Kelburn's Willy Wonka's Chocolate Forest

I have taken Angus to Kelburn Castle before and he absolutely loved it.  On that trip the animals were away on holiday for the Garden Party but he still thought the grounds were good and the assault course and secret forest amazing.

From 1st to 17th April, the Secret Forest is having a sweetie makeover with a chocolate forest trail as well as egg hunts and duck races.

There is lots of parking available and the event is included in the normal ticket price (£9 per adult, £7 concession/child and £30 for a family - under 3s are free).  It's steepish but you can easily spend the whole day there.

Loch Lomond Springfest 2017

This weekend it's Springfest at Loch Lomond Shores.  I think we went last year and it does get busy (in fact if the weather is too nice, don't go).

The list of stalls rivals the Good Food Show at the SECC and entry is free.

The stand-out activities for kids is the cupcake and biscuit decorating (10.30-12.30 both days), mini zoo (12-4 Saturday only) and dinosaur encounter (12-2 Sunday only).

There is also 40% entry to the Sea Life Centre over the weekend.  Read our review here!

Glasgow Spring Holiday Activities - My Pick

There is a lot on over the holiday fortnight. It's exhausting reading about it.  I'm sure there will be lots and lots of egg hunts and activities over the Easter weekend, so I haven't even started looking into them.  Go somewhere local or special and have fun!

For the two preceding weeks though, here's my pick!

Glasgow Museum's programme is extensive and very hard to read online.  It's much easier to pick up the What's On brochure at the library, sports centre or museum (this one is blue) or try Twitter.  I have my eye on everything at Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (review here), Easter Fun for under-5s on Saturday 15th April at St Mungo Museum; Cardboard Sea Creatures on Thursday 6th April, Air Balloons Adventure on Wednesday 12th April and Easter Carousel Fun on 15th and 16th April, all at the Riverside Museum (review here); Loco Motives at Kelvin Hall on Tuesday 4th April.

Monday 3rd April - there is free storytelling and crafts for under-5s from 10-11.30am at ARTPARK at House for an Art Lover in Bellahouston Park.  I can't find a link for the actual event but it is definitely in their heritage brochure!

Tuesday 4th-Monday 17th April - Giant Balloon Indoor Easter Wonderland Garden at The Quay.  I feel this should be free but tickets are £3-8 and it promises a magic show and egg hunt.  I notice that on Friday 7th April the Animal Man is visiting and that is free.

Wednesday 5th April - Emergency Services Day at the Helix Park (the Kelpies).  A little further afield but with fire engines!

Friday 7th April - Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience is released.  The link is for Cineworld but I think it's showing everywhere.

Saturday 8th to Tuesday 11th April - The Enormous Turnip, Family Storytime at Scottish Youth Theatre.  Performances at 10.30, 12.30 and 3.  £5 per ticket or a family of 4 for £15.

Wednesday 12th April - Eco-drama Worm at the Platform.  On at 11am and tickets £8.50/£5/£4

Friday 14th April - Monday 17th April - Cadbury Egg Hunts at Pollok House, £2 per hunt on top of the usual admission fee.

Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th April - Mother Goose panto at the Brittania Panopticon.  On at 2pm with tickets at £7 and £5.

Sunday 16th April - Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity hold their annual Bike Run.  Line the route to see 1,000 motorbikes being paraded.

Moonbeam on a Cat's Ear - Jabuti Theatre - Review

Angus and I took a train today into Paisley to Paisley Arts Centre to see Jabuti Theatre's Moonbeam on a Cat's Ear.  Obviously the highlight of the day was the train ride, including watching all the fast trains speed through our local station.  We stopped for lunch beforehand at Blend Coffee Lounge first.  My mini-review-in-a-review would be that it was very expensive for lunch for one grown-up and one nearly-three (£12) but tasty and they do have a toy area and children's library (there wasn't any bread with the child portion of soup - cue tears).

If you haven't visited Paisley Arts Centre, you should.  It is a short walk from Gilmour Street station (we have only just stopped using the buggy and we managed it).  There is a little cafe downstairs and the venue is very small and intimate.  The staff are welcoming and friendly.

