Our Summer Holiday in Kent - Part 2

Here's the second half of our wonderful week in Kent. We arose early on the Tuesday morning for a wander around the surroundings of our cottage in Sandwich. The streets were narrow with some very old looking buildings, most of which increasingly jutted out with each storey. 

Strolling through the poky streets

Walking on the wall beside the river Stour

An interesting find - someone had obviously run out of ideas

Then we headed to Dover once again, this time to visit Dover Castle, a 'must-see' attraction in the area. It was a great place to visit for Zachary, as there were so many things to touch and look at.

Walking up towards the castle ahead

A grinning competition near the top of the castle

The network of underground tunnels was a highlight for all of us

The Lion of Dobson

Couldn't get him away from the stained glass reflections

Stairs are a toddler's best friend

A crowd of Japanese tourists took a liking to Zachary...

A typical kitchen of the time. Fortunately everything was stuck down and the eggs were fake.

Fillet of a fenny snake...

Stunning views over Dover and beyond

The following day, the morning was spent at Walmer Castle, near Deal. The grounds were as beautiful as the weather that day. They also had an interesting vegetable garden. The house was interesting to look around, although Zachary once managed to climb underneath the ropes of a cordoned off area which turned out to be alarmed!

Lily pond

Pretty in pink

Giddyup, Daddy!

BOOM!

That afternoon we drove to Ramsgate and enjoyed a stroll alongside the harbour, then a tour around the home of the famous architect, Augustus Pugin.

It was tempting to go for a dip

Pugin's home

Pugin's cloister design

Pugin's vibrant wallpaper - not to everyone's taste

Here's Swith enjoying some waffles topped with ice cream and various sauces for tea, yum!

So good, it melts in your mouth

The next day involved trekking through the oddly bleak landscape of Dungeness. This consists of several non-matching and odd looking houses, a couple of lighthouses and a whole load of abandoned boats/fishing equipment, all dominated by a huge imposing nuclear power station with hundreds of pylons.

NEVER ask Swith about the mishap with the sign

Walking along a shale beach in the sweltering heat

Packed lunch by the sea

The power station has put this up to test for radiation leaks

Tonnes of abandoned boats and equipment to explore behind

Up the winding stairs of the lighthouse

Two aliens made an appearance

Zachary had fun constantly running around the top of the lighthouse

That afternoon we drove to the lovely town of Hythe to visit the church and crypt of St Leonard. This was no ordinary crypt, it holds the largest and best preserved collection of bones and skulls in Britain, with bones from an estimated 2000 people. It is thought to originate from the 13th century, when the church was extended eastwards which required the uncovering thousands of graves. Many of the people are thought to be of Roman descent. It was interesting to look at some of the injured and diseased skulls and bones, including one with a dagger through the head, another which had been sliced by a sword in the back of the neck as well as various bone abnormalities.

Disappointment when we thought the crypt was closed

Skulls a plenty

10% of the skulls are children

Dead to the world

We then had a lovely stroll through the cemetery for great views over Hythe

Our final day on holiday involved gradually driving home whilst stopping off to visit places on the way. The main stop-off was at Hever Castle and Gardens which was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. We had a wonderful time roaming the absolutely stunning gardens (especially beautiful in the glorious sunshine) and the castle was great too, with lots of history and even a torture chamber!

We ate our lunch here

The shade was lovely

A great feature for kids - the water maze, in which water spurted upwards when you triggered a trap; Zachary wasn't too sure

The castle itself

Topiary in the form of giant chess pieces

We headed home after yet another wonderful (but tiring!) holiday. We'd recommend Sandwich as a great location to stay as there is such an array of different places of interest to visit. Bring on next year's holiday!

Our Summer Holiday in Kent - Part 1

Haven't had a chance to blog about this yet, but here's a little snapshot of the first half of our holiday in Kent, back in July. 

It's a good five hours to Kent, so we had the obligatory stop at a playground on the way, in Andover...

"I want to go on that one next!"

Zachary spent a long time counting on the abacus

Our next stop was at Rochester, to visit the beautiful Rochester Cathedral and Castle. Zachary had a fantastic time in the Cathedral, running up and down, playing with chair covers and attempting to climb on things he wasn't supposed to. The weather was a little murky, but the rest of the week was largely very sunny, so we had little to complain about. 

