Transport through the ages!

The school holidays are underway at last.  The boys were released from school at lunchtime today, much to everyone’s relief!

We’ve spent the last few hours under duvets in the living room watching Dumbo (the ‘old’ cartoon) and Ice Age 4, making a start on the Easter eggs, and feeling sorry for ourselves as we’ve all got a cold.  Luke is ‘least poorly’ which he attributes to his commitment to wearing shorts in all weathers.  His view is the rest of us would all be fine if we wore fewer clothes.  In this stormy weather?  Not a chance.

The perfect activity for a day like this is a trip to the Ulster Transport Museum in Cultra, near Holywood.  We spent hours there on Saturday.  The main attraction, you see, is that Tim Peake’s space capsule is on display, and we had to see it before it moves on!

It was awesome to watch the film of the Soyuz module returning to earth, whilst standing right next to it.  I cannot comprehend the bravery required to embark on that journey…and all that it entails…in this tiny module.  Amazing.

There were lots of interactive space-related things to see and do, so we took full advantage and indulged everyone’s space-interest!

Aside from the space exhibition, there are planes, trains and automobiles of all varieties.  There are platforms to walk along, trains to clamber on, levers to pull and buttons to push.  Heaven for small boys and their nostalgic re-patriated mum!

The museum also has a superb Titanic exhibition, aimed at just the right level for kids.  There’s a Morse code machine, a compelling (and satisfyingly noisy) ‘rivets’ challenge, and a rather sobering central exhibit presenting the survival statistics of the tragedy.

We enjoyed some epic sausage rolls in the cafe, and discovered there are lots of places inside and out to have a picnic too.  We’ll be back, as we have yet to explore the Folk Museum across the road.  And we’ll go by train so we can appreciate the fantastic sea views on the way!