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

Oh we do like to be beside the Seaside! Greetingsfrombeacons, Heslaker Farm, Skipton

It’s National Play Day today so it got us thinking about our local parks and places to picnic and decided to make them the focus of today’s competition to WIN 2 adult & 2 child tickets for Beacons Festival on 14 Aug (Heslaker Farm, Skipton). To Enter: Visit your favourite local park / picnic spot this weekend. Complete a short survey to tell us all about it. Return it to us by 10pm Sun 7 Aug. We'll select a winner at random from the pile of returned surveys - easy! Email moobaakids@hotmail.co.uk now to request a survey sheet! And here’s where you could be heading…




Hot on the heels of The Magic Loungeabout, Skipton is set to conjure up more family-friendly festival magic in the form of the fabulous Beacons Festival (August 11 – 14).


Alongside a line-up featuring the best upcoming talent and an array of alternative entertainment, little ones will also love,love,love it! The great people at Beacons are so keen to welcome local families that they are even running discounted tickets - first come, first served while they last - for those in the BD23 postcode…


A huge red-domed marquee will be home to The Ladybird Project for the weekend – a bonanza of kids entertainment with loads of creative workshops (four a day), themed days, pirate talk classes, mask making, instrument playing and much more!


This will culminate each day in a very noisy, colourful kids parade winding right the way through the festival site so they’re very much part of the fun.

The lady birds also create a magical garden area with seating and outdoor crafts in a fantastical atmosphere with circus performers and a family friendly-cabaret. If this weren’t enough – and your little ones fancy a trip to the seaside for the day, there’s a fabulous beach area complete with beach huts, and cycle powered musical entertainment so you can kick back and relax on the deckchairs with a drink, while the kids build sandcastles and create some art.


For the grown ups, the three day event will be headlined by Jamie XX, Jamie Woon, The Phantom Band and also includes Willy Mason, The Twilight Sad, Mr Scruff, Hudson Mohawke, Toddla T, Mount Kimbie and Emmy The Great.

Aside from the bands there’s a secret cycle powered disco, mojito bar, a beach, garden shed stage, treasure hunts, live art and fancy dress – all washed down with locally-brewed ale if you fancy a jar. Plus live film rescores spoken word, theatre, dance, and exclusive film programmes.

We’re so lucky they have chosen Skipton to host this brilliant celebration and hope everyone will give Beacons our warmest greetings and get down there to support the festival and have a cracking time.

For more information including prices visit www.greetingsfrombeacons.com And if you live in the BD23 postcode you can get generously discounted locals tickets at a cost of just £30 for the weekend! This is a fabulous but limited offer so get in there quick while there’s still time www.greetingsfrombeacons.com/residents Race you to the deckchairs!

What's on, Summer fun!

The summer holidays seemed to go on forever when we were little but not as long as they can seem to stretch now when there are children to keep entertained! We’d love to start off by talking sunshine and long hazy days but this is North Yorkshire and we know you’re not going to fall for it! We’re all hoping for summer sun but realistic enough to know we need alternatives too.

It’s hard to keep track of what stops over summer and what continues so we’ve done a boredom-busting round-up of what’s on over the coming month or so to make sure your little ones are kept happily occupied.

Let's hope it looks like this!

We want to wring every last ounce of fun out of summer so have set up a new page on our site to list exactly what’s happening and where. For all the details please check it out - What’s on, Summer fun. You’ll find information about the children’s fun area at Aireville park including rides, slides and candyfloss; meet-ups; messy play; stay & play and sensory play sessions and lots more. Many of these activities are £FREE!

www.malhamdale.com/showindex.htm

Don’t forget to check out the rest of our website with year-round information. Our Events page is absolutely jam-packed to the rafters with family-friendly local events. There is something on almost every single day over the summer holidays - including festivals, village shows/galas, kids’ craft workshops, theatre performances, outdoor play events, and much, much more – again some of these are £FREE! We will blog in the run up to our pick of the best events to remind you!

There’s also our Things to Do section. This should definitely keep you busy with loads of indoor and outdoor options. And because we are pretty optimistic and keeping everything crossed for those sunshine-filled hazy days we’re all hoping for, we’ll also point you to the walks page. We live in an amazing part of the world – what better time than summer to get out and see it.

We don’t want to completely jinx the weather but we’re also working on a new parklife section dedicated to free local parks and gardens, as well as our lowdown of top spots for perfect picnics. So keep your fingers crossed with us and let’s hope the sun smiles over Skipton soon!