London is a great city for water features. There is so much to do and see in the city and you could spend your whole time there simply visiting famous water features. If you’re a tourist with children who love the splash about, or a town planner looking for ideas, London is a great place to start.

The fountain in the courtyard of the Royal Academy of the arts is an impressive water feature. Dedicated to the memory of its founding president and artist Sir Joshua Reynolds, the nozzles of the fountain actually match the relative position of the stars and planets on the night he was born in 1723. The fountain provides a display ever half an hour and can be programed for special events. In the evening the water from each nozzle is illumined by a twin low voltage lamp, making it an ideal fountain to visit at night.

Trafalgar square is a famous historical memorial in London, constructed in the 1930′s commemorating the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Due to the large space of the square being ideal for public demonstrations, the square is now home to several water fountains and water features. One of the water fountains on the east side provides drinking water to the millions of visitors who come each year.

If you love the centre of London than you will know Trafalgar square. There are several fountains and water features throughout the massive space that once provided the perfect spot for demonstrations. One fountain even provides drinking water to the tourists who come to see the memorial built in the 1930′s that commemorates the great battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Somerset House, now an art gallery, originally a Tudor palace, houses a beautiful fountain court. Children love them as they can run through the choreographed program and splash about. Perfect for a family day out!

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Controlling your children from destroying the insides of an old stately home may not seem like the best activity for a family day out. Exploring the backdrop of a favourite Hollywood period drama is usually something to do with a fellow fan without the kids. The gardens are usually manicured perfectly and the thought of your two year old barrelling through in his willies may fill you with fear and dread.

Yet more and more, these famous old houses that will always be popular due to the public’s adoration for period drama and fascination with times gone by, are now accessible for the whole family. The rules of the house remain the same, no pushchairs, and no touching, yet the staff are increasingly more “smiley” towards children in general than they may have been in previous times. Children are given little “treasure maps” to help make a game of what could be a boring experience.

However if parents do venture out one day to a stately home, they may be pleasantly surprised. Many of these places, in order to remain beautiful and stately have worked out that in order to attract more visitors, they need to broaden what they offer. So your child may actually be greeted with a smile and given a treasure map to follow along with while in the main house or garden.

One such stately home in the Peak District, Chatsworth House, has a water feature that was awarded best water feature in England in 2004. It’s a three hundred year old ribbon of water that gushes over 24 groups of steps. What is even more amazing than to stand and admire this feature, is that people are encouraged to take their shoes off and play in it! On a hot sunny day, there is no more magical way to spend time with your children than take a picnic to the grounds of such a beautiful old historical home, and allow the kids to splash around and enjoy this aware winning water feature.

You may have never considered a stately home as a suitable family day out, but before you drive to the nearest soft play area, or local park, have a look and see if there is something near you that will not only be fun for the kids, but take you back in time and add something special to your day.

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Unless we are situated in a foreign country, at the side of a pool, enclosed in a hotel complex, we are often unsure how to actually cope in the hot weather! What can we do when we experience a heat wave that does not involve getting sand in our car after a day at the sea where we spent more money than we were planning to?

The first thing you may get a craving for, (or asked for) is ice cream, ice lollies, or money for the ice cream man. A trip to the shops may find you scraping the last box of artificially flavoured something from the bottom of the freezer section. So how about making your own ice lollies! With just a bit of juice (real juice) and water, or yogurt, you can make some delightfully thirst quenching treats.

Everyone always gets a hankering for ice lollies or ice creams when the weather is hot. Ice cream, although cool isn’t very thirst quenching in itself though, and usually the supermarket freezer section is devoid of anything nice to choose from once you manage to get yourself there. For a healthier less additive riddled option, make your own ice lollies! Sharing them in the back garden or in the shade on a hot day can really hit the spot.

There is nothing more difficult than a young baby or toddler who doesn’t understand why it’s so hot or know to appreciate it! Often all it takes is a small inflatable pool or even a washing up bowl for them to splash around in and cool off.

Another option that is less of an ordeal than the beach is to find a large water feature that allows kids to play in it. Depending on where you live, there may be one nearby. You can pack a picnic and play in the park while cooling off at the same time. The kids don’t need to know how to swim and there’s no sand to contend with!

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People are now choosing to use light and different effects as a form of expression and decoration in their water gardens or ponds. With decorative accessories you can further personalize and enjoy you water garden. The Sunterra Submersible Light Kit allows you to illuminate and accentuate your pond at night. This light kit includes there submersible low voltage lights, a transformer and 12 color lenses. Three lights allow you to place accents in several places in the water garden. Twelve color lenses allows you to change the color and have several colors highlighted in your pond at any given time. The adaptor is UL listed and the lights have a one year

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People are now choosing to use light and different effects as a form of expression and decoration in their ponds or water gardens. With decorative accessories you can further personalize and enjoy your water garden. The Sunterra Submersible light kit allows you to illuminate and accentuate your pond at night. This light kit includes one low voltage light, four color lenses, a transformer and the light. The light is able to be fully submersed in the water. This light is UL listed and has a one year

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Review
“Compared with the many other recent titles on water gardening, Davitt’s excels particularly at showing how formal pools and fountains can transform cramped urban spaces such as courtyards and tiny backyards.” —Library Journal, October 1, 2003 (Library Journal )”This is a book for those looking for inspiration.” —Virginia Hayes, Pacific Horticulture, Fall 2004 (Pacific Horticulture )”With a clear eye to design, construction, materials, and maintenance, Davitt offers cre (more…)

Books in Barron’s profusely illustrated Water Gardens Handbooks series show amateur gardeners how to build the water garden of their dreams. Handsome designs and ambitious projects can be carried out with surprising ease by gardeners who follow the author’s clear, step-by-step, photo-illustrated instructions. Details include suggestions and advice for stocking water gardens with fish and embellishing them with aquatic and waterside plants. Emphasis is placed on low-maintenance wate (more…)