Avebury Stone Circle

Since we started our holidays by stopping off at Stonehege it only seemed fitting that we would finish our holidays by stopping off at Avebury.

Mummy explains that it is one of the finest and largest Neolithic monuments in Europe, about 5,000 years old.

Lucy gets stoned.

Another fine photo opportunity. But within seconds we were in the Pub that you can see in the background having a fine pint of ale and a ploughman's lunch. Well actually that was Mummy and Daddy, Lucy had ham egg and chips and a large glass of orange.

Mummy's Birthday

We are on holidays with Aunty Lorna when it is Mummy's birthday. Lorna offers to cook anything Mummy wants for her party team. Mummy wisely selects a beef roast. Lorna enrols Lucy to help with the starter which is Mozzarella, Pesto and Tomato on ciabatta.

This goes down very well with the Tattinger Champagne Lorna has also managed to smuggle down without Mummy knowing prior to the big day.

After the roast we all adjourn outside for the pièce de résistance. Chocolate Gu cake.

Lucy has her own little cake which doesn't have milk in it. But she still has candles and she helps Mummy blow them out.

Then she tuck in. Thanks for Mummy's excellent party tea Aunty Lorna.

Postman Pat

Postman Pat appears to have a new assistant.

If I saw this chap in the park I would be calling the authorities. The cat seems nice though.

Lucy has a ride on the Longleat Railway

Lucy gets hands on with a big wabbit.

Longleat

We have come to Longleat Safari park. Lucy loves the Giraffes.

It would be nice if we could see them a bit closer up.

"Hello"

The rhinos seem the love the Wiltshire weather.

The camels don't seems to be missing the desert.

This reign deer stops by for a bit of fast food.

And seems to appreciate a little tickle under the chin.

Mummy's Greatest Fear

Lucy is a fearless little character so it didn't seem like much of a big deal to her to hold a tarantula.

Mummy, on the other hand, has had a long standing antipathy to our arachnid cousins. But having watched little daughter handle her deadly foe, she decided that this was her opportunity to confront her phobia. Mummy was very brave.

Although looking at this expression I'm not sure that you could say that Mummy and spiders had settled all their differences.

Weston Wheel

It is reasonably well known that Mummy is not a big fan of heights. But when Lucy insisted that we went on the Weston Wheel she had little choice

Mummy actually looks quite calm.

Until you notice her hand which is gripping the seat like a Vulcan death grip.

Lucy was not displaying much sympathy for her Mummy's plight.

Donk on a Donkey

We have come to Weston Super Mare so Lucy can have her first ride on a donkey. Despite Lucy being quite tall for her age it appears that she is still shorter than a real jockey. No stirrups for her.

Lucy's donkey of choice today is called "Wallace"

She likes trotting along with her cracking buddy.

Thanks for my nice ride Wallace

Mummy and Lucy

Mummy and Lucy are playing together. They are playing at taking self portraits. Mummy holds the camera as far away as possible and tries to get both girls centered in the frame. It's quite difficult*.

This one is quite good, except Mummy looks a bit surprised. Which is strange since she took the photo.

Now were are talking seriously cute.

But I think we have a winner.

* these four shots were the best of 15 attempts

Wookey Hole

Wookey Hole has nothing to do with Chewbacca's bottom (that would be wookiee). It is in fact a rather charming system of caves and pot holes near Bath in Somerset. When Daddy was a little lad it was distinguished by some hair raising tales of old women or witches haunting the caves which rendered what was essentially a geological field trip rather more enjoyable.

Following a takeover by Madame Tussuad's and then Gerry Cottle, a Circus proprietor, things have changed rather a lot. The preponderance of "Comic Sans" font all over their web site is a good clue as to how classy a location it now is. An even better clue is the 60ft Gorilla standing outside the exit.

Then of course there is the dinosaur park.

The native Indian wood carving.

Of course no cave system would be complete without some vintage cars...

Or an elephant ride.

Then there was cuisine of the highest standard. Look - that's carrots!

Really, what cave system could be considered complete without a Merry-go-Round?

So as Lucy sits in her space ship pondering the matter, I think we can agree that Wookey Hole has lost some of the purity that it had 35 years ago. And to some extent your heart sinks when you see sentences like this from Wikipedia: "In February 2009 Cottle turned the Victorian bowling green next to the caves into a crazy golf course without first obtaining planning permission.". But the funny thing is, Lucy and Daddy were there on their own, since Mummy and Aunty Lorna were having a well deserved pampering Spa day in Bath, and cheesy and incoherent as Wookey now is Lucy had a fantastic time and loved every minute. So even though it has changed beyond recognition over the past quarter decade, I would have to recommend it for a day out. Just don't get too sentimental.

Aunty Lorna's Shoes

Lucy's shoe fetish continues. Now she has her eyes (and feet) on Lorna's fancy footwear.

Fleet Air Arm Museum

For Father's Day, Lucy has brought Daddy to the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton.

It's not all sea planes, they have the first Concorde built by the Brits. This was the second flying prototype. Lucy was wondering why the painters had accidentally done a Dan Quayle and added an unnecessary "e" on the end. We explained that it was a French thing.

Lucy is very happy to be standing inside the Concorde 002 next to the pilot's seat.

Mummy and Lucy stand by the front wheel of Concorde 002. It really is like a fighter jet that has been blown up to ten times it's normal size. As you can imagine, Daddy was in plane heaven, but to every ones surprise, so were the ladies. What was supposed to be Daddies treat was turning into a great day out for all of us.

Lucy, see Harrier? "Yes Daddy, Sea Harrier"

Lucy checks out the specs on a Westland Lynx. "Daddy, is this the one with the two 1,129 shp Rolls Royce Gem 41-1 turboshaft engines?"

Just to reinforce the point that Daddies special day was just as much fun for the girls, Daddy returned from a trip the loo to find Mummy teaching Lucy how to shoot down planes in air to air combat. Although to be fair they weren't troubling competence. I don't believe any of the enemy aviators were overly worried.

Lucy experiencing the virtual Ark Royal air craft carrier simulator. Here in the control room.

Who says flying a Harrier is hard? And shouldn't you have that window closed?

And once more before we left we had to have another look at Concorde 002, here being guarded by a stunning looking Hawker Hunter.

If you are anywhere near Yeovilton and fancy a great day out then the Fleet Air Arm Museum is fantastic. Even for girls.