My first holiday - Blackpool

Baby Eden has been on her first holiday away from a home. A week in Blackpool UK with mummy and uncle. We booked to stay at Havens Marton Mere in a 6 bed caravan which included 3 bedrooms ; a double, a twin, and a bunk bed, a bathroom with toilet, shower and sink and another bathroom with a toilet and sink plus lounge area and kitchen area. The site has a bar/club, arcade, restaurant, pool, shop, launderette, park, sports court, soft play, golf and takeaway. There's a bus stop on the site so it's easy to get in to town for attractions or the tram/other bus services and to the train station.

There's various activities and entertainment on site such as den building, swimming lessons, fire lighting, tots and tunes (singing with one the mascots!), sensory play, treasure hunts, water walkerz , as well as evening entertainment and bingo. There's various rides and machines in the arcade covering a range of ages and interests. The food in the restaurant is pretty good offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, and staff friendly and helpful throughout. The soft play is at the back and is more aimed at toddlers (small ball pit and soft shapes and building blocks!), there's park outside at back, secure from road/car park (access is through restaurant.) with swing, slide, climbing frame and see-saw. Swimming pool is good for families although does get very busy;. Easy walk-in access, life guarded, family changing cubicles as well as individual cubicles and baby changing/disabled changing facilities and lockers for belongings and there's a plug hole flume and children's splash zone in summer. 

Buses run every 15 mins from site in to town via train station, zoo and supermarkets; so it's never an issue getting to and from the attractions. We joined in with 2 morning activities with "the seaside squad" both lasting around 25 mins. Neds tots and tunes where "DJ Ned" had the children singing, dancing and doing action songs (the likes of happy and you know it, music man , etc) and Anxious sensory morning where one of the entertainers took the children around different sensory stations (one with crunchy nut cornflakes and jelly cubes to squash, one with lights, one with different textures material and one which had a baby crawl mat and some objects to feel) as well as Anxious the elephant coming out to sing a song with the children. This session could of lasted longer, the children weren't given much time at each station and there was only a few children there, if it had been busier some children would of missed out.

Whilst we were there we ofcourse went exploring and checked out some of the things Blackpool has to offer. We had bought "big tickets" covering all the biggest attractions in the area. The tower, the circus, dungeon, 4D Cinema, aquarium, Madame Tussaud's , jungle Jims and ballroom which costs approximately half the amount of what it would cost to buy individual tickets for the attractions. We managed to visit all of them except the jungle Jims soft play as it has a strict no adult rule and I'm too small to play on my own. We also went to a few other places not included in the ticket which I will also tell you about. 

The dungeon, ballroom, jungle Jims, tower, cinema and circus are all in one building with the aquarium and Madame Tussaud's a short walk away. The main building also has the box office, arcade and the hangmans tavern, a burger place and coffee shop. 

The staff on the reception/box office were friendly and helpful and helped us with all the information on the attractions and opening times etc but during every visit the toilets in the ladies were blocked/overflowing. On the Sunday they were dirty and every cubicle we looked in had blocked toilets. These were still backed up on the Wednesday and Saturday when we visited and several didn't even flush. There is also disabled/baby changing toilets in the arcade and a sign said the key was available from the "manager" but no idea who or where he was. 

Aquarium/sealife centre

I love fish and stingrays and watching them swimming around and so I was really looking forward to visiting during our stay. We went on the Sunday afternoon and there was lots to see. When you first arrive (after getting your obligatory green screen photo taken!) there's an opportunity to learn about rock pools and touch the starfish and other creatures.  I didn't want to touch them but mummy and uncle did and said they feel squishy. Then you go in to the main bit of the aquarium where there was lots of different areas with fish, sharks, sea horses , stingrays , etc until you come to the end where you will find the cafe, shop and soft play and the exit although if you brought a buggy or wheelchair  you can't get out that way and have to go back the way you came which gave me a second chance to look at
the fish. The aquarium has nice toilets which looked clean and had a baby changing table in there which was quite comfy to lie down on. The disabled toilet was a little dirty, the floor was wet and it smelt a bit too. We all really enjoyed our visit here and it is on our list for next time we visit the area. 

The Blackpool Tower and 4D cinema 

The tower tour and 4D cinema are one attraction, when you enter you again have your green screen photo done (we didn't get it because I was feeling sad and hungry and not in the mood to be photographed!) and then you go in to a room to await entry to the cinema. If you came in a wheelchair you can take the lift up to the other door to get in to the cinema or bypass it completely; that is what we did because mummy wanted to find somewhere to feed me as I was crying and shouting so we skipped the cinema and went up to the shop where the toilets are and then joined on the the tour afterwards. You go up in a lift where the man tells you all about the history of the tower and then you arrive at the top where there is a glass walkway that looks down on the promenade and you can also walk around the tower 360 degrees and look out over Blackpool. If you're feeling adventurous you can climb up 2 more levels right to the top of the tower as well. Once you're ready to come back down there's a lift which exits out on to the shop area where you can buy your tower souvenirs and the photos from the green screen if you had them done earlier. We thought we'd take a chance and retrace our steps back to the cinema and see if we could catch the show since we had missed it earlier. The lady spoke to us and said it was OK for us to do that and she gave 4D glasses to us (well to the adults!) the show was really good even though I didn't see it in 4D I thought it was great fun and mummy and uncle said it was good too. Another great attraction. Worth a visit as long as you aren't afraid of heights. Although worth noting that pushchairs had to be abandoned at the beginning so make sure you have a bag for your belongings , shoes on if you're a walker and reins if you need them. 

