Beamish Wild School Holiday Camp - Another Big Day Out

We were recently invited to road test Beamish Wild School Holiday Camp.

Obviously we jumped at the chance to have another Big Day and go build dens. climb trees and take part in a host of fab activities, here's how our day went...

Beamish Wild is an activity centre set unsurprisingly in the beautiful countryside of Beamish, well in the grounds of Beamish Hall to be exact. 

We arrived on a bright Sunday morning in plenty of time to have a play on the rope Park and then went to meet Tom our leader for the day.

Safety first

Our first activity was crate stack tower. The kids were tasked with building the tallest crate tower they could WHILE TWO OF THEIR TEAM MATES WERE STANDING ON TOP! Peanut was very pleased to get 10 crates high!

We had lots of fun and Tom was helpful and encouraging always ensuring everyone's safety. He even managed to rope (literally) me into taking part....

Then we went tree climbing and Tom talked first about setting a personal goal and how this wasn't about achieving what someone else said but a personal challenge!  The kids all did really well and we were very ready for a lunch break after all the excitement.

I was really pleased at this point that Peanut had chosen her lovely Aspen Ecco Boots with goretex, as you can see from the pictures we were very muddy but these boots kept her feet warm and dry and didnt hinder her adventures at all 

Huge thanks to www.thatspeachy.com for this awesome picture of my girl 

The first activity after lunch was den building, I won't lie this is one of my favourite things to do with the kids and everyone really got into the spirit of things. There was espionage, spying, wanton destruction and some very serious interior design going on in the kids den, the adults I think had so much fun helping them and watching them really get along that we totally failed to build anything of our own. 

I think the kids would have all happily played in this little clearing for the rst of the day but the activity came to an end with the kids being declared winners

We wrapped up the day with a round ( I don't think that is the right term) of Archery and then drove home some very happy, mucky and tired children !

Image courtesy of  NorthEastFamilyFun.co.uk

I wouldn't hesitate in recommending these school holiday camps, my boy who never wants to leave my side has asked if he can be booked in for the next holiday! They are an awesome way to develop creativity and confidence a lovely environment to make new friends and I guarantee a good nights sleep for the kids afterwards! I think they are really good value for money (especially if you use discount code BLOG17 for 10% off) and if you happen to have a spare day and kids all in the right age range you can drop them off and head straight to The Stables to enjoy some of their scrumptious food and drinks, and spend the day chilling in the peaceful grounds 

But don't just take my word for it, you can watch our video ..

and check out these reviews from My Boys Club, North East Family Fun and Here Come The Hoopers 

The summer camps run every school holiday from Easter through to the end of October. We offer a 1, 2 or 3 day option, with a wide range of dates throughout. To check availability click the tab at top of this page. The days run from 8.45am (earliest drop off) until 15:30pm.

Costs start at £20 for 1 day £38 for 2 days and £54 for the 3 day option (Lunch not included). Your little ones are sure to be entertained with activities including:

• Den Building
• Fire Lighting
• High ropes activities including Crate Stack, Leap of faith, Tree Creeper
• Woodland Crafts
• Treasure Hunts
• Sports
• Rounders
• Arts and Crafts
• Mini Olympics
• Ultimate frisbee
• And more

Huge thanks to Tom for being patient, kind, encouraging and looking after our offspring. Also huge thanks to Beamish Wild for inviting us 

We are Goretex Ambassadors

Fashion for Children with Sensory Processing Issues

My boy is a very sensitive soul and has issues with sensory processing so we try and stay away from the things that cause upset like bright flashing lights, loud noises and too much sensory input,but we have things in place that help.

Sometimes if we want to go to a party or a show on holiday The Golden Child will take with him his ear defenders and happily watch while not feeling overwhelmed. We try to keep noise and music to 'normal' levels and when asking him to do things we make instructions short concise and check he understood. 

When it comes to clothes he has certain things that he takes issue with, he doesn't like tags in his t shirts and he hates the seam on the inside of his socks he like soft comfortable clothing and natural fibres.

So without making a big deal out of his sensory issues here are some of our ideas for clothing that is comfortable and doesn't irritate

We choose tees that are collarless and soft cotton is our favourite.

We cut out our tags this is easy it doesn't take a lot of effort and it means we aren't cutting out a whole swathe of wardrobe, he loves wearing funky t-shirts and we both love this skull t-shirt from Asda which comes with a waistcoat and scarf. 

