rainbow tree decoration

A fleeting playground and Canal Day visit

Sometimes kids just can’t make up their minds. But I did manage to get him to come to Banbury Canal Day, with the promise of going to the park.

I love going to the big events in town – there’s a good chance we’ll bump into people we know, it’s great to get out and about, and support events and charities, plus there’s always something interesting to see or learn…or photograph!

N told me he didn’t want to go to the Canal Day in Banbury this year.  Last year he loved the ride on the narrow boat, and seeing everything there, so I thought he might have fancied trying a canoe this year.  But no, he didn’t want to go.

Spiceball Park playground

He wanted to go to the park.  Well, the playground is alongside the canal day, but he wasn’t to be put off.  We decided to go early, park at the free end, and walk and scoot to the playground.

scooting in Spiceball Park

The walk through the park was as quiet as normal on an early Sunday morning, only seeing a few people walking dogs or cycling through.

scooting in the park

N was getting quite fast on his scooter (I know how fast I go on mine sometimes, so really should make him wear his bike helmet when scooting).  Although he does need a new scooter because he’s still using his ‘first scooter’ and it’s not the best once you start going decent speeds.  Guess that’ll be on the Christmas list then.

He does do a lot of stopping and starting, having a break at benches (not sitting down, just a stop and then carry on!), and we have various discussions as we go along.

Of course, as soon as we reached the field with the playground in, N realised he might have been wrong in saying he didn’t want to go to canal day.  He spotted the karting, the bouncy fun pirate ships and the bungee jump activities being set up.

By that stage he was bored of scooting so we shared the carrying of his scooter over to the playground.

climing through the tunnel slide
smiling on the slide
on the roundabout at the playground

I grabbed some lovely photos I’m really pleased with, before he then agreed to have a nosy along the canal.  I did have to bribe him with going for a drink in the coffee shop, but we did manage to walk along both sides of the canal and enjoy being an early bird to the party.

Banbury Canal Day

Yet again, canal day had a beautiful day for it. Blue skies and warm sun.  Although I don’t think it was as busy as it has been in the last couple of years.

bubbles from a canal boat

The boats and canal side were all decked out in rainbow bunting, flowers and balloons.

rainbow theme boats
canal boat jugs
rainbow tree decoration

We were a bit early for the live folk music, who were taking their time to set up, but we just had a leisurely walk and scoot along the canal side.

helium balloons

Then back off via the park again, where surprisingly N didn’t want to go on all the rides and slides he’d spotted earlier  Much safer for my purse.  We ended up carrying the scooter most of the way back to the car.  By the time we left, the cars were crammed into the car park with people heading to canal day, so although our visit was fleeting we got to see it before the crowds arrived.

We’re definitely loving the early mornings at the moment for both walks and photography. It’s a great chance to get out and about, see other keen walkers, and beat the crowds…as well as having the rest of the day free for everything else.

Are you early birds going out, or do you tend to head out to places later in the day?

Try these other activities and events in Banbury:

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15 Comments

  1. What a lovely time, you’ve had. I do love early wanders before others will come. It feels fresher and Olivia can have all the space and place to herself. I love all your photos too. Xx

  2. I love your pictures! Early morning is definitely the best time of day – something I only discovered when I became a parent as a lie in was preferable before! I’m just getting to the stage where a lie in is sometimes a possibility again but there is a genuine excitement in me now when we do get up and out early! Thank you for sharing! x

    1. Thanks for your lovely comment. I love being out early. So nice to make the most of the day, and avoid the crowds. Today N announced we were having a switch round and he was going on the farm in the morning, so we had to go out in the afternoon. Horrible – a lot more rushed, packed out arboretum, and sun was too strong at that point to get great photos straight out the camera.

  3. I like going early and enjoying places like this before the crowds too. Love all the bright colours at the canal day and glad that seeing all managed to persuade N to have a look. Looks like he had fun in the playground too 🙂

  4. It looks like you had a fab morning exploring canal day and running around the park. It’s funny how kids decide they’re not doing something when you know they’ll enjoy it, at least N changed his mind and decided to explore the canal with you. It’s fab you managed to explore the canal celebrations without all the crowds before heading off to enjoy the rest of your day. Thanks for linking up with me on Country Kids.

    1. Story of my life at the moment. One minute he says he’ll come out with me somewhere, next minute it’s all about the farm and nothing else will do. The only way to get him out is to say he can take a bike or scooter with him

  5. I like being at things early and heading off when they start to get busy 🙂 The canal and boats look so bright and colourful, must have been a lovely wander. And, I love the photos of N at the park x

  6. Oh how lovely to be some of the first to have a look around. It does look like a beautiful day out, all the rainbows and bubbles! And your pictures of him at the play park are just gorgeous! We’re contemplating seeing if Kitty wants to upgrade her scooter with some of her birthday money, she’s still on her first one and it just doesn’t have quite the speed she was able to get on a borrowed big one.

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