Flashback Friday Travel 37 – Devon and Cornwall
Every May half term when I was at primary school we would go to Dartmouth for a week – we stayed just on the waterfront near to the cannon and chain ferry and the house had a lovely window seat that I used to sit at for hours watching the world and reading…
View PostFlashback Friday Travel 34 – Anglesey adventures
Continuing through 2012 and we had many a trip to the stunning island of Anglesey – just about as far north west as you can get in Wales, attached to the mainland by 2 bridges. We are lucky to have great friends that live there and so get to visit often (although work keeps…
View PostFlashback Friday Travel 32 – Three Choirs Vineyard
A few years ago as a birthday present I was given a vine to adopt, at the Three Choirs Vineyard in the UK between Gloucester and the Forest of Dean. We all know how I love a vineyard visit as part of a holiday so this was an inspired present from my friends! A little…
View PostFlashback Friday Travel 31 – Anniversary in Cumbria
It has been a while since I have done a flashback-friday, so where better to re-launch it than from the beautiful Lake District! We had a lovely long spring weekend here for our first wedding anniversary in 2011 – Mr P had dragged me along Striding Edge for ‘girlfriend tests’ many years before…
View PostStourhead blooms and views
The bank holiday weekend was at risk of passing us by without much excitement! I had just met a big sign off deadline at work (6pm on the Friday before the long weekend thank goodness) and Mr P had had a busy old time of it, so we were pottering and relaxing our…
View PostApril travels with Penelope and Parker
April is only 30 days long granted, but I didn’t realise a month could pass so blooming quickly – where did it go?… Well – I suspect if I did some quick maths it would know that I spent more time either in the air, an airport lounge or a hotel than I had…
View PostFlashback Friday Travel 29 – North Norfolk
I could talk happily about the north coast of Norfolk for hours given the chance – or Chelsea on Sea as many term it. It is just gorgeous and I was lucky enough to spend many a summer there growing up, doing little more than sailing every day on the high tide and reading a…
View PostEaster in Cornwall
There is always something new to discover on every trip to Cornwall! With the help of local knowledge, we have found some bits we love in the past few years and this Easter we took the opportunity for more exploring, and a spot of celebration too – of our 5th wedding anniversary! As with any…
View PostPicturesque Cornish tin mines
The mining history of Cornwall doesn’t sound like it should be beautiful – but over the years some of our favourite days out and loveliest photographs have been from our trips to see mining history! My Mum hails from Redruth which was once the world capital of mining, so I’ve spent many a…
View PostThe beautiful Lost Gardens of Heligan
I hadn’t heard of The Lost Gardens of Heligan until recently and so I enquired of my Mum why it was that we hadn’t been there when I was little… That’s when she explained – she hasn’t been there either… and she grew up in Cornwall. Intriguing – how could this be…
View PostA dining treat at Kota Porthleven
We had a delicious early evening meal at Kota in Porthleven during our Easter trip to Cornwall (well known to be one of my favourite places). Over the past few years new restaurants have been springing up all over Cornwall that are well worth investigating. I have a strong preference for supporting a small…
View Post#Take12Trips – the first 3 months!
Goodness knows where the time went, but here comes April and we’ve already had a weekend warm enough for shorts and tshirt (followed 2 days later by needing hat, scarf and gloves for my morning commute) – the last three months flew by and quite impressively (compared to last year) I have not been on a single plane…
View PostCliveden House – a stately home staycation
Cliveden House is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places we have stayed in. It is very hard to know where to start when reviewing a hotel so wonderful! Is it enough to say that I would happily have moved in and needed encouragement to actually leave? Hopefully the general message and seal…
View PostFlashback Friday 27 – cycling weekends
We are lucky that we have the New Forest and the South Downs on our doorstep – many many bridleways and country roads for an enjoyable cycle and plenty of single track so Mr P tells me if you want a little more excitement! Our favourite routes tend to start either at Hatchet’s…
View PostA night in an EasyHotel!
And now for something completely different…. A night in an Easyhotel! And before you ask, it wasn’t me – Mr P stepped forward to take on this challenge! Whilst it doesn’t quite fit into the niche of my website, a hotel room for £40 in central London in the Christmas party season should…
View PostFlashback Friday Travel Photo Memories 26 – Cotswolds Cycling and Camping
May is a great month for getting away for a long weekend as in the UK we have 2 bank holiday weekends in May, hot of the back of the 4-day Easter weekend! In 2010 with a group of friends we visited the Cotswolds – it was a great location as it is…
View PostPenelope and Parker in January
Where did January go? It’s the 7th February when I am writing this and we are already rattling towards March! Time does go quicker as we get older!! This is the first month in a year when I haven’t taken a photo every day of the month – oh what a release it…
View PostCountry weekend at The Crown Inn
#Take12Trips got off to a splendid start this weekend! We enjoyed a thoroughly relaxing time at The Crown Inn, in Elton, on the Cambridgeshire / Northamptonshire border. I hadn’t been able to arrange the Parker diary to visit in December as hoped so we had been looking forward to a wintery mini-break for a…
View PostFlashback Friday Travel Photo Memories 19 – Dorset “I do”!
This is one of my favourite photos (and days)! Given the camera we had at the time – it is even more amazing! Mr P was in the process of changing jobs but had some time on his hands – so he’d done a bit of ‘shopping’! Before the new job started, off…
View PostTravel Advent Calendar – A Rural Retreat for Christmas
As part of the #traveladventcalendar I am taking this opportunity to tell you about a lovely Christmas we had in the middle of nowhere a few years ago! The year that we got married had been busy so at Christmas we decided on a rural retreat, just the two of us. It was…
View PostFlashback Friday Travel Photo Memories 18 – The Cheshire Loop
“There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats” wrote Kenneth Graeme in Wind in the Willows! And he was right! And what was also interesting was that ‘boats’ don’t have to have sails (my preferred option) – they can actually have engines and very unpowerful…
View PostFlashback Friday Travel Photo Memories 16 – Norfolk
Now my heart may belong to Cornwall… But Norfolk is not very far behind! And it is well overdue a visit, I’m not sure we’ve been there since 2010 now? A shocking state of affairs! Happy news that friends are getting married there next summer… that’ll be a long weekend for the Parkers then!…
View PostFalling in love on the road… with Cornwall
Falling in love on the road? Well I haven’t! I had to think about this – as when we are away we tend to keep ourselves to ourselves, I rarely see anything and have to buy it and I didn’t meet Mr P on my travels…. What else could I have fallen I…
View PostFlashback Friday travel photo memories 11 – Snowdon
New year 2007-08 and we were looking for activities to keep a group of us out of the pub and doing something fun together! Some of our friends live on Anglesey and so we came to the happy conclusion that climbing Mount Snowdon was the thing to do! Looks of preparation and making…
View PostStaycation favourites – Cornwall, Norfolk and Cumbria
The staycation, I was delighted when I saw that this was the link up theme with Rebecca, Kelly, Emma and Mandy. I like nothing better than an exotic trip away, but at the same time – I also know what I like and like what I know and a UK staycation can’t fail to…
View Post
