At home for the Summer - #3 A Trip to the Seaside

Hi there everyone 😀

My goodness ... July this year was hot. It was so hot that when we were at home, Martin and I were just flopping round moaning that it was too hot and not really wanting to do anything.

It was just so hot I thought it might be nice to have a day at the seaside, where there might at least be just a hint of a breeze. I kind of only half jokingly suggested it to Martin, who is not the most spontaneous of souls, and nearly fell off my chair when he said it might be nice, but not today, let’s go tomorrow.

Well, lots of discussion ensued. We live smack bang in the middle of the country so it would be a fair old trek. Google maps told us Southport was the nearest and the quickest to get to ... assuming the M6 was playing ball.

In the end we opted for Weston-Super-Mare. It was just a bit further afield but we thought the M5 might be less likely to give us any grief. We could always do Southport another time.
We set out about 8.30am, hoping to give the work traffic chance to clear and, apart from a sticky bit on the M42, not far from home, we had a pretty good run. We were driving along the sea front at Weston at 11.00am. Yes, we needed binoculars to see the sea, but we knew we would arrive at low tide so weren’t too disappointed.

We ended up parking in the shopping centre multi story car park, which was a bit cheaper than parking along the front and we were about a two minute walk from the grand pier, which was our first stop.

When we first arrived we were a bit disappointed to find it was actually quite cloudy, but not to be perturbed we headed out along the pier.
I’m sure you won’t be surprised to know that we skipped breakfast so were looking for somewhere nice to fill up before having a good wander.

We were very tempted by the fish and chip place on the pier but decided it was a bit early and we could perhaps have fish and chips later. We ended up having doorstep sandwiches in Tiffany’s at the very end of the pier and very nice it was too. Spotlessly clean, Air conditioned, so lovely and cool and with great views across the beach, where we watched both adults and kids mud sliding their way to the sea for a dip.

Feeling refreshed we had a quick wander around the arcade on the pier, which was an absolute riot of noise and colour. There was so much going on but we couldn’t wait to get back outside ...

The sun had come out, there were blue skies to be seen and there was a refreshing breeze in the air ... exactly what we had been hoping for ...

We made our way back along the pier and decided to start our wandering by heading south, taking in all of the sights and sounds of this traditional English seaside on the most glorious of days ...

 

 We were aiming for the sand sculpture exhibition which we’d noticed on our drive in, as we both fancied having a look around ...
It cost us £4 each to enter, which was a bit more than we expected but there was a good display of sculptures in this year’s theme of the circus and lots of information on how the sculptures are put together ...

There were just so many and they were all brilliant, we'd never really seen anything quite like it and I took loads and loads of photos ...

 We really enjoyed the exhibition, though it was blisteringly hot with not a breath of air. Ice lollies were definitely the order of the day on our way out ...
We carried on heading south, this time aiming for the fun fair, not that we wanted to go on anything, but we both like watching. It was so colourful and there were plenty of places to sit and chill for a while, as well as being a nice breeze blowing through ...

We decided to head back and made our way back along the beach ...

 

Weston is a really traditional English beach resort with donkey rides and candy floss, cafes and plenty of opportunities for fish and chips.

It’s not our normal choice of place, as it's a bit busy for us, but it was perfect for what we were looking for from a scorching hot day trip to the seaside.
Back at the Grand Pier we decided to carry on walking north as we wanted to see more of the promontory that we could see. This turned out to be Knightstone Island, which has a very interesting history.

It was a lot quieter at this end of the prom and home to the outdoor bathing pool ...

Sadly we couldn't walk right round the island as there is some renovation work going on but we did retrace our steps and walk back round the other way, past beautiful old buildings, to find Dr Fox's Tea Room ...

This was a lovely spot, but it was close to closing time for the tea room so we didn't get to enjoy cake in the sunshine. The views were amazing and the tide was definitely back in ...
By now we were both more than ready for dinner so wandered back along the prom towards the pier to check a place I'd spotted earlier with seating outside on a terrace overlooking the sea.

It ended up being the Cabot Court Wetherspoons ...
We managed to grab a table on the terrace in the sunshine with a view to die for ...
We were both starving so had a selection of starters to share ...
Followed by pizza ...
It was lovely to be able to sit outside, resting our legs after a good walk, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine, looking at the sea and stuffing our faces with good food.

What a day. There was time for one last selfie before heading back for the car ...
We decided to head back north along the coast road and stumbled upon Birnbeck Pier ...
In it's heyday it had clearly been something quite special and was the only pier in the country which links the mainland to an island.

