We recently came home from a delightful and much needed week away. We stayed in the house of another clergy person in a town called Burntwood, near Lichfield. We only realised part way through that it was our first time away as a family of four!

Upon arrival, we immediately felt at home. The house was really nice, with everything we needed. Sophia was particularly delighted to discover the under the stairs cupboard, which was full of toys! Her own Trunki, which, as always, was full of toys and books from home, wasn’t even looked at because there were so many new things to play with and read.

If you’ve been following for a while, you’ll know we love a good market town. For me, I think it’s something about growing up in Retford. One of the first things we do on holiday is check out when the local markets take place. So, on the very frosty Saturday morning, we set off to explore Lichfield.

Nathan seemed surprised that the market was on given how cold it was, but I know that market stall holders are hardy! We had a wander round, Sophia buying her usual juicy apples for us to share (another thing that has become a little holiday tradition!) and we enjoyed a lunch at the Faro Lounge.

The Lounges restaurants have become our favourite places to eat as parents. It’s nice enough to feel like a treat, and the children are always made welcome. There’s a special kids menu, and often, they have kids’ toys and a space to play. The staff are always so friendly and accommodating. If you’ve got a young family (or of you haven’t!), I’d highly recommend a Lounge.

Anyway, next we went to Lichfield Cathedral, which was especially beautiful in the frost. This Cathedral is dedicated to St Chad, so he’s everywhere, and can be seen above draped in frosty cobwebs!

Visiting Lichfield Cathedral was about the most cultural thing we did all week, but we still had a great time.

On Sunday morning we got up and went to church. We don’t always go to church on holiday but when we do, it’s nice to worship together. The family who own the house we were staying in go there (the Dad is the vicar). They were a friendly lot and have a wonderful children’s ministry, including groups for three different ages, which is remarkable! I picked up various tips and have added a few ideas to my when I’m back at work list. One of the Mums recommended a local softplay, and as Sophia had been so good in this new church, we decided to go.

The next day we had a lovely lazy morning because we had a play session booked in the afternoon. Crumb and play is located in a village like shopping centre. We arrived early to have a look around but everywhere else was closed. Luckily, there is also a very cute fairy wood on site, complete with a mud kitchen, dummy tree and what must be about 100 little ‘fairy doors’ to spot.

Crumb and Play itself is absolutely immaculate. They clean everything down between play sessions and this attention to detail makes a huge difference. There’s a small softplay and cafe downstairs and a play village with shop, hair dresser, construction yard and cafe upstairs. They even sell cute little babyccino cups which I’ve always wanted to get for Soph! So she picked one and another has been put away for Aidan’s birthday.

Tuesday was a real highlight for me. Sophia and I went on our second ‘girls date’ since Aidan was born. We spent so much time together one on one over summer, so it was really special to head back to Lichfield together and find a cafe with tasty looking cakes. We both picked the most enormous choux chocolate buns (the diet was the last thing on my mind at this point!) and we quickly tucked in. We chatted ‘what’s your favourite…’ for ages and went back hand in hand having had a wonderful time.

We are a family with little kids, and it’s winter, so we did spend a lot of time in various play places. On Wednesday, we visited Rugeley, where we found Imagination Station, a wool shop and a fabric shop – something for everybody! Imagination Station was like Crumb and Play without the softplay, and with the added features of a school, a stage, hospital, vets, and even a police station! We found Rugely very quiet overall, and the folks we spoke to seemed to think the same. But most people are back to work in January, rather than taking time off, so I guess that makes sense.

We finished the day with a spontaneous trip to Cannock Chase forest where we completed a Gruffalo trail! The sun was just starting to go down and it was absolutely stunning. It was a spur of the moment thing that turned out to be a real highlight.

Thursday would usually be a day for packing up, but as we didn’t have to be out by any particular time on the Friday, we decided to go out. We got up early and got the train to Birmingham. We took a 15 minute walk to the Science Museum, Thinktank.

Special highlights included the show at the planetarium (Sophia having learned about the planets at nursery just before Christmas), the Triceratops skull, the tasty jacket potatoes and Mini Brum, which is a ‘mini city where children are in charge!’. You might think Sophia would have had enough of imaginative play and wooden toys, but not so! She loved this place too, with dress up, a shop, a cafe, a garage, a narrow boat and a building site.

On Thursday night when I was settling her in bed, Sophia said ‘I want to stay here forever’. In the end, she could be persuaded to get in the car when I revealed that I had found the last Disney lollypop, purchased back in June, and that it was waiting for her at home. It was such a brilliant time of bonding, exploring and playing together. It’s a long way from the slow, lazy holidays fro. a few short years ago. But do you know what? I wouldn’t change a thing.