Planet Circus OMG 2022

😊🎪Planet Circus OMG is back in the North East!🎪😊 

There 2022 performance is described as Sensational, Magnificent, & Spectacular 🤩 

We will be attending a show at a later date, so check back for our full review.

If you want to book your tickets, you can use the links below 👇 

Gateshead Tickets 

Rainton Arena Tickets 

South Shields Tickets 

Durham - The Sands Tickets 

Darlington Tickets./ 

Harrogate Tickets

Falling Foss Waterfall

Hi Everyone,

We had a lovely trip to Falling Foss Waterfall at the weekend. We came across the waterfall while traveling to Whitby. 

The waterfall is set within a beautiful forest complete with a very lovely tea room with lots of outdoor forest seating. There is free parking available but also additional parking available in a farmer's field for £3 if the forest parking is full.

There are two routes to get to the bottom of the waterfall, one fairly flat winding path and another more adventurous route. We decided mainly due to our very excited 9 year old to take the more challenging route.

This route is quite steep and requires some climbing over branches etc so more suitable for older kids. We all managed it ok but it was hard work.There is a handy rope to hang on to on the way down but if you attempt this way make sure you are prepared as we would imagine it would be very hard to climb back up.

The route back was longer but much easier and we were really able to enjoy the beauty of the forest and have a good explore. Just to note both routes require walking over stepping stones which the kids loved but we would recommend bringing extra socks just in case of a misstep. 

Falling Foss is well worth a visit as it is simply beautiful and makes for a lovely day out.

Nerd Fest

Hi Everyone,

Last week saw the return of NERD Fest in Newcastle. We want to say a massive congratulations to the guys behind Nerd Fest for hosting such an amazing event, filled with games, cosplay, merch and characters. It's such a fun day out for kids and adults alike.

Our Competition winner Kirstie Banks and her family have told us they had a fantastic time and sent us some brilliant photos of the day.

Don't worry if you missed this one as Fright Fest will be here on 9th October and do check out Nerd Arcade to keep up to date with all things geeky and get your retro gaming fix in the mean time.

Exhibition Park - Born Free Display

Hi Everyone,

The born free forever display at Exhibition Park is wonderful. We would definitely recommend a visit to see them if you haven't been yet.

Exhibition Park also has lots of play areas suitable for a variety of ages and a very nice cafe right next to the main play park. 

We took a stroll around the lake on our visit and did so at the perfect time as two swans were swapping egg sitting duties, meaning we were able to have a lovely view of the nest. A really special moment that was fantastic to watch.

Alnwick Gardens

Hi Everyone,

We had the most wonderful day at The Alnwick Garden and we were lucky enough to time our visit to coincide with the blossom trees being in full bloom. 

The garden is stunning and there are so many areas to explore, the addition of the animals from around the world was lovely and not one looked out of place. It was really nice spotting them all.

We to have say that our tour guide Trevor was absolutely wonderful. He showed us around the poison garden, he was very knowledgeable and was so funny he really kept us all entertained.

The gardens have a lovely pavilion with lots of tables, and a very nice restaurant as well as desert and a Pimm's trucks dotted about.

The star of the garden is the wonderful cascading water fountain that sits proudly front and centre when you walk in. The jets are not only specular but bring so much joy to the kids (and adults) who run through them.

It's such a peaceful place to visit and just amazing for adults and children alike. 

Free Bus Travel for Kids

Hi Everyone,

We got a lovely surprise when we went on the bus yesterday. Upto 3 children under 11 travel for FREE on buses until 7th May with a fare paying adult. We're hoping this deal sticks around the same as it has on the metro and Shields ferry as it really does make a difference to the cost of your journey, especially if you have more than one child.

You can take advantage of this throughout Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and Durham on Arriva North East, Go North East and Stagecoach North East buses.

Mother Shiptons

Hi Everyone,

We visited Mother Shiptons Easter Adventure yesterday which is running everyday until 24th April.