Sadly, the pier closed to the public in 1994 and now remains in pretty much a derelict state. It is easy to imagine how impressive it was back in the day though, with lots of visitors and regular steamers docking ...


Now it really was time to head for home so we continued along the estuary back up to the M5. We left about 5.30pm and it was the perfect time. We didn't even hit traffic on the M42 and were back home in a couple of hours.

We'd had the loveliest of days. It was most definitely worth the journey and Weston was a real treat. I am sure we will be back 😀

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On our Doorstep - Statfold Barn Railway with a Little One!

Hi there everyone 😀

You may remember that back in May this year Martin and I made our first ever visit to the Statfold Barn Railway for their Giant Miniature Weekend. 

Well, at the beginning of July they also held a Family Day and I really wanted to go back, hoping to see the gardens open. We arranged to meet up with my brother's girlfriend, Alison, and my 18 month old nephew, Bobby.

I will apologise up front and say that this post really is more about Bobby than what we saw at Statfold, but I really wanted to capture the essence of the day.

We arrived about 10.30am and my first thoughts were that it looked fairly quiet compared to the Giant Miniature Weekend, when there had been two fields full of people parked up with miniature engines and lots gong on.

There was still the carousel and a few stalls, but other than that it seemed fairly quiet on the car parking field and nothing going on at all in the second field. It wasn’t many minutes before Alison and Bobby arrived and we decided to head straight for the train and before long we were chugging out to the Roundhouse.

Bobby wasn’t quite sure what to make of the train but he had only just woke up. He was, however, very pleased to spot a windmill in the distance.

At the Roundhouse there was plenty of chance for Bobby to have a good walk around and he was definitely very taken with the huge trucks ...

He loved seeing his reflection in the enormous hub caps ...

... and the wheel nuts were just to die for ...

There were plenty of selfies looking at the different coloured curly wires at the back of the truck, deciding whether he liked the red one, the yellow one or the blue one best ...

When it came to taking photos on a real camera, now that was a bit confusing. Why can't I see myself in that screen 😍

We had a good wander round looking at the trains where there was plenty to explore and even buttons to press!! Perfect for 18 month old little fingers.

By now we were all more than ready for a quick pitstop ...

After lunch we decided we would catch the tram back and were really lucky to be able to sit on the top deck, which was a real treat ...

Back at the main field we had a quick look round and found some birds of prey, which Bobby wasn't too sure about, though I did manage to find a very nice feather for my collection ...

He was a lot more sure of our last stop and didn't need much encouragement to unbuckle his shoes at all ...

It was then time to say our good byes, we'd had a lovely day and I think it's the kind of place where little ones will like different things as they get older but definitely worth a visit if you get the chance.

Sadly, the gardens still weren't open 😞 Maybe next time.

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Joy in the Everyday Ordinary - August, 1-11

Hi there everyone 😀

Well, July was a month filled with sunshine, crafting, the garden, days out and time spent with friends ... which was just lovely.

August is shaping up to be very similar and you won't hear me complaining. Here's what I've been up to so far ...

Day 1 - After a few days of feeling a bit under the weather it was nice to wake up feeling a little more like my normal self. At least today I felt like getting up and doing a few bits and pieces. Nothing too strenuous, just catching up on laundry and paperwork. There is always time for a welcome distraction in the form of a visit from mum, which always involves a mooch around and a sit in the garden looking at what is doing well and what needs doing next. A low maintenance garden ours most certainly is not. Sitting on the patio under the shade of the umbrella, neither of us could quite understand how this hibiscus is suddenly covered in two completely different coloured flowers. There must be a bit of a mix going on in the rootstock. It looks beautiful anyway and is absolutely covered in buds and the bees love it too.

Day 2 - Today I spent the loveliest of days with this lovely lady in Stratford-upon-Avon, where we ate cake, mooched round a few shops, spent lots of time chatting and relaxing in the sculpture garden at Shakespeare's New Place and ate lunch in the garden at The Four Teas. There is something really lovely about spending quality time mooching about with girlfriends ... it is just sooooooo relaxing and always feels like a real treat 💜

Day 3 - After my big day out yesterday I had a nice quiet day today, which started off first thing in the garden where these two beauties paid a visit and were very happy to stay awhile.

Day 4 - The weekend and it was the first for ages where we had absolutely nothing on the calendar ... lovely. We didn't do an awful lot really, just a bit of tidying in the garden and pottering about, finishing up with a BBQ tea in the garden. These beeswax wraps came today, which I am looking forward to trying out to see if we can start to reduce the amount of clingfilm we use ... every little helps.

