A Day Out At Knebworth House

I don’t know about you but we are dreadful for spending time as a family. It always seems to be someone’s birthday or some sort of event meaning we cannot spend time together, just us. The girls and I are quite good at getting out in the week these days but the weekends are spent sorting the house or visiting friends and family. It gets me down, I want to have days out just the four of us.

When I found out about the new ‘Little Trikers‘ campaign from Little Tikes and Greg Rutherford I was happy to get involved as it would mean I had to make time! They have joined forces to get families out of the house and enjoying quality time together- exactly what I want! They also have a fab competition running so go check that out!

So where to go? I am always moaning to Mr F that we don’t have any National Trust places near us but have totally missed the fact we have Knebworth House 5 minutes around the corner! When I was out with my friend last week she mentioned that they were holding a jousting event and booking online would get a bit of a discount- I was sold, so booked the tickets then and there! Sorted!

I used to go jousting all the time as a child, my mum always tells people I truly believed they were real knights! I didn’t, I just pretended for the sake of my little sister. Anyway, I used to love it and was really excited to be going again after all these years!

We arrived and parked in the lower car park- big mistake! Had to walk up a massive hill to get to the house! But, we were together and Little G was happy to be able to use her scooter!

Of course after 2 minutes her legs were going to drop off so Daddy carried the scooter the rest of the way!

Of course, LJ was able to enjoy a ride in her 4-In-1 trike! I am telling you, since she has had it she hasn’t stopped smiling. The number of comments we have had from passers-by about how cute she is is ridiculous! Normally she is quite reserved but she has been smiling and waving at people- pleased as punch with herself for being a big girl on her trike.

What I really love about the trike is the fact it will grow with her. She will grasp the idea of pedalling and eventually be confident to do it on her own without me having to push the handle. I also love that I didn’t need to take a bag out with me as I popped my phone and keys in the pouch! Just fab!

Could I get her to smile here? Of course not!

We arrived and were greeted by an archery activity for adults and kids. Little G has never done it so we got her kitted out and she had 6 arrows to fire. I think she managed 2, not bad for a first attempt I would say!

The jousting was being held right next to the house. Our tickets didn’t include entry inside unfortunately so I am going to go back later to have a nosey around! Didn’t stop me from posing in front of the gates though!

The jousting was so much fun, they made a real show of it and there was plenty of booing for the baddie and a bit of drooling over the gorgeous knights from me and probably half the women in the audience!!

Once the jousting was over we decided to head off to explore the rest of the grounds. They are stunning, so well kept and really lovely to walk through on a sunny day. We took the girls through the maze- got lost plenty of times despite it only being waist height!!

We saw these as we left the maze- are we the only ones to call them fairies?

Next were the dinosaurs, a random addition to the grounds but great for kids. Little G is obsessed with them and knows all of their names. I felt quite proud of her as she walked around naming them correctly when adults were struggling to read the plaques!

We then headed off to see the rest of the gardens- what a beautiful place! Look at the carving here, how clever to do that to an old tree stump!

We rounded off the afternoon with a play in their adventure playground and a game of frisbee. It was such a boiling hot day we couldn’t stay out in the sun for too long but the frisbee lets out water as it flies through the air so that was great!

The whole day was so lovely, spending time just us, doing exactly what we wanted. I really need to arrange it so that our weekends are our own again. Although I know it won’t be for a while now as the next month or so we are fully booked with weddings and various other events!!

Here is a very quick video of a few clips and photos from the day.

Do you spend much time with your family, just you? 

We were sent the trike as part of the campaign but as always all words and thoughts are my own.