South Lakeland Leisure Village

(near Carnforth)

June 2015

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The weather had turned even lovelier by late Wednesday afternoon - quite a contrast from a couple of days earlier.

The sunshine had obviously gone to Gregory's head, as he ran around in just a nappy and Daisy's sunhat.

He's just a little bit crazy.

And with the weather so nice, it's obviously time for some vibrantly-coloured chicken.

This is the life.  (Lager can status: open.)

Er, young man.  I don't think you are quite old enough yet.  He already has the flushed cheeked look of an alcoholic.

It was generally quite a warm evening, as Daisy looks a little pink in the face too.  It's not the spiciness of the curry, which is a chicken korma.

The fine weather persisted to the following morning (Thursday), as Daisy surveyed the shimmering lake.

Given that we were barely 20 minutes from Morecambe, it was rude not to pop to the beach.  And when in Morecambe, you have to take a photo of someone posing in the style of the Eric Morecambe statue.  So we did.

Daisy and I headed for the beach first, which was not very busy...

...as you can see from here.  It was approaching lunchtime - it wasn't like we had got there ridiculously early or anything.  We just can't get moving that quickly.

Lynne and Gregory soon caught up with us and we set up camp, ready for some sandcastle-building action.

This was Gregory's first proper visit to the beach.  He liked to walk about and was very keen to walk towards the sea.  I was only to happy to oblige and let him paddle in there.

This pose for the camera belies the tension that already built from Gregory's desire to break free of the shackles I was imposing on him and run headlong into water, clearly unaware of the consequences of getting deeper into the water without being able to swim.  There followed a running battle on the beach ultimately resulting in the boy's tears of frustration.

This seems to be an expression of the frustration, although it's not entirely clear 'cos of the hat.

Daisy, meanwhile, was loving the opportunity to run in and out of the water.  She knew her boundaries.

When on the sea front, it's only right and proper that we stop for some fish and chips (or sausage and chips in my case).  Gregory's beaker and holiday read are also visible.

The sand wasn't of the best quality for sandcastle making.  The small stone content was a too high and so the structures weren't very adhesive.  Nevertheless, I managed to build a few.

Naturally, Daisy the demolisher soon destroyed them.  It remained a lovely day.

Daisy was pretty happy to build her own sandcastle.  I would not get my revenge by stamping on it later.

The next morning it was a little cloudier.  I wandered round the main complex, locating the launderette for future reference, and noticing this small beach-like area at the far end of the lake.

Young superboy was certainly ready for a day's action, were he not still lounging in his pyjamas.

Are plan for today was to head up to Barrow-in-Furness to visit the Dock Museum.  Fun for all the family.

It certainly was riveting stuff.

There were some large model boats on display, in huge glass cases.

Daisy was at home in what seemed to be a bit of a classroom section.

An opportunity to engage in a bit of fancy dress can never be passed up.

A special feature for the time being on one of the floors was a rugby league display, although there wasn't a lot to it.

Daisy had enjoyed what was quite a tricky quiz around the museum but, after lunch, there was only one thing that she wanted to do.  Head to the playground for some slide action.

This one wasn't quite as impressive, but she nevertheless had to give it a go.

This seagull was the boss of this particular litter bin.

G-man was content to go on the swing, but he seems to be eyeing me up suspiciously.

Daisy found some friends to play with, and for some reason they all lay down on this unusually-shaped roundabout.

Woah there.  Gregory is definitely enjoying the swing a bit more now.  He's letting himself go.

The young sailor peeps through the other secret porthole.

At one point, Daisy and one of her friends for the hour were having an imaginary race on these rocking horses.  It was quite an amusing commentary.

On the way back, we felt we had time for the nearby Leighton Hall during the mid-afternoon.

A woodland trail had us setting off for an exploration, although some of the terrain was not brilliant for a pushchair.

It was all very nicely laid out indeed.

Yup, looks pretty neat and tidy.  This is looking back at the hall from the rear.

Whilst Gregory and I followed the trail, the girls had a bit of a play.

The boys soon found the walled garden, herb garden and maze combo.

But, despite the rain, the boy was keen to exit the pushchair.  So I let him.  He could walk but the surface was tricky and it was easier to crawl.

We headed back just in time for the bird show, featuring this guy.

Unfortunately, he seemed a bit cheesed off with the guy who was doing the bird show.  He had a few gags to amuse the largely elderly crowd, but the comedy soon gave way to frustration as the bird refused to get back in the cage.  The intention was that he would put him back and get another one, but that wasn't happening.  At one point, he warned us to keep an eye on our children in case the bird went for them, but that seemed more in general frustration than anything else.  The bird wasn't going anywhere near anything.  After a while, we got a bit bored and figured we'd make everyone happier by heading back into the gardens.

Inside the walled garden we found the caterpillar maze.

Gregory and I had chosen the right path and made it first, but the girls did navigate to the finish, which asked you to look up at the butterfly the caterpillar has turned into, as Daisy is doing here.

It had rained on and off during the afternoon, but that soon gave way to a glorious evening of blue sky and sunshine.  I had found this little Italian on the internet, which seemed like a good plan since it was just a 10-minute drive southwards (without traffic anyway).

We'd reserved a table for the four of us, although they didn't quite have the surname spelt right.

Daisy was very pleased with one of her favourite holiday evening meals, pizza (with ham).

And just simply thought the ice cream was heavenly.  It was a very pleasant meal and a nice little restaurant, which we were glad to have stumbled upon.

On our last morning, as Lynne hoovered round the lodge, I took the little 'uns to the nearby soft play centre, and Gregory got a bit more involved this time.

Daisy was shocked to see that she was covered in fish...

...whilst Gregory delighted in trying to empty the ball pool.

And then we were on our way after a very pleasant stay.  Thanks again to the Hosies for the loan of their accommodation.

Now surely you must return to the Secret Portal.