Image courtesy of Cumbernauld Theatre

I had chosen this show, which has been produced on this occasion as part of the Puppet Animation Festival, partly because it looked reasonably interesting but also date and venue suited (there is a lot of choice just now, see my picks here).  The show has a simple premise of two children going out one night to play under a tree but one of them steals the moon and they ride it through space before returning home.  With a samba section in the middle.  The music is great, alternating between different styles and genres and livens things up when needed.  The problem for me was that the story didn't develop beyond the synopsis and as the show was mostly non-verbal, Angus wasn't gripped.  It was more like seeing visual art for him: he enjoyed seeing the rocket, the tree grow, the planets... but the performance side didn't deliver.  Personally, I am growing tired of the "stylised-movement and smiling at each other" variety of children's theatre, but I'm not the audience.  Angus could definitely identify his favourite parts afterwards but I think he prefers livelier, more storytelling theatre.  The performance of the piece was tight with lots of lovely visual moments, although after lunch and in  warm, dark space, Angus did nod off briefly.  There was a (guessing) Primary 2 class in the audience and they were gripped and I could hear positive reviews from them.  I think the show works well as a sensory experience for little ones (although it's billed as three plus) or older children who will enjoy piecing the elements of the story together.  I see they have lots more dates on the tour, including Cumbernauld Theatre.

Lochwinnoch Open Day

Another outdoorsy one for Sunday 26th March.  It is Lochwinnoch's Open Day from 11am-3pm.

On offer is pond dipping, walks, story telling, a natural play area and a treasure hunt.  And it's free (there is normally a small entry fee).

Family Forestry Fun Day at Boden Boo

Erskine Community Nursery are holding an open-to-all Family Forestry Fun Day at Boden Boo on Sunday 26th March from 11am-3pm.  The flyer promises den building, clay art, story telling, rope challenges, a sausage sizzle and more.

I have no experience of Erskine Community Nursery but I have been to Boden Boo before. It is a little woodland, with good paths for buggies, right under the Erskine Bridge.

Puppet Animation Festival 2017

The Puppet Animation Festival across Scotland begins tomorrow (25th March) until 15th April.  There is loads to see and do including free Pixar films being shown at Maryhill Burgh Halls (book in advance).

The star of course are the live shows, which start at £3 a ticket with venues including those in South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and Cumbernauld, so you don't have to travel too far.  We're booked in to a couple of shows and I'm looking forward to reporting back!

Big Fish Little Fish

Big Fish Little Fish are holding one of their family raves on Sunday 27th March 2017.  They look really good, except neither Gareth nor I were ever ravers.  The music looks quite house/rave/dance - would be really interested if someone attending could comment on how hardcore it is.

If that didn't put us off, we would all be well into the craft area, play area, parachute dance and bubbles.

Tickets are £8 (adult) and £6 (child) plus booking fee and it's being held at Drygate.

Bag O'Nails

 A friend recommended this pub in Partick as a good lunch spot.  The Bag O'Nails is in the old Partick Tavern, right on Dumbarton Road.  It's USP for families is that children make their own pizzas (for £4.95, I think).  I've been told that they get a chef's hat but Angus didn't.  I would also say that if you were meeting a big bunch of mum chums, the place could comfortably hold lots of buggies.

Angus made his own pizza and chose sweetcorn and meatballs to go on top.  You can see the process below.

Gareth had a pizza too and I had the soup of the day, which was split pea and cumin.  I noticed that they had a good range of alcohol-free beer, including West Nix, too late.  Gareth's pizza was on the greasy side with a tasty base and my soup was lumpy.  Angus liked his pizza and the waitress kindly packed up the leftovers for us.  Service was friendly although there was only one person on for the Monday lunch time.  My friend had said the burgers were good.  Pizzas are £7.50-£9.75 and burgers £8.50-£9.95.  I think you can find better value nearby.

The pub is clearly trying to be as family-friendly as it can and doing a good job.  We parked just off Gardner Street easily, so there was a little walk but nothing we couldn't cope with and combined it with looking in the the model shop window and exchanging our books at Partick Library.  The toilets were child-friendly and the baby change was clean.

May the toys be with you

Not one for me but I'm sure Gareth will take Angus!  Paisley Museum are hosting an exhibition of Star Wars memorabilia from today until 29 May.  It's free and open every day except Mondays.  The details are here...

Little Explorers at the Glasgow Science Centre - this weekend

Don't forget this weekend (18th and 19th March) is a Little Explorers weekend at the Science Centre.  The theme is How does my garden grow?  It looks like they have some fun (and more unusual) stuff on and remember it doesn't cost more than the usual entry fee (in fact under 5s rather than the usual under 3s go free).

