Melsop Farm

Melsop Farm

We live about 3 miles away from Melsop Farm. We were lucky enough to go on a sunny day and spent the whole day there.

There's a farm, as you might expect, with a huge range of animals, many of which roam freely so you can pet them and feed them. The shop sells animal feed, I didn't buy any this time because the last time we went the girls were too scared to go that close to the animals. However this time they were really into it.

The farm also has indoor and outdoor play areas. You can pay to go to the play areas alone, the price for that is £4 per child over 2 plus £1 per adult. That is about the same amount you would pay for other soft play areas nearby. However the indoor play area is a little limited compared to others and I think if my 3 and 5 year old were only able to play indoors they would get bored fairly quickly. If it's nice enough to play outside then it's a bargain.

To visit the farm it costs £6 for children over 3, and £7 for adults. The play areas are included in that price. Again, compared to nearby attractions it's a fair price. It's well worth it if you stay for the whole day like we did!

The cafe is also worth a visit given that they use their own produce! It's not like some of the greasy cafe food you sometimes get in the soft play areas!

Here are some more photos from our recent visit.

Southwold

We had a day out at Southwold yesterday and it actually stayed sunny!

We arrived at lunchtime, so first stop was chips on the Pier. We all had the battered sausage and chips. We aren't really fish eaters, so that's usually the easiest thing to order when getting fish and chips. They were really tasty, the batter was excellent!

Next we went down to the beach. The girls went barefoot and chased the waves for a while. I got soaked taking a photo of them.

We walked along the pier and had a look at the old and weird arcade games, we watched the water clock, we laughed at ourselves in the silly mirrors and we found Nanna and Grandad's plaque.

Then we walked up to the lighthouse, which was closed but that was probably a good thing as you have to be 1.1m to climb it. Elizabeth might have got away with that, but not Rebecca.

We finished up our day with ice creams back at the pier. Elizabeth had bubble gum and chocolate flavoured ice cream and Rebecca had strawberry and chocolate.

A lovely day out with the girls.

Battle of the Bangers

It's that time of year again, the Norfolk Food and Drink Festival is in full flow and with it comes the Battle of the Bangers.

This is the third time we have gone to the Battle of the Bangers. It's held at The Forum in Norwich it's completely free and you get to taste some of the best sausages Norfolk has to offer.

It's held in a fenced off area off to the side of the Forum. You are greeted by some very friendly volunteers who give you a voting card and stickers for the children. Elizabeth even got her own voting card this year. Then you can wander around the stalls tasting as many sausages as you like. Just as long as you vote for your favourite at the end.

There were 6 butchers competing this year, you can find out more about them here.

Elizabeth (and Rebecca) voted for The Beefsmith sausages. Jeff and I voted for Icarus Hines sausages. The Beefsmith sausages were, as the title suggests, beef. I much prefer pork sausages, although these ones were nice. Icarus Hines had a few different sausages to sample which was good. Jeff would have liked to have tried their marmite sausages, but they didn't have any on the day.

We always buy some sausages from the event. Icarus Hines didn't have any for sale, but they did have some vouchers for money off buying them at their shop. We bought some Beefsmith sausages seeing as the girls liked them.

Other than the Battle of the Bangers, there were also various food stalls, a tractor for children to sit in and some farm animals to look at so you could get the full before/after experience of your sausages...

A great day out.

This was Rebecca at Battle of the Bangers 2013

And 2014, before tasting....

... and after

Elizabeth enjoyed it too.