Bird of prey centre

We had an easy night with the boys. The little card-sharps are dexterous dealers. After cards they requested the recording of Danny McAskill biking the Cuillin ridge for the bit of TV before bed.

Today we drove the hour up to Kielder, stopping en route at the GP to hand in the list of out-of-date jabs we need - typhoid, HepA, tetanus, polio and diphtheria.

The boys started off reading their books but the road was so twisty it made them feel a bit queasy. Luckily they were happy to look out, James remarking on how he loved when the autumn colours mingled red and yellow. They were interested in the red
flags being out at the Otterburn range and had all sorts of questions about which weapons, bombs etc might be going off. James thought they’d desist from using nuclear on their own territory.

By the time we got to the bird of prey centre it was much colder with a mizzle in the air. We paid £24. They ran straight to see Millie the white-tailed eagle which they remembered from their last visit 3 years ago. They requested a feather from the chap who minded the birds but he had none from Millie. They choose one from Thor a tawny eagle. After a good look round we had our picnic by the water. (Kielder is the largest reservoir in UK by capacity though Rutland covers more area). The boys had a contest to see who could throw stones furthest into the water.

At 2 we headed back to the birds for the flights. (Mr C stayed at the car, having forgotten his coat and by then it was really cold). We had a commentary with information about the birds as they flew. The boys got a chance to have the two owls (barn and Ural) fly to them.

By the time we got home their parents had arrived back, having had a lovely time at Ettrickbridge in a small hotel recently recommended in the Guardian. The food had been really good and the room spacious and comfortable. They found it was owned by the son of David Steel who was for many years MP for that area.

Brave budget Rachel! You could have gone further.

Here’s a collage of the 3 of us - Thomas quickly got my phone to snap me.