Food

A Weekend Break In London

~ 50themusical ~ Leave a comment

This is quite a late post, as once again I have been so busy, I never got around to writing it at the time. During the glorious summer, I went to London with my husband and our youngest daughter and her boyfriend. We arranged to spend some time with our eldest daughter whilst we were there. We had an amazing weekend, with beautiful food and gorgeous weather. We were so busy and saw so many things, so were exhausted by the time we got home, but it was well worth it.

The British Museum and a Pleasant Surprise

We travelled by train, dropped our cases off and et our eldest daughter. Our first stop was the British Museum. It was extremely hot inside and we started off by looking at all the Egyptian relics. I had read reviews before I went and I had to agree with some of them, that there is nothing British about the museum. It is full of items “recovered” from other countries. It is great to see the artefacts, but I question the need to have so many items out of their natural environment. Although I love history and I am no expert, it did feel like there was just loads and loads of the same things for miles and miles. After about an hour, we decided to leave the museum and go and have some fresh air.

We walked down to Trafalgar Square and were excited to see the whole area was set up for the Women’s Euros. There were music acts on stage, food and drinks and football events around the square. The steps had been covered with coloured Astro turf. We got drinks and sat on the steps, spending the afternoon in the sun watching the events and people watching.

Come From Away

In the evening we were booked in to see Come From Away at the Phoenix Theatre. On the surface, this musical has a strange premise, as it is about the terrorist attacks of 911, where the aeroplanes were diverted from landing in America, to Newfoundland, where thousands of people were accommodated by a small community.

The show was incredible. The small cast played several different characters in such a believable way. The singing and acting was astounding. There were moments of laughter and some very moving scenes. It was one of the best performances I have seen in a long time.

 Changing of The Guard and New Introductions

This is an event that really surprised me. I remembered watching the Changing of The Guard as a child, but it was so much better than I remembered. The ceremony lasted about an hour altogether, with some beautiful band music, marching, ceremony and tradition. I love the sound of a brass band in the open air and this did not disappoint.

Recently, with the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and seeing all the pomp and ceremony on TV, it made me feel so privileged to have seen this in real life.

Later in the day we went to The Bike Shed, a restaurant in Shoreditch. When I say restaurant, it also has a tattoo and barbers’ shop, merchandise and a motorbike workshop. The motorbikes arrive through the outside seating area. It is a fascinating place, with excellent food. This evening we also met our eldest daughter’s boyfriend for the first time. It was lovely to finally see him and to see our daughter so happy.

Afterwards we went to Junkyard Golf, where we had cocktails and great fun playing the crazy golf. It was a lovely, relaxed evening and we laughed constantly.

The Tower of London

We visited the Tower of London a few years ago, but there is plenty to see, so it is always worth another visit. On this occasion, we also walked through the moat area, which has been planted with a sea of wildflowers. As it had been quite hot, some of the flowers were probably past their best, but it was a lovely day, so it was nice to wander through in the sunshine.

We enjoyed looking around the historic Tower and visited as many of the areas as we could, learning lots about the Tudor buildings, but also the interesting exhibition about the Tower during more recent conflicts, where it was utilised for training the armed forces.

We couldn’t visit without seeing the Crown Jewels and although it was busy, the queue soon moved forwards and we were able to see the amazing exhibition. They are so impressive and beautiful to see under all the lights, which makes them look exceptionally sparkly and regal. In these times of austerity, it seems strange to enjoy looking at something so lavish and extravagant, knowing that the value of the jewels could help so many people in need, but I love the history attached to them and the amount of people waiting to see them, is testament to the value of them as a tourist attraction as well as their monetary value.

Grease

This has always been one of my favourite films and I have watched it so many times over the years. I have also seen the stage musical a couple of times in the past. The production at the Dominion Theatre was slightly different, with some aspects that were great and some not so good. The dance numbers and ensemble pieces were impressive and lively. However, Danny and Sandy seemed to have very little chemistry. The transformation of Sandy in the finale was lack lustre but did not spoil the amazing singing and dancing in the final stages of the show. There were times when the musical seemed to merge with the storyline of West Side Story, which was unnecessary and a little confusing.

It was an enjoyable show, very uplifting with great songs and Peter Andre was amazingly funny and entertaining.

