Redditch / Newquay / Wells

1st to 13th August 2019

Page 1 ¤ Page 2 ¤ Page 3 ¤ Page 4 ¤ Page 5

Redditch: The Abbey Hotel

Thursday 1st August

Our main summer holiday revolved around a trip to Newquay but, given how far it is to Cornwall and the inevitable "how long is it now?" refrain from the back seats, we decided to expand on last year's Longleat strategy by bookending our time in Newquay with intermediate stops.  This had the primary benefit of making each journey much shorter and therefore more palatable - in some cases doable by lunchtime - thus freeing up the rest of the day for activities, but also enabled us to explore more areas of the country than would otherwise have been possible.

Anyway, a fairly quick drive down to the Abbey Hotel in Redditch started our holiday.  We left at a fairly leisurely 11am (after looping back to pick up Lynne's shades - thankfully we hadn't gone too far) and arrived at the hotel at about 1am.  There was not much point getting there any earlier as check-in was not until 3pm, although that did not prevent us from forlornly trying.  So, while we waited for our room to become available, we headed to the sports bar for some lunch (which was plentiful and nice) as, in glorious weather, we overlooked the 18th green, dodged wasps and watched the Ashes on TV (England achieving pole position by reducing the Ausses to 122-8 at Edgbaston, a position that was subsequently relinquished - and then some).  Here is the view we had from the outside seating down the 18th fairway.

Daisy and Gregory were actually reasonably fascinated by the golf.

Here are the amply-portioned children's meals.  There was no chance that Gregory would get through all those large-sized chicken nuggets (with the word "nugget" not really being appropriate here).  His unhappy look is likely due to my instruction that he had to eat some of the peas (his hand is hovering), but could also have been due to either (a) my typical insistence on taking a photograph or (b) the fact that he was unlikely to get through his enormous plate of food (naturally I had to help him out later - I don't like to see waste).  Meanwhile, Daisy remained very attached to her lunch, demonstrating just how cheesy her Mac 'n' Cheese was (her eyes suggesting that you can maybe have too much cheese).

After getting our room, we had time for a family swim before, after an exploratory run from me, which I delayed due to a heavy downpour, heading into nearby Redditch, a bewildering mix of a multi-lane bypass and multi-storey car parks.  We ended up on the 8th floor, with which Daisy had some affinity given her age.  Her head perfectly occupied the lower hole in the 8.

We walked the long way round the shopping centre to (eventually) find Prezzo and had a mild panic when we thought our car might get locked in.

We were reassured that it wouldn't and thus could relax and enjoy pizza and pasta all round.  The warmth of the day was retained into the night, necessitating the use of the portable fan as we endured all four of us in the same room.

Friday 2nd August

I went for a pre-breakfast swim and then, after a buffet breakfast, we engaged in some gigantic Jenga action.  The Jenga was a feature of the kids' room, which they would later visit to watch a DVD.  Here, Daisy tries to locate a loose piece as Gregory gets a close-up view.

Lynne decides that it's time we checked the rules before proceeding.

The textbook, and the laws of physics, were rewritten shortly afterwards as Daisy's turn led to a tilting top.  The kids' insistence on removing two blocks from some rows, in conjunction with the blocks not quite being smooth and even enough to enable easy extraction, led to this kind of position, and Daisy's facial expression says it all.

Lynne (and others) then had the task of balancing subsequent blocks onto the precarious, lop-sided top.  It was almost miraculous just how far we got in this position.

Daisy's turns ended in the collapse of the tower more than most.  I managed to capture the last of these in a burst of photos, put together here into a gif.

We then headed to Cadbury World, which was the reason we were in this neck of the woods and had been the subject of much discussion in recent weeks (as the rest of the chocolate-loving family salivated with excitement at the prospect).

We did the main tour and were given bars of chocolate at seemingly every juncture.  The early part of the tour told the story of the discovery and early use of chocolate, by the Mayans and the Aztecs, before the Spanish brought it to Europe.  Here is perhaps a scene where the Conquistadors of Spain were asking if they couldn't have some chocolate, maybe.

Here is an easy to remember key for cocoa beans.

After the historical learning, we then got a bit messy by writing our names in chocolate.  It seems quite wasteful, but they did scrap up the chocolate each time and put it somewhere that it may have been reused (may have been - I didn't watch them that intently).

It's always good to see if being in the building trade is something you want to do with your life, by practising with chocolate.  Shovel and squidge, shovel and squidge.

One fun game involved using the motion of your hand to throw chocolate creme eggs at targets.  Gregory gets the hang of it first and then points out what to do to Daisy.

Shortly after, Daisy got a tattoo of a multi-coloured lizard, and seemed very pleased about it.

Next up: a ride in the style of "It's A Small World After All" (see Disney World), and almost as jarring.

Oh no, there's been a chocolate leak! Just as Daisy was scrambling under the pipe!

And finally the moment that they had all been waiting for: letting themselves loose in the shop.  So much chocolate, so little time.  It looks here like they are pacing round in circles trying to take as much in as possible.

At one point, it looked like they were going to get a couple of caps and rock that look completely. So cool.

After the tour, we headed outside where the kids enjoyed the adventure playground before we went to the 4D experience, which Daisy enjoyed immensely, particularly the rollercoaster section.  Gregory was somewhat less keen, not that it shows here (mainly because it hadn't started yet and thus hadn't been rocked around in his chair).

The exciting sports news of the day was Gregory signing for Freddo FC, as the chocolate-handed goalkeeper.

The classic where-did-I-park-my-car moment led, with some relief, to finding our wheels.  Definitely our car, but I don't remember parking there.

Rather full of chocolate (and pizza), with the weather set fair (and warm), we drove to Lickey Hills Country Park on the way back.  Always useful to take a photo of the map.

From the main building, there was a grassy slope down to a children's play area.  First up, Gregory on the small slide...

...then Daisy swinging on the rings.

We didn't explore beyond there, although there were trails and maybe a monument, instead turning to football and cricket, which, in the afternoon sunshine, had us (OK, me) sweating a bit.  I think this is a shot from Gregory having whacked and put so much effort into it that he twisted round.  Such power.

On my exploring run of the previous day, I had spotted a pub with a prominently-advertised Young Diners menu along the closed (ish) road in Holt End, beyond Beoley, called the Village Inn, and that is where we went for our tea (having returned to the hotel to freshen up).  This is actually the "after" shot.

The food was impressive, although we were the first ones there for food and the service was seemingly in a learning phase.  Here is Lynne's order of the Yorkshire pudding beef sandwich, served with a gravy boat, chips and peas, which looked pretty impressive.

The restaurant part of the pub was decorated as if it was ready for a wedding.  Daisy paused from writing/drawing to pose nicely in front of the ceiling mounted lighting.

Here's the family, satiated and with the shot back-filled with the bright light of the sun.  Not textbook. Everyone looks happy enough, though, eh.

When we got back, we let the kids watch some TV in the, er, TV room.  No-one else joined them.  We may have had a drink in the bar next door.

I think they are watching a Toy Story mini-movie, given the appearance of the T-Rex from Toy Story with some fellow dinosaurs.

You may proceed to the next page.

Or you can go back to the Secret Portal.