Cheltenham is a Regency spa town in Gloucestershire, England. It’s at the heart of the Cotswolds and is a vibrant place with plenty of cafes, restaurants and alfresco dining lining the Promenade and bustling Montpellier.
Continue reading “Best places to eat outside in Cheltenham”
At the end of February we went out for a day trip for the first time in what felt like FOREVER.
We have been in lockdown in the UK since the start of January 2021 and we have not been allowed to leave our local area.
It’s the third lockdown we’ve had and this is probably the toughest as it’s been winter. It’s been freezing cold and we’ve been trapped indoors, had a lack of sun, lack of entertainment, no gym to go to for exercise and escapism, no socialising, the kids have been home the whole time climbing the walls whilst we try to work at the same time… it’s been quite crazy and cabin fever has definitely been setting in… and did I mention it’s been freezing cold?!
Even before this year started we were in lockdown in November and even in December (and for most of 2020) we had restrictions on meeting others, meaning we only met up with one household on Christmas Day indoors and that was it.
Life has certainly been very different and travel plans and days out have totally been put on hold, often leaving us feeling like a prisoner in our own home! We both work from home and have been at home more than ever, day in day out, groundhog day everyday for months on end!
It’s now March and we will be allowed to start seeing one other household from the end of the month, then hopefully we can travel again mid-April. The UK will be gradually easing lockdown restrictions, so things won’t be looking normal for quite a while.
But at least the weather will start to improve now, making local walks more enjoyable and appealing for us and the kids. At least if we can get outdoors more often without being freezing we can lift our moods and feel less trapped.
There has literally been no days out or travel for us for months, but we decided to visit Rococo Garden at the end of February which is around 5 miles from our home and as it’s an outdoor attraction it is allowed to be open for local visitors.
It’s the only attraction local to us that we can legally travel to right now and I will share our thoughts on visiting Rococo Garden in February in this blog post and lots of photos too!
Continue reading “Visiting Painswick Rococo Garden in February”
Born and bred in Gloucestershire, I have lots of ideas for quirky date nights and days out as a couple in and around Gloucestershire if you’re looking for something a little more than a standard evening meal in a restaurant!
Read on for lots of fun date activities and romantic spots to take your beau in the home of the Cotswolds.
Continue reading “Quirky date ideas + things to do as a couple in Gloucestershire”
I’ve always lived in Gloucestershire, living in Cheltenham until I was 26 years old and then moving to Gloucester. Now I live in Brockworth right on the edge of Gloucester, bordering both Cheltenham and Stroud.
No matter whether I lived in Cheltenham, or now Brockworth, we always take the same route to Stroud passing through the picturesque Cotswold village of Painswick.
As a child I’d occasionally go to Stratford Park in Stroud. That was pretty much my Stroud experience as a child and every time we went, I’d remember my mum pointing out the 99 trees in Painswick as we drove past them.
We were always slightly fascinated by them and the story of how there came to be only 99…
Continue reading “Painswick church 99 trees”
For the second year running we attended the Sudeley Castle Spectacle of Light show.
We went last year for the Alice in Wonderland light show. This year the theme was Peter Pan.
Sudeley Castle is in Winchcombe, Cheltenham. It’s in our home county of Gloucestershire so not far for us to travel at all.
Below is my review of Sudeley Castle Spectacle of Light and loads of photos of the magnificent 2019 light show!
Continue reading “Sudeley Castle Spectacle of Light review + photos 2019”
Yesterday we went to Cotswold Wildlife Park for what is turning into an annual family tradition! In this blog post I will share my honest review of Cotswold Wildlife Park for 2019 and lots of photos of the animals we saw.
Continue reading “Cotswold Wildlife Park review”
One of our favourite free things to do with kids in Cheltenham is a visit to Pittville Park. It’s a place I went as a youngster and now I enjoy taking my own children too! It’s only now as an adult that I realise quite how amazing this park is. We live in Gloucester now and there’s nothing quite like it here.
Walking around Pittville Park with my children yesterday, I really noticed quite how beautiful it is. I lived in the centre of Cheltenham town for just under 10 years from my late teens through to my mid-twenties and I definitely took the park for granted and never made the most of it.
Continue reading “Pittville Park, Cheltenham: free things to do with kids in Gloucestershire”
Yesterday was my birthday and we decided to go to an attraction that is a ten minute drive from our home, yet Ben and I had never been there despite living in Gloucestershire almost our whole lives!
In this blog post I am going to share my review of Painswick Rococo Garden. If you’re looking for things to do in Gloucestershire with kids then read on!
Continue reading “Painswick Rococo Garden review and photos: things to do with kids in Gloucestershire”
Wow wow wow! Get ready as in this blog post I will share my Circus Funtasia review with you.
If you follow me on Instagram then you’ll have just seen my collection of videos from today’s incredible Circus Funtasia performers and you’ll be excited to find out more about this circus in this blog review.
We were kindly offered a Circus Funtasia family ticket and we couldn’t have planned it better with the date we were able to attend being Father’s Day. Ben was originally meant to work, but it was predicted to be a rainy weekend so he had to cancel the outdoor job he had planned.
It all worked out perfectly and we were able to spend Father’s Day together as a family with an exciting trip to the circus.
Get ready for my honest opinion of Circus Funtasia 2019 and a stack of photos!
Continue reading “Circus Funtasia Review”
Last weekend we spent three days at Wychwood festival which is a family friendly event at Cheltenham Racecourse in Gloucestershire, our home county!
You may remember me mentioning it in my 2019 travel plans blog post as we actually bought early bird tickets last year, so we had this event planned for a long time.
In this blog post I will share my honest thoughts and Wychwood festival review.
Continue reading “Cheltenham Wychwood Festival review 2019”
I’ve really enjoyed visiting our local and nearby bluebell filled woods and forests recently. I’ve been to Buckholt Woods in Cranham, Coopers Hill Nature Reserve and May Hill in the Forest of Dean. The Gloucestershire woodlands are so pretty at this time of year covered in a sea of purple. In this blog post I’ll share some photos and my experience so far of May Hill.
Continue reading “Exploring May Hill with kids in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire”