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Browsing category: Summer Holiday Highlights
Summer Holiday Highlights
Well Summer 2020 has been a strange one to say the least! There's been lots of worries and uncertainties but I'd like to focus on some of the positives in this post. Something that I've really valued this summer is getting to know our local area and releasing that we have lots of beautiful spaces in the West Midlands to roam around in. Here are our highlights:
Wrens Nest
Address- Wrens Hill Rd, Dudley DY1 3SB
How much? Free to enter and park. Parking is limited so be prepared to find off street parking.
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Wrens Nest has been far the best and most surprising finds we had this summer. Situated right in the heart of Dudley is a Nature Reserve of exceptional importance. It is considered one of the most diverse places to discover fossils with over 700 different types to find.
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We had a really wonderful day exploring the many walking routes around the reserve and finding some fantastic fossils. This place is well worth a visit. For more information follow the link.
Black Country Living Museum
Address- Tipton Rd, Dudley DY1 4SQ
How much? £50 (for a family of 4 and allows free entry for the next 12 months)
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We have always loved our visits to the Black Country Living museum which is an open air museum that tells the story of one of the very first industrialised landscapes in Britain.
Since coronavirus we have been nervous about going back but were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it. They have put in some really great measures to keep visitors safe including clear one way systems and lots of hand sanitising areas. It was a great day out and would definitely recommend. For more information follow the link.
Umberslade Estate Walk
Address- Butts Ln, Tanworth in Arden, Solihull B94 5AE
How much? £6 per adult, £4 per child and under 5yrs go free
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Since coronvirus Umberslade Farm looks very different. Currently only a small section of the farm can be accessed so instead visitors can enjoy the playground (which has hand santising areas to use going in and out), a small selection of animals to see, a cafe and two beautiful walking trails to follow. One of the walks is for the more adventurous. It takes you on a 5km route around Umberslade Estate and takes at least 1.5 hour to complete. The more family friendly trail is around a 30 acre flower field with a maze of pathways to immerse yourself in nature, bees and butterflies! The gentle terrain is perfect for the whole family and is fine for pushchairs.
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We had a really lovely day out and my two boys absolutely loved running wild through the wild flower meadow! For more information follow the link.
Selly Manor
Address- Maple Rd, Bournville, Birmingham B30 2AE
How much? £12 for a family ticket
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Selly Manor consists of two beautiful medieval houses packed full of history right in the centre of Bournville. When we visited there was a family trail around the house and garden which my two boys loved and we all found out some interesting facts. It was a great morning out and well worth a visit. For a full review follow the link.
A Day Out In Wall Roman Site
Address- Watling St, Wall, Lichfield WS14 0AW
How much? Free
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We had a lovely day out in Wall, somewhere we hadn't been before. We decided to make a day out of it by first stopping at the Strawberry Fields Farm and Coffee Shop (a 10min drive from Wall.) This is an outside cafe with a nice selection of food and drink. There are also ducks and geese to look at it and a tractor that my boys enjoyed sitting on. Social distancing was done well and lots of hand sanitising areas were available. After a delightful stop off we then drove on to Wall. This is an English Heritage site which is free to enter. Here you can see the Roman remains of an inn for travellers and a public baths, It's a small site but there's space to roam around and have a picnic. There is also a walking route around the village and for 20p you get a map (which we picked up from the main car park). This tells you the history of the area. After our walk we stopped off at The Trooper a really nice pub which had a large garden and a climbing frame. It was a great end to a lovely day out.