We hadn’t planned on updating the carpets straight away and were going to make do with the rather funky green carpet in the living room. However once we got the keys to the empty property we realised just how manky the bedroom carpets really were and decided to replace some of most of carpets straight away. We went to the local Franks Carpets round the corner from us and picked up a few samples. There wasn’t too much choice in line with our 0 budget and we ended up choosing 2 different styles, one for the living room and a different one for the bedrooms.
To save money we got rid of the old carpet ourselves, but due to time restraints we left the installation of the new carpets to the professionals.
Having removed the carpets and falling in love with the look of the wooden floor boards, we were a little sad that we did not have the time or finances at that point in time to restore the floor / put new wooden floors down. I suppose that’s a dream that can still be fulfilled in the future and for now the new carpets were a much needed and welcome improvement.
We had a good week overlap between getting our keys to the new house and having to hand back the keys to our old rental. Although it was nice to not have to move in 1 day and feel like we had a bit more time, it still ended up being an extremely stressful week especially when we decided we needed the carpets replacing and ideally before we moved all the furniture in.
But we ended up being really lucky, as Franks Carpets managed to squeeze us into their schedule on the Thursday, the day before we’d hired a van to move all the large furniture across. This was great as it meant the house was still pretty much empty allowing for a quick and easy carpet installation.
Here’s the after shots – such an improvement.
Living / Dining RoomMaster BedroomOffice / Art Studio
On our way back from our holiday at the caravan a few weeks ago we decided to make a stop off at Washington Old Hall; another National Trust site which we’d not yet visited. Although it’s the second closest National Trust site to where we live, about 20mins in the car, we’d just never made the time to explore it yet, and so I was eager to finally go and make the most of our National Trust passes before they run out in May.
Having checked out of the caravan at 10am, we arrived at around 10.50am and found somewhere to park along the side of the road (which was free) as there didn’t seem to be any parking onsite.
Note:Being a weekday and not the best weather when we went, we didn’t struggle to acquire a parking spot close by, however, I’m not sure what the parking situation would be like on a busy sunny day.
Washington Old Hall is a relatively small yet picturesque National Trust site that sits in the heart of historic Washington village. The stone manor house and gardens feature parts of the original medieval home of George Washington’s direct ancestors, from where the family took their surname of ‘Washington’.
We must have come on one of the coldest days as snowflakes danced from the sky I wrapped myself up in my big scarf. The first signs of spring were slowly showing their face though as snowdrops were out in abundance next to daffodils still shrouded in their protective layers.
Exploring the Gardens didn’t take too long as in my opinion there wasn’t really too much to see this time of year (it would be interesting to see what is in bloom later on in the year). Saying that I do think that with the big field at the back, I can imagine it’s a great place for kids to have a run around on a slightly warmer day.
Dogs are welcome in the gardens, but not in the manor house, and so we took it in turns to have a quick look around, albeit a short one, as we didn’t want to leave the other waiting with Maya in the freezing cold outside for too long.
The manor house is set up to reflect gentry life following the turbulence of the English Civil War and incorporates parts of the original medieval home of George Washington’s direct ancestors. The staff are attentive, letting you explore in peace or at hand to tell you more about the history of the place.
Being a small enough exhibit means you can take your time to read all the information given without feeling overwhelmed or it taking too long. It’s a shame I only had time for a whistlestop tour on this visit, but perhaps I’ll get another chance when the weather is warmer to read all the information boards and learn more.
On our way out, near the entrance, the friends of Washington Old Hall also run a mini second hand book & antiques shop and although tiny, they allow dogs in, so we decided to have a quick nosy. There’s not much admittedly but I did find a cute little vase and bought one of their mystery books*. At only 50p a book I though it was a nice way to support them.
*the mystery book I ended up picking was Greyfriars Bobby. Although I loosely know the story from having seen a movie as a kid, it’s a classic I’ve not read before, so perhaps I’ll make time for it this year.
All in all we enjoyed our little mooch around Washington Old Hall and it makes for a nice half day trip I would say – especially when the weather is warmer and you can enjoy being outside a little more.
Have you visited Washington Old Hall before? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Opening Times:
Thursday – Monday | 10am – 5pm
Admission:
Ticket type
With Gift Aid
Without Gift Aid
Adult (18+)
£7.20
£6.50
Child (5-17) under 5s free
£3.60
£3.25
Family (2 Adults and up to 3 children)
£17.90
£16.25
Family (1 Adult and up to 3 children)
£10.80
£9.75
Facilities:
There is no cafe on site, but there are toilets, a picnic area and a small play ground for young children.
