Ben and Holly Magical Playground Playsets – Review

Ben & Holly Magical Playground Playsets are cute little playground rides, each set upon a leaf, that connect up together to form one large playground.  You can get a slide, swings or roundabout.  We were sent two of the playground sets to try out.

ben and holly 1Each set comes with the playground ride and a Holly figure.  The two sets easily clicked together with a connecting bit on each leaf.  The playsets are made of a strong durable plastic and the smaller parts on top are made from a more rubberised flexible plastic to ensure they won’t break.

ben and holly 2Each set has a play ride and a toadstool to add detail.  The roundabout consists of three leafy seats with two little prongs which fit into small holes in the bottom of the figures feet, although this was a little fiddly to do.   You can then spin the roundabout around so the figures can enjoy the ride.

There are two swings and the figures just slot in the seats and if you push them down enough their feet go under a bar that holds them securely and then you can swing them backwards and forwards.

Ben and Holly 3My two both loved playing with these and have always had a soft spot for Ben & Holly as we have books and dvd’s of the series.  Mister B loves little characters and as well as taking the Holly figures to the park they also went for a ride on his tractors!  Miss M enjoyed them although she is at the older end of the spectrum.  I’d say these are best suited for 3-6 year olds and would make a great addition to any other figure playsets they may have.

It’s great that you can buy the park pieces and mix and match with as few or as many as you want.  I think any little Ben &Holly fan would love these!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the playsets in order to write the review.

A family day out to Escot

Last week we decided to have a family day out at Escot, somewhere I’d come across on the internet before the summer when researching places to visit for days out during the summer holidays.  The thing that attracted me to visit was the Amazing Maze built using over 4000 Beech plants.  Alongside is a woodland full of of exciting things to find and do.

escot 14When we arrived we headed straight for the maze, and the children were full of excitement as they ran around the hedge lined paths, twisting and turning while mummy and daddy chased after them.  After about half an hour they slowed down and let us take the lead as we attempted to logically think about which way to go, it felt like we were going around in circles but after about 50 minutes of wandering, we finally made it to the centre where we could admire the view and then take a bridge back outside of the maze.

escot 13Around the corner from the maze we found a pond full of busy little otters eagerly awaiting feeding time. They were dipping in and out of the water faster than you could take a picture but I managed to catch a couple of them.  We also saw some chickens including some rather cute little fluffy ones!

escot 16We then decided to follow the path through the woodland and the first thing we came across was a huge fallen tree, Miss M immediately took lead and began to climb up!

escot 10Across from the fallen tree was a huge picture frame, perfect for striking a pose!

escot 11There were also various obstacle courses and climbing frames littered among the woodland that the children were delighted to find and enjoyed the challenge of climbing, balancing and sliding on.  We did find a huge enclosed drop slide at the back of the woods that Miss M bravely ventured down and loved, although she was coming down at such speed I couldn’t get a decent photo of her in motion!

escot 12Mister B enjoyed the various animals we came across, such as a Wild Boar enclosure where we saw the cutest litter of baby boars trundling around after their mummy!  There were also lots of birds of prey and we sat and watched a display where they came swooping down brushing across the tops of our heads!

escot 7The red squirrel cage kept us amused for a while as they darted up and down and across tunnels then stopping momentarily while their beady eyes checked us out.

With trains to climb aboard, tunnels to crawl through, this was certainly a woodland walk with a difference.  Which ever way you turned, hiding behind the next set of trees was something to do.

escot 6I loved this hand built cannon that Mister B found, he pushed it around pretending to fire and made all the right noises to go with it!

escot 5Miss M and Mister had so much fun running in and out of things, hiding behind things and exploring, this is definitely a must for children who love the outdoors, with so much to do, little ones certainly won’t be bored!

escot 9My favourite picture has to be off them in the stocks!! lol

escot 3We had a light shower of rain, but were not deterred as there was a big soft play barn next to the maze for lots of indoor fun, I managed to catch my two rolling about in the ball pool.

escot 8One thing that they both loved, yet was so simple was this huge hanging rope swing from a large tree.  As they swung around they had an amazing view over the fields beyond, I almost wished I’d been younger and could of had a go myself!

escot 17On our way out we found this huge trampoline and the children flew across to have a bounce.  They long for one at home but we don’t have a suitable size garden so they certainly made up for it on this not wanting to come off!

escot 2Miss M went on the trampoline with one very wobbly top tooth and came off with it hanging by a thread and lots of blood, so I told her she’d need to pull it to get it out.  With one little tug it came loose, her first top row tooth to come out.  Although she was a little alarmed by the experience, she was very excited about the visit she’d get from the tooth fairy that night.

escot 4We had a really lovely family day out at Escot, somewhere I’d thoroughly recommend visiting and that we’ll definitely go to again.

Hope you’ve all had some great day’s out this summer and with the warm weather looking to continue over the next few weeks, hopefully we can squeeze in a few more fun days out at the weekends.

 

End of maternity leave – back to work!!

So that time has come – 52 weeks of being on maternity leave reaches an end!! It was great but I won’t me going back for any more. My dear Mister B starts nursery on Monday alongside Miss M – who is very excited at the prospect of her baby brother joining her. Although mummy doesn’t share quite the same excitement of sitting at an office desk for 8 hours daydreaming about the endless chores waiting for her at home and her poor baby boy enduring a long day on his first adventures at nursery.

But I am grateful for the bit of winter sun we had last week  – October sun – who’d have thought it? It gave me a chance to have some fun in the local park with Mister B and Miss M while daddy was working. Mister B loves the baby swings and we always get him giggling on them.

While Miss M on the other hand likes a bit of adventure and has to go on everything especially loving to climb or go down the slides!!

So I guess it’s preparation and organisation this weekend ensuring everything’s ready on Sunday night, clothes out, bags packed, packed lunch made……..and now I wait for panic mode to set in on Monday morning – arghh!!