Week in the Lake District Days 1 & 2

On the 4th of October Lee and I went on a week's holiday to the Lake District! For Christmas last year he bought me a voucher to Lodore Falls Spa near Keswick, where we went in 2023 when we were on holiday there, so we had to go back! We decided to make it into a week's holiday and booked a lodge on White Cross Bay near Windermere which had it own hot tub. Lee booked it all and I just agreed, haha.

First thing on the Sunday morning I had my flu jab. It was at my doctors' surgery and it was extremely well organised. There was a small queue and you were directed into a room and it took longer for one nurse to take my name than for the other to get the jab done. I was in and out in less than three minutes I think.

We set off not too long after that and drove to Kendal. We went to Asda there and picked up supplies for the week which included things I had forgotten like socks, deodorant, and body spray. I wasn't quite in the right headspace for packing the night before and it showed!

We went up to the holiday park. It was a Parkdean one which you know I rate, and it had a pool on site which we would have had to buy passes for but it would have been fine, but we decided to do that later. We got into the lodge. It was a bit dated but cute and comfy inside. There was a double bedroom, a twin bedroom, a bathroom, another toilet, and a living/dining/kitchen space. The sofas were recliner ones which was nice; I ended up using that a lot and getting comfy.

We unpacked and we considered going in the hot tub but it was raining quite heavily so we decided we would leave it. We watched some films and I was doing some rag rugging. I've actually finished the rug now! It's lovely. I'll post photos when we update the rest of the living room. We just relaxed for the evening and had some picky bits for tea. 

On Monday morning we slept in a bit which was much needed for both of us, and then about twelve o'clock we set off to Bassenthwaite Lake Station. It's up near Keswick so it took about 45 minutes. I considered going there last time we were up that way, but we didn't get round to it. But I had had it recommended, so I had booked for the afternoon tea. They have a restaurant on a train that lives at the station (it doesn't move, but it's on the tracks) and the afternoon tea is in the final dining car. I had prebooked it and had requested the vegetarian menu because the main one had things Lee doesn't eat either. Now I am actually eating fish at the moment as my iron is low and the nurse recommended eating fish, so you may see that on my blog coming up. I mainly eat vegetarian though, so we had that menu. 

It was honestly one of the best afternoon teas we've ever had! We were shown to our table and offered tea or coffee, which was unlimited, and orange juice or apple juice, which is also unlimited. That's unusual and it was very good as I had much to drink! The food was very innovate and delicious. There was a butternut squash veloute in a tiny cup, some sandwiches, a quiche, a halloumi burger, and vegan haggis in a Yorkshire pudding. Then there was a scone, a cheesecake, a cupcake, and a piece of malted tea bread with local butter. 

I couldn't eat it all so brought some little bits back to the lodge with me! After we had eaten, which took quite a while as we were talking and taking it slowly, we walked along the tracks and found some ducks to feed with some seed that we had bought. There was a small boy with his dad so I let him feed the ducks too of course. We bought a couple of things in the shop which will be a recurring sentence in these holiday blogs, we picked bits up everywhere. 

We headed back to the lodge in fog; you couldn't see the surrounding mountains! We got back about 4pm and got into the hot tub! It was on the decking and it was REALLY hot. Lee couldn't stay in it for ages so he sat on the edge. I loved it though so I was in there about an hour. It really helped my joints!

When I finally got out I had a nice warm shower and got into my pyjamas. We just had sandwiches for tea and watched some more films. It was a good, chilled day. 

The view from just outside our lodge, proving we could see Lake Windermere

The engine of the train in the station

Looking down the platform towards the end of the train

Here we are at our table. There was a whole vintage vibe to the train, which was very cute. Murder on the Orient Express was playing on some tablets dotted around, too

The menu, which I'm posting to show you all the fanciness!

