When I woke this morning a blueish light was shining through my blinds, the sort of light that suggests the skies are white with snow, so when I took a peak outside I was sorely disappointed to discover no snowy pavements. However as I was making breakfast about an hour later the skies began to cloud over and small flakes started to fall. By the time I was getting ready to leave for work they had tripled in size and the ground was covered in a thick white blanket. I decided to take my camera and walk to work so that I could enjoy this winter wonderland, even if only for half an hour or so, as it would probably be gone by tomorrow morning again! I can’t deny I was beyond excited as I put on my wellies. Strolling through the snow I was in my element, nothing could change my mood, not even slipping and getting my bottom soaked haha. Anyway I just wanted to share some of the photos I took. I hope you enjoy!
At the beginning of the week I was away in Alnmouth, a beautiful village on the seafront. It is my dads 50th this November and he’s celebrating early with his brothers, sister, their spouses and his mum who have all flown over from Germany so they can enjoy a weeks holiday together in Alnmouth. I could sadly only visit for three days as I had to work, but I did enjoy three days with my extended family. I took the train up on Monday and on Wednesday we all drove down back to Durham together so the family could see our hometown. Although short it was so lovely in Alnmouth; I am already missing it. Anyway the coastal scenery is just so beautiful there I just had to share some photographs with you.
On Monday we went to Bamburgh a short drive up the coast from Alnmouth, for a lovely walk at the beach, although it was so windy the sand whipped around our legs in a bit of a sandstorm.
The next morning the sun was rising over the beach and I enjoyed my breakfast with a view. The living room window had a lovely window seat looking out onto Alnmouth beach and it was the most peaceful breakfast I have had in a long time – breakfast goals on point!
After breakfast I went for a walk at the beach with my dad which was lovely as the sun continued to shine. The weather was just fab!
Later on in the day we went to the Alnwick Gardens where we had booked to eat lunch in the tree house in which is just so cute and quaint. The food was amazing and we all enjoyed ourselves. I sipped on my favourite Rose Lemonade, had a terrine for starters and pork belly with broccoli and apple mash for mains which was just scrumptious!
After our meal in the tree house I walked to Barter Books in Alnwick. It is one of the cutest bookshops I have ever been to. A large building filled with secondhand books, antiques and first editions. One can really spend half a day here browsing through all the books. If you are ever in Northumberland I totally recommend you take the time to visit this quaint bookshop. There is a little cafe for refreshments and chairs to sit and read in oh and there are some CD’s and DVD’s too, but only a small section. As far as I am aware you can also exchange books, as in if they don’t already have certain books you can trade them.
On Tuesday evening we continued family time and had a lovely night reflecting on the past by looking at old photos which was cute.
Well that sums up my mini getaway in Alnmouth; thanks for reading! Also I’d love to know if you have ever been in Bamburgh, Alnmouth or Alnwick, so please do let me know!
Last week was amazing! About three weeks ago I found out one of my best friends was coming to England and had some time to see me, so I managed to get some time of work and we booked a last minute mini midweek getaway to the Peak District for some peaceful time amongst nature. Here’s what we got up to! (P.S. sorry about the photo quality I only had my phone with me)
Day One – Jane Eyre Trail and Stanage
We met at Manchester Piccadilly station, did a quick food shop at Sainsbury and then took the train to Hathersage (about 1h) where we arrived at our hostel just before 10am. We were very lucky they hadn’t locked the door yet (they are officially only open 5pm-10pm). I mean I knew check in was only at 5pm, but I didn’t expect no access at all until 5pm, usualy hostels are open and have at least a locker room for bags, but we found none of that here! The guy at least allowed us to dump our bags behind the reception after we put everything we needed for the day into my small backpack. We quickly put our food shop in the fridge, made a humous wrap to take with us for our lunch and went on our way. We didn’t really have a plan or a map aha so with the only information I had for a trail being it was called the Jane Eyre trail, we just asked about and the locals were friendly and pointed us in the right direction!
Hathersage was the inspiration behind many a scene from Charlotte Bronte’s classic Jane Eyre. On the edge of the village lies a church where Robin Hood’s friend Little John is buried and next to it is a quaint little parsonage (pictured above) in which Charlotte Bronte once stayed. During her visit she began writing her novel; her influences become clear as you wonder aound the area. In the graveyard one can find gravestones engraved with the names of Eyre and Elliot for example. Furthermore, North Less Hall (pictured below) is said to be the inspiration behind Thornfield, and local ledgened has it that a mistress of the Hall was kept imprissoned as a mad woman and later died in a fire which destroyed part of the building and had to be rebuilt. It’s a pretty building but not quite as majestic as I had in mind from the BBC series aha.
