Roaming with The Robertsons

The drive home was horrendous. There were no less than 10 accidents, there was queues everywhere and the alternative route was suggested through Reading. We did not opt for this route as we didn’t want to head towards the masses of people travelling to London for HRH’s funeral. I think the total journey took us twice as long as it should have and is not one that I would like to do again. Hopefully next time will be better. I didn’t get to twist Nicole’s arm into another Leon’s as we didn’t quite make it there for lunchtime. Let’s see what the next holiday has to offer. We realised when writing the posts from this holiday that we really didn't do a very good job at taking photos. Watch this space for more photos from our future adventures!

I have wanted to try archery out for quite a few years. I have never been able to find somewhere close to home that you can dabble at it for fun. After a lot of searching, I found that we could have a go at New Forest Activities in Beaulieu. It was hard to find somewhere that we could book as a couple and not a group of four, but fortunately they could facilitate this. We were only joined by one other couple, so we got to really make the most of the full session as we didn’t have to keep swapping. There is capacity to book up to 12 people on the session, but there must be a minimum of four for the session to run. This would be a warning if you book on an off-peak session. I went into the session fully pumped that I was going to beat Nicole, and that she would think that I am a direct descendant of Robin Hood or Merida. Sadly, this was not the case, I was extremely bad. I think I probably hit the target as many times as the arrow flew past it. It takes a lot of technique. We had a few ...

Today was another day to catch up with family and friends. First off to meet up with Nicole’s close family friends and to meet Angela’s goddaughter. It has been a long time since I have been around a toddler. It took a bit of guess work to understand what she is trying to tell you, but she had a lot to say and was showing off all her toys! She was a big fan of her animals and diggers (aspiring after her Dad I believe). It was nice to catch up again. Next stop, mini golf with Nicole’s sister. We decided to make a journey over to New Forest Adventure Golf . This was a tricky course. It’s not like other crazy golf where there are obstacles in the way and you just hope for the best. This was more of a simple course that turned out to be quite tricky as it was very easy to knock the ball off course. Yet again, I did not win, but was much more of a victorious loser. At the New Forest Adventure Golf, it is your opportunity to take a quick trip around the New Forest and find out what each ar...

Today is the day! The reason that we originally planned to come down to Southampton – LION KING! Yes, we can watch this in Manchester, but it was a good excuse to come down and see the family. But first off, we had to make the annual trip to purchase as many Percy Pigs as I am allowed! Before we watched the Lion King, we had a meal at Leelawadee Thai Restaurant . This was my first experience of a ‘proper’ Thai meal. I was not disappointed; I am now a great fan of thai red curry and sticky rice.   Seeing as this is Nicole’s favourite cuisine, it is probably a good job! It was also nice to meet members of Nicole’s family that I hadn’t met before but had heard a lot about. I haven’t been to see any performances in the theatre before and I have always wanted to see the Lion King. To say it was an evening performance, there was a lot of kids around, and on a school night! Let’s just say I want disappointed with the performance. I would recommend it to everyone! It was a lovely birth...

Although we had planned a lot of activities for our holiday, we do try to keep some days for just going off and exploring. Today we planned to walk from Warsash to Lee-on-Solent. Admittedly, we didn’t quite make it that far as we decided to turn back at Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve after Nicole admitted that it was a bit of a longer walk in reality than she expected when planning it. This wasn’t helped by the beginning of the walk being quite difficult. It was a rocky beach which just made walking about 1000x more difficult than it needed to be. It also felt like it took longer than it did as there was a big detour around a caravan park that took you off the coast for a little bit. What is it with the south coast and it’s pebbly beaches?! The were some breath-taking views across to the Isle of Wight, and we discovered a lovely little café at Titchfield Haven from which we got some lemon cake and tiffin to share. They were both delicious, however I need to learn that tiffin is too s...

Although I have never been to Longleat before today, it has always held a special place in my heart as I begin to recall some of the special memories I have with my mum. We used to sit in on the mornings, turn on Animal Park, just those morning cuddles up with my mum will always remain special to me and I wish I could have more days snuggled up on the sofa watching one of the many shows we enjoyed. It felt like it took ages to get to Longleat from Hedge End, but that mig ht have just been my eagerness to get there. Upon arriving to the zoo you have to hope you take the right way in. It should take you pass the impressive Longleat House which has two extraordinary statues of lions. We didn’t see them up close until later in the day, but you can see from the photos that they are quite realistic and such a wonderful addition. As we went out of peak season we had the chance to go around the safari twice, however when you book it does advise that you will have a set period when you can g...

We made plans to take Nicole’s sister to Go Ape for her birthday as gift giving seems to be a laborious task the older we get; you have to know what someone would like, make sure that they do not have it and then there is the effort of purchasing the gift and making sure that it arrives on time! So, quality time out in the Itchen Valley Country Park was a way to do something different. We got in early to make sure that we had time for lunch. My best friend took us to Go Ape in Rivington as a hen day, which was my first time doing it. It definitely took us a few hours to get around, and as no fears were conquered, we knew it would be the same. Southampton Go Ape was amazing. The course was varied, had a range of difficulties, and had some great views across the park. Ella and Harvey had been telling us how difficult and scary the course was, so it made us a bit wary of what we had signed ourselves up for and thought that maybe we should have opted for something a little easier like cra...

There isn’t really much to say about the journey down to Southampton. It is incredibly long. My wife’s family are all based in Southampton, so we have discussed making a regular holiday down there to ensure that we can catch up with the family and stay in touch (and use it as an excuse to make a small holiday). As I am a northerner, there are plenty of places to explore, although I will let you know if it ever beats the beauty of the north! To make the most of the journey, we always try and make a stop of at the Norton Canes services on the M6. This is our choice of services as, although it is not quite halfway, it is a nice service station that is not quite as busy as Warwick services. The only downside is that it costs a fortune to get there as it’s on the M6 Toll. The money is worth it though as the drive is a lot less stressful than the other routes around Birmingham. As we have the animals to sort out in the mornings, we don’t like to rush off as that would mean that we would ha...