The food when it arrived, there was two of everything over the two trays

And a different view

The veloute was delicious and a really nice touch

Looking in the rest of the car. There were other tables occupied at different times but we happened to be alone at this point. The staff were really attentive and lovely

Lee conveying his feelings on tea bread, although he did try everything which is good for him. He didn't like the halloumi burger but he did try it

Clouds over the hills as we drove home

I was wearing this Simply Be dress that I got off Vinted, and a cardigan which is the same. The dress is so comfortable and I wear it often

The hot tub, it was so lovely! Definitely a nice luxury touch to the lodge

The Last Week of September

I had a busy week the last week of September, and just before I went away on the 4th of October. On the 27th of September I went to a craft swap in Sheffield with my friend Roslyn. It was really well organised and only cost £3 to get in and I got LOADS of stuff. There was a lot of card making stuff and a lot of other stuff and I came home with two carrier bags bursting. After we had been to the swap we went to one of the St Luke's Hospice shops and I found a new with tags pleather jacket in my size! It was EIGHT QUID! So I snapped it up immediately. 

We went to a cafe where I got some lunch and we had a drink each and then waited for Lee. He had been at band practice so came to pick me up. 

On the 29th, Ros and I met up for tea after we had both been to work. We went to Pho; I was there early so I just sat and read my book for a bit. Lee had dropped me off as he was playing a gig in Sheffield, so that was useful. I had Vietnamese pancake to start with which I've never had before as they only serve it in the evenings. It was different but very delicious! Then I had spicy tofu curry as usual. By the time we had finished Lee had finished his gig so he came back to pick me up. 

On Wednesday I decided to go to Holme Coffee House to work. It's my favourite place in Penistone and since they moved they have a big upstairs area and I knew I wouldn't be taking up space if I went to work there. The staff are all lovely so I had a great welcome. I had a hot chocolate, then I went for a mushroom Reuben sandwich which was delicious, and then a chocolate orange brownie. I stayed there quite a while and got some very boring work done. I will do that maybe once a month as I think it's worth it for the money I spent doing that. 

On Thursday we went to my mother's house for tea. She and my stepdad had been in Scotland doing the North Coast route; they drove 1700 miles in about fifteen days! So we hadn't seen them for a while so she invited us over. She made vegetarian chilli which was so good, and a stick toffee pudding! We stayed quite late as I was drinking wine with her.

On Friday I went to Meadowhall to meet up with Sarah for lunch. We met at Boots and did a bit of shopping to start off - I got some stuff in Yankee Candle and we both bought earrings in Lovisa (Louisa? You know the shop I mean). I was also thrilled because Snow Fairy was back in Lush so I bought some Snow Fairy Milkshake shower gel. 

We went up to Accessorize where Sarah decided to get a piercing done so while she was doing that I went to Pizza Express to wait for her. She turned up not long afterwards. We shared dough balls and then I had a mushroom pizza and she had a pepperoni pizza I think. Then we went to Hotel Chocolat for a nice drink each. 

I would really like to have rested when I got home but no, I had a work meeting and some things to catch up on before I went away! Wow writing all this down is making me feel tired! I had such a busy week. 

I was reading this. My friend Katie recommended it and I really liked it

My Vietnamese pancake which was delicious

And my curry, as usual

My new biker jacket! I'm happy I happened upon it! 

My mushroom Reuben which was yummy

And chocolate orange brownie which was so good too

Mushroom pizza, I could eat that again right now

Here we both are in Hotel Chocolat

I probably had a mint hot chocolate

While Sarah had a milkshake

And finally here's all the incredibly sensible and necessary things that I bought

Twilight Spa in Wakefield

For Lee's birthday in August I bought him a spa evening in Wakefield off Wowcher. It had to be used in like six weeks or something so we went in the second to last week of September. It was at Waterton Hall in Wakefield which is close to where I grew up. We actually looked at it for a wedding venue way back when, but decided against it. But I know that Georgina has been to a spa day there and said it was good, so I thought Lee would enjoy it. 

