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Travel : Featherdown farm, Lake District - Archive

A family camping holiday in the Lake District is the stuff that perfect memories are made of It's the posh travelling life" for us, heading off to the Lake District for a spot of high living at a Featherdown farm, called Howbeck Lodge. My last experience of life under canvas was as a girl guide. I wish I could say I had fond memories. All I recall is being cold and damp. As time has moved on, I thought we'd give "glamping" or "glamorous camping" a go, so along with my partner Graham, and our girls Eve (eight) and Hope (five) we are off to experience the great outdoors. This holiday, we are joined by another Eve (nine), our eldest daughter's ultimate best friend ever. Obviously looking after someone else's child, means extra pressure: "What if… we have a rubbish time?" However, on arrival at the farm, just outside Hesketh Newmarket, I'm relieved. The tents look identical to the rustic idyll on the website. Located in a quiet...

How do you dope a chicken?

It turns out the Roald Dahl was right, in his book Danny Champion of the world. Patti Boulaye, one of our chooks has been a tad off colour, laying shell-less eggs. This can happen for a number of reasons, poor diet, stress, weather etc. Once we worked out which of our feathered hens was the culprit, no easy matter. A trip to the Dick Vet or the small animal hospital, at the Bush, Edinburgh was hastily arranged. An out of hours appointment costs, £135 rising to an eye-watering £185 after 10pm on Saturday , so whilst I adore my chickens, there is a financial limit to my love. Therefore a weekday and much more financially viable, appointment costing £35, was booked. Frankly, a pretty penny to just to step inside this state of the art building. On the due day, Patti made the fatal blunder of rushing to the back door in the hope of treats, before being rudely bundled into a wicker cat basket. Yup, the phrase 'chicken in a basket' did spring to mind...

Outdoors : Hopetoun House, South Queensferry - Archive

W hen a day out to Hopetoun House was mooted, my daughter Hope, five, beamed widely, before proclaiming: "That's my house." Designed by architect Sir William Bruce before being improved by William Adam, it has been home to generations of the Hope family. The family motto, at spes non fracta, roughly translates as "all we have is a little hope". This we can relate to. However, our little Hope's megalomaniac tendencies know no bounds. She has claimed Hope Street in Glasgow and Hope Park Terrace in Edinburgh as her own, based on the fact that she shares a name. Before she launches an expensive legal battle with the present owner, the Earl of Hopetoun, we thought a visit would be in order. Hopetoun House, near South Queensferry, wows visitors with its impressive 18th-century facade. Our other daughter, Eve, nine, and Hope agreed that it was just like Buckingham Palace. The house is furnished in lavish style. We peeked into the ballroom, with its fabulous chan...

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