are fully functioning etc? I dunno, but I guess if you don't ask you don't get!
My other alternative is to go strawberry picking at East Yonderton Farm, just next door to Glasgow Airport.  That would make up for me feeling so pathetic for not bothering to net my main crop strawberries in my own garden and therefore not getting to taste a single one for all the wildlife.  I have netted my beloved wild strawberry patch, but they are young and yield tiny (but deliciously sweet) fruit. 

Time will tell, and I shall let you know how we get on.

Spiers Parkland, Beith

Sometimes there is only time to squeeze in a short walk to see what's growing wild and let Baby Wild run wild for 20 minutes.  Not far from us is the site of an old school, which has been looked after by Friends of Spiers who have turned the space into a wild garden with help from some funding from the council and other organisations.  I'm including it on here because it's a great example of little known local gems, proving that sometimes community spirit in the west of Scotland still survives!

It 's a great place to go for a stroll rather than a walk, so ideal for toddlers and older folk too should you have great granny visiting!  If you're in Beith and wondering how to get there, here's a link with directions.  You could park your car in Beith, and walk to Spiers, spend some time nature hunting before setting out Geilsland Road towards Gateshead where you can enjoy a pint and lunch in the very child friendly pub there. 

 Many community activities have come together to improve the site and to promote use. These have included a community clean up organized by the Beith Community Council, bulb and tree planting by Gateside Primary School and the construction of new paths by Ardrossan Academy pupils. Earlier this year funding from North Ayrshire Council and Forestry Commission Scotland enabled a network of paths to be provided which meander through the quiet park, flanked by wild garlic, ferns and wild flowers.  There is also a 'Living Fossil' tree, the slow growing Dawn Redwood. The tree was originally surrounded by a key shaped edged path network with other ornamental plantings.

Local schools and youth groups are involved in the restoration project and this has enabled the young participants to get new practical and social skills. For those pupils who participate the garden has acted as an “ outdoor classroom”.  The initiative is in line with the Curriculum for Excellence and will help achieve   the  national outcome that young people are successful learners; confident individuals; effective contributors and responsible citizens.  I love that some of the Out of School clubs have been building a 'Bug Hotel' or 'Munchy Bug Restaurant' with the help of the NAC Garnock Valley Ranger. The group collected a number of old wooden pallets, nailed them together, roofed the 'hotel' with turf sods and filled the 'floors' with wood, sticks, bricks, slates, stones, tree tubes, etc to create a wide variety of habitats which will encourage a 'high occupancy'.  The group are keeping an eye on the 'hotels' progress and any interesting species found will be added to the National Biodiversity Database operated by the NAC Biological Records Centre at Eglinton Country Park.  I think that's a cute idea!



Kelburn Castle, Largs

One of my favourite places to take kids to (as an excuse - I LOVE this place!) is Kelburn Castle and the surrounding estate.  Huge bonus for not being far from where we live, another huge bonus for being really cool and not very expensive.

We're planning a trip there soon, I've been a little pre-occupied with my own estate of recent weeks so we have nowhere new to write about as yet, so I thought I'd inspire myself by remembering to plan a trip soon!

The castle, dates back to the 13th century, and is still lived in by the present Earl and his family.  It hosts exotic gardens, famous trees and many historical features. There's also the Kelburn Glen with its waterfalls and deep gorges, and beautiful woodlands with great views over the islands of the Firth of Clyde.
There is HEAPS to do as facilities include a Pony Trekking & Riding School, Indoor Playbarn, Pet's Corner, Adventure Course, Gift Shop with cafe, and Ranger Service Events.

It is common knowledge that I HATE SOFT PLAY places, but Kelburn's Playbarn is pretty darn good.  It's cheap as chips, small and friendly.  A visit also can't be made without appreciating the amazing Graffitti Project where Kelburn brought together four of the world's leading graffiti artists from Brazil and created a burst of colour, covering the walls and turrets of the south side of Kelburn Castle.  It's fantastic!

Then there's the Annual Garden Party, which I'm afraid due to the appearance of certain toddler I have yet to take part in. However this year it's on the 2/3 July and I fully intend to make it this year!

In the meantime, I'll post some photos up when I manage to drag my muddy arse away from the garden for long enough to treat Baby Wild to an afternoon out!

Logistics / 10

baby friendly            10
toddler friendly         100
toilets/changing         10
accessibilty               10
car parking              free & plentiful
cost                         Adults £7.50, Child/Conc £5.00, Families £25
(Family day ticket entitles entry for 2 adults and up to 3 children).

Remember your first week with baby? EEK!!!!

I suddenly realised today that in not such a long time from now, my aforementioned fantastic best mate shall be delivering two more gang members to our happy throng!  Although I started thinking about the idea of this blog way back when Baby Wild was a mostly sleeping bubba, it took me so long to actually getting round to getting it up and running that I have forgotten all the stuff that held my every thought 19 months ago.  First piece of advice mothers-to-be DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF BABY BRAIN & write everything down for you will forget not only the birth (thank the gods) but every little joy that comes after no matter how it feels as though you shall cherish each moment for the rest of your life.  You won't, they just get replaced by new ones and lists of chores.

