Wellgate Community Farm

I always like taking the kids to city farms because they adore seeing and petting the animals and, for me, it's a nice change of scenery. So when I noticed that the Wellgate Community Farm was having an open day I thought that it'd be nice to try somewhere new - although I actually left the decision up to Joshua and he chose the farm (and Kung Fu Panda 2) over Legoland! Now I have to admit that I didn't realise just how far down the A12 we would have to venture but it all worked out in the end as the event hadn't even kicked off when we arrived - so we went for a stroll around the animals:

The purr-fect feline?

It turns out that the farm isn't especially capacious, a surprise given all of the surrounding fields, but it does manage to squeeze in the usual suspects: cows, sheep, horses, goats, pigs, geese, chickens and a lot of rabbits! These are all pretty close at hand, and so easy to see, although not as close as the bees! Behind just a pane of glass are a couple of busy bee-hives and these really caught the imagination of Joshua; after speculating for a while on what might happen to a bear hunting for honey we moved on to the main attraction for little children. Not the ice-cream vendor but, instead, the chance to cuddle a soft, little bunny:

I want one - of course!

As for the open day it was kind of fun with there being pony rides, stalls, a bouncy castle, farm displays (such as a farrier at work) and even a swap-shop! The little beasts were, however, less interested in this side of things and so we departed for Hainault Forest Country Park - the bikes were in the back of the car so I was well prepared for such an eventuality! It turns out that this is a really pretty 300 acre patch with far-reaching views back towards the capital. Immediately the open space and relaxed atmosphere appealed to me and when Joshua discovered an adventure playground on the map our course was set.

Off we cycled around the fishing lake and into the cool, shady forest; Christina wobbling and complaining on her bicycle, Joshua pushing on ahead as our scout. Amongst the trees there was peace - no road noise or planes overhead, just the chirping of birds in the canopy and the shrieks of excited children! It didn't take Joshua long to discover where there was ropework between the trunks and I took the opportunity to do a little sketching (since this is the homework from my just commenced art course). All in all then a lovely place to spend a hot summer's afternoon.