A Ghoulish Halloween at Belsay Hall

So Halloween is a firm favourite in our house, well at least with 3 out of the 4 of us, Luca is 2 and a half and he is a bit wary of it!! Big sister Eva likes to scare him, she finds it hilarious.  We have tons planned for this week. We kicked it off yesterday with a trip to Belsay Hall for their Victorian Spooky Week.  http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/belsay-hall-castle-and-gardens/

Belsay is approximately half an hours drive from us along the lovely A696.  Gorgeous drive on a nice day.

We got there about 1:30 after a pit stop along the way for wellies for Luca and got a lovely friendly greeting by the lady on admissions.  She gave the children their 'spooky treasure trail' sheets and told us where to go for the various activities  (I have only been to Belsay Hall once and that was pre-children for their lovely Christmas fair)

My two love treasure hunts of any kind so the Spooky Trail was a big hit, running around the house spotting the ghouls and ghosts!

They also were offering craft activities and the children got the chance to make an origami bat and a spider from pipe cleaners.  There was a lady on hand to help us and the kids had great fun, I was impressed with their creations even if I did have to help the little one a bit!

We carried on with our treasure trail.  There was some extra activities in the shape of 'Talks with a Gravedigger' and a 'Ghost Hunt'.  We started to listen in to them both but they were aimed at kids slightly older than my two and they were a little bit scared.  For older kids and adults though the guide was very knowledgeable and would have been good fun, nice to see something a bit different offered.

We decided to have a walk around the lovely gardens and took the opportunity to 'splash in muddy puddle's' just as well we had bought those wellies!!

We found all 5 clues on our trail and so went back to the admissions desk to claim our prize, a lovely certificate for each child with their names on them! The children each got a small treat from the gift shop, Eva chose a rat!?(named Rachel!) and Luca got a yo-yo.

As a treat we popped into the tea rooms.  Nana (my mam) got a hot beef stottie at £5.25, I got a delicious blackcurrent cheesecake at £2.10 and the kids got a lunchbox containing ham sandwich, crisps, orange juice, a chocolate biscuit and an apple for £4.00.  A little bit higher priced that I am used to paying but the beef and the ham were absolutely gorgeous and everyone enjoyed their food.

We had a lovely day at Belsay and would go back as they have lots of special events on throughout the year, it is quite pricey to get in at  £7.90 per adult, but children under 5 are free.