A great afternoon out.

Somewhere we've been quite frequently is Wollaton Hall and Deer Park (http://www.wollatonhall.org.uk/ ). We've been for specific public events, such as Fossil Friday, for various HE organised workshops, to observe the deer during the rut with Wildlife Watch group, and just to spend time with friends. We've only been a couple of times to spend time as a family there, but that's what we did this afternoon, when M announced that she wanted to go out and came up with 5 options for us to choose from.

One of the many good things about the place is that there's loads of space outside, so even though it was really busy it didn't feel crowded, as well as the Hall if you're getting a bit chilly.

First we headed, as always, for 'The Climbing Tree', which the girls love and I can't resist either.

A said he particularly liked my 'Jedward hair' in this one.

Then we headed down to the lake. Since the Hall is perched right on top of a hill it's irresistable to break into a run down the slopes. And even if the grown ups find they can resist, they often don't get the choice!

Down by the lake you can find 'The Hollow Tree' (we have such imaginative names don't we!) and plenty of stumps for climbing on and playing in. M's grumpy face is very definitely put on by the way, she was having great fun scowling for the camera!

By the time we'd walked along the edge of the lake closest to the Hall (it's also a lovely walk around it for longer visits) my ears were cold, so we went into the Hall. In the Hall there are, among other things, minerals, some fossils, lots of insects and loads of stuffed birds and animals in there (really well explained and put into their historical context).

M's favourite thing? The fossil of an iguanodon's femur (at the bottom of the picture)

We then seemed to get caught up in a Swallows & Amazons theme. Just some of the things we found include:

An adder

A pair of cormorants

And for those of you who really know your stuff!

A Great Northern Diver (which according to the label is a visitor to the northern parts of the UK, but of course we know different don't we!)

We then ran down the slope back towards the car park for a quick go in the playground for heading home. All in all a pretty great afternoon and it only cost £2 for the parking!