This summer has been a busy one – trips away, days out and lots of activities planned. Last weekend saw the last of our trips for the time being, as we spent three days at Ribby Hall Village in Lancashire.
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| Our cottage |
Our cottage overlooked a nice grassy area at the back of the cottage, which my two enjoyed running around on, blowing bubbles and feeding the ducklings that came to visit.
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| The Restaurant |
On our first night we decided to eat in The Restaurant, which is a stylish restaurant offering home-grown produce on the A La Carte menu. I have to say we were incredibly impressed during our visit – the staff were fantastic and did all they could help us, going as far as handing me a special menu that told you which meals were suitable for people with various allergies. Also special mention to Russell who Miss H really took to, even giving him a big hug as we left.
The food was superb, both Mr H and I ordered steak and it was cooked perfectly. Miss H ordered pasta but unfortunately it didn’t taste quite right, but the staff replaced it with an alternative without any problem and took on comments on board about the taste. I even opted for a naughty pudding at the end of the meal, and was surprised I was able to have the chocolate cake as they made a gluten-free version. It was amazing.
After our meal we returned home for a relaxed evening in our lodge. Miss H was out like a light, probably following her first week of school, however Little J was up and about several times. It didn’t seem to matter though, as we could return him back to bed easily just down the corridor and return to our night.
Once I was back to the land of the living we decided to go swimming. Based in the sports hall, the swimming pool has several pools, a couple of which being shallow, as well as two slides, a jacuzzi and steam room. It was lovely to let our two off, wearing their Konfidence jackets, feeling so much at ease in the water thanks to their recent lessons. It’s a joy to watch them splashing around happily and really making the most of their time in the water. Little J was thrilled to discover he was allowed down one of the slides and even went down on his own a few times. Miss H had a try, but preferred swimming and jumping in the pools.
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| Photo from Ribby Hall website |
After an energetic swimming session we decided to head over to the boating lake and enjoyed sandwiches at The Island Clubhouse, overlooking the passing pedalo and canoe-ers. This cafe serves a selection of hot and cold snacks, but doesn’t have a huge selection so if you’re looking for something more try one of the other eateries. We also discovered this is where you can hire bikes and boats, as well as feed the many ducks that gather there.
After lunch the children were due for their first activity class, Mini Fencing. Mr H decided to enjoy a couple of pints whilst watching the rugby in Harrison’s Bar, so myself and the children returned to the sports hall for their session. Unfortunately a couple of other children booked in had to drop out, but this meant by two got a one on one session with the instructor. He first showed the children how to stand in the correct fencing position and where they could hit each other (something they’ve happily carried on at home, and now know not to hit heads!).
After a bit of practise they donned their protective vests and helmets, which was quite amusing as they absolutely swamped them, Little J in particular, and he ended up looking like something out of Star Wars! It was good fun and the children enjoyed having a bit of sparring at the end.
After a break back at the lodge, which involved a bit of TV and reading, and a snooze for J, we head back out for our evening meal.
This time we opted to try The Tapas Bar, a new eatery on the site and had come recommended by some owners we’d spoken to the night before. I’m a big fan of Spanish food and was looking forward to this and I have to say there was an impressive range of food on offer. The only thing I would say is the service wasn’t as good as it had been in The Restaurant the night before, and often I had to call staff over as we seemed to get overlooked. However the food was still just as good and I think had we not been as spoilt the previous night it really wouldn’t have been an issue.
That is the end of part one of our Ribby Hall adventure. Head back on Monday to read the second half! In the meantime, if you are looking for more information, do head over to their website and Facebook page or phone them on 0800 107 0336.
*We were provided with a stay FOC however all opinions are my own.
