Bolsover Castle

Next day trip: Bolsover Castle. Mums a member of English Heritage so yea, kids go free - that always makes the trip more enjoyable!

I've never been to Bolsover before - I couldn't believe the views. I've driven up and down the motorways and duel carriageways in that area for years and never realised how lovely it was.
Its a prime posing location! And I've trained some prime posers!
We loved exploring the ruins - nice to see mum, Sam and Leah in the kitchens downstairs while Megan and I looked down on them from above!
And even though there's not been any fires in them for centuries, it still felt risky letting my children crawl into the ovens! It just didn't feel right! Talk about being over protective!
We had a lovely picnic outside - here's a Nanny sandwich...
And this fountain made Sam's day - lots of little boys weeing into a fountain - this is Sam's idea of culture!
And of course Nanny had promised her grandchildren a trip to the gift shop on the way out - as usual Megan and Leah picked easily - although Megan pushed the budget by choosing a big feather fountain pen...and then later dropping hints for the ink - she ALWAYS manages to do that. And as usual, Sam went into panic mode at the pressure of choosing just one thing! He had to be threatened with nothing to get him to narrow his choice to something vaguely in budget. He chose a helmet and sword. Leah picked a princess hat, although I don't think I've ever seen a princess with style quiet like her!