And so dear online friends I need your help - can you remember all the things that you wanted to know, but were afraid to ask / had no-one to ask?  What you really wanted brought to your door during those dazed and confused days - food, no flowers, cake, a paid for cleaner, a litre of vodka perhaps?? Any creams, oils or lotions that you swear by for halting stretch marks & soothe sore boobs?

I remember designing my dream preggo/new man hamper basket..... only I have completely forgotten the contents dammit.  So I intend to spend the next few weeks trying to regain my 'new mother' thoughts & ideas. 

OMG I think I would have thrown this at anyone mad enough to present it to me fresh home from hospital!

So far my list begins with no flowers or silly balloons,
lots of home cooking, easy to reheat and also snacks!
lots of make life easier offers and promises (like bonefide offers for babysitting)
cabbages (for boobs of course!),
nappies & wipes, as you can never have too many and those things cost!
ear plugs,
lansinoh cream,
DVDs to watch when all you want to do is sleep,
pamper treats for mum, maybe miniature hand creams and sweet smelling lotions while she's in hospital - I found my skin dried out all the time in the hospital heat, and I relished sweet smells as everything smells of disinfectant in wards!

What can you recall?

Lochwinnoch farmers market

We went to the farmers market today, and really looked forward to it as it's the first of the summer here.  I have to say it was more than a little disappointing. There were two meat stalls, one vegetable stall, one bread & cake stall, and one local sweets, cheese & jam stall outside. Inside the centre there was one old lady selling plants, the wonderful Lime Tree Larder stall, a stall selling spices & soup, and a crazy recycled jewelry stall.  That actually makes it sound busier and fancier than it was in reality!

All we bought was a small cheese and two bargain-tastic small plants.  What we REALLY wanted was hot food - as in bratwurst or roast pork or better still a burger, of the venison/buffalo style variety as it was cold and there were hangovers to feed. But the only food there was was the cafe produce inside, which wasn't an option with a particularly tetchy and tantrum prone toddler in a foul mood. 

But it reminded me none the less that Lochwinnoch is a great place to spend a few hours when the sun is out with kids.  In fact I regularly lie through my teeth and say I live in Lochwinnoch as I love it that much and won't admit that where I live isn't quite so charming!

You can get the train from Glasgow central and be at the RSPB reserve in 20 minutes which is a great place to walk around and browse in the surprisingly interesting and reasonably priced shop.  Even if you aren't nuts about birds, it's a great place for kids to explore and learn.

Castle Semple is only a further 15 minute walk from there, and has tons of free car parking if you're driving.  They have LOADS of water sports available, as well as the cafe, regular organised walks and events etc.  You can see why I pretend to live there...

Lochwinnoch even has it's on website and newsletter with full listings of the varied events.

Hospital bags - what did you pack?

As my best mate gets a bit closer to considering working out what to pack, what to bring, the fastest route to the hospital I have been thinking about the much debated Hospital Bag, or Labour Bag, if your reading american websites, or multiple bags if you are me.

You see this was my specialist subject as my due date grew near. Dammit I was such a preggo geek!  I had two bags - one for labour, and one for going home.  Actually I still recommend that approach despite not having worked out for me very well, but at least it kept me calmer & feeler better prepared.

Anyways here's what I packed.....
Labour Bag
I had grand dreams of getting an epidural and fantasised long hours of boredom after reading ... book so I mostly packed stuff to fend off the boredom and keep both myself & Daddy Native if not sane, then at least occupied.

• Birth plan (completely & utterly over-ruled/ignored in my case however)
• A deck of playing cards
• Bags of Snack a Jacks
• List of phone numbers and a spare phone charger
• Socks - I kept reading that your feet get really cold giving birth?!
• Lipbalm
• Tens machine - have no idea if this actually helped or not
• Straws for drinking water easily
• Hair bands
• Anti-bacterial surface wipes (which just offended the nurse! But I was lucky to have a fabulous new unit)
• Fully charged iPod with calming playlists (ahahahahahHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!) & iPod dock
• One of Daddy Native's shirts for labour (SO never happened - I ended up wearing it the following day while he picked me up clothes from home)

Hospital Bag
Being freakishly organised I packed all the basic items I thought baby and I would need to get us home.  But I was still totally unprepared and had to borrow stuff to wash both of us in!

• Front opening nightdress & dressing gown, slippers
• Overnight toiletries - didn't think to bring stuff for baby though!
• Clean clothes for me to get home comfortably
• Change for vending machines/car park/phone cards etc
• A list of all the foods I'd missed out on whilst pregnant so Daddy Native could organise a picnic for the following day - mainly featuring blue cheese & pate
• Mini bottle of champagne (never go anywhere without one of those!)
• Nursing bra
• breast pads, maternity pads & a collection of old knickers
• Arnica tablets

Baby's first outfit, taking season into consideration! (Nothing fitted, we had to phone Daddy Native's sister to bring the correct sized outfits, so I'd recommend waiting until you see how small/big your baby stork is!)

