It is quite a while since we last went (see here), and this time there was no big sister to help.
Young W had to cling to the sides for a while....
But eventually he plucked up the courage, and was soon in the middle of the ice....
I did it too, but I haven't any pictures to show it. Important thing though was the competition - number of times falling on your butt (as Young Miss put it)... Scores on the doors: Young Miss 5, Young W 5, Dad 0 (but only just avoided it a few times!).
...if you click on the picture to blow it up, it is just a short walk along the canal. There is a sweetshop and cafe there too...
... and from the bridge you have a view of the Hay Inclined Plane, used to lift barges from the canal to Blists Hill.
You have to wear hard hats in the tunnel...
It's alright for these two, but they thought it very funny when I banged mine against the rather low ceiling.
Apparently it extends another 900m into the hillside beyond this point maybe linking up with a mine shaft in Blists Hill or even further into Madeley. I don't fancy going along there to try and find out!
We were pleased they still had the display with the King Charles silver tankard
They have a new audio-visual display in the Bottle Kiln...
which is really effective, and has complete surround sound.
but you don't want me to spoil things by showing you where he is, do you?
...but the real spectacle is the magnificent crescent shaped dahlia garden.
The plants are arranged chromatically from dark reds and violets at one end through to pale yellow and white at the other. This one was Young Miss' favourite...
And this one, to me, is a classic...
which we visited after lunch in the rebuilt visitor centre.
Look at what Young W's got! Yes, he has joined Young Miss at the Bury County Music School and started cello lessons last night. Cygnets for him next week!
As planned, on Friday lunchtime I headed off to the East Anglian Beer Festival in the Corn Exchange. I was there by 12:30 and things were still remarkably quiet...
But it son filled up and by mid-afternoon was getting quite lively. It is a lovely setting with the sunshine streaming through the skylights.
By 4:30 I had sampled a fair few beers. If I tell you the average price was £1.30 per 1/2 pint you can maybe work it out from the number of beer cards...
And then it was time for the walk home through the Abbey Gardens and across the river then along the path round St James' Middle School. The Cherry blossom is at its peak here...
Then it was across the A14 via the footbridge, along Shakers Lane and up the hill to collect the little ones from After-School club on the way. A great 1/2 day's holiday!
From my favourite brewer, Adnams, a Carbon-Neutral beer!
We were there a few weeks earlier than other years so got the blossom at its finest... 
...and a wonderful show of carpets of wood anenomes...
...and bluebells.
We also found plenty of early purple orchids...
...and even some early peacock butterflies.
But what we were really there to catch was the pretty and rare (for the UK) Oxlips...
They are out in abundance now - go and see them before it's too late.
Just across the River Stour from there is the end of the Valley Walk and I had come prepared by downloading and printing off the leaflet. The main walk follows the path of the disused railway - the old Stour Valley line of the Great Eastern Railway that linked Colchester with Bury St Edmunds. 
But we wanted a circular walk rather than just there and back to Sudbury, so about half way along we turned left onto a path down to the river. Here we found an eyrar of swans...
Is that the right collective noun? Maybe it should be a gargle? Whatever...
But we were soon back down to the River Stour...
...a bit of recurring theme in our Suffolk/Essex walks this holiday.
...Little Miss clutching her collection of swan feathers. Another good walk. And, what with their 3 1/2 mile walk around Clare in the morning that should have tired the kids out for the day!
But we did the Clare Circular Walk instead. We were soon out of the town. "We're going through a Blossom Tunnel", exclaimed Little W...
Spring flowers were to be found everywhere. Here are some cowslips looking fresh and cheerful...
The walk takes you out first north of the town then back and out again past Clare Camp to the Common.
It was a bit drizzly, but we still had good view of the town and castle as we headed back.
The walk returns to the Country Park via this bridge over the River Stour...
A good walk with some lovely country scenes. "I was wrong", said The Missus. "That was a delightful walk". Now for that picnic. But no, let's not have it in the Country Park...
Shropshire Union Canal and Coalport Museum