travel – Page 3

Birthday Weekend in Grasmere

As a treat for my 29th birthday (and to make up for our lack of holiday last year due to numerous weddings!) we spent the first weekend of February in Grasmere.

It’s a beautiful little village that has all the charm you’d expect from the Lake District without being as in-you-face-touristy as Windermere and Bowness are.

Grasmere itself is only 50 minutes from us so we headed up on the Friday evening after work. Our hotel was lovely, with a view from our room out over the River Rothay which was filled with ducks each morning!

We spent Saturday scaling my first ever mountain. Some of the ascent was seriously tough, with me having to scramble up on my hands and knees at points. It definitely wasn’t glamorous. There were points when I ached and wasn’t enjoying myself but I persevered as I know how much Jonny loves being outdoors. The view from the summit was reward enough in itself though, as was the sense of achievement that I’d made it and not died! (I’m not the fittest of individuals!)

Once we’d wound our way back down and into Grasmere we spent a more sedate afternoon enjoying giant hot chocolates and pottering around the lovely independent shops. The book shop is my favourite (I got a gorgeous copy of Little Women from here as my Valentine’s gift!)

After an incredible meal at Sara’s Bistro on Saturday night (a restaurant we stumbled across in New Year 2013) we spent a relaxed Sunday taking in some culture. We purchased Grasmere gingerbread and had a tour around Dove Cottage (one of Wordsworth’s Lake District homes.) The guide was fab and sparked my interest back into poetry. I’ll be searching out some Wordsworth next time I’m in a book shop.

It was a well earned break from work and general life hectic-ness and I would definitely recommend Grasmere as a weekend away destination. Where should we plan our next weekend away to?

Knitting & Stitching Show 2014

A day out with the mothership is always fun, especially so when it involves something craft-based. Yesterday I went to the Knitting & Stitching show in Harrogate with my mum and had a great day out!

I could quite easily have spent a fortune on pretty buttons and ribbons, and had to restrain myself on more than one occasion.

In the end I came away with Christmas presents for mum and some lovely purple alpaca wool to knit myself some cozy gloves with. I’m definitely one of the ‘cold hands, warm heart’ club. Once they’re made I’ll make sure to post them on here.

The best thing about going to the show is all the inspiration that you get. I’ve got a knitting and stitching to-do list that’s now taking up 3 notebook pages! I’m certainly not going to be running out of projects anytime soon!

Sunday in Ambleside

This Sunday we drove up into the Lake District to meet my lovely friend Roz for Sunday lunch. We’re really very lucky to live so close to the Lake District, and Ambleside is a handy halfway-point between our house and Roz’s.

Ambleside is a beautiful little town, just further north than Windemere. Its normally full of walkers, and generally outdoorsy folk, something the vast array of outdoor shops will attest to.

This time, however, we stopped just outside the town at a HUGE garden centre for lunch and proceeded to fill up with hot chocolate and lots of melted cheese based food! The garden centre itself is nestled in amongst the beautiful Lake District hills, which the cafe looks out across.

The highlight for me, though, (apart from catching up with the lovely Roz and Kay!) was that half of the centre had been transformed into Christmas world! Complete with flying reindeer, gnomes galore and more decorations than you could ever need. Christmas peacock, anyone? I love Christmas, winter is my favourite season of the year, so I thoroughly enjoyed wandering round their little wonderland. It’s just a shame we hadn’t had a lottery win to fund some serious Christmas spending!

Blackpool Dungeon

We spent the last Bank Holiday of May playing in Blackpool with our friends and their son. It was a lovely day, and we did everything that makes a seaside resort like Blackpool great; played on the beach, wandered along the front by the prom, played in the arcades and had a mooch around the shops that are full of the tack you only ever find at places like this! Fluorescent googly eyed donkey, anyone?

The highlight, however, was a trip around Blackpool dungeon. I was initially apprehensive, the last time I visited the dungeons in York I was genuinely terrified and wound myself up awfully about it. I was 23. This time was different though. When you’re accompanied by a 5 year old you simply have to man up. There was one section when he clambered onto my knee and the room was plunged into darkness. I felt a small hand grab mine tightly and realised that I was not allowed to be a wuss anymore, I wasn’t 5! After that I really enjoyed the experience, even the parts with freezing water being sprayed at you! If you get the chance this summer, I seriously recommend that you hunt down one of those 2 for 1 vouchers for cheaper entry (that seem to be EVERYWHERE) and get yourself there. Plus you get an incredibly flattering photo like this as a souvenir!