The Blackpool tower dungeon

We had originally decided against visiting the dungeon as we thought it wouldn't be suitable for me. We had emailed/facebooked them prior to going to ask about children/babies visiting and were told that any age is allowed however it is recommended for over 8 years as it can be scary, dark and smelly. However we were at the tower for another attraction in the week and popped in the shop to have a look and got talking to the man there who said although it is scary at times he had seen lots of babies visit and be fine with it and that if I got scared we could leave at any stage so since we already had tickets with the big ticket we decided to give it a go the next day. When we arrived we had a bit of a wait as there was a school visiting on the first tour of the day and so we were shown to the hangmans tavern to await our go. We were told that one the characters would come get us when they were ready but this didn't happen and we very nearly missed the tour. We got a couple of green screen photos done and went on in to a very crowded room to begin the tour and then you make your way through various rooms and scenes. Several people got called up to the front to be included in the scenes and my uncle was called up to be treated for the plague. This got me very excited and I did a lot of shouting and talking about it especially when they dismissed us from the room and my uncle hadn't come back yet but the person that had taken him gave him back to me. Several of the rooms have special effects and are dark and smelly but I thought this was good fun. I won't tell you what they were or what happens as this might spoil your fun if you decide to visit. The last bit of the tour takes you down to a room with a drop tower ride and then you are dismissed to the hangmans tavern and to choose your photos. I wasn't allowed to ride the drop ride as I was way too little and Uncle couldn't as he has a poorly back so we were dismissed through another door and mummy went on to be hanged. The dungeon was great and I'd like to go again. It's not for those easily scared or offended as the characters can be mean and scary. Also you aren't allowed to take photos and you have to turn your phones off before you go in. Who invented the round table ! Sir Cumfrance! Ha ha ha!  

Madame Tussaud's 

We went to Madame Tussaud's whist we were in Blackpool, it wasn't very busy when we went as we

went mid-week. I wasn't allowed to take my pushchair in and had to leave it in a room by the door so my mummy had to carry me around to look at everything. It was OK I didn't mind ; I like to be carried but it got tricky when I got tired and after lots of crying fell asleep in mummy's arms. We saw loads of different fun things and posed for loads of photos. We also had some novelty photos taken by the staff there like one of us in funny hats in a giant beach chair and one of us and Spider-Man. There's a bar that's the rovers return from corrination street with the characters in there and you can have a drink in there. You pay for it when you go in at the front desk and you can choose ANY drink when you get there. There's fruit shoots, cola, cider, whisky. All sorts. You come out a different door than you go in so we had to go back in the entrance to reclaim my pushchair. It was lots of fun and I think I'd like to go back again when I'm a bit bigger.

The Ballroom 

We visited the ballroom one day and mummy and uncle had afternoon tea for two (I was allowed to try some too!) it was £15 a person to have tea there and you can sit and listen to the music and watch people doing posh dances, you can even get up and dance yourself if you feel like it. The building/room is super pretty and I really enjoyed looking around at everything on the ceiling and walls. The afternoon tea was made up of sandwiches, scone with cream and jam and a selection of cakes (and tea of course!) 

Visiting Paignton Zoo

With it being half term this week there hasn't been any baby and toddler group and with Eden needing to be constantly entertained by some big adventure we headed down to Paignton Zoo for the day (The whole day!) Paignton Zoo has so much to see you need atleast 3 hours to go around everything and thats without taking in time for keeper talks, lunch and breaks to play on the park or soft play. We arrived at the zoo right as it opened at 10:30 and began our adventure, we saw loads of animals and stopped to listen to two keeper talks, Eden's still too young for the play parks at the zoo and we didn't go to the soft play, although they had a ball pit so she would of enjoyed a visit and we left at around 15:30 so we stayed for a good 5 hours. I was a bit nervous about the trip because Eden is going through some developments and hasn't been sleeping well and has been kinda unsettled lately plus she's teething so chances were the day could go not so great. But she was a star, she got upset a few times because she was hungry or tired but settled pretty quickly each time and was loving looking at all the animals. Her favorite was the giraffe and cheetah (the 2 talks we listened to!), she loved walking (being carried!) around the grounds and looking at the tree's and water. 

The zoo has toilets/baby changing/nursing rooms dotted around in various places so it was fairly easy to stop and feed Eden when the mood took her , although the nursing room is literally a very small room with a chair that didn't look all the comfortable in it so we found it much easier to use the baby change/toilets as there was just more space to settle down (I know people get upset about feeding babies in toilets but it really doesn't bother me and Eden doesn't care where she's eating as long as the milkies are there). 

  (See all the photo's in the video below!)

