Simon Beale's Blog

A Free Day Out

I'm still in pain. I thought I was fit. Clearly not.

This week is half term and so yesterday, we decided to take the Beale kids (Tom, Naomi & Isaac) out for the day with the aim that most parents have ... not to spend any money! So we drove down to the gorgeous village of Hartfield in Sussex (only about an hour out of London) which is known better to many as "Pooh Country". It's where A A Milne was inspired to write and based the world famous Winnie The Pooh stories. So you can visit some of the famous landmarks mentioned in the books, in particular "Pooh Bridge" which is where Christopher Robin and Pooh Bear used to go and play "Pooh Sticks". Remember all that?!

So, our mission was simple. Get a picnic together. Drive to Hartfield. Eat Picnic. Look in the Pooh Corner Shop (trying not to buy anything). And then go on the 20 minute walk to Pooh Bridge. Kids get worn out. We head home. They go to bed. Simple.

Well the first bit went according to plan, until it got to "walking to the Bridge". Clever-clogs here thought it might be nice to take the longer route, which we were told would be a 40 minute leisurely stroll through the breath-taking English countryside. Climbing over stiles, collecting sticks, walking through fields and Ashdown Forest. All sounded idyllic; Esther was keen, the children were up for it, so off we went and sure enough it was really nice - perfect weather for it too.

It was only after about an hour that I read the small print and found out there were actually 3 possible walks to the bridge. The 20 minute one we declined, the 40 minute one we thought we were on .... and the TWO AND A HALF HOUR route (that's right - all FIVE AND A HALF MILES of it) that we WERE actually on. Ah. Ouch. I plucked up courage, and broke the news to the tired and weary Beale party that we were a LONG WAY from reaching our destination and the only option was to, er, head back the way we came. It was like a scene out of a really bad British comedy.

To cut a long story short, we did finally make it to Pooh Bridge, played Pooh sticks and all in all had a really great day. However, it was pitch black by the time we finally got in the car - and we had to use the flash on the camera to take photos (hmmm, a bit late in the day for forest walks, me thinks). I'm not sure exactly how far we walked in the end, but my legs (and the kids) are telling me it was the equivalent of 30 London Marathons. No, really.

So my plan for today? I've suggested "just a quiet day at home". Sounds perfect.

Simon
x

PS: Good luck to all the Brits nominees later. Have a great time if you're going and if you're not, don't forget to tune in to Heart all day today to win tickets. Oh, and of course, tune into "Heartbreakers" on your way home! See you tonight. 

Posted by Simon Beale on February 20, 2008 at 08:50AM

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