At the end of February last year, we went to visit Bodiam Castle for the first time. When we checked how much the entrance fees were, we found them to be quite steep. BUT there was the option of getting a National Trust family membership for 12 months, paying less than £10 per month (in … More One Year with the National Trust, in the South East
On Sunday we went for a walk around the Sissinghurst castle gardens and surrounding estate. We go there now and then, as it’s fairly close to where we live, and it’s a great place to hang out for some fresh air and a fix of nature’s glories. At the moment their is some work being … More A Sunday Walk at Sissinghurst
On Sunday we went to Port Lympne. We’ve visited it a couple of times before, and as I wrote about in a post from our last visit, it’s not ‘just’ the amazing animals there that make it a wonderful place to visit, but also the impressive gardens around the manor house (which serves as hotel … More The Wonders of Water
As I was publishing my previous post the other day, on nature as ‘sensory room’, I realised that a large part of my examples of sensory rich nature experiences were from the seaside. Not so surprising perhaps. Just to stand on a beach, looking out across the eternity of glimmering water, hearing the rythmical swooshing … More “Beside the side of the silvery sea…”
When Penguin was younger, we sometimes visited a place that had a ‘Sensory Room’, also known as ‘Snoezelen’. In hindsight, we could have got so much more out of those visits if we’d been guided by an occupational therapist on how to make the most of it all, but at the time I didn’t know … More On nature as ”Sensory Room”
Scotney Castle is a National Trust property located near Lamberhurst in Kent. The main building at the property is a grand 19th Century country house, set in a large, romantically landscaped garden and surrounding estate. The remains of the Old Scotney Castle, which dates back to the 14 Century, has been kept as a ‘folly’ and … More Penguin goes to… Scotney Castle!
Last Sunday we visited Howletts Wild Animal Park, which is situated near Canterbury, in Kent. It was a cool January afternoon, and I was a little bit worried that many of the animals might be hiding indoors, away from our view, but luckily that was not the case at all. In fact, we got an … More Out & about with Penguin: Howletts Wild Animal Park
For our advent activity no.17, we finally made it to the Christmas market at Leeds castle. We’d originally planned to go the previous Sunday, but the weather was awful that day, so we called it off. Luckily this Sunday was not as bad, although a light drizzle started to fall as we arrived. Our first impression … More Visiting the Christmas Market at Leeds Castle!
Yesterday we spent a chilly yet beautiful afternoon at the Port Lympne Wildlife Park! It’s a great place with large areas to roam around for visitors and for many of the animals. There’s a ‘safari experience’, meaning a guided tour in an open truck & trailer, which takes you around parts of the park where … More A Winter Visit to the Wildlife Park, Port Lympne
A couple of days ago we visited a leisure center in a nearby town, to go swimming. We’ve been there once before, about three months ago, so it wasn’t a completely new environment for Penguin, though still quite unfamiliar. And as usual when we come to places that Penguin’s not yet used to, he was … More A trip to the leisure center that nearly tipped our sensory scales
