Countdown to the Strid Woods Spooktacular!

If you go down to Strid Woods to play, you’re sure of a spooky surprise! It’s ghoulish witches, grisly spells and hidden pumpkins all the way for the Bolton Abbey Halloween Pumpkin Trail 

We love everything about Bolton Abbey – it’s an amazing gem on our doorsteps and we make use of our season tickets whenever we can - the changing seasons and packed schedule of fantastic activities mean that no two visits are ever the same and the Pumpkin Trail looks set to be a real highlight.

From 27 October – 4 November, the Pumpkin Trail (which is pram-friendly) set up in the woods will enchant little ones and get them in the mood for Halloween. As you wander through Strid Wood, there’ll be hidden pumpkins to search for as well as low-flying witches to dodge! All the while, you’ll be looking out for clues to unravel a grisly spell. Our little ones loved this last year so we can’t wait to do it again!

Alongside the Halloween event, Bolton Abbey offers the whole family the chance to explore the ruins of the priory as well as riverside, woodland and moorland paths (there are more than 80 miles of footpaths, many of which are pushchair friendly). And if you need to refuel afterwards, we think the newly-refurbished Cavendish Pavilion is great for kids! The fab menu includes children’s lunchboxes and they are happy to provide smaller kids’ portions on request. There are baby-changing facilities, high-chairs, a pushchair-friendly entrance and layout as well as stuff to do to keep toddlers amused until the food arrives.
 

The Cavendish Pavilion is also set to host fun-filled Halloween children's parties during the October half term (29 Oct - 2 Nov) with The Wonderful Witch of Wharfedale - an afternoon of games, music, activities and story telling. Tasty tucker for all the little imps includes Bat Sandwiches and Creepy Cupcakes, Spooky Spider Pizzas and Dead Man’s Fingers, Ghoulish Goulash and Devil’s Couldron and much more – all freshly prepared to satisfy witch’s helpers and grizzly grown-ups!

Normal admission to the estate applies (it’s £6 per car and the estate opens at 9am every day) and the Pumpkin Trail is free. It's £4.95 per child for the Halloween Parties. Simply collect a trail sheet at the Sandholme Kiosk, Cavendish Shop or Dusty Bluebells on arrival. 

For more information about the Pumpkin trail and everything Bolton Abbey has to offer, visit their website at www.boltonabbey.com 

If you haven’t already then head to Bolton Abbey…

If you’ve been part of the MooBaa massive for a while now, you’ll know that we are a little bit crazy in love with Bolton Abbey. It’s the most beautiful place simply for a stroll, to learn to skim stones, negotiate stepping stones or for a family adventure in the woods.

Explore the woods

There’s so much to do there without any additional activities but when they lay them on, the people at Bolton Abbey always get it right. There’s icing and sprinkles on the cake next (wild!) Wednesday (29th August), children are invited to discover the nature and wildlife in Strid Wood and take part in the wild Wednesday trail to see if they can score the most points. Finish back at the Cavendish Pavilion to have a go at the senses activity. Free activity, normal admission applies and again children must be supervised by an adult. Collect a free trail activity sheet on arrival at Sandholme kiosk.

Kite making

So that’s Wednesday sorted. How are you fixed for Fridays? If it’s a funday Friday you’re after then look no further than August 24th and 31st. From 11am -3pm, come along and enjoy a family day out and have fantastic fun playing with large outdoor games for FREE (normal admission applies) You can also learn how to make your very own kite, for just £2 or for those who have energy to burn off why not let them have fun on the bouncy castle for just £1 per go.

And if that’s not enough, until 24th August there’s still the fantastic sports trail to check out! Sporting scenes will be recreated along the Green Trail in Strid Wood (great for pushchairs) with some displays being interactive for the kids to have a go at! See if you can find all the different events as you weave your way through the wood to make it to the podium. Collect a free activity booklet on arrival.

If that doesn’t swing you for a visit we don’t know what will…stress-free parking? Great family-friendly food at the Cavendish Pavilion café? Fresh air and amazing scenery? It’s all there and it’s all on our doorstep. Introduce your kids to it and watch them fall a little bit in love with it too. x

We had a (glitter) ball at this year’s Magic Loungeabout!

We make no apology for taking a week or two to report back from the Magic Loungeabout. Our heads have only just stopped spinning from the disco master class that was the legendary CHIC and Nile Rogers.

With the spectacular Broughton Hall lit up to stunning effect (think silhouettes in the windows of people getting ready for a night out in 1712, to a huge glitter ball revolving on the building), Nile Rogers and CHIC came out, aaaaah freaked out and stole the show.

Headliners CHIC, alongside Inner City and the fantastic Charlatans contributed to a brilliant line-up at the north’s best boutique festival billed as ‘a refined unwind.’ As well as the headliners, there were star performances from up and coming acts and a dance tent with none other than Dave Beer – Basics legend.