We arrived about 6pm and were able to go in straight away. The spa is in the old hall, which is across a really cute little bridge where you would definitely have wedding photos if you got married there. It's down a few steps but the changing rooms were pretty good. The evening included a glass of prosecco each and as Lee doesn't drink alcohol I got both of those. To begin with we had an hour in a hot tub outside which looked out on to the lake, it was beautiful. We had a soft drink each too. The outdoor hot tub was REALLY hot and bubbly, it was gorgeous. There were about four other couples in other hot tubs too. It was a nice evening and it was very pleasant!

After the hour was up we went inside to the pool and gym area. We swam for a bit, up and down. The pool got really deep which was really good. There was a sauna and steam room and a jacuzzi inside too. We didn't go inside the first two but we did go in the jacuzzi a couple of times. I also sat and read my book for a bit. 

It's a nice spa and we had a good time, but it does look a bit dated and it isn't the fanciest I've seen. I'm not sure I would go again but we did really enjoy ourselves. It was a good birthday present for Lee!

Look at the beautiful vista we had from our outdoor hot tub. We had the one that was furthest out so it had the most beautiful view

I think that was because we had the first choice, so that was good

The outdoor hot tub, it had a bench on the other side of it where the waitress put our drinks

Here I am enjoying my prosecco. Both glasses of it

Here we both are

And here's the pool inside the spa

Weekend in the Middle of September

In the middle of September I had a really busy weekend so I'm putting all these into one post. 

On the Friday I headed to Manchester to go to Slattery's to meet my friend Helen. I set off early but there was a bit of traffic on Woodhead Pass, but I was there just before my appointment time which was good. As I was queuing in the restaurant Helen turned up behind me which was good! We got a table and started chatting. I went for a mushroom toastie which was fine, it tasted fine, but I would go back to my usual rarebit before getting this again. You can also get that with mushrooms on, so I would just do that!

For dessert I got strawberries and marshmallows with the dipping pots, which I also love but can never eat all of, so I brought some of it home. I also brought home one of their little cakes and a piece of torte for Lee. It took me a while to get home because of traffic so I had a lie down when I got home as driving to Manchester really takes it out of me. 

On Saturday I went to Glossop to meet my friend Amy. That meant I had to go on Woodhead Pass again, which had less traffic than on Friday, thankfully. I was in Glossop early so I went to Marks and Spencer. I had a voucher to spend from some work I'd done so I bought wine and chocolate, basically. I shared the chocolate with Lee, of course, and I am gaining a good stock of wine these days! We have our old fridge freezer in the garage and it is just filled with wine... 

Amy was running a bit late so I went to The Globe where we had decided to meet. It is a pub that does only vegan food; I last went with Lee and our friends Paul and Lianne. It's junk type food and it's CHEAP. I was the first person in there so I got a drink and read my book. I was reading The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell. I love her thriller books and like to read them fairly often. 

Amy arrived and we started chatting IMMEDIATELY. Amy is one of my oldest friends! We met at sixth form college way back in 2000 and have been friends ever since. She's one of my FAVOURITES ever. She's vegan so she was spoilt for choice! I am usually vegetarian but my iron is low so the nurse suggested I eat tuna and salmon for a while, so I've been doing that. But I still love having delicious vegan food to choose from.

We shared starters of corn ribs and a vegan hotdog. For main I had the Kentucky burger which was a vake meat burger with a bourbon sauce and vegan cheese. It was pretty good, but I forgot to take a photo. Then I had chocolate fudge cake and dark chocolate ice cream. We sat there for literally hours just chatting. It was about 5pm by the time I left Glossop! 

