Last weekend, instead of having a traditional Country Kids day out we went on our annual coach trip, with friends and family, to Swansea Pantomime.
I’ve been to Swansea panto more times than I haven’t in my lifetime and still get so excited about the whole experience.
We have to get up very early, have a breakfast snack on the bus, enjoy the journey (I make the most of not driving!), then maybe do a little bit of shopping and have a lovely lunch and finally watch the Pantomime!
You might think that you can’t fit a lot of outdoor fun into a day in the city, but “Oh Yes You Can!”
Ideally, I would have liked a look around the shops and hoped to at least get to Lush to restock on lovely bathbombs, soaps and fresh face masks, however, I remembered that this day trip is really for the kids, so we walked out of town to Toys R Us and let them choose a toy each with some of their Christmas money.
Rebecca very quickly found a mini pony with it’s own castle, it was a very good sale price too and Caitlyn chose a talking puppy from One Hundred and One Dalmations. She loves dogs, especially Dalmations.
Danny took ages to choose, reminding me of the time his Dad takes to shop for CDs and DVDs. I like to choose something, pay and get out of the shop. He eventually chose a construction set very similar to hundreds of ones he has at home and realising he had money left planned with Dave to spend the rest of his money once back in town.
All kids happy with a new toy and we could do some exploring. We went to Swansea Castle. Unfortunately, it can only be viewed from the outside and there was a lot of work being done on it, so it didn’t quite have the timeless, magical quality of our rural Pembrokeshire Castles (sorry I’m biased!) however it is still wonderful as all castles are.
The good news is that once all the work is completed then battle re-enactments, regular markets and guided tours will be taking place to make the “907-year-old Swansea Castle part of modern life in the seaside city”. I can’t wait to visit again once it’s finished and definitely next year whilst waiting for the pantomime.
We then walked across the road to Castle Square. We like the Fountains there.
By some miracle, the kids had fun and didn’t get wet!
At Castle Square, we met back up with the rest of the family and went to Frankie and Benny’s for dinner. The service was really friendly and we had a lovely time.
The kids had fun drawing whilst Dave hid behind the menus!
Sharing wine with my sister, Ceri.
I love this photo of Danny and cousin Cerys.
Mum aka Nanny!
Dave and Caitlyn having fun.
Danny enjoyed making his picture of “Our Family”.
You can’t hide behind menus all day.
Cerys and Rebecca enjoy pudding!
As usual, we found ourselves rushed then to get to the Grand Theatre in time. I felt so full and could have done with a feast induced nap, but we needed to get on with our brisk walk to the theatre.
We got there on time, but Dave and Danny were late, so I sent the girls in with mum and waited to give them their tickets. I felt sure that we would walk in as the Dame of the Panto was on stage- we would have been ridiculed!
Thankfully, we got in safely and settled down to watch Peter Pan. Personally, I thought it was the best that I have seen in a few years and I really enjoyed it. There was a lovely traditional story, magic and glitter, flying, the modern songs, lots of old “Osmond Songs” and the naughty panto humour we expect.
Jimmy Osmond was a baddy this year which made it interesting, “No more Mr Nice Guy!” I have to admit I loved “I’ll be your long haired baddy from Liverpool” and “Crazy Pirates! Argh! Argh!”. He has become a regular in the Swansea Panto and I think him and Kev Johns make a good double act.
Danny enjoyed it a lot more this year too. He had hinted last year that he no longer wanted to come to watch it with us. I asked him to give it another try as I love it being a family activity for all ages. He did and joined in with everything- dancing in the aisle and throwing foam blocks at Jimmy Osmond Captain Hook.
Danny’s friend from Gym got to go up on stage too as Danny and Rebecca have done in the past, so that was fun to watch!
Now to look forward to next years!
Looks like a great trip our, the castle walls look great even if it's in the heart of the city #CountryKids
Thanks! 🙂 x
funny I don't remember the castle from my student days! was great city for being outdoors though. sounds a fab day out
I know, I can't remember there being a castle there when I was younger either. How could I have been to Macdonalds and the aquare so many times and not seen it, I don't know! Maybe it's a new build! Haha! 🙂 x
Looks like you had a beautiful day for it, such lovely blue skies to set off the gorgeous photos of the castle and fountains. The panto sounds fun too 🙂 #CountryKids
Thanks! Yes we were lucky with the weather. 🙂 x
I love the look of the castle and seriously impressed you kept dry children with all the fun of those fountains, I'm sure mine would have had to watch the pano in wet clothes! Great day out and lovely to see you and the family in the photos too.
Thanks! I was shocked! Danny normally gets wet everywhere! lol xxx
Wow! I did not know Swansea had a castle (although it's not quite Cardiff or Caerphilly Castle!) but it's very impressive. Fabulous fountains.Nipping over from Country Kids
Castle isn't the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Swansea, is it? lol. Thanks x
Looks like you had a major fab day out. Swansea Castle sounds like worth a visit when they finish the work. #countrykids
Yes, and there will be a trail to go from Castle to Castle, so that could be interesting. 🙂 x
Looks like the weather played ball for a lovely day out. Swansea Castle looks like it has stood the test of time and definitely worth a visit when we are able to get to that part of the world. Glad you had a super family day out #CountryKids
The castle looks great even though you never got to go inside – hopefully next year you'll get to explore it a bit more. #CountryKids
Sounds like a great fun and balanced day out with so much happening. Fountains and castles are great for exploration. #countrykids
Sounds like a really fun day out. I love castles. They are so beautiful to look at and explore.
Sounds and looks like a really fun day out! Fab photos x
The fountains are beautiful – I am pretty sure one of my children would have been in there lol! #CountryKidswww.myfamilyfever.co.uk