We had a lovely week, staying in Kirkby-In-Furness and visiting lots of local attractions. The weather was mixed but we managed ice cream most days and even a breezy al fresco evening meal after burning the sausages one evening!… Ooops.
We arrived Monday afternoon and as it was sunny and dry we headed for a wander on the local beach at Askam. Lucy’s first beach experience – she got straight in there hands in the mud like sand, she does enjoy getting messy! She also enjoyed finding pebbles. Ella enjoyed exploring and had great fun pouring sand into Lucy’s lap.
Tuesday we planned to go to the South Lakes Animal Park, but as we neared our destination, the heavens opened. So, Plan B was executed and we headed to Bowness and the Beatrix Potter World Exhibition. It’s somewhere I have been several times before when I was younger and it was just as I remembered it. Ella and Lucy both enjoyed seeing all the characters and spotting the many animals. We had a lovely lunch in the cafe too. A great rainy day activity that kept us all entertained. We wandered into Bowness afterwards, stopped for an ice cream and wandered down to the lakeside to see the boats. We made it back to the car just as the heavens opened again.
Wednesday the weather was glorious and we had a great time at the Animal Park. We say Lions, Rhino’s, Baboons and kangaroos but the favourite of us all was the giraffes – especially feeding time!… Lucy came away with a toy giraffe which she now takes to bed with her and she loved watching the giraffes as we ate our lunch in the cafe. We left the animal park after lunch and as the weather was so lovely, we headed to National Trust’s Fell Foot Park. There’s an amazing adventure playground complete with slides, swings and a zip wire (fun for all ages!). After exhausting the girls (and ourselves) in the playground, we walked the short distance along the lake side to the tea rooms for some cake and ice cream before heading home. Ella particularly enjoyed seeing all the sailboats moored near where we were eating but both girls were very tired after their busy day and we headed back for tea.
Thursday was a really wet day, but we were headed for the South Lakes Aquarium. We drove to Haverthwaite and boarded the steam train up to the Lakeside. The girls loved the train and we had fun at the aquarium too. Ella particularly loved the tunnel and was awarded a medal by Lisa on reception who also knew some Makaton and wanted to reward Ella’s excellent signing! After going round the aquarium we had lunch overlooking the Lake and then went for a boat ride in the rain. We managed one more go round the aquarium before getting the train back to Haverthwaite.
Before we left the Lake District on Friday afternoon, we made a stop off in Kendal to visit the K-Shoe village to get Lucy’s feet measured. I’d noticed over the week that her feet were suddenly more and more difficult to get into her shoes! She’d gone from a size 2 to a 3.5 so got her a brand new pair of stomping shoes. After a lovely lunch at Booths we headed for home.
Lulu and the Bean 