The Mock Turtle

I'm going to need the pub! We'll be going with my sister and her family. The week will be spent with my nephew bullying Cube and the BIL screaming at him.

Hah! OK.

Knights Hill just outside Lynn has a good farm shop, butcher (Howard's)and pub/restaurant. Swaffham also had a good butchers (Impsons), and the farmers market on sat is good for supplies.

Mr L is in Norfolk right now. We both love it up there.

Wells is really pretty & there is an award winning fish & chip shop. Norfolk Lavender is quite good for kids as it’s got a soft play bit, and animals I think.

Castle Acre sounds like it’s vastly improved since I went several years ago

Woohoo! I’ve just booked a little getaway with my brother the end of this month. We could have done somewhere more central but he’s doing a bit of a west coast tour so I’m joining him in Cheddar Gorge.

I’ve not seen him since Christmas 2019

Ah, how lovely Kleio. Cheddar is lovely

That’s so good to hear Smal.

We're off to Wells/Cheddar Gorge on Monday and I'm nervous as hell with numbers as they are. My brother is going to a cheese factory and we thought about going to Wookie Hole while he was there but I don't know if it'll be crowded. I'd have felt much happier going before restrictions were lifted.

On the way home we're going to swing by Stonehenge but I almost fainted at the cost! I've seen a few websites telling you how to access then public pathways around there so fingers crossed we can do that. My mum is really struggling with her mobility at the moment though so we can't walk too far.

If it helps at all I *think* the rates around there are relatively low. They've gone nuts in Bristol but the.more rural areas are still OK ish.

From.memory wookie hole is relatively spaced out. Although caves, obviously. I haven't been in yonks

How much is it? I've never been

I drive through Cheddar often - it’s definitely getting busier but still not heaving like pre covid.

We visited Wookey Hole past summer (our visitors to the area wanted to go and paid for us!) and we had to book a specific time for entry/cave tour. Some of the indoor stuff wasn’t accessible but that may have changed now.

Rates have been lower round here than lots of the UK throughout but they are rising. There’s lots to do outside - also happy to help with recommendations.

I wouldn't pay for Stonehenge as you can't get that close anymore so I'd just do the drive by and then visit the other stones nearby that you get get right up close to. I've forgotten their name but someone will know!

I went on a couple of school/family trips to Wookey Hole and loved it, mainly the mirrors bit though which you can get other places.

Avebury? All the locals say they’re loads better but I’ve still not made it. I’ve seen Stonehenge from the A303 many times now though from driving to London/Surrey. I’m quite blasé about it now, cursing the cars that slow down.

Yes that's the one! I was trying versions of A-something-henge in my head and couldn't get to it.

Avebury is super cool, I really recommend it.

Avebury is really nice.

If you know someone who’s a member of the National Trust who doesn’t mind you borrowing their card, you can get in free to Stonehenge (or at least you used to be able to!). If that’s still the case you might be able to bring the family cost down enough for it to be viable for you.

Stonehenge is English Heritage. It’s quite likely that it’s the most expensive place to visit so have a look and see if yearly membership is worth it, if you’ll use it to visit other places on your trip or nearby when back home.

We went to quite a few places with EH membership that we wouldn’t have gone to otherwise and really enjoyed them.

I usually borrow a friends card but she’s let it lapse. I was a member many moons ago but we haven’t got enough places close to justify it now.

I’ll definitely try Avebury too. Thanks!

We’ve booked an extra night in a shepherds hut to make the drive down a bit more worthwhile. It sounded like a good idea at the time but now I’m making a list I suddenly need to add the camping stove, chairs, cutlery and plates.

We’ve finally accepted abroad just isn’t going to be an option this year :slow: so the week we had earmarked for October we have booked a 3 bed cottage in Pembrokeshire that looks really nice (and has a farm, indoor swimming pool and kids club/babysitters )

It’s nice to have something to look forward to, the last time we went away was July 2019 but I don’t even want to count that as I was 7 months pregnant in the heat in Ibiza we’ve gone for Wales in case there are any in-country lockdowns/travel restrictions as that seemed sensible.

Kleio wrote: ↑Sat Jul 24, 2021 4:17 pm I usually borrow a friends card but she’s let it lapse. I was a member many moons ago but we haven’t got enough places close to justify it now.

It's quite difficult to find this out BUT Stonehenge is actually free for National Trust members even though it's an English Heritage site. The NT own the land and EH own the structure. We got in for free a couple of years ago. I am really glad I went to Stonehenge but it's a weird experience; rammed with foreign tourists, smaller than you think and a bit underwhelming.

The last time I went was maybe three years ago. I liked the visitors’ centre & shop, it was much improved from my previous visit. And the tractor thingy ride out to the stones from there was fun too.