The Good Food Show 2015

Good Food ShowSource

Last weekend the mothership and I went up to Harrogate for the BBC Good Food Show. It was our second year of attending and it definitely didn’t disappoint.

We got there bright and early (although were disappointed to find the main venue car park was closed to everyone except those fancy pants individuals who’d forked out more for a VIP ticket!) I was driving so missed out on a lot of brilliant looking gin samples. My mother took full advantage of the fact she wasn’t and had her first gin at 9.15am. She’s my actual hero.

The stalls were much better spaced than last year and had a BRILLIANT gluten free pie stall. I’ll post more another day about why I’m so excited by gluten free produce. After spending a, frankly embarrassing, amount of money we headed to the super theatre where we got to watch Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood bake. I genuinely love Mary Berry and it was great to see her in action again. That woman is 80! If I look half as good at 80 I’ll be very happy!

Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get any decent photos – the ones on my phone are too dire to post. I’ll definitely try to remedy this for my next day out. I have a feeling next year’s show might fall on the weekend of our wedding so it may be 2017 before we get to the Harrogate one again. Maybe a trip to the 2016 summer show in Birmingham is in order!

If you love food and general kitchen gadgets/knick knacks I would definitely recommend a visit. You’ll get a really enjoyable day out and enough food and drink samples to make you need a little lie down. What more could you want from a day out?

Days Out: April in Northumberland

Northumberland Days Out 2Whilst on our camping trip we managed to explore around Northumberland a bit. It’s a wild looking county with plenty of history. Something I made sure we took advantage of!

We walked alongside Hadrian’s Wall and paid a visit to Vindolanda Roman ruins and museum. The scale of the excavations there was incredible, and a really interesting day out even for those of our friends who aren’t quite the history geeks I am.

Northumberland Days Out 1

Easter Monday was spent exploring Bamburgh Castle and its beautiful neighbouring beach. I had no idea the castle was still intact (in my head I had it confused with the ruins at Lindisfarne.) Size wise it was almost on a par with Edinburgh castle, and the views overlooking the beach from its ramparts were stunning. We even managed to squeeze in a bit of rockpooling. I definitely want to come back and explore more of this coastline along towards Seahouses and across to the Farne Islands.

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On Tuesday we visited Alnwick Castle. Somewhere I was very excited to visit with its Harry Potter and Downton Abbey links! We wandered round both the castle and the adjoining gardens. The gardens were a little lacking (apparently they’re more impressive in June) but the tour around the poison garden was fascinating. I didn’t realise quite how many of the plants in our garden could kill me!

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The castle itself was fantastic, with walks around the walls and a range of little musuems squeezed into the various towers. The state rooms were by far my favourite though. The decor in there was beautiful, and similar to that of our wedding reception venue which made me very excited!

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Where would you recommend visiting in Northumberland if we make a trip back? Jonny’s already hoping for a trip walking Hadrian’s Wall!

Converted to camping.

It’s no secret that I used to hate the outdoors, and that the thought of camping would have made me laugh with scorn. Things have, however, changed since I’ve been with Jonny.

Camping April 2

Prior to our getting together my camping experience was limited to annual long weekends in a sweaty 2 man tent at Leeds festival, and a couple of weekends away with the Guides as a child. I’d never been on a camping holiday (nor had I any desire to do so.)

I like my home comforts. I like a comfy bed. I like a toilet that I don’t have to trek in the cold to.

It turns out though that I am willing to live without these luxuries for a break away. We have an air bed so it’s not quite as awful as sleeping on the floor, and my ridiculously thick mummy sleeping bag stops me from getting cold. (I swear I’m part reptile; once I’m cold it takes me a LONG time to warm back up!) This trip we even had a little heater and a light inside our tent which made it infinitely more habitable. There are few things worse than getting dressed in a freezing cold tent!

Camping April 1

We spent the Easter long weekend camping in Haltwhistle with some friends, then stayed an extra night to do some sightseeing on our own. The break was lovely and, dare I say it, not actually that bad to be camping! The shower block was lovely (and a welcome relief after we left our house with our shower refusing to deliver any hot water!) and I managed to deal with the walk to the loos since I knew it wasn’t forever!

I do like our little tipi, and am looking forward to a camping trip to Devon and Cornwall this summer. Especially knowing it’ll definitely be warmer than April in Northumberland! I’ll make sure to take pictures of our actual tent for you to see next time too.

Do you camp? Or do you prefer four walls?