Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park, London

Saturday evening, John took me out for a surprise date night. I knew we were going out a few days before hand, but didn't know where and why it was so much of a secret if we were just "going out for dinner"! On the way, I still had no idea where we were going until we drove into Marble Arch and I saw the beautiful carousel lit up and then I knew... Winter Wonderland!!! I'd never been before and always wanted to go, so I was so excited and happy when we got there, and even more excited when he said that we were going to see The Magical Ice Kingdom! Luckily, I bought my camera with me, despite the secrecy I sensed I would want it. I took a few photos of The Magical Ice Kingdom, and some after, but not too many since I have power issues. It was -8°C in the Ice Kingdom and we were soon freezing our noses off but totally worth it, I was amazed at the sights, but instead of just writing all about it... Take a look for yourselves...!

 

We first entered what felt like a warehouse sized freezer, and walked into the most beautiful wonderland of mushroom houses made of snow, and farmyard animals and woodland creatures cut into ice. Instant amazement. The detail and the effort put into it is beyond what I expected, with so many sculptures big and small surrounding you!

After the magical snowy woodlands, we'd walked round the corner to find a troll and his two beefy ice dogs! The creatures became more and more mythical, and we came across the biggest of all the snow sculptures... The griffin. I think this was one of my favourites (mostly because I knew what it was).

Unfortunately my camera crashed after this part of the castle (Yes there was lots more!). This is literally only half way there, and took centre stage for the show. We walked into the beautiful ice castle to find a medieval ice dungeon, complete with ice jail! This was a lot of fun for photos, with ice jail, and a grim reaper ready to behead. By this point we were completely frozen, but still wowed and not caring. We were also curious as to find out what people were queuing up into the top of the castle for so we joined the long queue just to discover what would be at the end of it: an ice slide! It was a funny moment, and the children in us slid down. I say slid, dragged ourselves down since the ice wasn't slippery enough for anyone to slide!
After that, more mythical creatures were to be seen, and there was even an swan cart like thing where you could have your photo taken and printed as a memoir. I was also impressed by the ice bar they'd made too, where you could go and buy a drink!

After enjoying the ice cold Kingdom, we ventured out into the - what seemed warm - outside and went for a Boxing Day classic: the turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce roll! I can honestly say, this was the best sandwich ever. It was drenched in gravy, cooked to perfection and hit the spot after the cold tour.
Venturing the rest of Winter Wonderland, we enjoyed looking around and attempting a few wins on some of the 'fun-fair games'. It was almost impossible, but John did win me the cutest little Rudolph plush for the collection, and then hooked a bag to win a cute little lilac teddy! The market was missed just for the sheer fact that there was too many people, and it was getting a little full. But we did step in and get a few sweets in, a hot chocolate and a couple of Christmas decorations to take back with us.
I was so happy John had surprised me with the trip and I left a very very happy Cat, especially since I'd never been before. A perfect wintry date night ♥

CAT xo GFC | BLOGLOVIN' | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK