I always have a lot of questions about accommodati I always have a lot of questions about accommodation when we stay anywhere as a family so I thought I’d share this little tour of our room at @windjammerlanding which was a pretty perfect place to stay.

It’s the ‘Ocean View Two Bedroom’ which was like a little house, with an upstairs and downstairs, built into the hillside. Both rooms had outdoor space and their own shower rooms. Such a great option for a family.
A little photo dump from our holiday in St Lucia. A little photo dump from our holiday in St Lucia. We’ve been back a few days now but still miss the heat, the food, the pool, the constant sounds of wildlife and the lovely people. It was such a great holiday and I’m sure we’ll be back one day.
And just like that, Athena is 12! What a joy it is And just like that, Athena is 12! What a joy it is watching her grow and what a wonderful young woman she is becoming. We could not be more proud. Love you Pickle, have a great birthday.
We’ve just got back from two glorious weeks in S We’ve just got back from two glorious weeks in St Lucia staying at @windjammerlanding and it was just the holiday we needed. Two weeks of sunshine and relaxation in what must be one of the most beautiful islands in the world. 

We can’t wait to go back again in the future. Here’s just a little snippet of our trip.
AD - Press Tickets | We had such a nice day at @na AD - Press Tickets | We had such a nice day at @national_motor_museum despite the rain! The children loved the Little Beaulieu play area and we loved exploring the National Motor Museum and Top Gear exhibit before having a ride on the monorail! We went on an old open topped bus, explored the Beaulieu Manor House and loved the gardens. 
Beaulieu is always a great day out - whatever the weather. This summer they have a whole ‘Summer of Fun’ planned, with activities most days - parades, bird shows and hundreds of sculptures within the grounds too. If you’re looking for a day out this summer definitely think about heading to Beaulieu.
AD - Press Tickets | Tonight we took the kids to t AD - Press Tickets | Tonight we took the kids to their first concert - but it was so much more than just a concert! @abbavoyage is incredible. With CGI ABBA and a live band, it’s like being at an ABBA concert 40 years ago but with modern lighting, effects and sound. ABBA look and sound real, it’s a mind blowing experience.
The set includes all the songs you know and love as well as a few less familiar ones.
You can’t take photos during the show which actually made a refreshing change. A whole arena focused purely on the show and soaking up the moment. It’s definitely something the four of us will always remember.
Now, I’m off to sing Dancing Queen all the way home.
AD - Press Trip | We had such a great day at @phdo AD - Press Trip | We had such a great day at @phdockyard today. They have a fantastic Ultimate Explorer ticket that lets you visit all the attractions as many times as you like for 12 months - and after a day at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard we can see that you need more than one day to really do everything!

We explored HMS Warrior, HMS Victory and the Mary Rose Exhibition - which is incredible! We also saw where ships are built and restored and spent time in Action Stations where the kids climbed and did an assault course.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is such a fun, educational day out with something for all ages - we can’t wait to go on their harbour tours next time we visit!
AD | WIN!! Would you love to win a holiday? To cel AD | WIN!! Would you love to win a holiday? To celebrate #100YearOfARoads National Highways have launched their #ARoadsToSummer competition! It's all about celebrating summer holiday moments, time together, fun in the sun, days out and more.

So why not be in it to win it? To enter, all you have to do is send @nationalhways a DM on here with a photo or video of your favourite holiday moments. You can also comment on their Facebook or Twitter #ARoadsToSummer posts with your holiday photos. I've shared a few of our favourite photos to give you some inspiration.

The best six entries will each win a £500 @nationaltrust holidays voucher! SO what are you waiting for? Dig out your favourite holiday photos or take some new ones to share!

The #ARoadsToSummer competition runs from 24 July to 10 September 2023. Winners will be announced in September 2023.

Good luck!
Oh these two! Every day I feel lucky to have them. Oh these two! Every day I feel lucky to have them. As school draws to a close at lunchtime, I’m looking forward to a whole summer with them. My favourite people.

They’ve both had a great year at school this year. Troy’s first without his sister by his side and Athena’s first at secondary school. 

They both had great reports, always did their best and have made some really lovely new friends this year. I could not be more proud of them.

