Last Wednesday was the first time in nearly two weeks that me and T had a day on our own together. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with S and my parents, but it was so lovely to have a day of just me and my boy against the world, just like so many similar days when I was on maternity leave.
We had some professional photos done of T a few months back so I drove over to Wantage to collect them but when I got there the shop was shut. Instead of having a wasted trip I decided to go for a drive. We ended up heading towards Uffington, so I thought, ‘hey, let’s go for a walk up White Horse Hill,’ as I hadn’t been there for about 5 years.
White Horse Hill is a local landmark. Uffington Castle, the Iron Age hillfort on top of the hill, is the highest point in Oxfordshire and the iconic Bronze Age chalk white horse carved into the side of the Ridgeway escarpment can be seen from miles away. We parked in the National Trust car park and started walking up the hill towards the horse.
Although we passed a few other people, often there was no one else in sight. I loved being able to let T run around without having to worry about all the dangers I normally have to be aware of when out and about with my curious toddler.
This was the point at which I reached the edge of my comfort zone for how far away I would let him go. When I called him back he found it funny to run further away, resulting in me sprinting across the field to him!
He got so excited when he spotted a plane- one of his favourite things at the moment.
Although it was a gorgeous sunny day, we could see ominous rain clouds making their way towards us across the valley.
T’s little legs started to get tired after a while so I carried him up the steepest parts of the hill. I began to wish I’d brought my Ergobaby carrier with me!
We stopped on a bench near the top of the hill for a rest and to enjoy the view which is absolutely spectacular. We could see across miles and miles of countryside from Swindon, through to Faringdon, on to Didcot and the Chiltern Hills.
Because it’s so exposed to the elements, it’s always very windy up the hill. I made a mental note to bring T back when he’s older as it would be the perfect place to fly a kite (do kids still do that?!).
We eventually made it to the viewing point and were going to take a closer look at the white horse, but the rain clouds seemed to have gathered pace so we began our hasty retreat back towards the car. It started pouring down just as we arrived back at the car park.
Although a very unflattering picture of me, I’ve got to show you this one of my exhausted little man!
If you want to wear out your kids, White Horse Hill is one of the most picturesque places in South Oxfordshire to do so!
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Aww sounds like a lovely day and those pictures are just gorgeous!! ^__^
Rosie Love recently posted…Just a vest
Thank you! The views really are stunning from up there, I hope I managed to do them justice 🙂
I love this post – those pictures are wonderful, and any activities that wear out toddlers is great! Must find a nice windy hill near me to introduce my girls to kite flying.
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Karen (@karenjwhitlock) recently posted…Sunday Stars 30th August
Thanks Karen! Agreed, he has so much energy, it was great just to let him run around!
Helen recently posted…Am I starving my child? Raising a vegetarian toddler