Old Holly Farm

We have been looking for places to take Baby M locally that won't cost us a fortune to go.

We discovered Old Holly Farm which is a fully working farm that is open to the public.  Even better it's FREE!!  They ask that you don't bring your own food and therefore buy food (if you want to) from their cafe.

Baby M is fascinated by both our cat and family dogs so we thought we would love the farm.  We were interested to see what his reaction would be to all the different animals.

At first we had Baby M in his pushchair but we decided to take him out so he could get a better view of the animals

 There were a variety of different animals including cows, sheep, chickens, goats, horse, donkey and alpaca.  There were also some calves in a shed area that you could feed (and wash your hands after).

Due to the farm being a working farm there is a dairy on site and they make their own ice cream - it looked delicious.  We opted for a lovely lunch and scones instead.  Seeing as you can't being your own food I expected the prices to be a little high but they are really reasonable for the portion size you get, which is very generous.

There is also a play barn next to the cafe.  Children under 1 get in for free so we thought we would take Baby M in as it was quiet.  We had gone on a week day so there weren't too many people there, I can imagine it gets very busy at the weekends.  Baby M went on a toy tractor and had his first experience of a ball pool.  I think Mr M had more fun in the ball pool though - he's a big kid!

We had a lovely time and will definitely be going back again very soon.  I think as Baby M gets older he will enjoy visiting the farm more and more.

The farm is just off Junction 33 M6 so is easy to get to even in your don't live locally.  

This post has been included in this weeks #CountryKids over on Coombe Mill's blog - go check out other great ways to get out and about as a family

This post has also been included in Red Rose Mummy's #WHWH - go check out What's Happened, What's Happening.

Sunny visit to Brockholes Nature Reserve

My brother & I love wildlife so whilst he was visiting we decided to take a trip to Brockholes Nature Reserve. The reserve is run by the Wildlife Trust

Brockholes can be found near Preston off Junction 31 of the M6.  I felt like we were going on a magical mystery tour to get to the entrance, the signs seem to be leading you in a circle once you leave the motorway then the entrance to the reserve could be easily missed.  Thankfully there were 2 of us to look out.

We had a look at the map on our arrival and decided on the route we would take.

We decided to walk from the car park and turn right, walking all the way round the reserve.

The views were great

We continued to follow the path round, through some lovely shrubs, trees and gates

We walked through a wooded area where there appeared to be a few bird watchers gathered, we couldn't tell what they were looking at though.

We then came to Nook Pool.  Here we saw a Heron and lots and lots of dragonflies.  We also saw what we thought was a Glebe but later we weren't actually sure that's what it was.

We continued round and saw more dragonflies and a Kestral hunting.  We stopped and watched this for a while.  We then walked round to the main water area, there are 2 hides, one is a family hide so you can sit and watch the birds.  We saw swans, Canadian geese, Greylag geese and coots.  We even saw a family with 3 baby coots - too cute!!

We finished our walk with a quick visit to the floating visitors village

They have a shop, conference centre (where you can get married if you so wish) and a restaurant.  We had a quick walk around then returned to the car and it was getting really hot and Baby M was getting a little grumpy.




The reserve is free to walk around, you just have to pay for parking.  A camera registers your car registration as you enter so as you leave you go to one of the parking machines, enter your registration then pay the required fee.  We were there for just under 2 hours and paid £2.70.  The machines accept cash or card which is great.

No dogs are allowed due to ground nesting birds.

We had a lovely time and will definitely be returning again in the near future with Mr M.  I think as Baby M gets older he will be able to take part in the different events that take part too.


I've added this post to Coombe Mill's #CountryKids, go check all the other great posts for ideas for days out

Searching for Shipwrecks

My mum has been visiting for the weekend and as the weather has been nice we decided to go for a walk with Baby M.

The Fylde Coast has become a little bit of a ship graveyard - the first shipwreck was the Travers in 1755 and the last was the MS Riverdance in 2008. 

The beach where we live is beautiful and clear.  Great for families

Further along the beach there is a memorial to all the ships that have run a ground along the coast.  As you can see here is a long list!

Down the side of the memorial is a list which is easier to read

When you peer through the hole in the memorial and the tide is out you can see the shipwreck of the Abana.

The Abana was a Norwegian ship that in 1894 was traveling from Liverpool to Florida when it got caught in the storm.  The ship thought the recently built Blackpool Tower was a lighthouse and wrecked on the beach.

The shipwreck can be seen in the distance.

I've walked past this lots of times but I didn't know the story behind the wreck.  I remember the MS Riverdance ferry running a ground and being on the news - I hadn't moved to the area at that time.  I also didn't realise there had been so many shipwrecks in such a small area! Nowadays the only ships you really see are the Heysham-Isle of Man ferry. 

I want Baby M to know there is a lot of history and interest in the area.


I've linked this post with Coombe Mill #CountryKids, please go and check out other posts about great days out!