Last week my partner’s parents flew over from Portugal to visit us and although neither of us could sadly take much time off work, Luis did manage some half day trips out with them and I got to take the August Bank Holiday Monday off so we could all have a daytrip together. Having taken Luis’ brother to Beamish Museum earlier in the year when he visited, we thought his parents would also enjoy a day out exploring Beamish and so we set off late Monday morning.
If you’ve not heard of Beamish Museum before or had the chance to visit, I would highly recommend. Beamish is a world famous open air museum in County Durham, which brings the history of North East England to life at its 1820s Pockerley, 1900s Town, 1900s Pit Village, 1940s Farm, 1950s Town and 1950s Spain’s Field Farm exhibit areas. It is such a fun day out for the whole family and I would advise you plan for a whole day there, as there is so much to explore.
It was a bit of a grey morning when we set off and we made the mistake of not really considering how busy it might get being a bank holiday as well as school holidays. We arrived to a traffic jam of cars waiting to get in and then also had queue for a good half an hour to buy tickets for Luis’ parents. We were probably one of the last few lucky ones to get in as the overflow car park we were directed to was almost full when we parked and by lunchtime they had a post on socials saying they were at full capacity.
Tip: especially if you’re going on what is likely to be a busy day, leave early and book ahead online for quicker access once you arrive.
Once through, we made our way to the 1900’s Pit Village, an area with a lot to explore from going underground in the drift mine (although I’ve not done this myself as I suffer from agoraphobia) to seeing how miners used to live in the replica terraced houses and visiting the school house where you try your hand at popular yard games played by children at break time.
Having spent quite some time in the pit village, we walked on to the Farm and, amongst other animals such as turkeys and pigs, came across these cute little chickens running around trying to avoid being chased by little kids. If anyone knows what breed these chickens are, please do let me know in the comments as we’d love to have chickens one day and I fell in love with these fluffy little gals.
Continuing along the road we headed towards the 1900’s town passing Rowley station and a summer fair ground along the way. The fair was bustling with kids enjoying the rides so we didn’t stop there long, but the small fair ground a nice addition to Beamish in warmer summer months.
Arriving in the 1900’s town we were greeted with live music from a brass band playing in the band stand. The sun was shining at this point and it had turned into a beautiful warm afternoon with people milling around the Edwardian high street, enjoying a pint from the Sun Inn or lounging on the grass by the band stand listening to the music, and soaking up the atmosphere.
Once again there is a lot to explore in the 1900’s town. From visiting the bank and chemists to hearing gruesome stories from dentist practices back in the day. You can fill your pockets with yummy freshly baked goods from the bakery or pick from the vast array old school treats in the sweet shop, where if you’re lucky you might also catch a live sweet making demonstration. The 1900’s town really is quite spectacular.
Tip: wear comfortable shoes; there is a lot of ground and various terrain to cover. As you can see in the photos, Beamish does operate trams and old double decker buses throughout the museum, however, although they are admittedly fun to experience and ride, on busy days the queues for transport around the museum are usually very long, so if you don’t want to waste time waiting around, I would come prepared to walk.
Just on from the Edwardian town you entre the 1950’s town, Beamish Museum’s newest exhibit area. Before visiting with Luis’ brother earlier int he year, I hadn’t been to Beamish in years and was thus excited to finally be able to see the new addition of the 1950’s town. When we were there in May there were still some parts in development however and so this time round, there was even more to see including the addition of the cinema, record store and toy store etc…
You’ll find a fish and chip shop in the 1950’s village and I would recommend stopping for some. We did so on both our visits and thoroughly enjoyed!
Tip: although dogs on leads are very welcome in the museum they can’t actually entre any of the indoor exhibits or the main canteen/cafe in the 1900’s town; so I recommend coming prepared with a picnic if it’s a nice day (the huge lawn by the fair ground is a great place to enjoy a picnic to do so with toilets close by) or grab some some yummy fish and chips and find a bench.
Once we’d enjoyed our very late lunch, it was past 4pm already at this point, we sadly didn’t really have much time left to explore the rest and so after a quick whizz round the rest of the 1950’s town we slowly made our way back to the entrance and had to leave out the rest. Here’s still a few photos from our visit in May where we did still managed to squeeze in a stop at the old Pockerley Hall.
It surprises me every time just how quickly time does fly at Beamish and how much there is to see, which is why, especially if you’re local, and can make a few trips a year, I think the tickets are well worth the money as there really is so much to get out of this wonderful living museum here in the North East of England.
If you’ve visited Beamish Museum before I’d love to hear what your favourite exhibit is!
