Well, here we are, well into 2018 and it's time to have a look at which of my blog posts were your favourites for 2017.
Looking back through my posts is always a bit of a treat and a good time to reflect on what we've been up to over the year. In 2018 we certainly seemed to have made the most of Martin working a lot less and got out and about a fair amount.
So here goes with the countdown of the top 10 ... in reverse order of course ...
Beautiful Britain - Ryde, Isle of Wight
After our day trip over to the Isle of Wight back in 2016, we knew we wanted to go back. We ended up spending our two weeks holiday staying on the island in September and really enjoyed getting out and about and exploring lots of lovely places, with Ryde being a very firm favourite.
Cochwillan Cottage - Dulas, Anglesey
Easter Fun in the Garden at Number 27
Beautiful Britain - Hidcote Manor Gardens NT, Gloucestershire
It would seem that a lot of you are real fans of Anglesey as posts from our trip back in March 2017 have made both 2nd and top spot ..
The 2nd most popular post of 2017 was ...
Beautiful Britain - Beaumaris, Anglesey
Beautiful Britain - Plas Newydd NT, Anglesey
Cochwillan Cottage - Dulas, Anglesey
In March of last year we spent a week's holiday on Anglesey. We stayed in Cochwillan Cottage, which was in the perfect location and a real treat. Holiday cottage review posts always seem to be popular and my review of Cochwillan Cottage went down really well, coming in as the 9th most popular post of 2017 ...
It seems you also like reading about our annual weekend away with old workfriends. In 2016 our trip to Harrogate made the top 10 and for 2017 we were off to Wales for our get together. This time we were back to an old favourite of ours, Betws-y-Coed, and were blessed with far better than expected weather for a lovely weekend exploring the village and surrounding area ...
In 7th spot we had a tie! You liked seeing what we got up to at home in the garden over Easter and you also liked reading about our return trip up to Aberdeenshire ...
We were lucky enough to have a reasonable day weather wise over the Easter weekend and we managed to have a bit of a BBQ eggstravaganza with fun for all the family, culminating in a bit of a crazy Easter egg hunt ...
This was Bobby's first family BBQ and he seemed to take it all in his stride, though it may have worn him out a bit ...
Caching on the Haggis Highway - #2
Just Loving Autumn #3 - Trentham Gardens, The Lake, Stoke-on-Trent
The Grange - Ningwood, Isle of Wight
In June we had a week away, back up in Aberdeenshire. We stayed at the same place as we did when we visited in 2015, but this time we went with mum and dad. We had a very busy week getting out and about and this post was one of the only real days that we spent out caching in 2017. We were back on the Haggis Highway, but managed to get a bit further North this time ...
The 5th most popular post for 2017 was about our visit to Trentham Gardens in late Autumn. It's somewhere we have wanted to visit for an absolute age and we are so glad we did. It is beautiful and somewhere that I am sure we will be re-visiting at a different time of year ...
It's back to the Isle of Wight for your 4th favourite post and it's another holiday cottage review. This time of The Grange, which served us well as our home for our two week's holiday ...
And so ... it's time for the top 3 ... Drumroll please 🎵🎵🎵
It wouldn't be a top 10 without an entry from the National Trust and in 3rd spot is the ramblings of the day I spent, meeting up with an old friend, at Hidcote. We had the loveliest of days and the gardens were a real treat, a definite favourite with me and it seems that you felt the same ...
The 2nd most popular post of 2017 was ...
We loved Beaumaris. It's a tiny village, with a big character and we spent a lovely afternoon exploring and availing ourselves of the delights of Beau's Tea Shop. It's somewhere we will definitely be visiting again ...
In top spot is another entry for the National Trust, who really did us proud in 2017. Your favourite post, by a country mile, was about our visit to Plas Newydd, where we put in some real effort and walked to the rhododendron garden ...
So, that was it then, for 2017. Thank you all again so much for reading and letting me share our adventures with you.
I started Life of Pottering back in 2014, with my first post being about my last week at work, before retiring. It's interesting to see how many of my old posts still get re-visited and read and I think it will be fun to do a top 10 of all time, so look out for that soon
That's all from me for now, but I've still got lots to share with you from our holiday on the Isle of Wight last year, if I ever get round to it, and of our family trip to Wales for the New Year, so please do keep reading 😊