Mrs Birks Blogs

You will notice that some of these posts will have a water based theme over the next few weeks, this is because it's Ouse Fest.  What?  You don't know what Ouse Fest is?  Well let me inform you - it's a celebration of the 'Ouse Washes landscapes and communities'  Ok, I'll admit I had to look that up but  you can find out more about it here So as part of the Ouse River Festival Fortnight, Welney Wetlands Centre (about 15 minutes drive from our house) had a kids go free day.  A great opportunity to discover some local wildlife and make the most of the good weather (not sunny but dry at least!).  It cost £8.99 for me to take the kids and would normally be £3.90 for children (under 4s are free) which includes gift aid, so you feel like you're doing some good for the environment. The first thing that strikes you at WWT is the peace and quiet - well apart from the tractors going by but then that's another attraction for the kids.  The pathway to the en

As many of you know, I have moved house quite a lot.  And not just moved house but moved counties several times.  I think my friends and family probably think I'm addicted to moving house (I'm not - who would be?) but actually, I've just moved to be closer to work - even if that work has been all over the country.  Anyway, my husband and I have decided that we won't be moving again for quite some time, so it's time to find out more about the County where we intend to settle for a while. Before we moved to Norfolk, neither of us had visited it or really even considered it as a holiday destination but the town where we live has loads of attractions on the doorstep - beaches less than an hour away, forests and nature reserves and nice easy cycle tracks, plus lots of events for kids and train connection to the big cities - what more could a family of four want? One of our first adventures into the local area was to Thetford Forest.  We were looking for somewhere

For a teacher, the arrival of the summer holidays is like a visit from an old friend you haven't seen for ages - super exciting, full of possibility and hugely gratifying that it's finally arrived. The feeling that you have time to be with the family, time to do stuff you've been putting off all year (cleaning) and time to sleep, eat and be merry makes all the moments when you've missed the family and spent endless hours marking seem worth it.  This holiday, having moved to Norfolk in August last year, we've decided on a true staycation to explore the local area.  We have a long list of places to visit, with everyone in the family suggesting their top ideas.  The trick will be to make sure our 'staycation' doesn't cost more than a trip abroad - which can easily happen in the UK.  Over the next few weeks I'll post about where we've been, what it was like and how much it cost. I've also got a child's party to organise and some chairs to upc