Imperial War Museum and Camden Market

As well as all this, we managed to fit in a visit to the Imperial War Museum. This is an amazing place which really makes you think about the tragedy of war and the cruelty that humans can inflict on each other. It may not sound like the most uplifting of places, particularly the section on the Holocaust, but the personal stories make the experience moving and fascinating as well as horrifying.

We were all a little subdued when we came out of the museum but followed this up with a visit to Camden Market.  I have never been her before, but really enjoyed the atmosphere of the market, the variety of shops and stalls, but most of all the extremely tasty street food.

All in all, we had a superb weekend. There was certainly a lot of variety from hilariously funny laughs to thoughtful, sombre moments. It was great to spend some time together as a family and I can’t wait to do it all again. The other thing, which was good to see, was the business of London itself and the return of international tourists to our country after a tough couple of years for the travel and hospitality industry.

A Break At Center Parcs Whinfell Forest

~ 50themusical ~ Leave a comment

When I retired in January 2020, I wanted to treat my family to a special holiday, so we booked to go to Las Vegas and New York. Sadly due to the pandemic, this got cancelled. After some discussion about waiting and rebooking, we decided that none of us knows what may happen in the future. With that in mind, we booked a break to Center Parcs, initially for February 2021, but this also got postponed and we finally managed to get there in October. I went with my husband, our eldest daughter and her friend, and our youngest daughter and her boyfriend. It was a brilliant weekend and well worth the wait.

An Afternoon Of Laughter

We arrived slightly late at Whinfell Foret, due to being stuck in traffic for a while. Once we had checked in, we were straight to the pool, as we had booked a session for the afternoon. The “tropical Paradise” is a large swimming area under a dome. There are slides and chutes, as well as a wave pool and a rapids area. We did spend a fair amount of our time in the outdoor pool, which is a tempting tropical temperature on a fresh autumn day.

We left the pool area a couple of hours later, as we could now make our way to the lodge. Some of us walked up, whilst the others went to bring the car with all our belongings. It seemed like a long walk on that first afternoon, but once we knew our way around the forest paths, the walk seemed to get shorter each time.

The lodge was absolutely spotlessly clean. we quickly allotted the three bedrooms and each one had a bathroom, so we all had our own spaces to retreat to. We unpacked some of our things and then it was off to our next activity – football pool.

The sports area was nice and quiet, so we were soon on the “pool table” and were told we were the last spot of the day, so could stay as long as we wanted. The object of the game is to kick a white ball which then knocks one of the coloured ball into one of the pockets. The same rules as normal pool, but using your feet instead. Sounds simple and in theory it was, but as some of us have no coordination, the ball was off the “table” more than it was on. We played in various combinations of teams and there was a lot of witty banter going on. I laughed so much my sides were aching.

It was then back to the lodge, where we cooked pizzas and snacks for tea, had a few drinks, then played Pictionary Air, which involves drawing items for your team to guess, with the added hurdle that you are drawing in the air and only your team can see what you are drawing. again we laughed all the way through.

It was then off to bed for some rest, ready for the activities the next day

Aerial Challenge And Bowling Fun

The following morning, after a freshly cooked breakfast, we set off to take part in the Aerial Challenge, which is an obstacle course high in the trees, ending with a zip wire back into the village area. we were all booked on to take part, but there was a massive shock for me. As you were being fitted for safety gear, you were then placed on the scales as there is a weight limit. It was here where I was told (thankfully very discreetly) that I was too heavy to take part. I was really disappointed, but also extremely angry with myself for once again allow myself to gain so much weight. However I pulled myself together and became the official photographer for the others taking part.

They all managed to complete the course and I was so proud of my youngest daughter who was terrified of being up so high, but managed to calm her nerves and terror with a little coaxing and encouragement. She was so pleased to have overcome her fear and not let it beat her. It was great to hear her screaming in triumph as she came down the zip wire.

We had a break for a coffee and a walk back to the lodge for lunch, before making our way back to the village centre for our ten pin bowling session. It is a while since we have been bowling, but we soon managed to get back into the swing of things and had an amusing afternoon, mostly taking the mickey out of each other.

