On Sunday we visited The Farm Animal Sanctuary in Evesham, Worcestershire UK. We wanted a family day out and Ben thought it would be good for the kids to see some animals somewhere, but we have decided not to continue supporting questionable zoos. Instead I Googled for a nearby animal sanctuary for us to support instead and discovered The Farm Animal Sanctuary. Perfect!
Continue reading “Visiting The Farm Animal Sanctuary in Evesham”
At the weekend we camped for two nights at Lynmouth Holiday Retreat in Exmoor National Park, North Devon. We stayed in our Mazda Bongo campervan and went to see both Lynmouth and Lynton. Here is my travel photo diary so you can see what we got up to and just how beautiful the scenery in Lynton and Lynmouth is.
Continue reading “Camping trip to Lynmouth + Lynton, Exmoor National Park”
On Friday evening we drove to Cheddar in Somerset for camping at Bucklegrove Campsite with the kids. Their first request when lockdown was easing was to go camping! We also went to see Cheddar Gorge for the first time. Neither Ben or I had been before, even though we only live around one and a half hour away. Read on to learn things to do in Cheddar Gorge with kids, see the walk we did in Cheddar with absolutely amazing views and also check out where we ate.
But first, things didn’t really get off to a great start for our camping trip away…
Continue reading “Cheddar Gorge family day out + campervan stay at Bucklegrove Campsite”
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”
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…
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