Although I didn't have the whole of the holidays off with him I managed to get an odd few days and have really enjoyed spending some quality time as a family, keeping Elizabeth off nursery too. We have done some crafting, played games, watched movies and become (according to Ben) expert chefs, baking everything from cookies and cakes to bread.
However, apart from one drizzly trip to Delamere forest on New Year's Eve, the weather has mostly confined us indoors. So yesterday morning after tearing ourselves away from CITV's 'Old Skool' weekend we were delighted to see blue skies and immediately decided on a lovely family walk.
Considering we live just a 15 minute bus ride from Manchester City Centre we are really fortunate to be spoilt for choice when it comes to places to explore the outdoors. We have a traditional swing park at the end of our road with fields for playing football and hilly paths perfect for scooting down! Just a little further we have Prestwich Clough Forest Park, filled with trees, wildlife and picturesque streams as well as some adorable carved wooden animals hidden amongst the foliage which are very fun to spot. Venturing through the Clough we then have Phillips Park, which has so much to offer from it's adventure playground to it's orchard and community fruit garden tended by Incredible Edible Prestwich and District and vast greenery, ideal for bike rides, dog walkers or little explorers
Believe it or not, this is not all, if we walk in the other direct from our house, within ten minutes we are at Heaton Park, one of the largest Municipal parks in Europe and the reason I agreed to make our family home in Prestwich 6 years ago (it was my husband's home town).
I could write pages and pages about Heaton Park as I have had so many special memories from within the grounds, one of the most significant being my wedding day nearly four years ago. But I will leave that for another post.
Yesterday we had a lovely walk around, the children tired themselves out playing on the grass, hiding behind the trees and chasing each other down the paths. Elizabeth then decided that she would have a rest on Daddy's shoulders while Ben and I went to get ice cream (Yes - Ice Cream in January!) We watched the ducks and geese on the lake, waving to the donkeys in the field and then to the colourful land train. I had a play with my phone taking some photos. Even though they were taken just on my iphone, I got some beautiful shots and both my Silent Sunday Post for this week and yesterdays #365 photo were among them.
Here are some more...
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