We recently enjoyed Sunderland's Christmas trail, after taking part in the monster trail over Halloween we were excited to give this one a go to.
We downloaded the 'Sunderland Experience' app which gave us a map that lead us to several very pretty Christmas art installations along with some augmented reality characters.
The trail is here until the 3rd of January so you have plenty of time to take part. Although you can enjoy it at any time of the day we would definitely recommend going in the evening, as the installation are very pretty all lit up and Sunderland Christmas lights really do enhance the experience.
Our kids really enjoyed this trail and were excited to collect all the characters on the map. Its definitely another fun way to still get out and about.
For more local Christmas trails and activities visit:
We had a lovely visit to Raby Castle's grounds and gardens today. Unfortunately, the castle itself is closed at present due to covid restriction but that doesn't stop you admiring it form the beautiful grounds.
On arrival there is a cafe (open for takeaway) and also a food kiosk with some amazing looking cakes on offers, as well as very well kept toilet facilities. At the moment, there are also fresh cut Christmas trees available to purchase. The smell of these is amazing.
The castle grounds are immense and you have the option to stick to the paths or walk on the grass. We definitely preferred walking along the grass as we were able to get a bit closer (but not to close as it is rutting season) to the many deer that call the castle grounds home. The deer were amazing and we even got to witness two bucks jostling for superiority. Our children were fascinated by this.
Raby Castle itself looks absolutely magical. We enjoyed walking around it and peering through the gates. We can't wait to return when it is allowed to open and have a really good explore.
Before we left, we visited the large woodland play area. This had lots of different elements including a zip line, obstacle course, climbing ropes and monkey bars. These facilities would suit a variety of ages.
The whole day was lovely from start to finish. We have to say the staff are so friendly, from the car park attendants to the greeters which will added to the enjoyment of our day.
Pre-booking is essential, You can use the link below. At time of posting, admission is only £11 for a family of 5 which really is amazing value for money.
We wanted to share some photos of this year's amazing Fenwicks window with you. This year's theme is the Wind in the Willows and it is wonderful!
You can visit the window everyday until 8pm. It's a little bit different this year. Santa's Elves are there to greet you at the start and end of window, there is sanitiser available and only one family bubble per window is allowed. This actually made the experience alot better in our opinion as there were no crowds at each window and we didn't feel rushed to move along at all.
The virtual unveil can be seen on the below link too if you don't/can't visit in person this year
Today we enjoyed a lovely afternoon in Tynemouth and Whitley Bay searching for Snowmen and Snowdogs.
The trail is in support of St Oswald's hospital and you can take part from now until the end of January.
There are 20 Christmas themed sculptures to find throughout North Tyneside. You can find the location of each one on the app ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.nebulalabs.SnowdogsNTC.Snowdogs ) and you can also track your progress on it to. The app is very user friendly and our children really enjoying using it and learning about the different sculptures and the artists behind them.
The trail is running until the end of January so there is plenty of time to find all 20. We plan on spreading it out over a few weekends to allow us to get out and about in a fun way.
Alot of the usual festive traditions may be different this year but you can still treat the kids to a personalised letter from Santa for just £3.50 instead of the usual £4.99 with the offer below:
For £4.99 (£3.50 with this offer) your child will receive a personalised letter from santa, certificate of goodness, a Christmas door hanger as well as a bamboozling Santa word search and colouring in picture for lots of entertainment. Sent in a full colour Christmas envelope with personalised colours to suit each child.
Daisy Dukes Drive in Cinema looks like alot of fun for a Christmas treat. Santa & his Elves will be there at all screenings plus themed characters at certain screenings, they are offering a full Christmas themed food menu along with traditional Cinema style food.
There are various locations for the drive in Cinema including Sunderland this December! (Follow this link for priority access to Sunderland tickets
https://mailchi.mp/1d491c355391/dd-uk-tour )
"Expect classic Christmas Movies screened on the worlds biggest screens!"
I know some of you have been awaiting information from the North Pole Express at Tanfield Railway. Here is all the new information from them.
"North Pole Express 2020 tickets will go on sale at 7PM THIS FRIDAY.
To help manage demand, our website will utilise a queuing system, once in this queue you will be informed of your place and a estimated time to get to the booking page.
