Category: Travel

St Alban’s South Signal Box

We’ve just returned from St Alban’s South Signal Box as part of Heritage Open Days 2011.  We’ve gone by it countless times on the train ‘down to London’ as they say but we had no idea that it’s open to the public.   In fact, it’s open every second Sunday of the month.  Do check the website for a full list of opening times.

‘Early in 2002 a group of St Alban’s residents decided that the signal box at the end of their road had been left to decay for 25 years too many.’

I highly recommend a visit.  It’s one of those hidden gems in St Alban’s.  I’m by no means a train spotter but I found it very interesting and my husband and daughter were enthralled.  We listened to a short talk about the restoration which included a demonstration of how it would have worked in action and then the kids got a chance to pull the levers, which would turn the signals on in the garden.

There’s also a historical exhibition on the ground floor and the gardens are lovely.

Do you know any other local gems I should look out for?

 

Kids and jetlag

We’ve just returned from a fabulous holiday in Canada.  The only downside is we’re now suffering from jetlag, Madame and I have been up since 2 am and she’s now on her second movie.  I don’t find it too bad when we travel to Canada.  We usually have a couple of days of her waking at 5.30 am but then she slips back into routine.  However, when we fly back to the UK we often struggle.

This made me wonder if it’s normal to struggle more from west to east than east to west.  With a bit of spare time on my hands I did a bit of reading.  Apparently, it is more difficult from west to east as you face bedtimes earlier than normal and it’s easier to keep yourself awake than it is to force yourself to sleep which makes perfect sense.  For example, when it’s 8pm here it’s only lunchtime in Canada.

Do you agree or disagree?

Any tips on how to crack it?

Now I just need to find something to do until Sainsbury’s opens.

 

 

 

 

Boat for Hire

My hubby’s been itching to get Madame on the water.  He definitely has a love of the sea; he used to do a lot of scuba diving, sailing and windsurfing.  Unfortunately, a lot has changed in the last 20 years in relation to health and safety. So, it’s no longer a matter of popping down to a local sailing club and renting a dingy.  You now have to have formal qualifications, level 2, which requires a couple of weekends and a few hundred pounds.

So, as a cheap and quick alternative we opted to go to the Lee Valley Boat Centre and hire an electric boat.

It was brilliant and the weather was perfect.  I’d highly recommend it but do avoid the pub across the canal afterwards, which was responsible for probably one of the worst roast lunches I’ve ever had.   The sign on the door should have been a dead give-away ‘shirts must be warn at all times’ and no word of a lie, the grannies had tattooes!

I always thought Broxbourne was in Herts and not Essex??? ;-)

 

 

 

 

 

Butterfly World

If you haven’t been to Butterfly World, near St. Albans, in awhile you may be surprised at some of the improvements.  When it first opened it was a bit of a disaster; very overpriced, including the café and it was pretty much a building site.

It was nice to see all the improvements yesterday, they’ve obviously listened.  The gardens are in full bloom and are absolutely stunning.  Madame and her pals had a whale of a time climbing on, over and through all of the sculptures.  If you go, do seek out the playground, it’s a bit tucked away behind the café.  My photos don’t do it justice.

To save a few pennies you could take a picnic as there is a dedicated picnic area.  I wasn’t organised enough so purchased lunch for us and it wasn’t too expensive (£7).

Do bear in mind though that it is still a work in progress and the large dome isn’t finished yet.

I’d love to know what you think.

If you’re struggling for ideas of what to do with your kids this summer these posts may also be of interest.

Kite Flying Dunstable Downs

Free things to do with kids near St Albans

Havilland Mosquito Museum