Muddy Puddles #bargainoftheweek!

If you read the blog often you will know that we are a family that love the outdoors! My husband is a Scout leader, we regularly go on family camping trips and enjoy days out in the countryside! We are National Trust Members and Forestry Commission Ambassadors.

All these adventures mean that the whole family needs to be kitted out in suitable outdoor clothing and that can get expensive! Last week a friend told me about the sale at www.muddypuddles.com  and I am so pleased she did! With up to 70% off children's outdoor wear I couldn't resist filling up my basket and I was thrilled to find when getting to check out that 2 x Fleeces, 2 x fleece lined waterproof pants, a funky skort, a fleece hat AND four pairs of socks came to just £40.50!! Delivery was £3.95, as you will know I usually HATE to pay delivery charges, however as this was my first order I signed up to their newsletter and was sent a code for £5 off which more that covered the delivery charge! So for less than £40 I had kitted both my children out for outdoor adventures! 

One thing to mention is that I'd read on social media about the sizing being a bit small so I bought a size up from what I would usually in both the fleeces and the trousers!

So my bargain buys included:

Cosy Cranberry Fleece £6
Cosy Star Fleece £6
Reversible Trousers Navy £8
Reversible Trousers Pink £8
Reversible Fleece hat £3.50
Girls spotty Cotton Skort £6.00
Cozy Socks (2 pack) Aqua £1.50
Cozy Socks (2 pack) Red £1.50

Delivery £3.95

First order discount £5

Total £39.45!!

The order arrived in just under a week and of course we had to go and try it out! So off we went to Delamere forest to try out our muddy puddles bargains by jumping in lots of Muddy Puddles!

Here's an action clip...

Even after all that mud the clothes have washed well and are ready for our next adventure!

If you fancy grabbing some bargains to kits out your kids in funky outdoor style you'll be pleased to know the sale is still on and until Monday there is FREE delivery if you spend over £40! Don't forget to sign up to the newsletter to get £5 off your first order too!

If you've blogged about any bargain buys this week please do link up below and I'll come and check them out...



Disclaimer: I paid for these items myself and was not asked to write this post, I just wanted to share some great bargains with you!

Exlporing Nature whatever the weather! #weloveforests

As you will know we love to get outside and play in the fresh air, so after spending quite a lot of time indoors over the festive period due to all of us being  poorly, we decided to have a break from watching movies and playing Car's Monopoly or Junior Scrabble and blow away those cobwebs with an adventure in the forest! So on the Saturday morning after Christmas we had an early start and made the 40 minute drive to Delamere Forest in Cheshire.

I grew up in Merseyside and have many fond memories of days out at Delamere, from running around playing chase with my cousins in summer months to lovely forest walks hunting for pinecones in the Autumn and of course going to choose our Christmas Tree in their winter wonderland in December!

We had visited Delamere with Ben when he was quite a bit younger but this would be Elizabeth's first adventure in the Cheshire woodland!

We timed it well and arrived at the Linmore Visitors Centre just as the cafe was opening! So we went inside to order breakfast and some hot drinks to warm us up and give us some energy for the day's adventures!

The cafe serves local food at reasonable prices and has a lovely rustic feel to it, a really nice start to our day out.





After filling our tummies we wrapped back up in our scarves and coats and set out on a walk in to the forest. There's been quite heavy rain over the previous few days and some of the forest had experienced flooding so  we were advised against walking up Old Pale Hill, which was a shame as I remember some pretty amazing views, but to be honest we probably wouldn't have seen much with the weather the way it was.

 

Despite the rain we were still able to have a lovely walk around the forest and we had some great adventures, from splashing in enormous muddy puddles (which both Ben and Elizabeth though was hilarious) and meeting some cows, to becoming detectives and having a 'treasure hunt', spotting different types of trees with the help of the Forestry Commision's Free Fantastic Forests booklets, which gave us some great 'clues' to look out for!

Big outdoor spaces like Delamere are ideal for budget days out with young children, whatever the weather, as long as you wrap up warm and pop on your wellies there's plenty to do all year round! Open every day and the only costs are car parking and if you want to buy food and drink (you could always bring a picnic and a flask to save even more!) You can also purchase a Discovery Pass which as well as supporting your local forest, will give you free parking for a year and discounts on food during the week.



As for activities, for older children Delemere has Go Ape, cycling trails and cycle hire and an orienteering course so plenty to keep them active. With younger children the only limits are their imagination! From playing detectives to treasure hunts, collecting leaves and spotting trees, building mini homes for their wildlife friends or even playing 'leaf snap' with siblings, there is much to discover, not to mention just running around in the fresh air or jumping in muddy puddles!

We had a lovely morning out that certainly blew away those cobwebs and felt really refreshing after being stuck indoors for a while, we can't wait for our next visit to the forest! Where's your favourite place for outdoor fun?

We were sent one year's discovery pass in exchance for a post about our visit but all opinions our are own.

I've linked this post up with #Countrykids over at Coombe Mill , click the badge below to check out more outdoor adventures...