Here's what I actually used.....

• NOTHING from the labour bag - it was all happened way too fast for us. Although as I had a room to myself for the first two nights, the iPod dock was fantastic for playing music, entertaining not just me but also the nurses.
• I did use everything from the hospital bag, but really would advise that at the very least you write a list for additional clothes etc in case you end up staying longer than desired.

But don't take my word for it -
I found this pretty helpful and based my list on this list
If you can get your hands on Jules Oliver's book 'Minus 9 to 5' has a great funny list I remember
You can always rely on these guys for lists!


What did you pack?

Glasgow + Rain = Kelvingrove Musuem

And so this is not the place to go on a rainy day if you have a head ache / bad hair day..... because every other bored parent will be there with there with their brood.

I took Baby Wild & my 4 year old god-daughter along a few Saturday afternoons ago (been too busy to post this until now) due to the shite weather Monsoon summer we've been blessed with recently. Already feeling conspicuous due to slight hangover, and awareness of my almost CBeebie perfect tone and accent in an effort to maintain control of the girls, I was none too pleased to bump into an ex boss and a present colleague.  Thankfully the ex boss didn't even recognise me, despite the fact that his youngest and Baby Wild were hand in hand trying to storm the barriers between them and the stuffed animals.  I managed to hide behind a pillar and coach Baby Wild away and managed not to get escorted from the premised by security for trying to steal all the swan's feathers.  The colleague, at 8 months pregnant really should have been at home eating cakes while she still can and been keeping such weekend child fuelled Saturday treats  at bay for at least another year I thought!  Maybe she was practicing...

Anyways... this was my first time at Kelvingrove and we did enjoy ourselves.  We didn't stray far from the creature features truth be told, as it was plenty enough hard work for me with the two girls.  We went upstairs to check out all the 'armies' and try to climb over the banister and climb onto the full size plane, which thank the lord I "ruined".  According to the 4 yr old, the highlights were the cheetah, and the chocolate brownie in the cafe down on the basement floor.  The staff were friendly enough, the prices more reasonable than I had expected and nobody bliked when I produced Baby Wild's snacks from my handbag rather than purchasing fruit & water from the cafe.  Bonus points also awarded for a splendid machiato, despite not offering it on the menu.  And there are loads of toilets on every floor with plenty baby change & toddler+mum sized toilets.

I can see why this is a popular bolt hole for those wishing to avoid the dreaded soft plays.

Logistics / 10

baby friendly            10
toddler friendly         7
toilets/changing         10
accessibilty               10
car parking              cheap as chips
cost                         free entry

Blair Estate Annual Open Day, Dalry

Just before the storms really hit, and in a rare break from thundering rain, Baby Wild & I spent a great morning exploring the private gardens of the Blair estate in Dalry.  The castle dates back to 1105, & is the oldest continually inhabited mansion house in Scotland that has not been rebuilt, and is still privately owned by descendants of the founding family.  The gardens are normally closed to the public although you can walk around the grand estate all year round.  Once a year however the holds the Annual Garden Open day, a charity day raising funds for the SGS Charities, CLIC Sargent and The Glasgow Passion.  There are marquees hosting teas & coffees, a plant stall, kids face painting and home baking, but unfortunately we were too early for these!

Besides being a great morning out and about for both of us, on a more selfish level I was keen to go & simply to see what grew locally, and steal ideas for my own wee garden.

 

So off we troddled, setting out early to try and avoid the inevitable rain.  We were the first to arrive which gave us the pleasure off having the gardens all to ourselves.  I thoroughly loved imagining living there myself and having such stunning grounds complete with swimming pool and the croquet lawn as my own playground!

 Baby Wild was nuts about the Bombo Burn (which was more of a torrent due to all the rain we're getting this month) so we spent quite a lot of time throwing leaves & sticks in from the quaint various bridges crossing at intervals.

 While I wandered around looking for the fossilised tree, dog's grave and other hidden treasures, Baby Wild could not be tempted away from the puddles, splashing around in her brand new wellies, as toddlers do I guess.

 I really admired how although overall the gardens are quite manicured, there is a great harmony between the cultivated and wild, growing alongside each other in complimentary colours.

Having spoken to both the owners of the estate and playing with their dogs, Baby Wild takes a break from the long walk on their door step.

We must have walked a couple of miles doing laps of the castle and stable grounds.  There was plenty to capture Baby Wild's attention, places to hide, splash and roll down, as well as giant fowls to chase and terrify her mother with!  I'm glad we were there so early and had the place to ourselves as well as getting to chat with both the owners and gardener, but this means I can't advise about the marquees which were being set up as we arrived.  But I'll definitely be back next year, and think I'd better take Gran & Grandpa Native too next time.

Logistics / 10
baby friendly            4
toddler friendly         8
toilets/changing         5 (there are portaloos)
accessibility              10
car parking              free
cost                         £4.50 adults, kids under 5 free