Cantering

A milestone for Jenny today, her first canter!  Thank you Jane and Pancake for this special moment.

Rutting

It's that time of year when things start to get exciting at Knole park.  The rut is just beginning and this big guy is grunting away and flashing his antlers.  He has very little competition from rivals at the moment, a couple of young stags ventured into his patch but were quickly sent packing.  It's pretty special to see wildlife like this at such close quarters, and on our doorstep too.  And with plenty of trees to climb and places to hide, it was a great afternoon out with the family.

Fishing

Yesterday we introduced the cousins to the joys of fishing, which proved to be more exciting that you might think.  We learned how to prepare the bait, reel in a fish, release the hook from its mouth and return it to the lake to be caught another day.  All the children caught fish, and Bethan had caught four before anyone else had got a look in.  It was all the more pleasing for having multi coloured maggots as bait!

Jurassic Coast Part Two

Part two of the Jurassic adventure began with the annual Edwards family weekend, held for the first time in Dorset, and attended for the first time by the Canadian branch of the family.  We wined and dined at Coastguard Cottage, The New Inn and Battingham Palace, exploring Worbarrow Bay and Durdle Door.  After bidding our farewells to the extended family, we visited some old haunts, Shell Bay, Kimmeridge Bay, Charmouth, Tyneham and Corfe Castle.  Thank you Edwardses and Whites for a great holiday!

More adventures from Coastguard Cottage

We were delighted to return for the fourth time to our beloved Coastguard Cottage for more epic adventures on the jurassic coast.  In our first week we were joined by Biddy and Butler Burgess, and the Davey clan for adventures at Worbarrow Bay, Shell Bay, Corfe Castle and Brownsea Island, not to mention numerous games of croquet, cricket and frisbee played on the lawn of our beautiful Dorset retreat.  Thank you Burgesses and Daveys for a fantastic holiday!

Scout Camp July 2015

Tobogganing and snow tubing

Home alone this weekend, we headed to the ski slopes in search of fun.  It just so happened that Charlie's Dad was also away for the weekend so we joined forces for a fatherless Fathers' Day.  As we loaded up into the land rover to head home, Charlie declared he was going to tell his mum to "get her butt over here".  I think that means they had fun! 

Spectre

After a tip off from a friend at a barn dance, we drove up to London on Sunday night to witness the filming of the new James Bond film 'Spectre'.  We were not disappointed! As soon as we approached Vauxhall bridge we were confronted with a couple of low flying helicopters just above our heads.  We parked outside MI5 (as you do), and spent the evening watching Blofeld's helicopter speeding along the Thames hotly pursued by the film crew in a slightly less evil looking helicopter.  We even saw Daniel Craig in a speedboat firing a few gun shots at nothing in particular (I'm guessing they will 'photoshop' the baddy in later?!).  Nice flying Blofeld aka Gary Butcher, and thanks for the tip off - this is has been our best date night for some time!  

Bike riding at Bedgebury

This was our first bike riding trip to Bedgebury.  We enjoyed a stunning 9km cycle ride on a gently undulating track through beautiful woodland, even spotting a deer at one point. The day concluded with the obligatory playground stops along the exit route, followed by ice cream before loading up the land rover to head home.  A lovely family day out.

Bodiam

Bodiam is one of those places that we never tire of.  There are always larks to be had, towers to be climbed, swords to be clashed, and grandparents to be fleeced in the gift shop.  It's allure is timeless and we will doubtless be back here several times before the summer is out.  

Les Barries

We spend this weekend in the fine company of the Barrys of Bath.  With gloriously sunny weather we barely set foot indoors, and today was mostly spent shooting things.  The casualties were half a dozen flower pots, a couple of plant labels, some fake bunnies and a plastic fork.

A stunning performance from James at 25 metres, this boy barely missed a shot, thanks to Christopher's expert tuition.

Space hoppering

The good old 1970s space hopper was enjoying something of a revival at the May fair this weekend.  An enjoyable day in which we space hopped, raced eggs on spoons, country danced, and returned home laden with coconuts.