Tag: travels

  • Festive Fortnight | Travels | Winter Wonderland, London

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    Last Sunday I hauled myself out of bed and headed up on the train towards London for a little mini bloggers catch up with some of my favourite ladies Erin, Michelle, Katie, and Lauren (plus the adorable baby Athena!). After a couple of tube stops (plus a foolish attempt at walking up the steps at Hyde Park Corner & the realisation that I am extremely unfit!) I arrived just as the entrance of Hyde Park ready to venture into Winter Wonderland.
    Once the group had fully formed (sans the lovely Skye – get well soon!) we headed on in and meandered around for a while admiring the festive stalls and decorations; taking in the sights and smells of the food stands all over the park and looking on in wonder at the mental people on the various rollercoaster and theme park rides (we were not in the thrill-seeking mode that day!). It was a gloriously sunny day and it was absolutely packed (there were plenty of announcements telling the crowds to ‘Keep left!’). After a quick bite to eat – Nutella waffles & churros! Nom! – we circled our way around to the exit to escape the masses. We ended up leaving just after 1pm, having arrived just after 11.30ish and saw we were clever enough to get in early as we saw the queue at the entrance had pretty much tripled in size since we’d been there!
    As lovely as Winter Wonderland was we were all definitely up to find somewhere a bit quieter and less manic, so headed out for a proper sit down lunch. We ended up veering towards Carnaby Street and it’s gorgeous robin themed Christmas decorations, and (after popping into David & Goliath to get my sister’s Christmas present & snort at silly jokes on t-shirts with Erin) found ourselves in Wagamamas where we had a good ol’ gossip. We ended up spending a good few hours in there talking babies, books and weird PR samples.
    We all parted ways and I headed off to catch the train, but not before Erin and I had a little wander down to Waterloo way for a quick gander at the Southbank Christmas market and passed by the Nelson Mandela memorial statue outside the Southbank Centre.
    I know I always say this after I leave London but I do end up getting on the train with a bit of a heavy heart, especially after I’ve spent a lovely day out with even lovelier people!

    Make sure you’re following all the ladies I met up with too, have put their links to their blogs below:

      • Erin aka E-Elise/Sawyer & Scout/Blogger’s Bookshelf
      • Michelle aka Daisybutter 
      • Katie aka Hook, Line & Sink Her 
      • Lauren aka Belle du Brighton

      R.xoxo
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    • Festive Fortnight | Travels | Winchester at Christmas time

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      There’s one guaranteed tradition that I’ve started doing during the lead up to Christmas and that’s taking a trip down to Winchester to visit the Christmas Market. I ventured down much earlier than I’d usually do for a catch up with Kath and to scope out any presents, whilst avoiding the weekend crowds. 
      As per usual the high street was strung up with Christmas lights and the huge Fir tree was up in the centre. They also light up many of the side streets that lead towards the market and on the backdrop of the old, rustic buildings, the entire street looks awesome in the dark. 
      The market itself was much quieter than it would’ve been on a weekend – for which I was grateful! – so I managed to get a good look at some of the stalls without having the barge past people and the fear of knocking everything over! Alas, I didn’t get any presents but I will be heading down again in a few weeks with my family for our annual outing just after I break up from Uni. 
      If you’re ever in the area, I’d definitely suggest going! It’s always worth staying a little later into the evening just as the lights go on and – if you’re feeling braver than I was – there’s the little ice-rink at the centre of the whole courtyard too. Perfect little mini getaway from the usual high street holiday rush!

    • Travels | Lepe Beach

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      A few photos from when me and the fam went to Lepe Beach over the August Bank Holiday. The sun was out and the skies were pretty much cloudless for the whole time we were there, got to explore a little and take my Diana F+ for it’s first outing too. It was pretty busy by the time we got there but compared to how manic somewhere like Bournemouth or Brighton would’ve been  over that weekend I think we found the perfect spot on the South Coast to relax a little for the afternoon.