It's a beautiful place with a very large adventure play area, cave, waterfall, petrifying well, museum, shop, refreshment vans and plenty of picnic tables.

The Easter Adventure was amazing, the kids were giving a trail to follow and the attention to detail was second to none. There were so many things to see and explore. The photo opportunities were amazing. They have put selfie stations next to all the attractions making it perfect for capturing those precious family memories without missing one of the family out of the photos.

The story of Mother Shipton is a fascinating one and you can read all about her as you make your way around the park. The waterfall and petryfing well are really quirky and we enjoyed exploring the museum to learn more.

You are allowed two and a half hours to explore and that would be our only grumble as it was such a lovely day, we could have happily stayed longer but it is ample time to see and do everything within the park. We had a really lovely day and we are looking forward to their future events. We imagine Halloween especially at Mother Shiptons Cave would be amazing.

There are still tickets available for the Easter Adventure. For booking and more info please visit:

https://www.mothershipton.co.uk/

#presstrip #mothershiptonscave #mothershipton #york #knaresborough #easter #easteradventure #photoop #selfie #familyphoto #eastertreat #makingmemories #familytime #notboredoutdoors

Mamas Pizza Edinburgh

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to give a quick review of Mamma's Edinburgh. This is a wonderful American style Pizza restaurant and they really know what they're doing. The pizzas are absolutely delicious, the decour is really fun and quirky, the staff are very friendly and is situated in the heart of the Grassmarket so perfect for shopping and exploring the city.

Best of all for us was the fact that they are brilliant at gluten free. Our coeliac daughter, who is very picky about her pizzas said it was the best pizza she had ever tasted, high praise indeed! It's so nice to be able to eat as a family and not have to worry about if our daughter's food is safe and most importantly for her not to feel different or have less of a choice. So well done Mamma's we can't wait to come back.

#mammas #mammasedinburgh #pizza #coeliac #glutenfree #delicious #grassmarketedinburgh #edinburgh #familytime #makingmemories #worryfree #notboredoutdoors

Vue Cinema

Hi Everyone,

We love going to the cinema and VUE Gateshead is definitely our favourite. Standard tickets cost just £4.99 with the option to upgrade to regular for £5.99 or VIP £6.99, which is very reasonable. VUE also accepts meerkat movie vouchers (buy one get one free on Tues and Weds). Our favourite screen is VUE extreme which has no additional charge and is absolutely massive. You feel like you're in the movie when watching.

VUE is really easy to get to as it's situated in Trinity Square so plenty of buses and the metro stops within a two minute walk from the cinema. You can also park for free for up to 5 hours when you go to the cinema.

There's lots of fab movies out at the minute including Sonic 2 and the Secrets of Dumbledore released this week so perfect for a treat in the Easter holidays. 

#vue #vuegateshead #trinitysquare #brilliantvalueformoney #supersaverseats #vueextreme #cinema #familytime #getlostinamovie #sweets #popcorn #notboredoutdoors

Holiday Inn

Hi Everyone,

With more people choosing to holiday in the UK we thought we would tell you about one of absolute favourite hotel chains to stay in as a family. The good old Holiday Inn. We have stayed in various Holiday Inns all over the UK and have never had a bad experience. 

They are very affordable and you can often get a good deal or discount especially with IHG rewards club. What we love is the hotels are always very clean and look stylish, they also usually have two double beds in family rooms rather than a rickety sofa or camp beds. This is a massive plus for us as there's no arguing and everyone gets a good night's sleep. On the topic of sleep the beds are so comfy, genuinely had one of the best night's sleep we've ever had last weekend.

They have lovely restaurants and our coeliac daughter has always been well catered for which gets them extra brownie points from us. 

It's definitely one of our favourite chains for quick get aways or longer stays. Most have free parking and the larger hotels often have pools and are very geared up to families. 

We've included some photos from our recent stay in Edinburgh's Holiday Inn Express Edinburgh City West.

