Biking at Rutland Water

One of the reasons that Stamford was recently named the best place to live in Britain is due to its close proximity to Rutland Water. This is Europe's largest man-made lake, and is also a large nature preserve. (For my Hoosier readers, this is the equivalent to living a few minutes from Lake Monroe). There are tons of outdoor recreation opportunities available here, from cycling to fishing to sailing.

On Father's Day, we decided to rent bikes and pedal our way around as much of it as we could in a few hours. I couldn't really take pictures and ride safely (especially with Little Arrow strapped in a seat on my bike). But this is generally what most of our ride looked like:

That's One Way to Meet the Queen

On our first day trip to London, we convinced Big Arrow to leave lovely Hyde Park by telling him we were going to see the Queen. We thought he'd think that sounded exciting, and we were right. Of course, we were merely going to walk over to Buckingham Palace and check it out. There was no actual invitation to meet the Queen. (But I check my mail daily, Your Majesty, if you're reading...)

So when we arrived, Big Arrow was very amped up. And then he did what any right-minded 4-year-old does when approaching a gate like this.

Penguin Pie and an Honest Mistake

I should preface this post about penguin pie with a few disclaimers.

• My husband and I are fairly adventurous eaters.
• I'm very gullible.
• Earlier in the day at the same festival where the purchase of penguin pie took place, a vendor was selling kangaroo burgers. If such a thing as kangaroo burgers exist, then doesn't penguin pie seem plausible?

Visiting Belton House with Kids

One of the things I'm learning from this experience is the value of a personal recommendation. You see in Indiana, I was already pretty well-versed on the great spots to visit, best hikes, gorgeous parks, and fun weekend getaway ideas. While occasionally someone would suggest something I hadn't done or wasn't aware of, it wasn't my primary source of travel ideas.

Now here I find myself, staring at a map of England without much guidance other than brochures or websites, all proclaiming to be the best sites to see. So I'm learning that word-of-mouth to be extremely valuable, the places our realtor or a new friend or our neighbors suggest as a good place to go with the kids.

A visit to Belton House is the perfect example. Had I stumbled upon its listing in the National Trust guidebook or flipped through the pamphlet, I probably wouldn't have planned an outing there. Not that it didn't look beautiful. It just didn't seem to be anything beyond a fancy house. But someone told me they used to visit often with their kids, so we gave it a try.

Half Day in London: Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace

One of the goals we have as a family during our three years here is to really get to know London as well as we can. It seems only natural to take advantage of our close proximity to one of the world’s greatest cities (we’re just a couple hours away by car, or 45 minutes by train).

So I’m kicking off what I hope is a series of posts on how to spend a full day or ½ day in London with young kids.

For our first day trip, just 4 days after arriving, we hopped on a train in Peterborough bound for King’s Cross station, one of the main train stations in London. Given that it was a rare sunny day, we planned to spend the bulk of our time in Hyde Park, so from King’s Cross, we took the tube to the Queensway stop on the red (Central) line. (This stop does not have elevators, so you'll have to navigate your stroller up some stairs.)

Exploring Peterborough

Our first two days in England were full of errands. Tracking down car seats, car shopping, unpacking our few belongings, finding a grocery store, etc. And negotiating with overtired kids, one of which was sick. But since we were in a very small temporary apartment during our first week, after a couple of days we were itching to get out and explore.

We still had a lot on the to-do list, so we didn’t venture far that third day. Our apartment was in Peterborough, a fairly large city by English standards. My husband’s company is in the process of opening an office here and he’ll eventually be commuting here. So it was a good chance to familiarize ourselves with the area.

The boys were up really early that day (thanks, jet lag). Naturally our first stop was here.

There should really be a limit on how many tantrums can be thrown before parents are properly caffeinated.

Fueled up and ready, then it was on to St. Peter’s Cathedral. Probably what Peterborough is most known for, at least from a tourist’s perspective. It dates back to the 12th century, although it has sustained some damage over the years. Henry the VIII’s first wife is buried there, and more recently Queen Elizabeth has visited on a couple of different occasions.

Take A Stroll Around Our English Village

We didn't know exactly where we would be living for our three years in the UK until two weeks prior to arrival. (And even then, we got a call the morning we were flying out to say our lease was in limbo. A bit stressful.)

My husband found a beautiful home in a small village a few miles outside of Stamford, itself a charming town and popular tourist destination. While I was confident in his home selection, I was unsure about village life. 400 people? Sounded pretty isolating to me. Especially knowing I was arriving with no friends and few connections.

But guess what I love more than the house itself? Village life. I thought I'd take you on a walk around Collyweston, our village in Northamptonshire.

Do you mind if this cutie joins us? He loves an evening stroll. And he just celebrated his 18 month birthday!