Now, let’s go and enjoy the next six weeks before school starts all over again!
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Days Out, Days Out and Attractions/Events, Reviews · April 23, 2019

Gladstone Pottery Museum Review

When we went on holiday to Staffordshire one thing we wanted to do was learn more about the pottery industry which was – and still is – huge in the area. There are so many pottery factories and many of them have their own tours with big names like Wedgewood, Emma Bridgewater and Portmeirion it’s hard to decide which one to visit. So we chose one of the less well known places to explore and ventured to the Gladstone Pottery Museum.

Gladstone Pottery Museum Review
Gladstone Pottery Museum Review
Gladstone Pottery Museum Review

Gladstone Pottery Museum is dedicated to what was the largest and most famous industry in the Stoke-On-Trent area – fine bone china pottery. The museum is located in the last Victorian era pottery factory in the country, Gladstone China Works. Gladstone was not a particularly famous pottery at the time, but it was typical of the hundreds of potteries in the area, making everyday items that were shipped all over the world.

Gladstone Pottery Museum Review
Gladstone Pottery Museum Review
Gladstone Pottery Museum Review

Gladstone Pottery museum is a very hands on kind of museum with daily demonstrations of throwing pots, making bone china items and even hand painting using techniques that the original Victorian potters would have used. You can expect to experience similar conditions to those of the men, women and children that worked at the same site more than 120 years ago. You can even have a go at some of these for an additional cost and get really hands on with history.

Gladstone Pottery Museum Review

After picking up our map and entry stickers, we made our way to point one on the map and started our self guided tour around the centre. There were plenty of things for the children to see and with information boards set at different heights, accompanied by photographs of the area in the Victorian times. As we finished in each area, it was a simple case of looking across the yard to find the next number in order to carry on with our tour. They were quite easy to spot, in natural places, and something that the children loved doing to carry us all on! There were also really informative video presentations in some of the exhibits that really went into detail of the manufacturing process. To our surprise, they really held the children’s attention and generated lots of questions, firing little minds!

Gladstone Pottery Museum Review
Gladstone Pottery Museum Review

Along the tour, there are still six original bottle kilns to see on the site, each set out as it would have been in the production process – drying, firing, glazing etc. Most of the bottle ovens were accessible to actually get inside and see up close the things we had seen being used in the videos. Each part of the manufacturing process was explained in depth and was really well presented.

Gladstone Pottery Museum Review
Gladstone Pottery Museum Review
Gladstone Pottery Museum Review
Gladstone Pottery Museum Review

We also learned how the Victorians were able to make such lasting vivid colours and hand paint and glaze them to make them last. It was incredible to see the fine detail on pottery items that are more than 120 years old. We were also able to walk around the on-site doctors office. This was a must have in the potteries as it turns out that it was really quite dangerous to work around kilns that burn at more than 2000 degrees!

Gladstone Pottery Museum Review
Gladstone Pottery Museum Review
Gladstone Pottery Museum Review

Gladstone Pottery Museum is also home to an exhibition about ceramic tiles through the ages and different countries. There is also a really rather excellent exhibition all about toilets towards the end of the self guided tour. It turned out to be very funny and we learned a lot about using the loo from ancient times (sponge on a stick anyone..?) to the most modern of self cleaning robotic aided thrones! A must see in anyone’s book. This is a part of the museum that the children loved most.

Gladstone Pottery Museum Review

We hadn’t heard of the Gladstone Museum before we visited Stoke on Trent and searched for things locally to do but I am so glad we visited. We learnt so much and it was a morning well spent. To make more of a day of it the museum also has its own cafe too as well as the Gladstone Pottery Museum shop. For £23 for a family of four it was well worth the money and you should definitely consider visiting if you’re ever in the area.

You can find more day out inspiration here:

  • Family Days Out in Stoke on Trent
Gladstone Pottery Museum Review

In: Days Out, Days Out and Attractions/Events, Reviews

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Comments

  1. Plutonium Sox says

    April 23, 2019 at 9:09 pm

    Thanks for the recommendation! We sometimes get up that way and I know my girls would enjoy this too, great to hear about one of the less well known museums. Self cleaning toilets sound like a dream 😉
    Nat.x

    Reply

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Hi everyone! I'm Donna. Mummy. Blogger. Social Media Manager. Traveller. Lover of stars, rainbows and gin. Firm believer that tea and cake can fix most things.

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