Tickets cost £70 per compartment for 4 people (over the age of 1) per compartment, from the same household/support bubble. An additional 2 people can be booked from the same household/support bubble for £16 per person. The ticket price includes:
❄️A reserved compartment for 4 people of the same household/support bubble. (Additional 2 people from the same support bubble/household can be purchased for £16 per person).
❄️Traditional steam train journey from East Tanfield to the North Pole and return.
❄️All children will receive a North Pole Express passport.
❄️The opportunity to meet Santa Claus in his specially built Grotto at the North Pole – children will receive a gift.
❄️Complimentary refreshments for all the family at the North Pole.
❄️A North Pole Express bell for every child for their Christmas tree at home."
We're very excited about this post and we think you will be too.
The Snowman and The Snowdog trail is coming to North Tyneside on Saturday 14th November and will stay until the end of January 2021. This should be the perfect family outdoor activity to do during lockdown.
The trail will comprise of 20 sculptures placed around North Tyneside for you to find using the downloadable interactive app.
Fenwick Window marks the start of Christmas for alot of us here in the North East and this year we can still enjoy the unveiling safely in a virtual format.
"Pop-on your favourite jumper, pour a festive tipple, and watch the reveal live on our Fenwick Newcastle Facebook Page from 6.45pm on Sunday 8th November. Be sure to like the page and turn on notifications to be amongst the first to see the curtain fall.
Tune in from 6.45pm to enjoy festive magic, a look into the creative process, insider interviews with our talented Fenwick window team, mischievous elves, plus an appearance from Santa on the roof before we unveil our much-anticipated 2020 theme.”
A couple of days ago we let you know about the fantastic Ninja Warrior course in Stoke. Well we teamed this up with the absolutely brilliant Alton Towers over Halloween weekend for their Scarefest.
Alton Towers is a family favourite for many and it's easy to see why. There are rides for everyone. Cbeebies land for the little ones, Pirates bay and Haunted Hollow for the slightly older kids and of course the many thrill rides like Oblivion, Wickerman and Nemesis.
Safety in light of the Covid pandemic was paramount. One way routes and sanitiser stations were in place throughout the park. Rides were regularly closed for cleaning (although this did add to the wait times, especially the bigger rides like Thirteen).
The highlight of the scarefest were the numerous scare mazes which were enjoyed by alot of costumed guests. The mazes are broken up into different age categories so you can be sure they are as scary as needed. No photos were taken during this section to keep the surprises fresh.
Overall a very enjoyable weekend and one we will definitely be repeating. Alton Towers has events throughout the year (a Christmas event was being advertised whilst we were there) and if they are of the same standard as Scarefest then they will definitely be worthwhile looking into.
For the Halloween weekend, we have planned a trip down to Staffordshire. As part of this trip we visited Ninja Warrior UK in Stoke.
This is a fantastic mixed aged course that we all enjoyed. The smaller course (which is still more than challening for adults) comprises of some classic Ninja Warrior obstacles including versions of dancing stones, flywheel and of course a mini warped wall. We spent the most time on this side of the arena as this is the course with the most obstacles.
The adults course includes duplicate obstacles from the younger course but at a greater height and difficulty. Our children like a challenge and this provided just that. This course includes the jumping steps, spiderclimb and hanging doors to name a few. It's ideal to run as a competition as it has 2 lanes side by side which concludes with a full sized warped wall.
Ninja Warrior courses tend to favour upper body strength and although there are alot of obstacles based around this, there are also alot of balance and agility obstacles as well so every ability level is catered for.
In terms of saftey, all the obstacles have a padded landing incase you fall. The, now standard, sanitiser stations are at the front of the course and dotted through the arena. There are staff members throughout the arena which offer advice and morale support.
The arena has a cafe on site (although we arrived for the last entry slot so the cafe was closed by the time we arrived), plenty of parking and arcade games.
We seen a wide range of different ages using the course and the arena advertises children from the ages of 4 onwards can use the facilities.
We would strongly recommend a visit and this can be teamed up with other local facilities to make the perfect thrill seeking weekend. Watch this space for more ideas on what esle to do in this lovely area of England.
