A trip to the Lake District isn’t consider a real success unless you walk to the summit of a fell. So after we lost our way on our first attempt, I found a book on the Low Fells to follow which sounded a better option for little legs and we decided to tackle Dodd Fell.

What a surprise! Massive amounts of new snow this week and conveniently for a change it finally arrives on a weekend. This meant Alice could yet again don all her fabulous Spotty Otter winter weather clothes, head out into the cold and go sledging.

Even though it was freezing cold, it was beautiful and sunny and we all fancied some fresh winter air and some mountain views, without having to trek too far.

Another of our favourite days out is Whinlatter Forest which I have written about before as we just can’t stay away. It’s a fabulous area of forest just outside Keswick looking out over Bassenthwaite Lake where an osprey couple come to breed every April.

One of the memorable activities of our stay at Whitbarrow was the DUCKS! There’s a big family of quackers that live in and around the apartments and villas who are also fed on a regular basis by the many children who visit.

I haven’t posted for a while as we’ve enjoyed a whole week’s holiday in the Lake District at half term and the rest of February has simply runaway from me. But our holiday has spawned some fantastic outdoor activities and memories for me to share here now.

I think we saw the idea on Facebook first and it seemed like a good one. Basically you get a few balloons, fill them with water and food colouring, freeze them and then burst and peel off the rubber skin when they’re solid and you’re left with coloured ice balls. Easy...

Summer seems such a long time ago now, even though the hot days were few and far between. One of the most fun family day’s out that we enjoy during the summer, now that we live in North Yorkshire, is visiting the local agricultural shows.

It was yet another cold and wintery day last Sunday. The snow had disappeared but we needed to get out of the house before cabin fever set in. A quick trip out was all we could manage as our favourite walk along the Nidd Gorge was out of bounds due to the flooded river and massively deep mud so we just went for a walk in the sunshine near the Pine woods in Harrogate.

Saturday is always an active day in our house, what with our daughter Alice’s ballet, gym and swimming classes. However, with one of the classes cancelled today, and a generous fall of snow, there was only one thing on our mind come lunchtime, and that was to go sledging.

It was a last minute decision to spend New Year’s Eve in Ayr with family. It was an inspired decision too. New Year’s Eve was fun, relaxing, enjoyable with maybe a touch too much wine and even the odd whiskey here and there, but the next morning, for New Year’s Day, a walk along the beach was definitely needed to blow the cobwebs away.

It’s all very well being able to take your child to an indoor soft play area these days as there are so many popping up everywhere, but nothing can really beat a good old-fashioned outdoor playground. Even if the playground in question is in the middle of a fascinating place such as Edinburgh Zoo, and isn’t even that big!

Harlow Carr is a regular destination for us, no matter what the season (or weather) and it’s especially special around Christmas time. There are brilliant activities for the kids to enjoy, none more important than letter writing to the big man himself - Santa.

I’m not quite sure how it happened really. I mean, I knew Alice wanted to go to Edinburgh Zoo to see the pandas, because she had told us so before. I just don’t recall at what point the trip became my birthday treat. Not that I minded a bit, as it was going to be a great weekend away.

Alice made me laugh a few months ago when I asked her, as every parent does, what she wanted to be when she grew up. “An ice skater, Mummy” she replied, full of childhood confidence that it was the perfect career for a grown up.

It was a beautifully frosty November afternoon when we took the short drive from Harrogate to Staveley Nature Reserve for a winter walk. The reserve is managed by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and is a lovely place no matter what the season. Sunday afternoons are always a good time to chill out and traipse out to visit a local site.

There was huge excitement in our family car when I finally managed to picked up the parcel from Little Trekkers last week. Jumping up and down with anticipation in her car seat, Alice asked, “Is it for me? Is it for me? What is it????”, then a short breathless silence when I opened the package to reveal.....and then happy appreciative sign of ”It’s the Best Coat in the World mummy! Wow!”

Last weekend we braved the cold and met our friends (and their daft Tibetan Terrier) on a damp but beautiful autumn Sunday. This time we visited Fountain’s Abbey, a few miles north of Harrogate, which is famous for its water gardens and wonderful abbey ruins.