Eden's First Adventure - It's a really Crealy Perfect Day

At the beginning of December when Eden was just 6 weeks old we wanted to take her to visit with Santa but wanted to avoid standing in line for hours in the cold to visit one in the shopping mall and so we looked in to a local attraction that was doing visits with Santa; Devon's Crealy Great Adventure Park was doing story time with santa and so we decided to go along and try to meet him. On arrival we collected our park tickets (we had pre-booked on line as advised on their website!) and were then given tokens to see Santa. We had arrived at midday and the santa slot we were allocated was at 14:30 so we had to find a way to entertain a tiny 6 week old who had never been outside for such a long time before and who liked to spend most of her time attached to mummy having milkies. We started off trying the indoor soft play toddler area/ball pit and this was immediately met with screaming and tears from the little one. Not a great start. We found a spot to sit and a quick nappy change and milkies stop later Eden was back to her happy self and so we decided to see what at Crealy Eden was allowed to go on. We started with a quick go on a seated ride the kind you find at arcades, Eden was definitely too small for this but with a bit of support from mummy and daddy she quite enjoyed it (even if it doesn't look that way in the photo!), Then we headed towards the safari

train (A ride on train that goes in a circle around a track like a very slow rollercoaster), we asked if baby could ride and was told that was fine as long as we held on to her so she didn't fall out (as if we needed telling to hold her!), The train goes past various models of animals like you're on a real safari and Eden was mesmerized by looking at these. Next we decided to check out the park next to the train which had a bridge and cannons that shoot balls and a small slide, Eden tried out the slide (or pretended to!) and then we moved on to the merry-go-round/ carousel and again were told yes Eden could ride. She was a bit confused at this point but remained very interested in everything that was going on around her. After this we headed back to the arcade/soft play barn and played on a tea cup ride which Eden very much enjoyed riding with mummy before we went up to the other inside area with another soft play area and more rides (Eden was too small for the rides in this barn but she did try the toddler area in the soft play again and this was more successful than the first!) Next on the agenda was the animal barns where Eden got up close and personal with donkeys, horses

and rabbits and so began her love of animals. We still had a little time before it was time for Santa and the adults were getting hungry so we headed for lunch and attempted (Unsuccessfully) to get Eden to take a nap before we headed up to the grotto. Once inside the grotto there was a bit of a wait for the jolly fella to join us and the room got very crowded very quickly, this caused Eden to become quite upset as she isn't a big fan of crowds, Santa finally joined us and told a story (Which Eden screamed and screamed through! There was no escape; we were stuck!) and then everyone joined him for a rendition of Rudolf the red nosed reindeer before we all lined up to meet Santa, get photos taken and be handed our prize (A selection box) by which point Eden was feeling much better about the large crowd and was getting attention from other families which as always she

loved. Once we were done with santa we had a ride (or two!) on the dinosaur jeeps - Again a reminder from the operator to hold on to the baby but no restriction on allowing her to ride. Next up was a wriggle around in the sand pit before taking a walk in the woods by which point Eden at only 6 weeks old and still having not napped all day was started to fade (Or more accurately shout and cry!) so we made our way to the gift shop for our souvenirs before heading home. It was a really wonderful day out and will be a regular day out over the spring and summer I am sure as I plan to purchase annual tickets as soon as the season begins. Crealy has everything in one place. Soft play, rides, park, sand, animals, walks, picnic area and plenty of food options too, What more can you ask for?

Check out our video montage of the day below! 

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Messy Play

Eden really loves to get messy, She goes to a baby and toddler group where there is usually an activity that results in Eden going home dirty. The first session was full on Messy play with food colouring spagetti, yoghurt and paint, Another session there was play dough which Eden squished and squeezed until it was stuck to every little bit of her hands and all down her shirt and yet another session was valentine inspired arts and crafts where Eden decided to free style (In fairness she is way to young for stamping which the aim of the craft asked for!) and smeared her hands through the paint and used that to paint her mummy and daddy a picture each and in the process smeared red paint all down her sleepsuit and bib (and all over mummy!). So with this in mind I decided to get Eden involved in some messy play at home since with it being half term she hasn't been to group this week. Eden is coming up to 4 months old and with the aim of Eden getting use to smell and textures of food and since there was a baby event on in store I had purchased several tubs of baby puree for her to sample and use for easy food when we were out on adventures in coming months; so I popped Eden in her Bumbo seat with the tray attached and placed a few blobs of puree in different areas of the tray (Having learned from past events Eden did this before getting dressed for the day!) and just let Eden do with it as she wished. I love to watch her exploring and discovering new things in her own way.

At first she just looked at it and then back at me as if asking what I expected her to do with that. (I did put my finger in and place a tiny bit on the back her hand to encourage her to touch!) Then she started running her fingers through the blobs and gradually began to bang her hands in to it harder and wave her hands around resulting in food all over her face and legs and splashed over other near by toys. Eden then decided she wanted to get a closer look and leaned down to the tray and immediately decided it looked so good she had to taste it. Eden started to chew the tray and lick at the food like a dog (Must get get her more human friends!) Anyway she had a blast playing with the food and was covered from head to toe in thick sticky fruit puree so I'd say it was a hit !!!