Attic24

Northumberland :: part III

 

Hello my lovelies, thank you so much for popping by and joining me on my jaunts this week, I've really enjoyed myself writing these posts. So today we are doing Northumberland Tales :: part III,  in which we Visit Historical Buildings and Magnificent Gardens.

There are only two of them actually, as this year we didn't do so many of these type of visits as in previous years. Not sure why :: I think we were more content to do pottery, local beachy things than to join the more regular Northumberland tourist trail.

Northumberland is chocker-block full of ancient castles, some like Dunstanburgh castle are now in ruins, but some of them are still very much still lived in. This magnificent building is Chillingham Castle and it's most definitely one of the lived-in varieties. It was the first time we had ever visited, but after reading so many glowing reports in the Driftwood cottage visitors book (maaaaaarvelous inventions, those books) we decided to give it a go.

 

And we were certainly not disappointed. It was fascinating. So much to see, the rooms were absolutely crammed with memorabilia, furniture and collections of all kinds. It wasn't so large that you started to yawn and wilt, and every room had immense character and a great deal to look at. No photography is allowed inside, but the website has a few  good pictures of the interior if you'd like a quick browse. You can take a look at The Great Hall, The State Rooms, even the Torture Chamber if you like. We all really enjoyed roaming from room to room, up and down ancient staircases, in and out of the courtyard.

 

After the inside had been thoroughly explored, we ventured out to take in the gardens. 

 

This is the Italian garden, and I absolutely loved it here. With it's glorious long herbacious borders, little neat pathways and amazing clippety-clipped hedges, it was really charming.

 

We found a wooden bench at one end and ate a very picturesque picnic lunch within these old stone walls. That's to say that J and I did that....the Little People had other ideas. Of course they could not possibly sit and eat lunch quietly and picturesquely, no no no, they had ants in their Little Pants. They interspersed their munching with running and hide-and-seeking. There was much squealing. What is it about these neat little pathways around hedges and borders that so inspires them to run and squeal??

 

Now I'm not normally a huge fan of precision-clipped plantlife, but oh my, I did SO love these swirly-wirly hedges. I really did love them! I did my own little bit of (quiet) excited squealing when no-one else was within earshot, because I found them so appealing.

 

The grounds at Chillingham are not humungous or extensive, but they are nevertheless beautiful. Outside of the Italian Garden there were some big lawned areas with modest fountains, then a gate which lead into some peaceful greeny woodland. This was just after our lunch and we were on the search for a brew-spot actually, a place where we could lay down our blanket, get out our enamel mugs and flask and enjoy a cup of tea :: a brew-with-a-view.

 

And suddenly we came across it :: the perfect brew-spot. A little sun-warmed wooden jetty beside a beautiful lake.

 

We spent a long time here as it was just so tranquil, and held much interest in the form of water-creature-spotting. There was a huuuuuge turquoisey dragonfly which came and hovered inches from our noses, pond skaters on the water surface and (much to J's delight) lots of brown trout swimming around, who periodically decided to leap right out of the water. It's very exciting to observe Leaping Trout don't you know. In fact, I would say the Excitement Factor was kind of right up there alongside the Discovery Of the Jellyfish.

Yes, we really enjoyed our visit to Chillingham Castle.

 

The other Historical/Magnificent adventure of last week was at our favourite Cragside House and Estate. This is one place we do visit each and every year and continue to love it. The house is a pleasure to look round (although this year we did notice how hugely busy it was compared to previous years, quite crowded in some bits), but it's the estate grounds and gardens which I always really look forward to. Oh, and the tea room of course.

 

Cragside is famous for it's 'hand-made' rock gardens, they are the largest in Europe apparently. It also boasts a Pinetum below the house, with England's tallest Douglas fir. The trees were certainly very tall and impressive, and quite atmospheric in a drippy-droppy, wet, cold sort of way. Yes, the weather on the day we visited Cragside could be described as "terrible". Even for the likes of us who are quite hardy and will reasonably happily venture out in the wet, it was sadly a fairly miserable experience touring the grounds in the rain.

 

The Flower Gardens did however look amazing (probably due to the copious amounts of rain). Good job you can't see me in the above photo, it was really raining quite heavily at this point and I was really, really wet. The others had refused to trail round the flowery gardens with me in the rain and had gone off to hide in the warm, dry glasshouses with the lemon trees. So I was on my own, enjoying it in the best way I could, trying not to sulk too damn much.

 

I admired the intricate (dripping wet) carpet bedding display, but what I was really here for was the Dahlia Walk. You may remember my excitement about this particular visual treat from last year?

