More adventures with Sam Bear

And finally, just after lunch, the rain stops!  Probably not for long, but long enough for us to spend a glorious afternoon climbing trees, spectacluarly falling out of a tree (James only, and thankfully uninjured), making grass trumpets,

jumping in puddles, playing hide and seek with left over easter eggs, hunting for bluebells, den building in the woods and playing an uncommonly fast game of pooh sticks.  The national trust would be proud.

Chislehurst Caves

Rain, rain, rain and more rain.  So where better to head than underground!  We took a trip to Chislehurst Caves with Brian, Marita, Amelia and Ava, and also Sam, James's teacher's teddy bear who we are looking after this weekend.  It was quite scary with just oil lamps to guide our way through the dark, ancient passageways, but we made it to the end without getting lost or attacked by ghosts.  Amazingly 15,000 people lived in these caves during second world war to escape the blitz.  Hats off to them, none of us fancied stopping the night...

Brands Hatch

Happy birthday Helen and thanks for a grand day out at Brands Hatch.  This is Legend racing.  After one car rolled multiple times and the driver walked himself to the medical centre the commentator described these cars as four wheels and a roll cage.  Awesome!

Bluebells

The bluebells are out, and Maisie and I are taking every opportunity we get to admire them.  This was on the big wood walk this morning.  And they're not even at their best yet.

Allan's Farm

Yesterday we visited Jon, Clea and Oscar at Allan's Farm.  The girls (big and small) were treated to a ride on this beautiful bay mare, Seren.  At sixteen hands, Seren made our Jennifer look like a pea on a drum.   

Molly was smiling from ear to ear as she was lead up and down the farm track.  Meanwhile the boys and Jenny went looking for trouble in the long grass.  What a lovely day, hope to visit you at Allan's farm again soon.

Noah's Ark Farm

We caught up with the Daveys this weekend, and on Friday spent a lovely day at Noah's Ark Zoo, where we saw rhino, zebra, giraffe, lions, tigers, but the best bit for the kids was feeding the goats and splashing in the water. 

Glen Affric

We have just spent a glorious three days playing Laird and Lady Burgess of Affric Lodge, here in what must be one of the most beautiful places in the world, with some of the most beautiful people in the world, my family. Happy birthday Claire, and a huge thank you for inviting us here.

View of Loch Affric

Falls along Allt Garbh
At the end of a circular walk taking in Dog Falls

The extended Edwards Clan, awaiting the haggis!

Free wheeling

After yesterday's bike ride James asked us to remove his stabilisers.  With the help of his hero Christopher, he is now freewheeling happily around the garden.  There is no stopping this boy now.