Chessington

I have come to the conclusion that daily blogging is just not going to happen, so I will just do what I can as often as I can!

Today was an inset day (or teacher training day) at my children's school. When I went to school we never had things like this; as far as I was aware, all the teacher training days were done in the school holidays - I think the teachers get it easy these days (hard hat firmly on!!!)!

Anyway, we took advantage of the fact that not all schools would have an inset day, and went to Chessington World of Adventures, in Surrey. Another throwback to my younger days - I remember when it was just a zoo, with a fairground area with a few rides, like a big wheel, etc.

It turned out to be a good choice - apart from the traffic this morning. I was right - not all other schools were off, as we had to fight through the traffic this morning, then take a detour as there are temporary traffic lights in Southborough. When there are temporary traffic lights in Southborough, it is best to avoid at all costs, especially as the traffic was backed up all the way down St John's Road as far as we could see.

Once we got past that, we had slow (but at least moving) traffic on the M25, and arrived at the Park at about 9:45am. It turns out that a few of Chessington's local schools also had inset days, so there were a few people there, but nothing like what you would typically see during a school holiday. The only ride we really had to wait for was Dragons Fury; this is a rollercoaster where the car spins round as well.

I have to say that overall, the day was a success. My son, who wouldn't go on the Vampire Ride twice when we went last time, went on everything except Rameses Revenge (if you have been to Alton Towers, think Ripsaw!), and my daughter really surprised me by going on the Mine Train and the Log Flume, and enjoyed them - she was chattering away on both the rides.

I had discussed with my wife about this being the acid test for a future trip to Alton Towers, and I have to say that it looks positive that we might be able to go there as a family. I prefer Alton Towers as the rides are bigger, better and a lot faster!

The only downside is the extra travelling involved, and the additional cost of an overnight stay. All we need now is an inset day on a Friday!