 

This year the Dahlia Walk was no less spectacular. 

 

It was just very much wetter.

But oh. my. goodness. Even in the pouring rain, the flowers were truly fantastic :: so flamboyant, so showy-offy, so vibrant and bold. I really, really love dahlias with a passion.

The dahlia display at Cragside was hugely inspiring. There was every sort of dahlia you could think of :: the small, single-petal daisy-like flowers, the giant big pom-pom ones and the rather untidy raggedy ones. I loved them all. I walked along the Walk, photographing as many as I could while trying not to get the camera too wet. And when I got to the end of the long Walk, I put the camera away and turned round to walk back through the puddles again just breathing in the damp (sodding wet) air and taking in great eye-fulls of all that glorious colour. It made me feel fit to burst with happiness, despite my soggy shoulders and wet feet.

So......on that bright and colourful note, here endeth my Northumberland Tales. It was a wonderful family holiday for sure, and no doubt we will look forward to returning next year for more of the same. In fact, I already can't wait.

It's been wonderful reading all your comments and reactions to my holiday tales this week, you are, as ever, so generous with your words and I am enormously grateful to have you all to share with.

((thank you))

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Northumberland :: part II

Ahhhh you know what?? I Very Ever-so-much Hugely Enormously DO Like to Be Beside the Seaside!!!!!! And today's post is all about just that....welcome to my Northumberland Tales part II :: in which we Explore All Things Beachy and Seasidey.

This is a tale of three Northumberland beaches and three essential holiday activities :: rock pooling, beach combing and sand/sea fun.

 

Just a short stroll from Driftwood, through the wooden gate, the grassy field gently slopes down to the right and gives way to a rocky, pebbly beach. It was a lot of fun for the likes of us, with our eager, inquisitive Little People. Most days you would find us here at low tide, stepping and jumping from rock to rock exploring the rock pools. 

The usual suspects were to be found there of course :: limpets and barnacles, sea slaters and shrimps, fish and anemones. But these little sea creatures, as fascinating as they are, did not quite cut the mustard this year with the Little People. No, it seemed they wanted more exciting specimens to wow over and they searched high and low to find them. It became a Daily Quest. And I am happy (relieved) to tell you, they were not disappointed.

 

First up for discovery were a couple of rather large crabs, they were as big as your hand and quite something in the eyes of the Little People.

Much excitement.

 

A few days later and this amazing starfish was discovered sitting beautifully in a clear pool, waving it's thirteen amazing legs gently in the water....and oh! The Excitement Factor was pretty damn large here, let me tell you. A real, live, genuine star fish, just imagine that!!! Can you really believe it?? I certainly have never seen anything like it before and was just as excited, it really was awesome. And beautiful, very beautiful.

We all LOVED that particular rock pool event.

 

And then the following day, what next but a Jellyfish...oh oh oh, a Jellyfish, yes a real, live, genuine jellyfish!!!! The Excitement Factor was pretty much off the scale for this one. It made the small crabs and one solitary shrimp of last years' rock pooling escapades seem so insignificant in comparison. There followed much debate as to what to do with the jellyfish, which looked very out of place in it's little rock pool. Another family came to see, and it was jointly decided by the Little People of both families that Mr Jelly should be scooped up into a red bucket and released out into the sea.

We all rejoiced as the jellyfish was saved, such thrills and spills to be found down on the rocks don't you know.

 

I do really enjoy a good pootle around the rock pools, but I am also a very accomplished Sitter. I like very much to select me a warm, flat rock and sit myself down with legs outstretched to relax and just Be-by-the-sea.

Sitting. Breathing. Taking it all in.

The Little People however will not, under any circumstances, be persuaded to Sit down on the beach. Not ever. They are perfect examples of Perpetual Motion. Here on the rocky pebbly beach, they choose to Throw. Pebbles get slung and hurled towards the sea, bouncing and ricocheting and splitting off the rocks. An elaborate scoring system is set in place, with points being awarded for the number of times a pebble bounces, and an overall score given for distnace achieved. J is the Judge.

I continue to Sit. And breathe. And take it all in.

 

Another day and another beach :: this large, open, fabulous beach is at Boulmer, and you may remember me mentioning it to you when we discovered it last year. It always seems so empty and windswept and fabulousy wild when we choose to visit. Plus, its the bestest beach for beach combing that I think I've ever come across.

And  Beach Combing is my number one favourite seaside activity, I love it even more than Rock Pooling and Sitting.

