On Thursday I took Jake and Dan to Downpatrick for a day out. Downpatrick is a bustling old town in County Down, and supposedly the burying place of Saint Patrick.

We started off up at the Cathedral, where we were greeted by an eldery gent who took us around the building and described a little bit of the history of the place with me.

A short walk down the road is the County Down Museum (formerly an old jail). We had a great time in here, and Jake enjoyed walking around the old jail cells with their exhibitions of former prisoners and ‘gaolers’. In fact, he insisted on walking up and down the corridor a few times to see it all again. We had a spot of lunch in the courtyard (Dan was hilarious trying to steal Jake’s crisps), and I showed Jake how to put his hands into the stocks.

The friendly ladies in the local tourist office pointed us to a park outside the town called Delamont Country Park, which was stunning. We stopped for treats - Dan eating chocolate buttons was messy but fun - and then went for a short walk which overlooked Strangford Lough. We even sat quietly on a bench as a little lamb munched on grass at the side of the path.

All in all, it was a lovely day out. I really enjoy spending alone time with the kids like this. Sometimes when the whole gang is out for the day, somebody ends up grumpy or overlooked. When it’s me and one (or two) of the children, we’re able to go out and bond together and have fun.

Lisa knows some other parents where the father wouldn’t consider taking the children out alone. I know it can be daunting (I still need Lisa to do the baby checklist with for me), but it’s not as hard in practice as it seems.

It’s nice to spend time together as a family, but splitting off now and again does the one-to-one relationships a world of good and I wouldn’t miss that for the world.