Rochester Cathedral (taken from Rochester Castle)

Zachary sneaks into the sanctuary

The cloisters and a well-kept garden

Rochester Castle; we were slowed down by the large number of puddles that needed jumping in

Zachary loves steps, and this castle had steps-a-plenty

After stopping for fish and chips in Ramsgate for our tea, we finally made it to the historic town of Sandwich. The cottage in which we stayed was old and had a lot of character - even the floors weren't level!

The cosy lounge where Zachary enjoyed the luxury of watching cartoons on Sky

Mummy and Daddy's luxurious super king size bed - so large they could spread out and not touch one another!

Here's the goodie pack the owners kindly left for us - yum!

The following day we headed to Margate to meet Uncle Caleb and Auntie Bev. The first stop was the Shell Grotto, a hidden network of underground passages lined with ornate shell mosaics, which had the feel of a temple. Discovered in the 19th century, this marvel is unknown in its purpose, origins or date (even century) of construction. Zachary enjoyed running through the narrow corridors, being chased by his adult attendants.

Producing a work of modern art

A gathering in the final cavern

"You can't catch me!"

We later enjoyed a tour of Margate, hosted by Auntie Bev who grew up there and showed us places where she used to live and various other interesting features.

We visited a Tudor House with dark rooms and low ceilings

After a trip to the playground and beach in Broadstairs, we visited Crampton Tower Museum, an interestingly shaped railway museum with little trains that moved around when you pressed some buttons (Zachary's favourite). The beehive building was an interesting experiment in sound - if you stood in the exact centre and spoke, the sound resonated back towards you, making your voice sound amplified. We climbed the tower for more railway history and train models.

Watching the trains move when he pressed

He soon get distracted and went to play with a chain instead

The oddly shaped beehive building and tower behind

The following morning's breakfast was a delight of waffles, bacon (from the welcome pack) and honey (an excellent stand-in for maple syrup).

Tasty

We drove to Canterbury for a glimpse of the Cathedral and a wander around the City Centre.

To prevent him dashing between the many legs, we put Zachary safely in his buggy

At the gate of Canterbury Cathedral

This is the most you can see without paying an extortionate price

We stopped for lunch at St Martin's Church, the oldest church in continuous use in England

After lunch, we drove west to Faversham for Belmont House and Gardens, for a lovely walk in the sunshine around the stunning gardens, followed by a tour of the largest privately owned clock collection in the UK.

Put it back, Zachary!

Zachary loves smelling flowers

Always there at the drop of a hat

Just pretty

Cuddles in the nice cool shade

Belmont House - the front is tiles, not bricks

We had dinner at Pizza Express, although Zachary was a little bored waiting and kept throwing things onto the floor. We treated him to his own portion of dough balls.

He decided he only liked the insides of the dough balls

The next day we headed to Dover for a walk along the coast to see the white cliffs and visit a National Trust lighthouse.

Zachary liked watching the trucks at the docks

The White Cliffs of Dover

We finally made it to the lighthouse for a tour

Keep a lookout for next week's post with part two!

Zachary's Quirks

Over the past two years Zachary has changed tremendously. Here are some of his characterisics at the age of two...

Not in the slightest bit cheeky

Most people that meet him think Zachary looks like his Mummy, or her brothers (or maybe Uncle Humphrey), but he does bear a resemblance to Daddy too:

Like father, like son

Zachary loves to copy whatever Mummy and Daddy are doing, which is fine when he wants to help clear his toys away, but not so great when he wants to help Mummy take the dinner out of the oven. One of his favourites is to help unpack the bag after we've been food shopping, but he has now decided that it's his job and no one else is allowed to take things out of the bags without a tantrum.

Helping water the plants

Zachary wanted to get as close as possible to the lawnmower

Zachary is a fruit monster - his current favourites are satsumas, blueberries and sultanas. If you suggest things he might like to eat, he'll continue saying 'no' until you offer one of his favourites. A few days ago when Mummy was dozing on the sofa, Zachary helped himself to a packet of sultanas from the larder cupboard and managed to eat half of the bag before we realised. He later experienced some pretty explosive nappies as he excreted hundreds of whole sultanas. If he has the opportunity, Zachary will always help himself to fruit and he loves picking fruit from a bush such as blackberries and raspberries.