We then had another session booked in the pool, so we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the slides and in the pools

We went back to the lodge for a rest and a shower, as we had booked a meal that evening in the Lakeside Lodge. It was clear that there was a shortage of staff, but the service and food was pretty good, until a very large group arrived and we were virtually left in the lurch. As a result of this we didn’t order any desserts or further drinks and made our way up to the sports bar to play pool, this time on a proper table with cues (not that I’m much better at that)

A Not So Restful Sunday

On the Sunday morning, we had split activities at first. Some of us played table tennis, whilst the others went to the golf driving range. I was the only one that knew how to play and particularly how to score, so it was nice to show the young ones how to do it.

We were then booked in for an archery lesson, so we walked to the outdoor activity centre, where we were given an hours lesson in target archery. We all seemed to get the hang of it fairly quickly and took up the challenges set by the instructor, who pleasant enough, but not quite as funny as he seemed to think he was.

There were a few misses of the target by most of us, resulting in a search for arrows in the grass. There was one slightly hairy moment when the instructor shouted “stop”, just as I had pulled my bow back, and I didn’t know what else to do but let go. Luckily it was an amusing moment rather than causing any harm!

We went back to the lodge for lunch and a few games before a sauna and then getting ready for our evening meal. We had booked “Hucks” which was advertised as an American Diner. The waiter came and told us that we had to book everything on the app and then reeled off a list of things that weren’t available. The food was okay, but not very inspiring and definitely felt like it was mass produced. It was definitely overpriced and a little disappointing.

We then went to the bar in the village centre. I wanted to go into the amusements area, where all the coin operated games are (very childish I know, but I still love to do this). We ordered some drinks and sat in the bar, but it had a very different feel to the rest of our experience of Center Parcs and was more like being in a cheap pub, with children running amok whilst their parents drank and ignored them. We decided to go back to the lodge and have a few drinks in peace.

Swimming And Pancakes

On the Monday morning we had a quick breakfast and packed up our lodge, before heading off for another session in the pool. As it was the first session of the morning, it was really quiet, so we decided that we would try all the slides and rides before they got too busy. It was great to be able to just get on and off them as we wanted without queuing. We also managed to get in the jacuzzi whilst it was quiet. We ended the morning with a nice relaxing float in the warm outdoor pool.

We were all then really hungry. My daughter and her boyfriend were desperate to try the pancake house, so we sent my husband in to charm the hostess into getting us a table. He did a magnificent job and in no time at all we were sat enjoying the pancakes with gorgeous sweet unhealthy toppings.

We then went into the sports centre for a few games of pool before setting off home.

I had an amazing weekend and I am sure that the others enjoyed it too. It was so nice to spend time with our daughters and to see the young people getting on so well. The banter and laughter made the weekend so much fun. Despite it being such a busy, active weekend, I was really tired, but also felt refreshed by the whole experience. I feel so blessed to have these wonderful moments with my family and to make such great memories.

Cornwall Revisited (3)

~ 50themusical ~ Leave a comment

Eden Project

We had visited Eden Project back in 2009 when our girls were still quite young. I remembered this as a really great day out. Unfortunately, on this occasion we were a little disappointed with the experience and felt it was overpriced. Luckily, we managed to book using Tesco Clubcard Vouchers, which made it worthwhile, otherwise the steep £35 per person would have been a bigger blow (we are from Yorkshire after all!).

The Biodomes have some amazing plants and trees, which are fascinating to see. There is also a lot of information about recycling, climate change and sustainability. Reading about the destruction of areas of rainforest and people and animals being driven from their homes for mass production and profit is pretty heart breaking and made me think more about this than being preached at or watching protestors on the television.

There are some areas of the project that really look tired and need some revamping. It feels a little run down. There are also areas that are not open, due to “Covid” which should really be taken into consideration when looking at the ticket price.

The gift shops stock some beautiful sustainable products and gifts, but again they are expensive, and it is a bit sad that sustainability may only be affordable for those with lots of money to spare.

We had a good morning but were really expecting to have a full day there, so were really surprised when we had seen everything and were on our way back to the cottage in the early afternoon.

Luckily the sun had come out, so we were able to get the kayaks out and spend the afternoon and evening paddling up and down the estuary, which was great fun.

We made fish finger sandwiches and potato wedges for tea, which we took down to the fire pit,where we sat relaxing and watching the glorious sunset. What a perfect end to the day!

