Goodbye 2019 Hello 2020

When we found out there were souvenirs to be claimed on the last day of 2019 and the first day of 2020; we couldn’t avoid the urge.

Souvenirs in the Geocaching world are like digital badges on your profile and throughout your Geocaching adventures, sometimes there will be a challenge set to achieve them and sometimes it will because you found a cache in a different country.

To claim the individual souvenirs we had to find one cache on each day and I am glad to say that we DIT IT! We actually did it in 2018 as well but in 2017 we only managed to claim one as we were away.

New Years Eve.JPG

New Year’s Eve and we managed to find a Geocache very local to us, we like to keep a few for emergency caching. Thankfully we can find micro’s nice and easy now. Our last cache of 2019 was Priory Road Cache and Dash (GC676GF).

 

Our caching year totals so far: 

2017- 191

2018- 134

2019- 102

Despite the decline in finds we absolutely love Geocaching and 2020 we are going to aim to increase our finds. Things are a little different as we are now a family that works from home full time. We are looking forward to 2020.

 

First Cache Find.JPG

2020 arrived and Rob is going to remind us all of this moment, the first find of the new year. A quick magnetic find and not that far from us, we were near Riplingham. 100 yards (GC6RKAD).

We didn’t stop there, we went on to find three more and had a lovely fresh New Years Day walk. We would have done more but it was a bitter cold despite the sun shining bright on us.

 

The Gilmour Kids

You can see they were all excited to be back out caching again but it can get competitive. Your dog will like this one (GC6RK9R).

Two new badges and an exciting caching year ahead planned.

The Gilmours

The Pink Pig Farm

We were gifted a day out to The Pink Pig Farm which is just over the Humber Bridge for us, a short 20 mile journey. The three children were excited to go along, we had visited before but had come for a special afternoon tea after some Geocaching. We were excited to go into the farm and find out what was in store.

jen and the kids

The lady that greeted us at the till was very friendly and informative, she told us all about the pumpkin carving and we decided to pay for it on the sale of “there’s no mess at home”. It was £3.50 per child. There wasn’t a map but everything was well signposted and staff throughout the day were very helpful with any directions, it was like discovering different area’s of the farm and became an adventure.

Farm Park 

It’s safe to say that the toboggan run was a big hit with the kids, absolutely loved racing each other down the hill. The giant swing was also fun because we all climbed aboard and had a swing together, it was nice to do as a family. We were lucky that we had a nice autumn day and that the rain kept away. There were lots of activities in this area including football, sand play, water play, slide, tight rope and even a craft cabin.

The air bounce pillow was a big hit and thankfully it wasn’t raining so they were able to join in. Daddy enjoyed the sand diggers and helped Robyn with them. There were tractors and a play hay bail, you are truly spoilt for choice on what to do.

Pumpkin Carving

The kids thoroughly enjoyed the pumpkin carving and spent time searching for the right pumpkin for them. The area was separate from everywhere else and dedicated to the carving, they all enjoyed the atmosphere that was brought with the themed decorations.

There were lots of Halloween activities including a spooky puzzle in a little woodland trail, we had to find the letters and unscramble them to make a word. If you got the word correct than a chocolate frog was the reward. An option in the shop to have your photo dressed up and on a broom with a green screen to make a fun shot.

Lunch stop 

lunch box

The kids decided they were going to have the lunch box deal for £4.50, choose 5 items from the selection; sandwiches, crisps, drink, fruit, yogurts, cookies, cheese, fruit packets and jammy dodgers. Plenty to choose from. It was a good idea because they didn’t want to stop playing and eat so they ended up having a little bit, coming back and having more.

There was a hot menu in which the adult lunch meals were a good price but we felt the children’s meal were a little expensive, perhaps because we have three children it cranked the price up a bit. However saying this, people had brought in their own picnics and there was no problem with this. It’s nice to know you have a choice when visiting places as a family to do this.

Mummy tried the quiche which was delicious and filling, it came with a side salad and coleslaw. Daddy had a chip butty and then we shared some sweet potatoe fries between us. We couldn’t complain at the portions, we were all satisfied and ready for the next part of our day out.

The animals

There were so many animals to see and it was set out like a trail with a washing station for your hands. Of course there are pigs to visit but also donkeys, sheep, goats, geese, chickens, alpacas, rabbits, guinea pigs and ducks (did you see the duck selfie?).

The Tractor Ride

gilmours at the farm

A pink tractor that you can ride on, yes please! We were surprised at how many we you could fit in the trailer, we were concerned that our family of five would take up the whole of one side but it wasn’t the case. It was fun to

The Play Barn

play barn.jpg

After all the fun outside it was time for a sit-down and let the kids play in the play barn, it was the kids that pointed out that the play area appeared like a pig which we thought was genius. Mummy and Daddy were certainly ready for a hot drink and the kids were kept happy, it was a task to bring them away when it was time to go home.

 

It’s safe to say we will be visiting again, especially as there is a Christmas Narnia experience.