Day 5 - Today was another absolute scorcher and too hot for doing anything much at all. First thing, however, was actually quite pleasant with a beautiful blue sky with white fluffy clouds.

Day 6 - I love having fresh flowers in the house and, other than the sweet peas from the garden, it's not something that we treat ourselves to that often. This bunch of pretty pinks and gypsophilia were a treat from Lesley & Tom when they came round for a BBQ a few weeks ago, and are still going strong.

Day 7 - Yay!!! Got my first order for one of these frames today, for a lady who's fur baby is no longer with us but wanted a nice memento 🐾🐾🐾

Day 8 - Another lovely day out with old friends. We met at Canons Ashby, a National Trust property near Daventry and spent the most relaxing of times just mooching about, chatting and eating cake. There really is something about meeting up with girlfriends that is such a treat 💜

Day 9 - When I saw this fabric I just had to buy it. I don't know what I'm going to make with it but it's got my nephew Bobby's name written all over it, as his nursery is decorated in a woodland theme. It arrived today and I just love it. Now I need to decide to what to make with it.

Day 10 - Martin's garden light project is coming on nicely and we actually got to place these around the garden today. I'm looking forward to seeing how they look tonight when it gets dark.

Day 11 - All in all we had a very crafty weekend. We had a bit of a production line going with the doggy bandanas. I'd cut them all out earlier in the week and I did the stitching and Martin did the trimming. We got 40 made up in total. We then moved on to Christmas gift tags and managed to make up 60 of those too. I love it when we find something to make that we can do together. Some crafting is definitely much more productive when there are two of you. 

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Martin is at work for the next couple of days, which leaves me to catch up with blogging, paperwork, laundry and some other crafty stuff. We've then got new carpet being fitted in the lounge later in the week so plenty of activity going on shifting furniture and the like in preparation. Whilst I am looking forward to getting the room finished we have both become quite attached to our red carpet and only hope that we like the new look as much. No doubt I will let you know next week.

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North Yorkshire Coast #1 - Geocaching in Whitby

Hi there everyone 😀

I know we are jumping about a bit with blog content at the moment so apologies if it's getting a bit confusing 😀

Today we are in Whitby, back at the beginning of June ,where following our very busy weekend having our annual catch up with old work friends, it was Monday morning and we had a nice easy day planned, having a bit of a breather after three full on days of being out and about.

We did have a much slower start but I wouldn’t say it exactly ended up being a nice steady day. We headed back into Whitby around lunchtime, in the mist and the rain, for an afternoon of Geocaching, which took us on another good walk around the sights of the town centre.

We started off at a wooden sculpture that neither of us had seen before, where we had to collect some information about ships that had been built in Whitby in the past, before being sent off elsewhere for the next set of clues.

Along the way we completed another cache at the war memorial ...

... before hunting for a series of clues that had us visiting eight of the town centre pubs. Fortunately all of the information we needed could be found on the outside of the pubs so we didn’t end up completely sloshed.
Once all the information had been collected we did retire to The Board, for a bit of a breather, and to work out where we needed to go next.
Fully refreshed following giant fish finger sandwiches, which were a bit of a disappointment I have to say, we headed back out towards the East Pier lighthouse.

Neither of us had been out this way before so, whilst it was still damp and breezy, it was good to explore somewhere new.

We followed the narrow cobbled road to the left of the steps leading up to the abbey.

We passed a pretty little memorial garden ...

... and plenty of quaint and quirky looking cottages, this being the very aptly named Tipple Cottage ...

... and ended up at the entrance to the pier, where it was pretty blowy, but the rain had stopped ...
We needed to walk out to the lighthouse to find some more information ...

... which we found before having a quick selfie ...

Having found what we were looking for we then headed back across the bridge to the west side of town, where we just needed a bit more information which was to be found on the west pier lighthouse. Well, by now, we’d pretty much had enough and decided to retire to The Pier for another pit stop where Google told us all we needed to know.

From there we headed back to the car and took a drive up to the whalebone for a few misty photos.

Whilst up there we managed to locate the bench overlooking the view which is said to have inspired Bram Stoker to use Whitby as the setting of part of his world famous Dracula novel.
 

By now we were both shattered and more than ready to head back to The Piggery for nice quiet evening just chilling out.

The forecast was better for Tuesday and we did head back to the west side to see if we could get some better photos, but I think I will save these for another post.

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