Little Man is a huge asset on any beachcombing expedition, he is fabulously enthusiastic, and very very keen to out do me on the treasure-finding front. He gets right down on his knees to be as close to the beach as possible (can you spot him in the above photo?) and he does indeed find some wonderful treasures.

Shells and seaglass and sea-washed pottery :: I never, ever tire of finding and collecting these treasures.

We found a good selection of seaglass this year, including some very prized unusually coloured bits. I found the deep blue piece and the amazing reddy-orange piece too. Little Man discovered the patterned yellow piece there, and oh bless him, such an excited ta-dah moment when he proudly presented it to me. Heart-melty stuff.

Northumberland is the only place I've ever discovered sea-washed pottery, and I absolutely love, love, love it. Possibly more than seaglass, although crikey, that's a hard decision to make. These pieces were found on three different beaches and I find them so captivating, so sort of heart-warming and comforting somehow. I love to think of the journey these little fragements have been on :: that they were once a treasured part of someones home before being discarded and abandoned to the elements, smoothed and washed and tumbled by the sea for goodness knows how long, and now finally back into a home to be loved again. Sounds quite romantic, doesn't it?

I'm not sure quite what to do with them yet, but I'd like to make something mosaicy out of them I think....ooooo another project in the piepline to give me the Excitable Heebie-jeebies!

That's Dunstanburgh Castle you can see on the horizon, it's about a mile and a half walk from where we stayed in Craster. On this day last week (cor, was it only last week????) we were not sure quite what the weather was going to do as it was warm but windy, with a lot of very fast scudding clouds. But we decided to set off to walk the familiar walk to the ruins in the mid morning, carrying a packed lunch, a flask of tea, a blanket, swimming costumes and a towel, and hoping it would stay dry for us.

The ruined castle is in a magnificent position and the views up and down the coast in each direction are stunning. In previous years when the Little People have still had quite Little Legs, we have walked to this castle to rest and recuperate before turning around and heading back to Craster again. But this year, with Little Legs seeming a little Longer and Stronger, we decided to carry on walking past the castle to follow the footpath to the sweep of Embleton Bay :: you can see it in the above picture, curling round in the distance.

And as we got nearer to the bay, the sky began to look very good indeed. Clouds were still scudding and the wind was still blowing, but more and more blue was appearing and the sun felt warm and inviting.

This is a most glorious, unspoilt beach :: vast and sandy and backed by sand dunes and grasses.

The view back across the sands to the ruins of the castle was beautiful....

....as was the beach itself. So summery looking! The sky so blue! The clouds so perfectly white and fluffy! It had really turned into the most perfect summers day for whiling away a few hours doing sea and sandy things.

We set out our blanket at the foot of the grassy dunes and ate a simple packed lunch in the midday sun. Then while us Oldies drank our tea and nibbled chocolate biscuits, the Littlies busied themselves racing up and down to the waters edge for some excited screeching and paddling.

There was also lots of sand activity to be carried out :: in the absence of buckets and spades, they improvised and used their hands.

Tunnels were dug, hands and feet were buried.

And all the while I was able to Sit. And Breathe. And take it all in.

It was, quite simply, a perfect seasidey day. Lodged in my memory to be savoured and treasured.

So............................there you have it.....lovely as ever to have you with me today as I strolled about the beautiful beaches and riveting rockpools of the north eastern coast, you've been great company.

See you tomorrow for Part III, in which we Visit Historical Buildings and Magnificent Gardens.

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Northumberland :: part I

Now before I begin my holiday waffles, can I just first of all say a big thank you for all your warm welcome-home messages on yesterdays post. I truly appreciated it, made me feel better in amidst all the boring bits of dirty domesticity yesterday which very nearly had me in a heap. ((thank you))

So :: Holiday Tales for the rest of this week, I hope I'm not going to send you off yawning, I'm always a little wary of blabbering on about holidays as it's not everyones cup of tea I know. I've managed to organise my snaps into three parts, so today, without further delay, I give you Part I :: in which we Potter Around the Local Environs of Craster.

 

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you will know about this place already as it has become a familiar part of our Summer. We've been staying in the teeny-tiny village of Craster since 2005 when the Little People were just Little Tots, and have come to love it dearly. This was our third year staying in the very same house in Craster too, the little white house called Driftwood at the end of the row there, with it's quirky charms and the most stunning sea views. The house was as warm, cosy and welcoming as we had remembered it to be, the garden was in full flower and full of fluttering butterflies, and the sound of the sea just a few metres away was oooooooohhhhhhhhhhh just fabulous.

