Holiday it's a holiday!

We managed to cram so much into the half-term break that I literally don't know where to begin talking about our adventures. So I thought I would do a quick summation of my top 5…

The Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth
OK, so it's Hampshire, not Dorset, but I got a great Groupon deal a few months back for the Spinnaker and as we were going to stay with friends in London, we thought we'd call in and do the Tower en route before the voucher expired on 29 October. The deal was entry for 2 adults, a hot drink each and a photo and I think I paid just £9.50 for it, which saved me something like £25. Worth. Every. Penny. It was a beautiful clear day across the South and we had fantastic views of Portsmouth, Gosport, the Isle of Wight and beyond. I lived in Portsmouth many years ago so it was a great trip down memory lane and the perfect start to the holidays. Not great if you've got a fear of heights or glass floors, but if you love sightseeing from on high (which I do), it's amazing. For more information on the Tower, head to www.spinnakertower.co.uk. 

Sealife Centre, Weymouth
I love aquariums. There's something soothing about watching lots of colourful fishes swimming around, so I was quite excited to finally be making a trip to the Sealife Centre at Weymouth. And it was worth it. We spent a good 2.5 hours there, exploring all the different sections - partly helped by the fact that D1 had a 'passport' to stamp in each section and getting all of the stamps meant she would get a medal. But we saw a massive array of fish and marine wildlife - seahorses, seals, sharks, turtles, clownfish (that's Nemo to most people!), crabs, stingrays… The list goes on. The staff were all really friendly and knowledgeable and it was just a really pleasant way to spend a morning. In the summer, there's an outdoor wet play area where kids can splash to their heart's content - we'll definitely be going back! www.sealifeweymouth.com

Ice skating at The Ark, Poole Park
I am not naturally graceful. I can barely walk without tripping up. So when we delved into our days out jar and pulled out "Go ice skating" and D1 declared she wanted Mummy to join her while Daddy looked after D2, I'll admit I wasn't exactly thrilled. But I've learnt that being a mum often means being brave in front of your kids (even when there's a spider around. That's love for you!) so I happily got my skates on and ventured shakily onto the ice. An HOUR later, I finally got off! And I even managed not to fall over, not once. Hooray! The rink at The Ark isn't the biggest but for a 4yo who's not used to skating, it's the perfect size. She happily skated round with an aid and the only reason we were on the ice so long is because she didn't want to get off! (www.thearkpoolepark.co.uk)

Crabbing
Going crab-lining is one of those traditional seaside activities that I've never done - and one that D1 was desperate to enjoy. So armed with a bucket, a net and some bacon for the nippers, we headed to Hamworthy Beach to try our luck. Amazingly, D1 managed to sit patiently on the pier and wait it out until the bacon tempted a crab – when she was joyfully rewarded with 2 decent-sized crustaceans. Again the brave Mummy effect came into play and I gloved up and picked up one of the blighters rather carefully - why do we do these things to ourselves, Mums!? Don't worry, we did then release them back into the water and went home happy.

Adventure Wonderland
Billed as Dorset's No1 attraction, Adventure Wonderland is another one of those places we've been meaning to check out for a while, but you need the weather to go. And with the warmest Halloween on record on the cards, we decided it was the perfect day for some theme-park fun. It's not a massive park and to be honest, if we had paid money rather than used Tesco vouchers, I would have been disappointed - it would have cost nearly £40 for 2 adults and 1 child (D2 was free). However, we did manage to spend all day there and we had a great time. Despite the weather, the park wasn't rammed and we were lucky enough to go on rides more than once, enjoyed the Halloween show, spent some time in the huge soft play area, cuddled animals, took a pony ride and bounced on a trampoline. You know you've had a good day when your child cries because she doesn't want to go home… www.adventurewonderland.co.uk

So that was my half term. How did you spend yours?