On the Sunday I had a slow start to the day which was much needed, and then I headed to Doncaster. When I was trawling all the theatre websites to spend my voucher, I saw this advertised. It's called New Dawn Fades and it's about the band Joy Division. I love them and I know quite a lot of their story, but I thought it would be cute to see, and the ticket was only £15. As I was heading to Doncaster I asked my cousin K if she wanted to meet up for tea first. She suggested the pub that is just next to the theatre, so we met there at about 6pm I think. They didn't have a massive vegetarian selection but they had a vegan roast dinner so I had that. It was fine, nothing exciting.

We wanted dessert but the selection was rubbish so we actually went across to the theatre where the cafe bar was still open. I had a coffee and a piece of caramel shortbread. My cousin said goodbye and I went to take my seat in the theatre.

It was really busy! Nearly full actually. I wasn't expecting that! The play was written by the buy who plays Tony Wilson and he is basically telling you the story of Joy Division and Ian Curtis in particular. It's very funny and the guys playing Tony, Ian Curtis, and Bernard Sumner were very good. The music sounded good and it was well done. I got back home so late though and I was absolutely knackered! 

Slattery's milk chocolate hot chocolate. I always get this and it's SO good

My dessert, which was also so good as usual. I ate the leftovers a couple of days later

Helen and I outside Slattery's, aren't we cute. I had had my hair redone - I had a peekaboo haircut with the underneath bleached and dyed purple, but the purple didn't really show up. I was a bit disappointed with it really but never mind, not the end of the world. It's mid October now and I think I'll dye the bleached bits pink and see if that looks any better!

Starters in The Globe that Amy and I shared

Chocolate fudge cake and ice cream

The book I was reading

And the play in Doncaster just before it started. I drove home listening to and singing along with Joy Division!

The Ballad of Johnny and June in Leeds

For my birthday my friend Jodie gave me a Theatre Tokens voucher and I ended up spending it on a ticket to The Ballad of Johnny and June in Leeds. It took me so long to decide what to buy and I trawled through all the local theatre websites but eventually decided on a matinee performance of this. I didn't have hugely high hopes for it as it's a jukebox musical, but I thought it would be a funny thing to see and I liked the idea of a solo date to see it. So I booked it for a Wednesday afternoon.

I set off and parked in Chinatown and walked up towards Zaap where I do really like the food. But I just wasn't feeling it. So I walked up Merrion Street looking in all the restaurants there, and I was nearly swayed by Japaenese food but again wasn't feeling it so I kept going. I crossed over by the theatre and saw a sign for Indian street food. I LOVE Indian street food so I made my way up the stairs into a really cutely decorated restaurant. There was only one table occupied so I easily got seated. 

I had sev puri which were crunchy, delicious, and spicy! Then I had butter paneer with rice, and a mango lassi. The lassi wasn't amazing, but the curry was rich and delicious. I'm glad I found the place. I've looked on the map and it was called Indian Pakwaan and I would utterly recommend it if you're up that end of Leeds! I also really liked the decoration which I took photos of on the way out.

I headed to the theatre and got in really early so I just sat reading for a while before the play started. The premise is is that it's John Carter Cash telling you the story of his parents meeting, of their lives together, and so on. It uses Johnny Cash and June Carter songs to do that. It is really well done and the cast were all brilliant - it didn't sound like there was a note out of place. The girl playing June was brilliant, especially on No Swollering Place which is a brilliant song anyway. The guy playing Johnny wasn't as good, but he did look the part. I enjoyed myself, it was a good solo date and a good way to use the voucher I had been given! 

Sev puri and mango lassi

Butter paneer and rice

The decorations on the stairs in the restaurant

And the theatre before the play started!

King Lear in Sheffield

On the 12th of September I met up with Sam and Jodie in Sheffield to go and see King Lear at the Crucible. We met just before 12pm and then we sat in Orchard Square for a bit until Pho opened. We obviously managed to get a table easily so we went in. I had my usual order - spicy lemonade, summer rolls with peanut sauce, and spicy tofu curry. It was good as always!

