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Sunday, 13 July 2008
A new Discovery!
It's not often that there's something to shout about in Luton, but the newly opened Discovery Centre at Stockwood Park has really impressed me. Although the official opening was yesterday, by the time we had got ourselves prepared for the day (Saturday mornings are traditionally fairly easy-going!) the rain had arrived, so we postponed our visit till today; Trev and the girls came down mid-morning yesterday, too, so it was great to be able to go with them, too.
Although there was a constant flow of people arriving at the place, which was cleverly designed to annex the existing walled garden and parkland of Stockwood Park museum, it wasn't too busy, meaning the children could easily play on the modern equipment there and enjoy the attractions that surrounded it, such as the bee exhibition - which was attended by the Beekeeper, who was engaging and informative, with answers to all those questions that I'd been waiting to ask! - and miniature garden displays vaunting the benefits of small-scale crop growing, including companion planting and all sorts of other terms that I'd first learned on the fine Alternative Kitchen Garden podcast!
The sun was hot - the closest to a traditional July day that we've come so far this year - so we didn't stay too long, but there is no doubt we'll be returning, since it's a fantastic place to take the children. I've always believed that Stockwood Park (certainly in the warmer months) is one of the highlights of Luton, so this has served to further emphasize it on the list of 'places to take visitors' - and it's certainly a reason to come to the town, now.
And so the last week of the school term starts tomorrow.. I've got a few bits and pieces to sort out at Dad's (not least a long-awaited re-install of his laptop.. don't get me started on Microsoft Office 2003!) and then Beth and I are hoping to spend a couple of hours in the garden, just getting it tidied up. The displays at the park have inspired us.. it's our ultimate aim to make it a combination of somewhere for the children to be comfortable (so hopefully getting rid of the Leylandii that border it, since both Beth and Lenni are allergic!) and a habitat for nature.. just not cats (I've recently invested in an ultrasonic cat repeller to try and prevent them from leaving their deposits on the vegetable garden.. eugh!)
So I shall close now, with a couple of photos of the children enjoying the facilities at the Discovery Centre... there are - as always - more in the gallery.
Posted by james at July 13, 2008 9:55 PM
Comments
By jings, Christopher's t-shirt is appropriate! :D Looks like a fab family day out, and I look forward to being taken there by you when I come down to visit with my kids :)
Posted by: Vikki at July 13, 2008 11:04 PM