Marazion Beach Day

We packed up the car with our kayaks and paddle boards and headed to the beautiful area of Marazion, to the beach overlooking St Michael’s Mount. Having seen how beautiful and calm it was on our previous visit, we decided that it would be a perfect place to practice and improve our skills on the paddle boards. Once we had set up camp (we still take so much stuff every time we go out!) and had a bit of lunch, the tide had started to come in, giving the perfect opportunity to paddle in safety.

From the beach, the water looked very calm, and we were convinced that it would be as easy as paddling on the lake. We couldn’t have been more wrong. I was knocked off my board by a wave as soon as I had got on before I even had chance to stand up. My husband paddled along with his usual confident air, and we were all extremely impressed with his proficiency, until he was knocked off by a wave and he disappeared into the water (we didn’t laugh much!). It certainly wasn’t easy to stand up and to be honest, I gave up and decided to just sit on my board and paddle. The others managed to stand, but it was not easy. My friend spent the afternoon practicing getting back on to her board, but was not particularly successful and we could hear her screaming and laughing right across the beach.

We had a fabulous afternoon but were extremely tired and a little bit wind swept by the time we left the beach. We decided to call in Newlyn for fish and chips on the way back, so we didn’t have to go to the trouble of shopping and cooking food. Later that evening as we sat at the cottage, we were all struggling to stay awake after the exertion and all the fresh air. Needless to say, we all slept well.

Thank you to my friend Julie for allowing me to steal all her amazing photos to use in my Blog.

Cornwall Revisited

~ 50themusical ~ Leave a comment

After having such an excellent time in Cornwall last year, we decided to book the same cottage for this year (we actually booked it whilst we were still there as we had a feeling that holidays abroad would not be on the cards). We set off on Thursday lunchtime, meeting our friends and staying overnight in Bristol, before travelling down to Cornwall on Friday. We had a short stop off in Polperro for the extremely tasty crab sandwiches at the museum tea rooms on the harbour. Our  cars were even more packed than last year, after the purchase of the paddle boards and more recently inflatable kayaks. Luckily, we managed to squeeze everything in, with a little room to spare to pick up the click and collect order at Tesco in Truro.

We arrived Ruan Dinas in Coombe early Friday evening. The cottage is just as we remembered it and this year, we have the added bonus of staying for two weeks.

We all spent the first couple of days relaxing around the cottage, the garden, and the riverside, with a short trip to the garden centre and a wander around the shops in Falmouth. I also had my first go at fishing, but didn’t catch anything, which was okay as no one else did either.

My husband was the first to be brave enough to take his paddle board onto the estuary straight away. The rest of us were a little more cautious. We were convinced that the tide would wash us out to sea within minutes, but we soon realised that this was not the case. I took my board out the following day, and me and my husband paddled up and down the river a couple of times, with our friends in their kayak.  I must admit I stayed kneeling all the time, as I didn’t feel confident enough to stand up in the tidal water.

Enjoying The Sunshine

On Tuesday it was a beautiful sunny day, so we decided to paddle the kayaks up the estuary and have breakfast at the garden tea rooms. Unfortunately, when we got there, the tea rooms were closed.  After making our own breakfast, we paddled a little further down the river, around the large ferry which is moored up in the widest part of the estuary, and in and out of a few of the coves. The river was surprisingly calm and easy to paddle. We even sat in the kayaks in the sunshine for a while, just relaxing and watching the world go by.

After lunch we set off to the pitch and putt in Falmouth. We had an amusing afternoon, one we had negotiated the grumpy attendant, who opened a window and served us through a tiny gap. He was not amenable to any queries and slammed the window shut after pointing out the signs which said the café and toilets were not open. The fact that he was so rude, just set us off in fits of laughter, which continued around the course.  None of us are particularly good, but it all adds to the enjoyment.

Making the most of the glorious sunshine, we drove down to Swanpool Beach, where we were tempted by the quirky named ice creams at the beach café. I chose “Malt Pleaser”, which was a Cornish vanilla ice cream cone covered in Maltesers. After sitting for a while, we walked along the coastal path to Gilly Vase Beach, stopping to take in the outstanding views. At Gilly Vase, we strolled through the beautiful gardens before heading back on the coastal path to Swanpool.

Driving back from Swanpool, we took the scenic route and came across Pendennis Shipyard. It was fascinating looking at the huge ships in dry dock and seeing the people at work who looked like tiny ants in comparison to the ships.

