FAMILY FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES, INSPIRATION FOR DAYS OUT & LOTS OF FUN
FAMILY FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES, INSPIRATION FOR DAYS OUT & LOTS OF FUN
We checked out Free Wheel North recently. Most people I speak to haven’t heard of it, but it’s a fantastic charity run cycling centre down at Glasgow Green next to the big sandy playpark & climbing frames across from the templeton building. If you’ve been down there you’ve probably seen it; you just didn’t know …
We’ve been doing a lot of museum-ing recently, since Spring decided it wasn’t quite ready to come out yet.
So last week we took a wee wander around the Hunterian Museum, in Glasgow University. I hadn’t been since I was a student and unsurprisingly, it was a bit of a different experience with a toddler!
There’s nothing at all interactive & not much that would peak the interest of a typical toddler. Most of the exhibits are up much higher than the eye level of small children too.
But it’s free, it’s nice & warm and since toddlers are happy as long as they’re free to roam, it’s good for an hour on a rainy day. It’s a pretty good place for a game of peek-a-boo.
You might even get to look at something if you have a toddler that doesn’t run away at every possible opportunity.
Note: The radiators run around the bottom of the railing on the top level. And they’re really hot. Make sure your toddler doesn’t think it’s a seat.
The Hunterian Museum: The University of Glasgow, University Avenue, Glasgow, G12 8
If you’re in town and need something to do, GoMA (the Gallery of Modern Art is perfect for a wee indoor run around with the toddler. We were meeting a friend in town for some grub & decided to let my little lady roam free for a little while before we headed to the restaurant where …
George Square is always good for a run around if you’re in town & at a loose end!
Note: The pigeons are pretty gallus & will definitely follow a toddler around if said toddler has a biscuit in his/her hand!
We checked out the People’s Palace & Winter Gardens a few days ago.
The Museum
Apart from being a place to run around in, the museum itself doesn’t really cater for young kids. There isn’t much for them to do & we didn’t come across any interactive exhibits or anything at all aimed at young kids.
However since stomping around on her own little mission is my little lady’s favourite thing in the world, it didn’t really matter.
Her favourite thing in the museum was the giant Clyde mascot which she attempted to climb a pillar to get to, and had a tantrum when she was unsuccessful.
The Winter Gardens & Cafe
The Winter Gardens are really nice. It’s warm, there are a lot of plants for a toddler to sniff and there’s a good bit of space to run around in.
The Winter Gardens are my new favourite place to meet up with mummy friends & their babies/toddlers. It’s reasonably central; there’s so much space (plenty space for a bunch of prams), loads of high chairs; and loud toddler voices get lost in the vastness of the giant greenhouse!
The food is decent & they have a nice selection of cakes. And their scones are pretty damn good.
We took a little trip to the Riverside Museum at the weekend. It was an attempt to simultaneously get out of the house, and not be outside in the freezing cold. (We’re not big enough for snowman building yet, and although picking up tiny bits of snow and holding them for a while is fun, it results very quickly in tiny cold hands!)
Anyway, it’s big and echoey and not quiet at all. There are lots of trams & buses to climb on, a couple of little kiddie toys to play in, and two very large horses that are seemingly great to point at/yell excitedly at/run towards & away from.
As with all Glasgow museums it’s free, and the cafe upstairs isn’t bad too.
The Verdict
Great place to let a toddler run around for an hour or two, especially when it’s slippery, snowy, crazy windy or freezing outside!
Side note
You don’t actually get to look at anything with a toddler running around!
Cycling. It’s a free activity. Once you’ve bought a bike, a bike seat, a lock for your bike, a helmet… We had our first solo cycle this morning (by solo I mean without daddy to help us). We only went along to our regular music class and back again; a long enough journey to make …
We went along to a great wee baby/toddler morning in Jayz Bar in Shawlands this morning. It’s busy, boisterous & very noisy; there’s music, singing, lots of toys to play with and stories for the little ones. Plus some toast at the end. My little lady LOVED it! It’s on in Jayz Bar, Shawlands from …
I’m a breastfeeder. Or I am with my little lady. (Who knows what’ll happen if I eventually have another kid.) As I’ve written about before, it was difficult at the beginning. And I didn’t know what I was doing. But after the first few weeks it had all worked out and we were doing well. …
We’ve been going to Bounce & Rhyme in the Mitchell Library for the past month or so. It’s exactly what it sounds like it’s going to be: a group of parents & babies/toddlers/pre-schoolers sitting singing songs and nursery rhymes whilst the babies get bounced on your knee and the toddlers attempt to escape from the kids …