January 2019 - Part 3

I had a long weekend off towards the end of January, so we went up and visited Swindon. Now there's not a huge amount of stuff to do in Swindon (the birthplace of one of the greatest British actresses, Billie Piper) but there is a fun outlet shopping centre just on the outskirts, with a large selection of shops, which I spent all my Christmas money in. Plus a large amount of my hard earned overtime too! The building itself is beautiful, its and old railway works, where they used to build steam engines in the glorious days of steam powered railways in the UK. The shopping centre brilliants shows off the heritage aspect of it, with information boards and old pieces of equipment kept there. There is also a railway museum there, but it was closed while we were visiting, but I've made a point of returning soon to see it.

We also went to the Studley Grange Butterfly World & Farm park. Its a sprawling complex just off the M4 (there's no public transport there as far as I know, so you will have to take a car). Forgive its ramshackle and tired outside appearance, because inside there's a lot to do. There's your usual café, children's play areas and some little craft shops etc, but its the animals that are the highlight. You start off going through the butterfly area, where its a tropical theme, and the butterflies are free to fly around you. Obviously on a cold day in January there wasn't many, but it was still a nice experience. You then head outside to the farm area, where there's plenty of animals, like chickens, sheep, geese, goats, and also a kangaroo and meetkats! Most of the animals you can pet and feed, so we had a great time feeding the fish, goats and sheep!

Look at the ferrets all snuggled up together! I would have done the same to be honest, It was freezing!

Entrance for the butterfly world and animal areas is £9.45 for adult, while the rest of the complex is free to enter. All I would say is some of the venders in the craft village aren't always open, so I would just check the website  before hand if there's something specific you are heading in for. Find it here - www.studleygrange.co.uk

We also decided to call in and visit the Great Coxwell tithe barn, which wasn't far from Swindon. Its a glorious barn from the 13th century, which was owned and run by Beaulieu Abbey. The building is not only beautiful, its huge as well! Its free to enter, but there is a donation box as you enter, its looked after by the National Trust, who do a fantastic job at looking after our historical buildings. Most National Trust properties you have to pay to enter, but you can become a member for a set fee each year, which gives you unlimited access to all of their sites. Very handy if like me, you visit quite a few each year, and in my case, revisit my favourites several times a year as well.

We were the only ones there, and it was magical having the place to ourselves.

We also fed some friends on the way home. I've seen so many Moorhens, and I've never seen such friendly ones, normally they stay well away when we go to feed, but they wouldn't leave us alone!

And as promised, here's the bread rolls I made at home, I think I've gotten quite good at it!