After the JK we headed over to Monmouth to spend a few days with Christine’s parents. The Tuesday was a lovely day and we stopped off at Westonbirt Arboretum on the way. Although a little pricey for a Forestry Commission venue there is plenty to see and we spent more time there than we had originally intended. As with, I suspect, most first-time visitors, we set off along the Treetop Walkway that takes you 13 metres up into the trees. As well as being a beautiful structure, it also has a mine of interesting information (most of which I’m afraid I immediately forgot).
After a picnic lunch, we continued around the Spring Trail which took us through the Cherry Glade to the Silk Wood barn where there was a selection of Easter activities on offer (and an opportunity to stock up on yet more chocolate!). 
After briefly checking out the play area next to the café (Emma was stretching the declared age range a little), we continued on into the Old Arboretum. As well as dog free zone, it also seemed to be largely toddler free which made for a much more peaceful walk than the first half.
On Wednesday we headed over to Llangorse Lake to meet up with Christine’s cousin, her family, and her extended family-in-law. We started with a walk around the lake where we temporarily lost a pair of shoes in the mud whe
re the field had been under water just a week or two ago. Having returned to the cars for lunch, we then took to the water on an assortment of different boats (rowing plus one- and two-seater and Canadian canoes).
Christine headed off to a conference in Birmingham of the next two days and the rest of us had a quiet day around Monmouth on Thursday. We still managed to visit the Museum (an eclectic mix of Nelson and Rockfield Studios memorabilia) and Shire Hall both of which were firsts for me despite 20+ years of visiting the town. The latter is full of gruesome stories from its days as Assize Court.
On Friday I returned home with the children but we stopped off on in Gloucester on the way back with Christine’s parents. Emma hadn’t got her climbing fix at Llangorse so the kids went bouldering at The Warehouse. We then had our lunch down by the quays and wandered around the waterfront until our parking ran out.
Just two more days until everyone is back at work!