Picking raspberries from Bumble's garden and immediately eating them

Zachary loves to copy the things that other people are doing. Sometimes this can be hilarious. It's always interesting when he learns to do something that you didn't actively teach him and he has learnt it by observation - he's a lot cleverer than he first appears.

Big yawns all round

Zachary loves interacting with maneouvrable objects such as latches, gates, swinging signs, switches and buttons and won't hesitate to try them all out. He loves going in lifts for this reason - pressing the button and watching it move; he gets angry if you try to exit a lift and walk away.

He spent a good 5 minutes opening and closing this gate

He couldn't quite reach the button of the hospital lift, but with Daddy's help he enjoyed 10+ lift journeys

Zachary is amazing at counting. He can count to ten (although he always says the word 'nine' for 5 and 7, as he can't quite say those). He can also count downwards from five, with a loud 'zoom' at the end. When asked to point to specific numbers in a random order, he can do so accurately for the numbers 1-12 and if he sees a number written down, he'll shout out its name. He loves to count objects, and when he counts to ten he uses his fingers to add digits in the sequence.

"Two"

Zachary seems to be left handed, as he will always tend to use that hand first; when I put a pen into his right hand for drawing, he immediately swapped it to his left before proceeding. Our current prediction on what he might be when he grows up is some kind of engineer. 

Zachary also loves to read books and he is constantly bringing you books to read him. He also loves to point to letters for you to read out their names, especially on number plates and signs with large lettering. We have decided to teach him the sounds of the letters, rather than their names, as we think this might help him with learning to read. 

'kicking kuh, ih, ter, curly ceh, heh, eh, neh (sorry Phobe!)

Zachary's talking is going pretty well, although he can only say monosyllabic words and no sentences yet, but he can easily make himself understood with a few words in the right context. For example, if he's hungry he'll always ask for cheese even if that's not exactly what he wanted to eat (because that's the only food word he can say); if he's thirsty he'll ask for juice, if he wants to play in his new playroom he'll say 'ball', but if he's tired he'll never ask for a sleep (because being awake is much more interesting).

Zachary loves to play, but much prefers playing with other people than alone. He loves playing with balls, kicking and throwing them around and he giggles when they bounce. 

Playing 'peek-a-boo' with Auntie Marilla

Zachary is very attached to his ball

We recently had a large conservatory built at the back of our house which is to be Zachary's new play room. It still needs decorating but Zachary has already claimed it as his own...

Hiding in his ball pool tent

As always, Zachary loves going outside, particularly enjoying playgrounds. If you suggest going to a playground in half an hour's time, Zachary will pick up on the word 'playground' in your conversation and immediately bring your shoes, grab your arm and drag you to the front door. He likes the swings best and usually enjoys slides, unless they're enclosed, too fast or have sand at the bottom. To ensure a slow ride, he always sticks his feet out to the edges to control his speed.

A controlled descent

 

If he was able, Zachary would take all of his clothes off , including his nappy and run around as much as possible. He also likes to climb on people who are lying down. This made a bad combination when he managed to achieve his objective while Mummy was asleep on the sofa and climb onto her... the worst part was that he'd left behind a soiled nappy.

Zachary hates wearing hats

Sleep has always been a bit of an issue with Zachary; even now, he goes through phases of sleeping through the night some days, then waking a few times on others. This usually seems to be caused by being away from home for several nights and becoming unsettled on returning home. Depending on how tired he is, he can be fine to get to sleep or he can take many attempts of putting him back down before he finally drifts off. There is, however, nothing worse than the bang of our bedroom door opening at 5.30am, as Zachary enters to get us up for his breakfast (fortunately this isn't every morning).

Daytime naps are usually pretty easy to coordinate; on this occasion, he hadn't quite finished eating when the nap took over

Zachary is a very happy boy with a lot of energy. He knows how he wants things done and is proactive in getting things he wants. He has a great memory for walking routes, knowing which turnings we need to take for the playground, library, toddler group etc.

It's often hard work to look after Zachary but on the whole he's an absolute joy to have around.