#holidayinn #holidayinnexpress #queensferry #edinburgh #greatforfamilies #greatforcoeliacs #glutenfreeoptions #comfybeds #affordable #stylish #friendly #feelathome #staycation #expolretheUK #notboredoutdoors

Edinburgh Castle

Hi Everyone,

We went to Edinburgh Castle on the most gloriously sunny day, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and and it felt like we were abroad. We definitely hit the weather jackpot.

The amazing benefit of this lovely weather was that the views from the castle which are always very spectacular were just breathtakingly beautiful. We could see for miles. The castle has various vantage points so you are able to get full 360 degree views and we really enjoyed this, we spent a lot of time just looking out and seeing what places etc we could spot. It's worth visiting just for the views.

There is a whole host more to enjoy at the castle, and all are areas are so well kept and preserved, it was fascinating exploring it all. The areas include The Great Hall,

St Margaret’s Chapel, Mons Meg

One o’Clock Gun (well worth watching this, it's very impressive), Palace Apartments,

Prisons of War exhibition,

Honours of Scotland (Crown Jewels & Stone of Destiny),

Scottish National War Memorial,

National War Museum, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Museum along with a lovely tea room and shops.

We had a lovely few hours at Edinburgh Castle and it definitely enhanced our trip.

#edinburghcastle #edinburgh #views #viewsofthecity #cameraready #history #oneoclockgunedinburghcastle #panoramicview #familytime #makingmemories #notboredoutdoors #visitscotland

Rail Card

Hi Everyone,

With the Easter holidays fast approaching we just wanted to share our experience of using a friends and family rail card. These cards reduce the price of train tickets by around 33% allowing for some fantastic deals. 

Our recent trip to Edinburgh cost just under £40 for our family of 4, which we thought was great value. You can also get discounted bus travel at your chosen destination with the plus bus option, which we made very good use of.

The family and friends rail card lasts a full year and costs £30 (can use Tesco clubcard points if you have them) so after a couple of trips it pays for itself. You can travel to any destination and if you play about with the dates and times you can find some excellent deals. 

We also use the LNER app as you can get lots of discounts and cashback to spend on future travel making it even cheaper.

We really do love train journeys, it always feels more of an adventure than going by car and it's nice to just sit back and relax while traveling. We personally enjoy a good old fashioned game of cards and snacks on our journeys. We have to say the Lumo and Azuma trains we travelled on were fantastic, on time, no issues, very clean with friendly staff. We couldn't fault them.

*Photo of a trip for a family of 4 to York from Newcastle with and without a rail card as an example of savings*

#trains #LNER #Lumo #Azuma #railcard #friendsandfamily #discounts #relax #adventure #PlusBus #pertectfortheholidays #notboredoutdoors

The Ghost Bus Edinburgh

Hi Everyone,

We had a terrifyingly fun ride on the Ghost Bus this weekend in Edinburgh. This is something we have wanted to do for years but always thought it may be a bit too scary for the kids, however this ghost bus is absolutely perfect for families as it's very silly and not too scary.

The tour itself is around an hour and the wonderfully atmospheric ghost bus complete with lamps and velvet curtains, takes you round some of Edinburgh's most haunted sights, including a walk through a spooky cemetery. 

The tour is led by the conductor who is very funny and engaging and has a good historical knowledge of Edinburgh, along with his driver Angus. It's a perfect mix of fun, facts and frights.

There are a couple of scary moments on the bus so if you are your child is very sensitive to scares you may want to be more cautious but it is more silly than scary and the children on our tour were all laughing and seemed to be loving it, we know our girls definitely were.

It was a very fun hour and definitely a tour we would do again. The Ghost Bus Tours run in York and London as well as Edinburgh so we will definitely be checking them out.

#theghostbustours #tourwithadifference #scares #laughs #familyfun #darkside #edinburgh #angusthedriver #thewheelsonthebus #makingmemories #notboredoutdoors #grassmarket