Messing About On The Water

The following day we booked to take our Kayaks and paddle boards to Stithians Lake for the day. The idea was that it would be a safer expanse of water to practice our skills and improve our technique. It was a warm sunny day and we had packed the car the night before, ready to set off early in order to set up camp (we have so much stuff between us, including an event shelter, four paddle boards, two kayaks, a gas stove, chairs, food in two cool boxes, wet suits, towels and changes of clothing).

Stithians is one of the South West Lakes and is a large expanse of freshwater, with all the facilities to launch your own boats, hire, or even take lessons. I decided to get some practice in on my paddle board first. After lots of attepts at standing up on my own, I eventually managed to stand up with help from my husband. I was paddling along merrily for quite a while, before the wind got up and started making the water quite choppy. Needless to say, I was soon off my board and into the water. I managed not to panic but couldn’t manage to get back on my board at such a depth, so swam almost the length of the lake using my board as a float.

After lunch, I had another go. This time the wind made me drift into the banking at the other edge of the lake. At this point I should have gone from standing to kneeling but wasn’t quick enough and as I hit the bank. I fell forwards, face planting the board. Once I had recovered (and stopped laughing), I decided to sit on my board and paddle back to the shore, which took some doing as the wind was constantly trying to blow me in the opposite direction.

It was at this point we decided to give the kayaks a go. We paddled around the edge of the whole lake, which was easy when going in the direction of the wind, but much harder work when going against the wind.

After an amazing but tiring day, we headed back to the cottage, where we cooked a meal and then took drinks down to the firepit on the jetty. We sat toasting marshmallows and laughing at our antics.

My Food Bank Challenge (3)

~ 50themusical ~ Leave a comment

Well the second week of the food bank challenge has proved more challenging than the first. I have definitely needed a few more tweaks and additions than I did last week. A couple of times I have had to add fresh vegetables to my processed meals as I have just found them so bland and I have also mixed fresh vegetables so much.

On Saturday evening I was treated to a Chinese takeaway and a bottle of prosecco, which was really nice, but I know that a lot of people who are using the services of a foodbank would not be able to afford to buy extra takeaways.

On Friday evening my daughter cooked tea for me and my husband, which consisted of fresh prawns, cream chees, chillies, linguini and garlic bread. Again this was so delicious, but definitely not on the list of items from the foodbank.

On the plus side, the spread that I had initially has lasted me for the two weeks and I still have some left. I have not drink a full jar of coffee or used a full jar of chocolate spread. I also still have bread left as I am running out of ideas of what to put on or in my bread and there are only so many beans and spaghetti that one person can eat in a week. I have not used any of the sugar at all, as I do not have any in my tea or coffee.

Milk has been an issue again and I definitely cannot manage with only one litre of milk per week. Even though I have had porridge made with water this week, I still have not had enough milk.

I am definitely eating too many carbs and I find that I am eating more calories than usual, but it is not keeping me as full for as long, which means I seem to be snacking more often, which is not really a good habit to get into.

This week at the food bank we had eggs and cheese, which is really good news for me as it means that I can up my protein intake and also add a little more variety to my meals. It also gives me an extra choice of something to put on or in my bread.

Here’s to week Three!

My Foodbank Challenge (2)

~ 50themusical ~ Leave a comment

At the end of the first week of my foodbank challenge, I have to say it has been an interesting week as far as food is concerned. I’ve managed quite well with the food that I would have been allocated, but in all honesty, most of it is food that I would not normally eat.

That’s not in anyway a criticism of the foodbank, as the food it provides has to have a long shelf life and be fairly straight forward to cook, with the minimal amount of preparation.

I started the challenge on Saturday, with cereal and milk for breakfast. I soon realised that I could only have a small amount of milk on the cereal if I was going to have enough for the rest of the week. Consequently the cereal was pretty dry (either that or I normally have an unusually large amount of milk), but I managed to eek out the milk for cereal all week.

I did feel constantly hungry the first day, but I’m not sure if this was all in the mind. I think that I was fairly strict with the amount of food for the first few days, as I was worried that there would not be enough food for the rest of the week.