After we'd eaten we walked down to the Crucible. It's one of my favourite theatres ever as I love seeing things in the round. I've never seen King Lear but I know the basic story. We had good seats. Ian McDiarmid was playing Lear and his voice did occasionally go into Emperor Palpatine which was pretty funny. He was really good, though, as were the rest of the cast. The costumes looked gorgeous - the three daughters in particular looked really good.

We had snacks in the interval and chatted, and then afterwards we just said bye to each other. I went back to Middlewood on the tram and drove home. I was reading The List of Suspicious Things which I found didn't really live up to my expectations, so I was glad to finish it! 

I wore my red leopard print dress that I've had for a few years now, and with it I wore my new leopart print cardigan. I got it off Vinted but it was brand new with tags from Simply Be. It was a lot of leopard print but I think it looked really cute together! 

Summer rolls with peanut sauce. Can you believe Sam doesn't like the peanut sauce? Shocked and appalled

Spicy tofu curry with rice, plus added coriander from Sam and Jodie as neither of them like it as much as I do

The signage outside of the Crucible. What you can't see is that the rest of the cast were also in Twelfth Night with Mat Horne a couple of weeks later - his face was on the left

Before the play started. I love how sparse the stagings are in the Crucible

The three of us as the place was starting to fill up

Leopard on leopard, with footless tights too

And my book, when I was in bed reading later

Weekend in the Cotswolds - Day 4

On the Sunday of our weekend away we got up and again had pastries for breakfast, and then we set off out into Bourton. We parked at the model village and went in there. It's of Bourton and it's really cute. There is a model village in the model village and in that model village there is a model village - it's model villages all the way down. 

There is a miniatures exhibition in the model village which cost a little bit more but it was really cute, I'm glad we bothered. The haberdashers was really cute. 

We walked into the village centre itself and went over one of the pretty bridges and into a couple of shops. There was a craft fair on so we popped into there and I bought some soap. Then we went to the Motor Museum! It looks so small from the outside but it is huge, there's so many different rooms and things. Everyone took their time, which was a bit painful for me as I can't go too slowly or it really hurts my joints, so I looked at what I wanted to, and then I found a bench shaped like a cow to sit on. It was fine! We looked at so many motors, I took photos of my favourites. And there was a lot of the history of the area included too so that was cool. 

And this Motor Museum is where Brum lives! Lee and I stood with him and it was extremely joyful 

When we had done there - which took us way longer than we thought - some of us were hungrier than others so we kind of each did our own thing. Lee and I had a sandwich each and I think my cousin got a pasty or something. Then we went back over to the bakery we had been in on Friday and most of us got something - I probably had another slice of caramel shortbread cos I do love it. We sat in the sunshine at a bench eating them, which was really lovely. 

We went back to the cottage and relaxed - I managed to not nap this time. Lee made curries for tea so I helped with that and made a raita for us. It was really yummy! Peter left about 8pm as he didn't have Monday off so he needed to get home. But it was lovely to spend so much time with him, and as you can see, I got a selfie of us as usual. The rest of us just chilled out, and on Monday morning we just packed up and left! We got home at a decent time and relaxed with the cats for the rest of the day.

I am so lucky to be blessed with family that I am close to and love spending time with - but we do cultivate that too by making time to be together and by having a WhatsApp chat that is rarely silent! 

Sights around the model village

Peter and me, he is a love

The model village in the model village

The mini habidashers in the separate exhibition

And the other side of it

The river as we went across it

The temptation to stand in it was high! 

Next time I definitely would

It's such a pretty place, I want to go back! 

I love old cars so took a lot of photos. I would love to have a try at driving one of these one day!

I also really like old signs, so this was heaven

And these two old caravans were so cute too!

Some more cars

And more signs

I had to teach Peter how to use a rotary phone

My mum had a white Triumph before I was born that she had to start with a screwdriver, so I took this photo for her

These signs were outside, by the water wheel that belonged to the building when it was a mill

And here's Brum!