Last weekend we were lucky enough to be invited to Northumberland to spend the night at Matfen Hall (review coming soon) and while we were there we decided to spend the day out and about looking at some local things to do.
We had planned on going to Go Ape but then realised the girls had to be 10 before they would even entertain letting them go round so that put a halt to that plan. Instead we had passed Brockbushes on the way to Matfen so had a back up plan of strawberry picking should things go awry!
On the way there we passed a sign for Aydon Castle, not having been this far into Northumberland before we decided to take a detour and see what was in store. Being an English Heritage castle there was a fee to enter and the girls were a little disappointed with what was there but we tried to make the most of it by walking around the whole castle and playing quoits on the lawn etc.
There were no real artifacts in the castle apart from a table and chairs in which we presume was the grand hall. Amelia was as lively as ever and loved sitting in the Kings chair, pretending she was ruling the kingdom and dishing out orders! There were lots of winding passageways that led from one section of the castle to the next so we needed eyes in the back of our heads as the girls shot off in different directions!
In total it only took around 20 minutes to walk around the full castle ruins including the grounds around the outside. I made a vow to get more pictures with me and Stuart in and I did try to get a decent shot of daddy with the girls but he was attacked by a wasp as I took the shot, much to the hilarity of the girls!
With the castle detour done we hopped back into the car and headed to Brockbushes Farm Shop & Tea Room. I have spoken about Brockbushes in the past when the lovely Catherine from Here Come The Hoopers went pumpkin picking but haven’t actually visited myself, what a beautiful day it was that we chose to go. The sun was shining and the strawberries were en-mass!
By this point Amelia spotted a bouncy castle in the grounds and gave up any hopes of picking strawberries so while daddy took her to bounce, me and Evie departed to the fields.
Although the fields look pretty deserted in this photo there were masses of people all out picking which shows the scale of the whole operation! There were lots of empty rows but hundreds of people, it was great that there was no tripping over people to pick the strawberries and you could work the rows at your own pace.
This is the first time Evie has been strawberry picking and we went a little overboard, filling up the huge basket to spilling point and I have to admit to being a little worried it was going to cost me a fortune but when we got it weighed it was a little less than £7! Very impressed!
Walking back through the farm shop gave me the opportunity to pick up some bits that I wouldn’t normally including salted caramel sausages (which were delicious and not at all sweet like I imagined!), mini jars of prosseco jam and Margarita marmalade along with the obligatory mass of sweets for the kids journey home!
Overall we had a fabulous day out and would highly recommend visiting Brockbushes – the raspberries were due in another week which would be around about now…..how quick can I get back!?
XOXO
Debbie
This is not a collaborative post, all items were paid for ourselves.