I have found that a lot of the processed food has very little texture to it and also left me with quite a bit of indigestion. Some days I wasn’t sure which foods to put together to make a meal, but it definitely helped having a small amount of fresh food to add to the tinned food during the week. I had tinned chilli with potato wedges, made from a fresh potato. I also had a jacket potato one day with a tine of beans and some grated cheese. My pasta sauce was mixed with pasta, a tin of sweetcorn and a tin of mushrooms and a sprinkle of cheese on the top. This made enough for two days.

I had super noodles which I really didn’t like. Tinned rice pudding had, for me, the most awful taste and texture, so I’m not sure that I’ll be having that again. I also ate more bread than I would in a normal week as it helped to fill me up.

I didn’t use any sugar at all, as I don’t have this in tea or coffee. I didn’t have any coffee at home, as I didn’t have enough milk and I can’t drink it black. I had herbal or fruit teas, again because I can’t drink normal tea black.

I did have one cheat this week and that was on Thursday when it was my mum’s 85th Birthday. I took her out for lunch, which I appreciate I would not have been able to do if I had been relying on the food bank, but as there are no other celebrations at the moment, it did not seem fair to not treat my mum on her birthday.

I’m really missing freshly cooked food and a wider variety of foods. It hasn’t probably been great for me eating so much processed food, but not snacking on sweets, biscuits etc during the day has probably been good for me. I am definitely a grazer so it’s been hard for me not just being able to grab what I want when I want.

So now I’m all ready for week 2!

A Cornwall Holiday (3)

~ 50themusical ~ Leave a comment

Another beautiful sunny day again in Cornwall. Our plans were to go and enjoy a day at the beach and hopefully for me to be able to swim in the sea.

Porth Beach

We initially intended to go to Watergate Bay, but on our way came across the very beautiful Porth Beach. The beach is fairly narrow, but the tide goes out a long way, leaving a long stretch of really flat sand. A stream runs into it from one side. There are tiny coves and bays all the way down, allowing people to sit in what appears to be their own little area. It gives protection from the breeze(not that there was much breeze today) and also allows families to contain small children in a smaller area on a large expanse of beach.

We settled on the beach with our chairs, drinks and snacks. It was really hot and sunny just like a summer’s day. I was going to wait for the tide to come in a bit before going for a swim, but having looked at the tide times, realised it was still going out and low tide wasn’t until 4pm!

I made my way down the long stretch of sand to the sea. The lifeguards were there and there was only a small area between the flags that was safe to swim in. I headed into the extremely cold water, but once you were in, it was a great feeling and your body soon adjusted to the temperature. It was hard to swim in as it was really shallow for quite a way out, however there were some enormous waves which allowed you to swim with them as they came into shore.

It was a really great feeling and I spent quite a bit of time in the sea and went back in for another dip later on, even persuading my husband to join me.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and soaking up the sun, before heading back to the cottage

Pizzas and an Open Fire

Ruan Dinas, where we are staying has it’s own jetty, which has a fire pit. In the evening we cooked pizzas in the cottage, made up gin and prosecco cocktails, then made our way across to the jetty(literally 10 seconds from the house). It was dusk and it was so relaxing and enjoyable to sit by the open fire, drinking eating and laughing. We even did the obligatory toasting of marshmallows on sticks over the flames.

As it got dark and the tide was coming in we went back up to the house and played cards for the rest of the evening, whilst having a few drinks and snacks and proper belly laughs.

    Settling Into Retirement

    ~ 50themusical ~ Leave a comment

    It’s now six weeks since I retired from full time work. People did tell me that I would be bored, that I would miss work and that I would struggle without belonging to the Police after being “institutionalised” for thirty years. Well so far I have to say I haven’t felt any of these things. I have managed to fill my time well, have taken on some ad hoc work, am spending time working on our craft business as well as starting some of the things on my bucket list.

     

     

    https://www.mezzycreations.co.uk/

    Starting those things that I always wanted to do

    One of the things that I have wanted to do for quite some time, is to learn to play the piano. I am pleased to say that I have now had four piano lessons and am surprised at how well I am picking it up. It takes a lot of concentration, but it’s really wort it as I am enjoying it so much. At the moment I am practicing on a keyboard loaned to me by a friend and on my mum’s piano, but if I continue to enjoy it over the next few months I am going to treat myself to a digital piano.

