Toys Are Us

This Easter Sunday was one of the best Easter's I have had in years, and not because of amount of eggs I got. Instead of sitting down to a roast dinner, with little persuasion I managed to convince my parents and younger sister (aged 12) to travel one hour outside of my home town for a day in Stansted for a return trip to the House on the Hill Toy Museum located within the grounds of Mountfitchet Castle.

I had been to this very same place 10 years earlier when my mum came across their website and have been desperate to go back since as I kept having a recurring dream about the shop! Anyway, all I can say was I was not disappointed. Whether you're a toy fanatic or just want a good bit of nostalgia, the museum is truly authentic and an ideal day out for all ages. 

Home to the largest privately owned toy collection in the country, the museum is run by a father and son who have built up a solid collection since the sixties. 

Each room of the museum is filled with cabinets lined with toys from every decade. Amongst them are a selection of fairground coin machines like Madam Esmeralda the fortune teller above. 

I have always loved Mickey Mouse in his most traditional form so it is no wonder that this collection caught my eye. My mum even owns the mini Pinocchio puppet featured on the left which happens to be in my top three Disney films of all time, a slightly controversial choice some might say. 

E.T is one of my favourite films of all time so I almost died when I lay eyes on this life-like replica. My dad was also a fan as he happens to be an avid collector of E.T. memorabilia. 

What makes the House on the Hill Toy Museum particularly special is its interactivity. Every few minutes this stage of puppets would start dancing around flapping their legs and arms to the sound of music. It reminded me of the slot machines in Cyprus arcades, or that puppet stage they used to have in the toy store Daisy and Tom on Kings Road before it closed down. 

I have always had a soft spot for Choppers bikes, mainly because I am rather nostalgic and my older brother  used to ride around on one. So I was naturally interested to learn that our late Princess Diana used to cycle around on her very own Tracker bicycle. 

The rule for when you go to this museum is to never close your eyes as who knows what you might end up missing. It was the zoom of my camera that discovered this sad faced figurine of Sesame's Streets finest resident Bert. 

No matter what your age, House on the Hill is guaranteed to bring out the big kid in all of us especially with its array of fancy dress photo opportunities. LUKE I AM YOUR FATHER!

For an extra £1, you can visited the Haunted Manor House. I don't want to give away too much but let's just say if it wasn't for the flash of the camera, I probably wouldn't have lasted 5 seconds! Aaaahh! 

Admission to the museum is £9.50 for adults and £7.00 for children and the admission price includes access to the Mountfitchet Castle and Dinosaur Encounter. It is open from 10am-5pm daily until 6th November. There is a cafe but you're probably best bringing a packed lunch and sitting out on the picnic benches, providing the weather's up to scratch. 

You can find out more about the House on the Hill museum on their site at www.stanstedtoymuseum.com but believe me, you've got to see it to believe it. 

Oh and if you like windmills too, there is Stansted Mountifitchet Windmill just down the road that you can climb up for just £1 or 50p for children. Sadly we didn't have any change.