Here in England there's the phenomenon of the "half term holiday". Basically, the school year is broken up into three terms, with each term itself broken in half, with a week's holiday in between. This is the time of year at which we have arrived, and so we decided to take the kids out on some trips to make their "half-term" a holiday to remember!
Although in Chislehurst we're technically in the Greater London area, traditionally we're in Kent. So, what better place to visit than "The Museum of Kent Life"?
Picture,
if you will, a cross between "The Darling Buds of May" (the series of
books by HE Bates, not the TV series, as that was set in Kent, but
filmed in Dorset - similar, but not the same!) with "Old Sydney Town"
(an open-air museum of life in Colonial Sydney - sadly now closed) and
you have some idea of what The Museum of Kent Life was like. Lots
and lots and lots of information about growing hops...plus some cute
baby animals to pat and some tiny little houses (and I mean tiny!) to
explore and bump your head on the ceiling!This is an exterior shot of an Oast House. Processing of hops is done here by means of a type of rotating kiln. The conical roofs are actually vents to release steam/smoke.
A series of plaques illustrating the history of hops-growing from ancient times. Sorry the writing's too small to read - but you get the idea from the dates that it's been going on for a VERY long time!
(I don't know where this house is...)
These photos are of the inside of the Oast House. They too document the history of hops growing, but in a hands on, rather than diagrammatic fashion.
Inside the Oas
t
House are
displays outlining the history
of hops growing, with hands-on examples and exhibits. The kids
had a great time. Here we see Eilis and Liam collecting small
square pieces of wood, representing hops, and hoping they've gathered
enough to make a bushel. They quickly discovered that a bushel
was a lot bigger than they had imagined, as it was taking them a very
long time, and I too soon told them it was time to move on...
Eilis,
Liam and Maitias are very happy playing the "Pick a Bushel of Hops"
game...
This house is not
in the location it has always been. It's original street, Water
Street, had to be demolished to make way for the M20 Motorway, and so,
because this house has historical significance (it was first built in
the 15th or 16th century), it was decided to move it, piece by piece,
to it's present site at the Museum of Kent Life. As you can see
if you look carefully, in moving they even took pains to reproduce such
things as doors which had been bricked over at some stage in the
building's life. 
This is the original fireplace of the Water Street house. Very big, it served to cook all the meals and heat the house as well. As you can see in the photo on the right, the ceilings are very low. The kids felt quite at ease as it was exactly the right size for them. I on the other hand felt quite claustrophobic!
At left we see Maitias climbing the steep incline to the Water Street house. As you may imagine, he slept quite well that night...
The Museum of Kent Life has a great distraction for the Under 10 set - ride on tractors! The day we chose to go was cold, windy (it even snowed slightly on our way home), and being it's second open day for the year, quite deserted. Hence, Eilis, Liam and Maitias had the tractors all to themselves, and much mirth and merriement ensued!
We had a great time at the Museum of Kent Life! If you ever make the trip to England, please make sure you visit Kent (the Garden of England)! And when you visit Kent, don't forget to pop in here and have fun like we did!