8 Reasons Les Misérables At Newcastle Theatre Royal Is Not To Be Missed

We were invited along to press night.

Throwback to 2012 - I was a parent to three children aged 2,3 and 6 and nights out with the girls were few and far between. One such night out vividly sticks in my head and that's when I escaped to the cinema with my friends to see Les Miserables. At this point, I had no idea about the story or what to expect and was just happy to get out of the house (my friend was a huge fan and begged us all to go with her). 

10 Reasons to Visit Woodhorn Museum (A Review)

Woodhorn is a former coal mine, museum and heritage centre near Ashington in Northumberland. It's super easy to get to (just off A189), especially if you are travelling along the Northumberland coast. Parking is free and an annual pass is just £7 for adults (£6.50 if buying multiple at the same time) or £6 for OAPs and students. Under 16s are admitted free of charge. We're annual pass holders and have probably visited Woodhorn 20+ times over the years. We love it and think it provides excellent value for local families. Here's why we recommend a trip:

Top Tips for Surviving Year 6 at School (& Smiggle giveaway)

This post features a mix of product placement with Smiggle and products we bought ourselves.

Year Six is a big year for many children. In Northumberland's two-tier system, you are the oldest children in the school which comes with added responsibilities, it's the final year of Primary school and you may be saying goodbye to some of your closest friends if they're off to a different Secondary School, there's the anxious wait to see if you've been accepted to your first choice Secondary School, transition days to survive and that's before we even mention Key Stage 2 SATs. I've been through all of this with Harry a few years ago and now it's Heidi's turn to face the challenge that is year 6.

Climbing Roseberry Topping with Kids

*This post includes accommodation and meals provided by The King's Head Inn. I have not been paid to write this post and The King's Head have had no editorial control.

Steve and I are both overweight and definitely not the fittest of people but we try not to let that get in the way of our adventures and really enjoy exploring the great outdoors with the kids. A few weeks ago, our sense of adventure took us to Newton-Under-Roseberry and the Tees Valley and if you followed our weekend on Social Media, you'll know we packed loads in. I was really impressed with just how much this area has to offer adventure-loving families and if you like to keep active with the kids in tow, I'd recommend planning a similar trip. You can watch highlights from our trip over on my Instagram stories here. 

One Last Winter of School Runs

(Ad - this post includes a collaborative giveaway with Treads)

Where does the time go? Seriously where does it go? The last 10 years of my life have involved factoring the school run into my daily routine. From driving Harry to his nursery class on his first day of school from our flat in Wallsend and later struggling on crutches whilst pregnant (with Jack) with a baby Heidi in tow to drop Harry at reception and then later moving to Cramlington and learning to survive the 1 hour round trip (walking) in all weathers, I feel like I've more than done my time.

Exploring the Southern Merlin Theme Parks with Tweens

We bought Merlin Annual Passes this year which allow us access to over 30 UK Merlin Attractions across the year free of charge. We have two premium and three standard passes and pay around £50 per month. I intend on making the most of them and getting our money's worth (we've already saved £900) so planned a trip down south for us to visit the Southern theme parks this summer. You can read more about paying monthly for a Merlin Annual Pass here.

11 Top Tips for Visiting Brighton with Kids

Brighton is somewhere I have always wanted to visit (I blame watching too many Location, Location, Locations in my early 20s). I am so pleased that we finally made a trip in July 2019 with our children aged 8,10 and 12. It's a place that really lived up to my expectations and somewhere we will definitely return to at some point. I just wish it wasn't so far away from us here in Northumberland. Today I am sharing 11 top tips which I hope will help you to plan a trip of your own.