    Something else that I also wanted to do was to write more. I have now been writing my blog for three years, but I have also bought myself a book of writing activities and tasks, which has encouraged me to write a bit more.

    There are still a few more things on my list and I will let you know how I get on these.

    Rudding Park Spa Hotel in Harrogate

    A couple of weeks ago I had a relaxing overnight stay at Rudding Park in Harrogate with my lovely friend Sarah. We found a deal on Travelzoo, which was excellent value, which we just couldn’t miss. We had a little retail therapy first in Harrogate and then drove up to Rudding Park in the afternoon. On arrival our room wasn’t ready, (it had been set up as a double rather than a twin), but we were treated to a complimentary glass of prosecco whist we waited.

    We then dropped our things off in the room and went into the spa for the rest of the afternoon. The spa itself is beautiful, very airy, clean and so relaxing. The hydrotherapy pool is so lovely and warm, but is outside so you get some lovely fresh air whilst enjoying the warm relaxing water. Inside there is a panoramic sauna, foot spas, an oxygen room, a sunlight room and a steam room. We tried everything, before going to the wellness area, which has amazing relaxing rooms, including visual, audio, as well as a sleep room and a comfortable are just to relax and have a cup of tea.

    Later in the evening we had our dinner in the clocktower restaurant, which was included in the deal from Travelzoo, so we only had to pay for our bottle of prosecco. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was very chilled.

    The following morning I went into the indoor pool for a swim. There was no one else in there, so I managed to get a good few lengths in before breakfast. We had breakfast in the Horto café, which is part of the spa. The breakfast was really nice and was also included in the package.

    We then made use of the spa again before checking out and going home. We both felt completely relaxed and had lots of chance to chat and just chill out.

    Lunch on a train

    Today me and my husband took his parents for lunch on Embsay Railway in North Yorkshire. We had booked it a couple of weeks ago, but unfortunately it was cancelled due to the flooding. The trip was a birthday present for my father in law (It was his birthday in January)

    The train carriage was lovely and warm, which was great as it was a windy day and it was quite chilly waiting on the platform. We were shown to our table which was set with cutlery and cups and we were offered tea and coffee. Once the train set off, we were then brought our lunch which was a Yorkshire pudding filled with meat, vegetables and new potatoes. As I’m a vegetarian, I had mine without the meat. The train journey was about half an hour and we stopped at Bolton Abbey for about twenty minutes, so we could get off and stretch our legs, look around the station and the shop.

    The train then set off back to Embsay and tea and coffee was served on the return journey. Towards the end, the manager came out and spoke to all the diners, explaining why he set up the business and how it had grown over the last few years. He also told us about the other events which are available on the railway.

    The trip was well worth the money and was just long enough for my in laws to be out and about before heading back home.

    2371FC51-8F41-469B-9442-6C28FB434E73

    A Weekend In Hawes

    ~ 50themusical ~ 2 Comments

    This weekend we were lucky enough to spend a long weekend with friends and family in a lovely little house in Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales. This was to officially celebrate my youngest brother’s 50th birthday. It was actually his birthday the week before Christmas, but chose to book a weekend in January, which is a really good idea, as it’s always nice to have something to look forward to in January as it can be quite a depressing month.

    Ingleton Waterfalls Walk

    On Friday morning, it was quite a grey day, but we drove up to Ingleton and walked around the Waterfalls Tral. This is a 7km walk, on a footpath, which takes you around the waterfalls and river in Ingleton. The trails are privately owned, so there is a charge for walking the paths. A ticket office and turnstile has now been built, which takes a little away from the scenery and makes it more commercialised, however once you get past this, you are on the paths and it is beautiful scenery. The paths are quite steep and slippery in places and there are quite a lot of steps.

    We all kept up a steady pace and managed to get around the train before the weather closed in and it became quite cold and damp. There was of course the obligatory stop off for hot drinks and cakes in the village, before we made our way to Yarn House in Gayle, which was the cottage that we had rented for the weekend. The house is a lovely three storey cottage, which overlooks the river. The rooms were cosy and there was loads of equipment in the kitchen.

    There were eight of us and on arrival it is customary for us to draw lots to decide who is having which bedrooms. Once this was done and we had got unpacked, the men went off to the pub. Allegedly they were only going to the shop to buy some lottery tickets but they were out a few hours and had a pint in each of the pubs. The ladies stayed in the house, apparently we were supposed to be making tea, but we ended up drinking prosecco instead. Once the men came back from the pub we managed to sort out food and enjoy our meal with a few more glasses of wine.

