It was our last two days in Northumberland. Today though it was forecast storms in Kielder Forest so we thought we'd go and take the kids somewhere fun indoors.
We found a trampoline park near Newcastle so took a short drive there. Coffee stop for parents and much loved fun for the kids. Afterwards we grabbed some lunch in Newcastle and had a mooch about. However the children were not on their best behaviour since that excitement, instead of being tired and chilled they were wound up and needed the forest again, not a busy town centre, so we didn't stay that much longer after lunch. I don't feel I even touched the surface with Newcastle, and would like to return as a couple for some fun.
Our last day we went back to Kielder Water, this time I had hired a boat for us to explore the water from a different perspective. The kids both enjoyed swapping places to help drive with Daddy.
There is a lot to do around Kielder Water, there is the Water and Forest Park that hosts many adventure activities, it also has an osprey bird park, which I did want to go to yesterday but given the forecast we had a last minute change of plan.
That evening we took an early dinner at our favourite pub. I say favourite as due to terrible midgie situation we felt the need to eat out more than we had planned, and once we found this awesome pub, The Pheasant Inn, and there was nowhere we would rather be. It really is a fantastic pub that also has rooms, its a definite bolt-hole with superb menu and such a cosy feel. I'd love to come back in Winter.
After packing up early we set off homeward bound. This time as a treat I had booked us in a hotel in York as a stop over to break up the journey home. I picked York as it is home of the vikings and my eldest has been studying this year and there is the Jorvik Museum in York that we went to visit. The museum has an fairground ride around an interactive display that gives off the whiff of a viking settlement (it pongs!).
York is surrounded by walls dating back to being a Roman defence. Many of which are still in tact that you can walk on to get to around the city. Our hotel we stayed at were near the walls so we took to them to get to the part of the city we wanted to reach, which is a novel way of navigating a city.
For lunch we found a really funky establishment called SPARK that housed pop up street food in shipping containers, and you could order from any one of them and the food is delivered to you on benches, so everyone is happy and catered for. What a great idea!
Next is the bit I love about York; Shopping. mooching around the shops and stopping for drinks on the cobbled streets is great fun especially after taking the kids into a board game specialist shop to spend their holiday money; which also couples up as entertainment, when adults want some refreshments. Of course I had to take the kids to the Shambles which now prides itself as the inspiration of 'Diagon Ally' in the Harry Potter series.
We stayed in the StayCity Hotel in York, which provided everything we needed for a one night stopover. It has a secure parking space, so our beloved Bolan was safe while we deserted him for a night. Another awesome summer holiday for us but after 2 weeks away we are excited to go back to our house.