USEFUL INFORMATION:
Opening Times: 20th March 2024 – 25th October 2024: Open daily, 10am-5pm 26th October 2024 – 3rd November 2024: Open daily, 10am-4pm
Tickets: Tickets are admittedly quite expensive, however I do think you get a lot for it and they are valid for one year, so especially if you’re localish and can get a few visits in, they’re definitely worth it in my opinion. (*prices shown for September 2024)
Accessibility: Beamish is a large open air museum with many historic buildings, some of which are not always completely accessible to all visitors. To create an authentic feel, there are a variety of ground surfaces, some of which are uneven by nature. There are also steep slopes in places, and some buildings and exhibits have stepped access. Beamish does operate a Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle however which is available on-call every day that the museum is open, although limited to its seated capacity.
*Disclaimer: please note that pictures featured are from both our August Bank Holiday trip as well as our visit in May earlier this year.
I can’t believe that it has already been about 3 weeks since I was reunited with my best friend (who had just returned from her 5 month trip of a lifetime traveling around the world with her husband) and we set off on our annual holiday together to the Lindisfarne Festival. Because she lives in London I don’t get to see her as often as I’d like and so we decided 3 years ago, when we went to our first Lindisfarne Festival, that we would make this our annual holiday together.
We set off in the afternoon just managing to beat rush hour traffic and arrived in time to watch the sun slowly set as we set up camp. The sunsets are always beautiful there and sadly the photos just never do them justice, but they’re such a sight to behold!
As we’re old farts when it comes to festival bedtime we decided to camp in the quiet area of the campsite this year which, bar for some rude people who didn’t quite seem to understand the concept of quiet, made our stay much more enjoyable as we got a decent night’s sleep (a big thanks goes to my earplugs of course too)!!
Once our comfortable 5 man tent was set up and decked out in fairy lights we opened a jar of olives, popped open a bottle of bubbly and relaxed for a while before going to check out the festival arena.
We even surprised ourselves and ended up staying out grooving away until about 1am (I know you’ll laugh – that’s not late – but usually we’d be tucked up in our sleeping bags by that time haha).
Friday morning was lovely and sunny and we started our day with a yummy healthy breakfast of fruit & musli and a cuppa tea. Note: we both had our pretty reusable bamboo cutlery with us and eco mugs!! Although I managed quite well on some eco friendly accounts, there was sadly still plenty that I didn’t manage to do quite as eco friendly as I might have, so I will endeavour to do a better job next year!!!
After breakfast we got ready for the day, donned on our festival outfits & makeup and headed for the arena. I wore this really cute floaty skirt from Next that my mum had bought me as a treat and paired it with a crop top from New Look and these bright earrings from Accessorize.
After we’d listened to some spoken word, comedy and various musicians we headed back to our tent for lunch, a game of Yazi and some more drinks. I’d found these Pimm’s imitations in Lidl along with some G&T’s and they were perfect for the festival. The past few years we’d brought beer and wine, but Emily and I can only drink one or two cans of beer before we’re beered out haha, so these were a very welcome tasty change!
Being next to the sea, it is always so much windier and in the evenings it really cools down quite quickly, so before we went out again in the evening we got changed into something slightly warmer. We hadn’t really heard of anyone that was playing at this years Festival, but it was kind of nice just stumbling upon new people and groups, from jazzy solo vocals and rock bands to reggae, there was a great mix!
On Saturday morning we took our (now also usual) trip onto Holy Island for a little walk and break from the festival site and of course so I could say hi to my old stomping ground – Pilgrims Coffee House – and enjoy a top notch cuppa home roasted coffee!
By the time we’d returned and had lunch we had sadly ended up missing acro/partner yoga as well as laughter yoga which we’d planned on doing. I’d also really wanted a massage, but all the booking slots were full by the time we returned. However we hadn’t wanted to tie ourselves down either by booking things and so we joined in with the hoola hoop workshop instead which was a great laugh but really hard work actually! I sucked at hoola hooping around my stomach, Emily faired way better than me, but I did succeeded in hoola hooping with my hands and even switching hands mid movement!
As you can see, the struggle is real – my face says it all – haha!
After a good hoola hoop workout we watched some fire performers and warmed up by the fire pit before the smoke blowing into our eyes moved us along. We ambled around until the Showhawk Duo were on (2 acoustic guitars covering dance tracks and the like). They were absolutely phenomenal and really had the crowd going!!!! Definitely one of the best acts we saw!
And well that was sadly already the last evening. The festival was well organised, there were lots of various acts, stalls and food vendors and the toilets were cleaned every day so they were never in too bad a condition.
My only wish for the future is that there are more Vegan food options available, that there is an official rule about no more noise after 12 in the quite camping, that more bins are provided and that people would actually tidy away their rubbish. The rubbish difference between the Vegan Camp Out and this was huge!
But we had an absolute blast of a time and can’t wait for next year already! It feels so nice to have an intimate local festival to return to every year!!
I hope you enjoyed seeing what I got up to and I’m really sorry I haven’t posted much recently! I will endeavour to work on this!!!
simplycarinaxo.co.uk 