One of our favourite (and most frequently visited) places in the UK is Keswick, and just up the road from there is the brilliant Whinlatter Forest. With its great visitor centre, osprey webcams (a pair breed nearby), Siskin Café (great food, great views through the forest), forest walks, mountain biking and adventure playground it’s great for every outdoor enthusiast.

It was a beautiful sunny day when we headed to Doncaster to visit the Yorkshire Wildlife Park as a birthday treat for or daughter. Quite appropriate weather for a safari, we thought.

The Natural History Museum is an amazing place for children to visit and I hadn’t been for years before Alice was born. It was a wet weekend (as it nearly always has been this summer!) so we hopped on the East Coast train from York, down to London for the day to take Alice and her little friend to a BIG museum for a change.

If you're looking for a quick outdoor boost combined with beautiful views and fabulous food then Burnsall village in the Yorkshire Dales is a great bet. We first visited Burnsall when Alice was a baby, still in nappies, and carried in her sling.

After being battered all last week by torrential rain it’s a bit soggy here in North Yorkshire. Floods prevented me from commuting by train to work, as the office was drenched, so Alice and I made the most of it and on the way to and from school, played puddle splashing all the way home.

I just realised I hadn't posted a blog about our most recent camping expedition to Wales yet, so here it is. After last year's fabulous time we rearranged to camp again for four nights at the same lovely campsite Gwerniago near Machynlleth.

The Maize Maze at Birchfield Farm in Nidderdale was a fabulous day out for kids and adults (or big kids as we like to call ourselves).

Having spent quite a lot of time away from home recently we wanted a more relaxing weekend. Just a bit of grocery shopping, housework and gardening was on the agenda for a change, but unexpectedly the sun came out and we just couldn't waste the day doing nothing in particular.

Deershed is a brilliant family friendly festival at Topcliffe in North Yorkshire. It's as much geared towards children as it is adults and we are big fans, having been twice now. There is music of course (this year we enjoyed St Etienne, Villagers and Cherry Ghost amongst many others) but it really is the 'other stuff' that makes it so much more all encompassing than other festivals.

The Bank Holiday weekend in August arrived and we were just planning to stay at home and relax, but friends invited us for a couple of nights camping at Robin Hood's Bay on the east coast of Yorkshire. Even though I'd just finished the piles of washing caused by our latest camping trip to Wales, we just couldn't resist fitting another adventure in before the nights got too cold.

Camping is one of our favourite ever holidays and as you know the more challenging the conditions are, the better. Only kidding! We've simply got used to making the best of the UK weather in recent years and are pretty well kitted out for any conditions.

Sutton Bank, in North Yorkshire, is a brilliant place. It rises steeply from the Vale of York and marks the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors as you approach from the west. To us it's synonymous with the colour white – for the white horse that is carved into its side, but also because it's a great destination for a wintery, snowy walk.

Follifoot, close to Harrogate, boasts a fantastic horse riding centre and they even cater for birthday parties for kids. Courtesy of one of Alice's little school friends we togged her out in her new Spotty Otter waterproof jacket and wellies and headed out to where the ponies were.

Last year we ventured up to a small family festival, near Thirsk in North Yorkshire that had received excellent reviews from its first attempt the year earlier. It didn't disappoint! So, this year we are going again and are really looking forward to it. Not only does the Deer Shed aim its entertainment towards families, it also features some of the very best in home grown music talent.

The phrase it's not the wrong sort of weather, just the wrong sort of clothes, definitely applies if you've ever been on a camping trip to Arran.

Harlow Carr in Harrogate is the only Royal Horticultural Society garden in the North and it's a fabulous child-friendly place to visit. All year round the gardens look amazing, we even managed to be one of just a couple of brave families that visited it when it was covered in a foot of snow.

Not many people know that this little oasis of old farm fun exists, not even many of the locals in nearby Harrogate or Ripon, but the Old Farmyard at Ripley is one of those little gems of a find that you can enjoy as a family day out, all through the summer months. And lucky for us it's just a short trip up the road.

Fireflies, lizards, deep blue seas and skies and splashing in the waves were all top of the bill a couple of weeks ago when we flew off to sunny Corfu. Well, I say sunny, but as the first day dawned, so did a huge thunder and lightening storm that grumbled and flashed for most of the day.

It was such lovely, but unpredictable weather in North Yorkshire last weekend (and I wanted to try out my new walking poles) that we jumped in the car and drove into Wharfedale.