Trousers are normally elastic waist and his absolute favourite are his cotton waist jeans and any joggers!

We buy plain black socks which go on inside out, simple and perfect for him, no fiddly seam and he is as happy as can be plus you can't tell they are on the wrong way.

And for shoes we choose easy on and no laces, we found these ECCO Urban Snowboarder boots were perfect for us, they have a lace which is tightened using a slider and they literally just slide on his feet, no fuss no messing. Also because they are made with Goretex they withstand any amount of puddle jumping, sand running, hill climbing fun! Weve worn these all through autumn and winter and they are still standing the test of time!

We were sent these boots as par of our Goretex Big Days Out Ambassador role

Back To School For Peanut - Another Goretex Big Day

There goes summer! Instead here comes back to to school and soggy socks from the wet school run!

My peanut likes to run and jump and play and so wet autumn days need some preparation because hteres just no stopping this little (well not so little anymore) adventurer. Last year we made the mistake of buying cheap, and we ended up buying twice! The sole came off  Peanut's cheapy boots and they let in water from day one. Wellies aren't comfortable enough to wear all day and certainly not the best for running around in  so we NEED comfy protective boots and these Superfit Goretex  ones are just the ticket...

Heres a little video too

I love how warm they are and stylish enough that Peanut will wear them everyday, and I know they are built to last and because they are made with  Goretex we have no soggy socks! What do you think? Do you ever buy cheap shoes or do you think its just not worth it in the long run?

Playgrounds and Pokemon - Another Big Day With Goretex

I scoffed at the idea of Pokemon and refused point blankly to download the app. Mostly on the grounds of hating to do what everyone else  is doing. But after a bit of thought and a chat with some Pokemon pals we went for it, and I have to say I kind of like it! But I shall tell you all the great things in another post. The biggest reason though is that it gets you out and moving, so armed with these awesome Goretex shoes from Superfit  to ensure we'd be most comfortable

we set of for a day on the quayside, catching Pokemon and checking out the great Playground Project at the Baltic

'A focal point for ideas about education and childhood, about urban planning and public space, about architecture and art, about creativity and control, the playground has repeatedly resisted institutional and ideological appropriation and grown in its own, sometimes anarchic, ways.

The Playground Project will bring back many exemplary, but now often forgotten playground initiatives, pioneering acts and adventures with a playground in which children (and inner children) can run, hide, climb and imagine. The exhibition includes Marjory Allen (Lady Allen of Hurtwood), Assemble, Joseph Brown, Riccardo Dalisi, Richard Dattner, Aldo van Eyck, M. Paul Friedberg, Michael Grossert, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, Alfred Ledermann, Yvan Pestalozzi, Group Ludic, Egon Møller-Nielsen, Niki de Saint Phalle, Mitsuru Senda, Colin Ward and others.'

The Playground project is amazing and the kids had loads of fun it was really busy though as we arrived at lunchtime so I would recommend arriving earlier in the day or later especially on a weekend. The Playground Project will be at Baltic until 30 October.

So for all you Pokemon fans we caught about 10 different and new to us Pokemon in and outside of the baltic and the quayside has lots of Pokestops and even a Gym or two so well worth an afternoon adventure ...

Follow the other Goretex Adventurers and connect on Facebook and Twitter

We are Goretex Ambassadoors and were sent these shoes free of charge 

A Day of Culture with Goretex

Just recently we headed to The Customs House for a browse around their galleries and knowing we would be doing some walking (and extreme puddle jumping...) Termite was firmly in her new Superfit Goretex Lumis 

We had a great time emulating the artwork, and even managed a game of trains on the seating ( I love how they can create good fun anywhere)

Termite, enjoyed modelling her new shoes for Mummy and was especially happy that she was about to be allowed to go to her favourite place, and the reason she loves The Customs House soooo much....

The Fountians .....

Check out our movie...

We had a lovely afternoon, Mammy and Daddy got to check out some lovely art and the kids got to run wild in the fountains, go home in blankets and then snuggle with popcorn and a movie. A real perfect Sunday afternoon, and better still the shoes were dry the next day and you wouldn't know they had been complete soakened! Watch out for more Goretex adventures soon from Peanut and The Golden Child

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