Thursday Photo #169

After a brilliant week camping in Kielder Forest, we are on our way home. There has been no phone signal at all where we were staying and limited WiFi. Much as this was a little inconvenient, it forced me to have a real break from work and social media.

Cycling

Libby learnt to ride her bike over a year ago when she was only three years old. Since then, it has been a bit of a battle to help her to do much more than ride in a straight line. Whilst she tried hard and had good balance, her bike was just too heavy.

For her birthday, we decided to invest in a much better bike. It’s light and designed to allow children to cycle properly. She quickly learnt to go around corners and up and down small hills. But using the brakes was a bit of a struggle as she was still nervous.

This week, despite rather unpleasant weather, the girls have spent a lot of time on their bikes. And Libby’s cycling has improved massively. She is confident going up and downhill, using her brakes and riding on proper mountain bike tracks.

When we were mountain biking, Lia had a trailer that attached to the back of my husband’s bike. We also brought her balance bike with us and she has got so confident on it that I think she’s ready for a pedal bike. I’m not going to make the mistake of using the heavy bike to teach her like I did with Libby, so our next purchase will be a tiny, light bike for Lia.

Hadrian’s Wall

A few years ago, my husband and I travelled up to the Isle of Mull in Scotland on a motorbike. The intention was that we’d spend some time walking Hadrian’s wall on the way home. True to form, the motorbike broke down and we ended up coming all the way home in various recovery vehicles.

Since then, I’ve been waiting for my chance to see Hadrian’s Wall. Luckily, this week was my chance. We visited the Roman Army Museum, Vindolanda Roman fort and had a walk along the wall itself.

The whole experience was fascinating for all of us, and it has made me realise the educational value of seeing things first hand. It has reinforced our decision to travel with the girls for a year, showing them the sights of Europe and allowing them to see first hand the places they will be learning about at school in years to come.

Our Thursday Photo #169

Two years ago this month, we were on holiday in the Isle of Wight. Since then, an awful lot has changed for us due to my husband’s accident and the difficult times that followed. While we were in Kielder, I saw a giant deckchair and took the opportunity to recreate a photo I took two years ago in the Isle of Wight. The first photo seems like a lifetime ago but these two happy little girls and their faithful dog are still the best of friends. Most of the time.