Play Gym

The headline here is - we love Play Gym!

We have been attending Play Gym sessions since September 2015, at which point Angus was getting to be a confident walker.  He'd started walking in the June.

We go to the sessions at Palace of Art in Bellahouston Park.

At first there would only be a few families attending our session but it's now (March 2017) quite busy.  This makes me feel confident that they won't shut down the sessions!

For your money, you get one hour to play with your child(ren) on all the gymnastics equipment (balance beam, scramble tables, bars, soft play blocks, trampettes), (sometimes) a bouncy castle and a big trunk of balls, bats, scoops, quoits, bean bags etc. on the sprung floor.  One hour is sufficient time to try everything but not long enough to get bored.  Angus is ready to go once our hour is up.  He loves it and I used to get a really good nap out of him afterwards, back in the day.

You do have to commit to playing with your child, you can't sit back a watch or chat (some mums try and it's their children that are absolute pests).  But it's only one hour.

Parking is plentiful for the time of day and free.  If the weather is nice, we park at the House for an Art Lover and enjoy a bit of time in the park afterwards.  There is a toilet and baby change situated next to the hall used, which is very convenient.  The corridor outside offers lots of buggy parking, although people bringing a baby seem welcome to park them in the hall.  Some people choose to get a vending machine coffee and hang out with friends afterwards but if you wanted something posher there are cafes in the House for an Art Lover (very nice, not as expensive as you'd think) and the Ski Centre (untested to date!).  Sessions run throughout the week during term time and they run a restricted timetable during holidays (although you have to be eagle-eyed to find out when!).  It is £2.10 per child plus £1 per extra child and £1 per adult.  It's pay as you go too, which is brilliant.

Sessions also run at Govanhill Neighbourhood Centre (once a week) and Kelvin Hall.  I haven't been to either.  I notice West End mums get charged more for their session and you would have to pay £1 to park at Kelvingrove.  Hooray for Govan living!

Glasgow Comedy Festival 2017

Just a note to say that the Kids Comedy programme as part of the Festival kicks off tomorrow, Saturday 11th March.  Everything for 3+ is part of the regular programme at the Scottish Mask & Puppet Centre.  There looks to be some great stuff for the 5+ though - science, gunge, magic, buses.

Village Storytelling Centre at the Lighthouse

This looks an interesting one, on Saturday (11th March 2017) and next Saturday, the Village Storytelling Centre are performing at the Lighthouse.  It's free but you have to book in advance.  More info here.

Prezzo, Braehead

It's a very rainy Sunday in Glasgow...you have chores...your cupboard is bare...where do you go?  Braehead..

On this occasion we thought we would check out Prezzo.  If you have the VoucherCloud app, you can get either 30% off your food bill or a kids meal for £1 (instead of £3.99).  But not on a Saturday.

Angus loves a pizza.  His Daddy loves a pizza (but had meatballs).  It's a no brainer.

Given that you are in a shopping centre, the setting is quite airy.  They clearly separate the families from the couples in two different seating areas.  We received the obligatory crayons and menu to colour in.  It's not destination dining, that's for sure.

I was really surprised by how expensive the meals were for adults.  For the price, you would expect to be in a nice, relaxed restaurant not a glorified food court.  However the childrens' menus were good value.  For £3.99 (I think), Angus had garlic bread, pizza and a scoop of ice cream (squash is included too).  There was a menu for older children with more options, priced at £6.50.  Adult pizza and pasta is more like £10 a dish.  I had the carbonara and Gareth had meatballs, both of which were tasty.

Obviously we sampled Angus's pizza too and it was a good one.  I feel that too many eateries charge a couple of quid for a scoop of ice cream, so it's a nice touch to have it included - and a choice of vanilla, strawberry or chocolate!

Overall, it's not my first choice for lunch out.  It sits in a funny position between being a place to go for a nice family lunch (and priced as such) but being located in a shopping mall where you want to grab a bite to eat.  I'm going to keep sampling and draw up my Top 5 Braehead eateries!

World Book Day - Sharktastic Stories

Really sad that we are busy and can't take Angus to this event on the Tall Ship tomorrow.

Lots of shark activities from 12-3pm on Saturday 4th March 2017.