Avocet on parade

I was so excited when I heard that there were Avocets on one of the lakes at the RSPB Old Moor as they are such an iconic beautiful bird. So we set off as a family to see if we would be lucky (and patient enough) to see this beautiful elegant bird. We started off …

Meat-balls and Beetroot sauce.

I recently participated in a twitter thread whereby I was asked what my 6 favourite snacks were. One of my answers caused a bit of a stir. I happened to mention that I love Nachos with beetroot sauce. The sauce (up until now) has been a bit of a secret. It is so versatile; it …

Winter fun in Derbyshire

The children were eager to try out their new snow scooters. I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves! But I will say, 'Well done Santa' and sorry to all of the parents of Derbyshire who are now being pestered for snow scooters for next Christmas! Good luck and lets hope we have more snow at the end of the year!

Birds of prey at Thorsby Hall

A day out with the birds Going with a theme here, focusing on days out and things that you can do to keep the kids entertained in the holidays. If like our family you are passionate about nature and interested in new experiences why not try a day out with the birds. There are a …

Inside Wm Lee Castings, Dronfield

Competition time So, when we heard about the competition Wm Lee were holding to name their 8 robots we knew we had to give it a go. The company were asking all the children of Dronfield to name the robots. The winners would be chosen and the robots would then be given their names. After which the children and their families would be given to opportunity to see their robot working at the foundry... this is a place that I have always been fascinated with. I know generally what a foundry does. I am aware that this area we are in has a long history of forges, foundries and steel but I never thought I would get the opportunity to see inside a factory with such a long history.

Longshaw Woodland Day 2019

A Day out in the Woods My eldest child is a volunteer with the Eastern Moors Partnership Youth Rangers. So when he decided to help out at the Woodland Day at Longshaw this year we decided to go along. We paid the £5 for an activity passport my daughter (8). All of the activities were then free (bar 2 which were well sign posted) and she could participate as many times as she wished. The day began at 11am and continued until 3.30pm. We got there as soon as it started and expected to leave by 1pm especially as the weather was extremely changeable. Fortunately we were well prepared however as we ended up staying until the very end.

Elephants on the move

I photographed this beautiful Asian Elephant Calf in 2018 at Twycross Zoo Staffordshire. The elephants were able to roam safely around an enclosure in their all female family group. I am aware that a decision was made to move the all female group to Blackpool Zoo recently. It is hoped that the group will live …

Little Egret at Leighton Moss

I took this picture of a Little Egret at the remote site at Leighton Moss RSPB, Lancashire whilst on holiday. He was wading around in the shallows, managing to catch his dinner. I particularly like this picture as I feel that it has an Oriental style about it, which appeals to me having spent some …