Wreake Valley Geocache tour

I was delighted to find that someone had planted a set of new geocaches recently just outside Melton in the Wreake Valley and we decided to go and find them today. They are a series of 8 and take you in a circular tour over 3 or 4 miles, so it was not too much for a hot sunny day like today.

There were loads of other geocachers out and we studiously tried to ignore each other. I guess because they are so new they are popular with people who have done the rest in this area.

We stopped for a picnic next to the River Wreake...

...and found some little friends on the way round...

Water fun!

It was really hot Saturday afternoon, so we a great opportunity to try out the new waterslide. We had some friends round later for a BBQ and we had six kids sliding down it at one point. Needless to say it didn't stay in one piece too long. We are trying to patch it up with plenty of duct tape, but I don't hold out much hope!

Pondlife

Well river life really.

It's amazing what you can find in the little litter-bestrewn river which runs through Melton's country park (up near where we used to live). We took our fishing nets, wellies and a cake box full of water there yesterday for a poke around.

It is the same river that we were exploring on our farm walk at the weekend (the River Eye), so it is hardly surprising that there is some wildlife in there. But we were amazed at just how much:

The big lump in the middle is some sort of clam or mussle shell. This one was empty but we found a live one later about half the size. There are three sorts of fish in the cake box: bullsheads and another type of bottom feeder (I was calling them blinnies but I think I meant blennies, and then I'm not sure); and some smaller ones (minnows, possibly). Loads of snails and cheese-bug type things.

Bank Holiday Farm Walk

This morning we taken on a guided tour of local farmlands by a local farmer, Julia Hawley of Hall Farm. We went with our friends, the Ross' and Billson's, and toured all around the flood plain and the recently built flood defences just outside Melton. On the way we saw some enormous carp in the River Eye, mayflies, banded demoiselles and a vicious looking pike lurking just under the surface.

We also came across some very curious holsteins and Aberdeen Anguses:

The river and one patch of wetland on the farmland have been designated sites of special scientific interest, and the farm received a subsidy for maintaining lots of hedgerows and areas of scrub for wildlife. So we saw plenty of unusual flora and birdlife. We even found a couple of badger toilets!

A Sunny Sunday!

It was like a summer's day today - in Greece! We spent most of it in the garden wishing it was a bit bigger. It was so warm that the guinea pigs asked for a cool off - so we gave them a bath!

Apparently Dubai was even hotter today at 45 degrees according to Mike (who was at Atlantis Water Park on the Palm when he texted!)

Happy Birthday for Joe

It was Joe's birthday yesterday - 11 years old! He had a couple of friends over after school and we all went for a pizza in the evening. Elaine made this cake which went down very well - even after we had stuffed ourselves with pizza!

Joe was very pleased with all his presents. He also received a fair bit of money so is now trying to decide what to spend it on.

Skiing - in May?

Today was Joe' birthday treat - an afternoon skiing. We couldn't afford the private jet to Chamonix, so settled for the Snowdome at Tamworth. Great fun, even though it took 4.5 minutes to get to the top and only 25 seconds to get to the bottom!

It poured with rain all afternoon, so I am glad we went with the first choice and not the second (Alton Towers).

Kenilworth

We had a day out to Kenilworth today and met up with Grannykim and Grandad, who had been staying at Warwick University for a conference. What a wondeful place. We started off at the site of the old Abbey, where we managed to find a couple of tiny geocaches (SIM card cases!) We then headed off for a geocache find in the meadow behind the castle. We are sitting on top of it in the photo above.

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We headed into Old Kenilworth to a very quaint old pub, the Virgins and the Castle for lunch before heading back to the castle in the afternoon. It was very impressive, and so big! We were absolutely worn out after exploring all the ramparts and hidey-holes. It was warm too - so warm that Luke decided to act like a teenage girl (see the photos for an explanation of that one!)

Sherwood Forest

What a day we had today. We started off at Sherwood Forest where the forest rangers had hidden 3 caches, one of which was the biggest ever (see above). The other photo is of the Major Oak which is the biggest, and most famous, of several enormous old oaks dotted around the forest.

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After a picnic amongst the trees, we headed off to Blidworth, where there was a multicache trail to follow out into the countryside. It was one where we had to find clues on the way round in order to get the coordinates for the final cache. Unfortunately we couldn't find one of the caches, so couldn't find the final cache. Still it was a very nice walk.

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We were all thoroughly exhausted when we got back but all in all, a very good day. Here are a few more photos.