Pictures of my bluebell walk through Angmering Park Estate: One Thing or a Mother

There’s nothing like a good bank holiday weekend.
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And that was nothing like a good bank holiday weekend – what on earth is going on with the weather at the moment?

(Side note: do you also find that the older you get, the more you’re turning into your parents? I’m definitely fine-tuning my dad-joke skills lately – see above! – and upping the ‘worrying about my children’ ante to stay true to my mum. It seems to be an irrefutable law of nature that you will eventually morph into them.)

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Somebody has clearly forgotten to turn on summer because we were very much still in our winter coats for all attempts to venture out at the weekend. And, for two out of three of the outings, we were very glad of them because we got caught in the rain.

The Angmering Park Estate boasts a carpet of bluebells in spring. Perfect for not being able to get any family photos in.The Angmering Park Estate boasts a carpet of bluebells in spring. Perfect for not being able to get any family photos in.
The Angmering Park Estate boasts a carpet of bluebells in spring. Perfect for not being able to get any family photos in.

As a person who absolutely adores summer, I’m getting increasingly annoyed. This time last year we’d been enjoying warm and sunny weather for about a month already. Shorts and flip-flops had become my daily wardrobe, we’d had the paddling pool out, and the picnic bag had been taken out of storage.

In comparison, so far this year I’ve barely even managed to take off my coat, and on a trip to the park on Sunday (where it rained from the second we arrived), I even put on my gloves. But in true British spirit, I couldn’t let the endless winter stop me from getting out and about and enjoying the bonus day off we had this week.

Having heard of several friends going there during the last year, we finally decided to go for a walk in the Angmering Park Estate woods on bank holiday Monday.

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As a bonus, I knew that at this time of year the site boasts a pretty carpet of bluebells, which made it picture-postcard perfect.

The Angmering Park Estate boasts a carpet of bluebells in spring. Perfect for not being able to get any family photos in.The Angmering Park Estate boasts a carpet of bluebells in spring. Perfect for not being able to get any family photos in.
The Angmering Park Estate boasts a carpet of bluebells in spring. Perfect for not being able to get any family photos in.

I managed to get some really lovely photographs (but, alas, no whole-family snaps, which you’ll know is standard Hollisey-McLean fare if you read my column two weeks ago!), and we thoroughly enjoyed getting a couple of hours of fresh air in the countryside.

My children had so much fun running through the little pathways in the bluebells, and finding dens to play in.

And who knew holding onto a stick for the duration of the walk could be so much fun? (Well, my children did, apparently.)

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As you always seem to find as a parent, it’s often the simple things that provide the most fun. Sure, you can spend hundreds of pounds on days out and presents for them, and they’ll no doubt be happy. But give them an empty cardboard box, or a stick, and they will conclude they’ve had the most fun they’ve ever had in their life.

The Angmering Park Estate boasts a carpet of bluebells in spring. Perfect for not being able to get any family photos in.The Angmering Park Estate boasts a carpet of bluebells in spring. Perfect for not being able to get any family photos in.
The Angmering Park Estate boasts a carpet of bluebells in spring. Perfect for not being able to get any family photos in.

Not only have we found another lovely spot for family walks and adventures, we also didn’t get rained on for a third day in a row, so I’m chalking our long weekend outing up as a massive win. Let me know any favourite spots across Sussex for a family walk. I’d love to try them.

Also, if anybody could get the temperature cranked up, that would be amazing.

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