The first good view of Stanage. The natural rock cliffs of Stanage and surrounding moorlands influenced Charlotte Bronte too, it is visible in the part of Jane Eyre where she wonders the moors lost before her cousin finds her. The scenery from here was stunning, although sadly it was a bit of a murky day to begin with.
Although murky to begin with, once we finished this roughly 3 and 1/2 hour trail we went and sat in a cafe when the sun came out and stayed all afternoon. We moved outside and soaked up some rays whilst enjoying our books.
Day Two –Win Hill and Lady Bower Reservoir onto Derwent Damns Viewing Point
Day two took us on an unplanned detour up Win Hill on our way to Lady Bower Resevoir, but it was well worth the extra 2 hours hike. Pictured below is our first view from the resevoir at the beginning of our climb up Win Hill.
Eventually after a hard climb for me and my unfitness aha, we made it to the top and the views were phenomonal! Absolutely stunning! Sadly it was just far too windy and cold to linger for long though.
What I loved most about this hike was the diverse landscape around us, we walked through fields, heather moor land, pine forrests and next to the resevoirs… The ever changing nature made the hike even more interesting to the eye!
In the evening I had the luck of being able to briefly meet up with a friend I’d made whilst volunteering in Corrymeela over last year, as she only lived a 15 minute drive away! This was super lovely as I hadn’t seen her since November.
Day Three –Hike To Castleton
Day three was probably my least favourite walk, although parts like the beginning where we walked along the river for a good 1-2 hours was really beautiful. However I am not used to walking for so long, so I was feeling not just physically but also mentally drained aha. (Garden envy shown below – I mean how idyllic!)
What made it worse was that I google mapped how long it would take to walk from Hathersage to Castleton failing to realise that the time given was obviously for the route following the main road and not the public footpaths. Annoyingly the public footpaths aren’t always sign posted very well at all either, so of course we also ended up taking a couple of wrong turns leaving us having to climb over barbed wire fencing aha and adding even more time onto our walk. So what I thought was going to be a 2-3 hour walk ended up being a 5 hour hike aha! But there was loads of cute lambs around, so that made it better aha.
Eventually we arrived in Castleton, I was rather tired so, so we didn’t stay long and got the first bus back to Hathersage. It was a long walk but not as inclined as the day before and not as varied scenery, but there was still some stunning views!
Day Four –Hathersage
On our last day we just chilled. We had to check out of the hostel by 10am and then we just browsed the shops in Hathersage and I did a little shopping. There was a little arty shop where we picked up some new reads, I bought Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee and Travelling to Infinity by Jane Hawking (the story behind the movie A Theory of Everything) which I am excited to read! There was also a little cute interior shop with some jewellery and I treated myself to some new little black stud earrings from Pilgrim. After some shopping we walked back to the Church, searched for the Eyre grave stones and then went for a short 30min walk. The sun slowly started to show it’s face as we returned to town and after grabbing some lunch at a little deli cafe we then basked in the sun outside the cafe for the rest of the afternoon reading our new books. It was a glorious end to a perfect mini getaway!
Last year my family and I spent an idyllic weekend in the Yorkshire Dales. It was a time of having no phone signal and no internet and let me tell you it was sooo relaxing.
For once I wasn’t reaching for my phone every two minutes to check Facebook, post a picture on Instagram and keep checking how many likes I was getting. It made me realise how addicted I was to modern technology and the need of likes from others – I hated it! Instead of wasting time and energy online which often leaves me full of negative energy as I am a fiend for comparing myself to others, I was able to spend quality time with my family, whether puzzling together, going on walks and appreciating the pastoral beauty around us, playing games, cooking together or just all relaxing with a book in front the wood burning stove. It was a completely different atmosphere and I felt so happy and relaxed throughout our long weekend.
The countryside is so beautiful! We went walking, saw waterfalls and castles, tasted some delicious Wensleydale cheese and just enjoyed the most breathtaking views. I really need more weekends away like this, time to unwind, connect with nature and spend quality time with family!
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