We never thought we’d hear ourselves say this but it wasn’t just about the music and the dancing. Not now we’ve little ones in tow! A wise parent once advised that you can’t enjoy yourself unless your kids are happily occupied and luckily for us there was plenty to keep them entertained the whole weekend.

There were all the old favourites such as face painting, story telling and tons of arty stuff (loving the sock puppets!), but on top of that there was water zorbing, robotic dancing, DJing classes, illustration and writing workshops, as well as a whole host of fairies, trolls and funny folks. There were interactive children’s entertainers, magicians and magical performances (we loved Dangerous Dave’s madcap puppet show) as well as films and cartoons and even morning yoga and tai chi.

There was a fantastic array of things on offer to keep them occupied but – perhaps predictably – our little ones were most enthralled by the bubbles from the bubble guns that every child seemed to be happily toting, as well as the amazing homemade ice cream. With candy floss and fairy wings galore, it really was a magical weekend.

They had literally thought of everything this year to make The Magic Loungeabout the best and most family-friendly festival in the land (kids under 12 go free with paying adults, but they must have a ticket to enter). There were kids’ loos, a breast feeding and baby care tent, an essentials hut selling (as the name implies, all the essentials!) everything you might need including nappies, wipes, sun cream, ear defenders. This year too there was also a kids’ registration scheme and provision for lost children.

Early evening, there were bedtime stories with marshmallow toasting and a family fire show. With a lovely campfire and special Angel hot chocolates with lashings of cream. We loved listening to the lullabies before bed – who’d have thought it but alongside CHIC’s amazing performance, a simple rendition – one girl, her beautiful voice and a keyboard – of twinkle twinkle little star were the highlights for us!

Our little ones had a ball (between us, aged from almost two, to almost four, with a two and a half year old in the middle) and frankly so did we. A great big glitter ball of fun. We cannot wait till next year! x

Note – Super early bird tickets are available for next year http://magicloungeabout.ticketline.co.uk/

Pantomime season is well underway and on behalf of MooBaaKids, Kathy Grillo took a trip down memory lane to the Alhambra panto in Bradford and liked what she saw.

MooBaaKids users can ring up for tickets to Robin Hood- The Pantomime Adventure NOW and simply quote MOOBAA OFFER to secure the following fantastic discount: Best seats (stalls & dress circle) £15, that's a saving of up to £9.50 on these dates / performances: Tues 10 Jan - 6.15pm; Tues 17 Jan - 6.15pm.
The offer is on a first come first served basis and therefore subject to availability and booking fees.


Robin Hood – The Pantomime Adventure at the Alhambra Theatre, review by Kathy Grillo.


Little and Large in 1981 with a guest appearance from Norman Collier (does anyone else remember his broken microphone act?) and a memorable rendition of the rather annoying ‘Shaddup You Face’. That was my last visit to an Alhambra pantomime.


So with slightly jaded memories of the concept I needed convincing, even though many have sung the praises of stalwart comedian Billy Pearce’s regular appearances in the annual show.


But I needn’t have worried – myself and my six-year-old daughter were completely blown away by the spectacle.


From the moment the lights go down the show grabs the audience by the lapels and takes it on a journey of magic, adventure, belly laughs and camp musical numbers.


Pearce, despite being at least 20 years older than many of the cast bounces through from beginning to end with the energy of a schoolboy and a rapport with the audience very few could achieve. From the moment he lands on stage, dangling from the ceiling, he is welcomed by many like an old friend.


Hilary O’Neil as the Sorceress, another panto regular, effortlessly lurches from impersonations including Stacey Solomon and Joe Pasquale to belting out big songs.


The villain of the piece, the Sheriff, played by Jay Worthy was brilliantly camped up and over-acted. And Andrew Ryan’s outrageous Nurse Nelly competes with Pearce for laughs with his/her increasingly eye-popping costume changes, such as a crazy striptease which became a washing line and turns as both Susan Boyle and Anne Robinson.


The laughs came thick and fast with topical jokes (“I’m taking her to a deep, dark place. No, not Skipton!”) and slapstick like Jamie Capewell’s vainpreening, Will Scarlett wooing Maid Marion (Emma Cannon) with a cheesy version of Bryan Adams’ ‘Everything I Do’ with Pearce trying to pull him off the wall he is sitting on.


The wonders of modern panto technology are also on display with a beautiful ‘waterfall’ which spells out words and a flying dragon.


We left the theatre as pantomime converts, chatting about it all the way home. But for younger children, an earlier performance is a must, as the show is nearly three hours long, with a 15-20 minute interval for frantic toilet trips.


Runs until 5 Feb – www.bradford-theatres.co.uk