Sophie (9) says “I think The Pink Pig Farm was amazing because all of the activities were fun to do. We went on the tractor ride and I liked looking at the animals, my favourite animal was the little owls cuddling together. My favourite thing to do there was jumping on the air bounce pillow.

Riley (7) says “I liked the pumpkin carving and the tractor ride. My favourite thing is seeing the animals and going on the toy tractors” 

Robyn (3) says in response to what was the best part of the day “The Tractor” 

Highly recommend going to visit The Pink Pig Farm. Find out more about the Pink Pig Farm here.

 

There is a Geocache nearby but we were all tuckered out as we spent the whole day at the farm. We are going to put it on our list to claim when we visit next time and make sure we stop to find it first.

The Geocache is called The little piggy……… (GC4WWCJ), it is a premium cache so you will have to be a member but it is only £25 for the year or you can pay monthly.

 

 

Pottery Painting

We have been to paint some pottery and it’s not something I have done since I was a child myself. Our eldest (Sophie) had been as part of a party and so we decided we should take Robyn and Riley on separate dates and enjoy some time. We usually do things together as a family and sometimes we forget to have that quality time together.

We went along to Tea & Bisque-it which is in Willerby and not that far from us.

Robyn was very excited at the thought and had no trouble in picking what she wanted to paint, Ariel. I chose a tealight holder and Rob chose a small gnome. Robyn was the first to get stuck in with her painting.

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We enjoyed some light lunch whilst we were there and had a pleasant time. The food was delicious and we can recommend trying their desserts, especially the bonoffee cookie chessecake.

We were worried at thinking Robyn may not understand that we have to leave her Ariel to be finished but she absolutely fine and couldn’t wait to see what it would look like.

A week later and we went to pick up our pottery, it was actually ready way before then but we didn’t have the time to collect.

Here were the results:

We were so pleased with the outcome and will certainly be going back again. We found the pottery painting relaxing and it was in a nice environment with good food and friendly staff.

The Gilmours.

Egg Rolling Geocaching Event

So we mentioned the Egg Rolling Geocaching event in a recent previous blog post and we thought we better share what we got up to with you all.

We went along on Easter Sunday and it was our second year to visit this much loved event. It’s so much fun and the kids were looking forward to it. We decided to get rubber eggs this year, a tad naughty, we just wanted to have some extra fun. Each of us decorated our eggs as you can see, they are placed in age order as well.

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Both sides were decorated, above are the reverse of the eggs. I think you will agree that we all put some great effort into them.

Egg Rolling is basically to roll an egg down the hill and to see which one gets the farthest. We wanted to share the fun with you so have put together a short video for you all…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7xoKHpu9wQ&w=560&h=315]

Unfortunately I had an influx of work and had to do some traveling but now I am back I am able to update you on our happenings. I have a few draft blog posts ready to go and so you should hear from us again soon.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Jennifer

Easter Egg Rolling- Next Weekend

Last year we attended Bobo Frett’s Easter Egg Rolling event for the first time. A Geocaching event with a bit of fun added into it.

We will be returning to this years event which is next weekend on the 21st April 2-3pm.

This year we are a little better prepared as we know what to expect. All three kids have already decorated their eggs and are excited for this years event.

 

You can find out more over at GC852WV, let us know if you are coming as well. 

A social gathering for geocachers to discuss geocaching.

The Brocklesby Egg Rolling Competition 2019

Roll up! Roll up! And once you’ve rolled up let’s roll down…again!

This is our fifth egg rolling competition down Mausoleum Hill on the Brocklesby Estate. Egg rolling is not compulsory.

 

 

Have a look at the fun we had at last year’s event: 

Brocklesby Egg Rolling 2018

Easter Sunday Geocaching event by Sophie Gilmour

 

See you there…

The Gilmour’s

Cherry View Milk

What a perfect add on when you are visiting Beverley in East Yorkshire. Cherry View Milk has its own MILK VENDING MACHINE!

Rob was told about this from someone at his work and so we thought we would check it out whilst out Geoaching nearby. We had to share with you our adventures, at first we captured on our Instagram profiles but then we decided to grab some footage to make a clip. Keep on reading to watch.

We visited a couple of weeks ago and were lucky to have some nice weather.

Cherry View Milk is open daily 7am-7pm, you just pull up and park on the drive. At first we weren’t sure what to expect or where we could go and where we couldn’t go. Other families were visiting at the same time and that encouraged us to visit the cows and explore.

You purchase a milk bottle from one vending machine if you don’t have one already £1.50. You can keep this for future use and the machine has a sterilising feature.

Fresh milk: 1 litre= £1 / 2 litre= £2

The milk was delicious and certainly fresh, I think you can gather that from Rob’s tasting on our clip. We will say no more, except this, if you have a chance to go then it is a must to visit.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WifOXRxNA6g&w=560&h=315]

We have kept out glass milk bottle so that we can make a trip whenever we pass nearby.

Find out more about Cherry View on their website here.

The Gilmour’s