Bekonscot is in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the oldest model village in the world being first created in 1929. It has however changed a lot since then having had periods where it was modernized, but then reverting back to being primarily based around 1930s England. It features one of the largest Gauge 1 outdoor […]

A walk through local paths including parts of the Monarch’s way. This walk has some challenges in terms of difficult stiles and can get very muddy. In some places I had to take an alternative route due to flooding of the path. Distance: 5.2 miles Terrain: Footpaths. Includes difficult terrain, stiles and may be very […]

This is a walk starting at St. Philip’s Church in Webheath Redditch. It goes to Bank’s green by using a combination of the Monarch’s Way and country lanes. Approx 60% of this is on roads. The route is based on one that I have followed as part of the Scout’s Shirehike. Distance: 3.8 miles Click […]

This is walk around the Batchley and Enfield areas of Redditch. It goes through 3 different wood areas, the Memorial Garden and 2 local parks. It also includes the site of the former Enfield factory and the railway. Distance: 4.5 miles Terrain: Woodland and tarmac paths. Includes some stairs (alternate route available). Click map for […]

The micro:bit version 2 is now available. This is a significant upgrade on the original micro:bit with a better processor, more memory, a speaker, microphone, touch sensitive area and more. What is a micro:bit The Micro:bit (or sometimes referred to as microbit) is a small electronic programming tool designed to teach coding to secondary school […]

Each year, I normally attend a service at the local war memorial to remember members of the armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This has usually been in uniform as a member of the Scouts or in the past as a member of St. John Ambulance. Due to the Covid-19 situation […]

In the UK the coronavirus / covid-19 lockdown is starting to ease. Most recently Zoos have been amongst the list of attractions that are now allowed to reopen. This is our first visit to a zoo since lockdown and our first experience of a post lockdown day-out, other than visiting a local park / woodland. […]

As a STEM ambassador, I’ve done quite a lot of practical science lessons with my children and primary age school children. There are lots of science books that you can get full of experiments that you can do at home. When they reach secondary school it’s a little more difficult without having a science lab […]

As a parent I understand how important it is to keep children entertained. This is now even harder with the country in lockdown over a sunny Easter holiday. Here are some links to useful activities. Scouts – The Great Indoors Scouts is normally considered an outdoor organisation. In fact during leader training Scout leaders are […]

This year our main holiday was at Easter. We still wanted to do something during the summer but having spent a lot on the previous holiday it needed to be something less expensive. One option was for a camping trip. Our son loved the idea, but not so much our daughter. It’s not that she […]