Sunday, August 30, 2015

A Weekend of Contrasts...

This is a bankholiday weekend here in the UK, and since it is also the second to last weekend before the boys are back at school we thought we ought to take the chance and DO something. 

The weather on Saturday was fair, if not particularly hot, and boy #2's homework is castles and dragons (we'll still have to build a castle. Oops. I guess there is always tomorrow to start that project...), so we decided to head up to the Yorkshire moors, to Pickering Castle.

What a fantastic day out it was! We like to go to the moors, and I love the fact that we have them more or less on our doorstep. We'd not, however, been to the castle before, and what a beautiful spot, it is! It's a ruin, but complete enough to still look like a castle, and to give an idea of what it might have looked like. It's managed by English Heritage, so there is a small entrance fee, but once you are in the grounds you can just walk around and explore. The boys loved it - the wide open spaces, the ruins, the two moats, and the hidden nooks and crannies ("is that a prison, mummy?"). 

We were enchanted too. There were probably only two or three other families in the castle while we were there, and the fairytale quality of the place really left an impression. 










On the way back we took a slight d-tour so we could enjoy the blooming heather on the moors. Doesn't it look beautiful?







We followed the pleace and tranquility of the moors with the industrial setting of Sheffield today, when we went to the Magna Science Centre. It's located in a huge old Steel Works and it's spectacular in a whole different way. We spent a day being wowed by science and by the bold, imposing architecture of the place. 





The boys loved the interactive nature of the exhibits. Organised into Fire, Water, Earth and Air, there are spaces where kids can experience and experiment with different elements or work with interactive screens or, as in the case of the fire devil below, watch, just separated by a railing. 

 




 
Old Steel Works industrial heritage meets the ultra-modern in the entrance hall:


We had a fabulous time.

I also love how nature sneakily finds little places to be, even in such an industrial space. :)


3 comments:

  1. What a great family day out. The heather on the moor was enchanting, really beautiful.

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  2. This was a nice, busy day of exploring. Your science museum is like our Exploratorium in San Francisco where everything is hands on in.

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  3. we're hoping some of the heather on the moors is still as pretty when we're over there in a couple weeks. What a perfect way to spend the last bank holiday of the summer. :)

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