    A windy walk

    On Saturday morning we set off from Hawes to do a circular walk which normally includes Hardraw Force. It was quite windy and cold, but was ideal weather for walking. We had booked lunch for 2pm, so we knew that we needed to be back for then.

    The walk was just over 6km and wasn’t too hilly.  Hardraw Force itself is again  privately owned and there is a charge to go and look at them. As we had limited time and the fact that the Falls themselves were not part of the route, we chose not to walk down to the Force to walk back up and complete our route instead.

    It was a really nice walk with some lovely scenery. Unfortunately the mist started to come in, so the views were not quite as clear as they normally would be.

    After the walk we drove to Tan Hill Inn, which is the highest pub in England. We had reserved a table and the landlord was pretty friendly when we arrived. The pub was quite busy, as it is a well known attraction. The pub itself is quite rustic, but a also a lttle run down. The furniture was well worn and the whole place looked in need of a little work. The food on the whole was good, but one of our dishes came after the others had finished eating and when it did come it was a bit of a let down.

    We drove back to the cottage afterwards and had a restful evening watching films and having a few drinks.

    A relaxing Sunday

    On Sunday, we had a bit of a lazy morning then went down to the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes. There is a lovely gift shop and visitors centre hers, although the creamery was not producing any cheese that day. We looked around the visitors centre and tasted lots of samples of cheese, as well as buying some to eat later.

    After this we went for a short walk around the village. It was short mainly because there were hardly any shops open and also because it was very cold, windy and drizzly. We had a table booked at the Crown Pub in Hawes. This was a lovely pub, with the coal fires blazing. The food was great and the staff were really friendly.

    After another couple of drinks in the pub, we made our way back to the house and spent the evening relaxing, playing cards and eating cheese and biscuits.

    It has been as great weekend, with lots of laughter, great food, great company, fresh air, beautiful scenery and a chance to recharge our batteries.

     

     

     

     

    A winter adventure in Lapland (1)

    ~ 50themusical ~ 1 Comment

    On our latest travel adventures, we have decided to come to Muotka Wilderness Lodge Hotel in Finland for a 7 day adventure. We booked with Inghams Travel, choosing a package where everything including all the activities. The friends that we have travelled with have been here before and highly recommended it.

    The flight was a chartered flight with Jet2, at 7am (U.K. Time) which was on time and arrived promptly at Kittilia Airport at 12 noon (Finnish time, 2 hrs ahead). However because the airport was so busy we had to sit on the plane for half an hour as there wasn’t room for us.

    When we actually got into the airport it was chaos, absolutely packed with people arriving from different fligh s and only two baggage carousels. About an hour and a half later, we managed to retrieve our luggage and made our way to the transfer coach. Unfortunately we then waited an hour for other passengers, before we finally set off on the three hour transfer to Muotka.

    Well worth the wait

    The drive to the Wilderness Lodge was a lengthy one, but well worth the wait. The driver took us through piles of snow on the side of the road which were taller than me. There was some snow on the roads (enough to have me refusing to drive if it had been on the roads at home)

    when we arrived at the hotel it was like stepping into a Christmas card. Everywhere was completely covered in snow, lots of snow! We went into the lodge and were given a welcome talk by Nina, the manager. We were allocated our lodges and then took our luggage on a sledge to the cabin.

    The accommodation is absolutely beautiful – wooden lodges set in a snowy Forrest. There is a small kitchen ar a, a wooden bed in the middle of the room, a bathroom and sauna. The room was lovely, warm and inviting. After a quick look round and dropping off the luggage, it was back to the hotel centre for our evening meal.

    We all had onion soup with fresh homemade bread. I followed mine with salmon and potatoes with salad. Everyone else had moose stew, which I was told was very tender and tasty.

    After our meal we went to get kitted out with all our winter gear. For some reason my snow suit appeared to be for an 8ft 20 stone rugby player, but I was told it needed room for layers! I’m not sure how my thermals are going to make me any taller, but more about that later.

    So after a long day travelling, it was back to the lovely warm cabin and the big wooden bed, where I fell asleep in no time. Absolute silence and complete darkness-heaven!