FAMILY FAVOURITES
By Hettie Eggleton Ideas to keep the children occupied
All the activities in this summer column will be outdoorsy ones, because, fingers crossed, the weather will continue to be sunny and dry for the end summer holidays!
often do this in Dittisham on the pontoon. Another friend with small children recommended always crabbing with little kids in lifejackets, which is what we do, but in Dittisham on the pontoon you are so close to the water you do feel quite safe. Crabbing is a great activity for younger children because it is so quick – you can crab for ten minutes and catch ten crabs and then when the children get fed up, go and do something else. Very satisfying! While we are in Dittisham doing
O
our crabbing, we always visit the park on The Ham for a little play and a picnic. It is a lovely place to relax and has a great atmosphere, because The Ham is always full of people of all ages having a fun time in the sun. Get all your crabbing kit together in town before you go, and make sure you take extra tasty bait, like bacon, to catch them nice and quickly. If you get a real taste for crabbing then during regatta there is a Junior Crabbing competition held on the Embankment, which is competitive crabbing, watched over by some pretty serious judges! Visiting the Daymark above
Kingswear is a real treat for every
ne of our favourite summer activities is crabbing, and we
member of my family. Tom (2) thinks it is a castle, and Emma (5) thinks it is hilarious to play hide and seek up there, around the legs of the tower, racing from one section to the other, trying not to be seen as she crosses the gaps. We frequently walk at the Daymark because from the National Trust car park near Coleton Fishacre, it is just the right length of doggy walk and kiddy bike ride to keep everyone happy. It is perfect for pushchairs too because it is a tarmac road right from the car park to the Daymark, but there is very little traffic up there. We have been up at the Daymark in all weathers, freezing winter days and in blazing sunshine too and the views are absolutely breathtaking in all seasons. Beyond the Daymark, if you fancy a more strenuous walk, carry on down the road and you reach Froward Point. Here you will not only find Brownstone Battery, a Second World War gun battery and defences, but also a manned National Coastguard Station run by volunteers. It is a steepish walk down the road to Froward Point, but I think worth the effort. You can go into the Coastguard Station and chat to the volunteers, look at the charts, get a great view of the Mewstone,
ask questions and so on. Tom loved looking through the binoculars. If you walk on from here it is not pushchair friendly, but older kids would love to walk further down through the trees and see the huge gun batteries and ammunition tracks – all very easy to see. The further down the hill and round towards Kingswear you go, the more beautiful the views get, up the river Dart and across to the Castle and St Petrox. It is a hefty walk back up the road from Froward Point to the National Trust car park, but you will definitely be pleased you did it – the views are phenomenal. This is probably an activity for families with older children, although we did it with a pushchair and a bit of carrying. (
www.nci-frowardpoint.org.uk) When this article is published
The Daymark Froward Point
you will still have a couple of weeks to go swimming in Dartmouth Outdoor Pool. It is the 25th year of it being open and it is due to shut for good at the end of this summer, in preparation for the new indoor pool being built. Whether you are local or on holiday, or you are a Granny or Grandad with the kids to stay, you must get up there and enjoy this facility as soon as possible, because it is wonderful! The water is lovely and warm so even on a dull day it is a great place to swim; some evenings it is open later for adults and you can just go and relax up there before you have your dinner while your other half puts the kids to bed. It is so friendly, the staff are fantastic and will lend you floats, the tuck shop is great and the grassy areas are lovely to play/eat your snacks on. Grab a towel and go
29
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148