The weather in Northumberland last week was mixed. There were two quite wet days, which was kind of to be expected really :: we still ventured out on the wet days, made the best of them, and in a way it did serve to make us apreciate the dry days even more. And yes, there were some dry days too, some terrifically warm, hot, glorious sunny summer days, and oh we did enjoy those to the full!

When in Craster, one can really, seriously Potter, and oh my goodness, there's not a lot I enjoy more than a jolly good Potter by the Sea. In fact, Pottering around Craster is a real delight. There is not a lot here in the way of facilities, amusements or attractions, yet this little fishing harbour is hugely charming and offers up the simple pleasures of holidaying by the sea. Strolling leisurely about, breathing in the salty, smoky air, watching the little fishing boats coming and going, searching for shells on the little beach and sea creatures in the rockpools, admiring the little fishermans cottages with their seasidey gardens and generally just breathing it all in.

This year, the mermaid statue had been moved from her position down by the harbourside where she used to nestle beside the boats, and she was now proudly up on her own grassy bank with her very own beautiful floral boat. We walked past her most days to say hello, en route to the playground swings or the tiny harbour beach or the Fishermans Arms.

We Pottered in Craster at all times of day :: sometimes for early morning rockpooling, sometimes for a post-dinner stroll along the breezy cliffs, sometimes on a quest for an afternoon icecream or a lunch time pint of beer. It was always leisurely, relaxed, fun and happy :: the true essence of Summer Holidays.

 

The little front gardens belonging to the row of cottages around the harbour never fail to delight me. They contain a mix of old lobster pots, bleached wooden benches and dinky little wooden gates, pebbles and driftwood and rambling flowers that makes my heart squeeze. I just love the slightly chaotic nature of them, the fact that most of them verge on being quite unkempt, yet they look so beautiful to me.

I especially love this flower which grows vigorously in almost every seaside place I know. It's called Valerian and to me is a real reminder of summertimes spent by the sea.

There was lots of it growing in the back garden of Driftwood, and day after day it was a magnet for dozens of butterflies. It self-seeds freely and can happily grow out of walls and rocks, so I am guessing it's quite hardy. I managed to collect some seeds from the garden and am hoping, hoping, hoping I might be able to successfully cultivate some valerian in my own Yorkshire garden. If the seeds don't work out, I think I'll have to splurge and buy myself a plant or two.

Being so close to the sea is a thrill I never tire of, I am a real sea-junkie. And staying at Driftwood gave me a daily dose of sea-fix in such large quantities that at times it was quite overwhelming. As you probably know by now, I am fascinated by the weather and the skies, whether at home or on holiday. It gives me huge pleasure to observe the changing light and colours and I love the overall connection with nature that sky-watching brings.

In Craster, well Northumberland in general, the skies are huuuuuuuuuge. Great uninterrupted expanses of them overhead, and much of my time at Driftwood was spent gazing out of the open window. Some days the weather was really extraordinary. It would be quite bright and sunny in Craster, yet out at sea we could clearly see a big rainstorm was on it's way. This made for some of the most amazing rainbows I have ever seen :: huge, bright, perfect arcs of colour above the horizon.

The rainbows were so big that I couldn't photograph the whole of them, only the end bits which touched down into the sea. But oh, they were glorious! The two pictures above were taken on two different afternoons...in the second picture, you might just be able to make out the two figures walking round the harbour :: Little Man wearing his bright red raincoat and J in blue. Me and Little Lady were content to stay warm and dry and watch out the window.

And then there were the early morning skies too. Oh. My. Goodness. Such beauty. And such colour!

To open ones eyes in the early morning (we slept with the curtains and windows wide open) to this view was something that really, really gave me the heebie jeebies. Words cannot describe.

Our summer holiday this year was everything we hoped it would be. Each year we visit, we notice our Little People growing bigger, walking further, exploring more, and I am very aware that they are now at an age where their memories will stick and last. I just love the thought of our little seaside holidays being woven into their precious Childhood.

Well, thank you so much for sharing with me, it's been wonderful to have your company. Please do drop by for part II tomorrow, in which we Explore All Things Beachy and Seasidey.

See you then.....

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Five Days in Dorset

Hello one and all....how has your week been? Good I hope. We spent a fabulous time in Dorset, OH we did have fun! I've realised today when I finally sat down to take a look at my photographs that I didn't take nearly as many as usual. But nevertheless, its been lovely for me to have a little play with them and remember the days we spent away.

I'm pushed for time today, and it's taken me an embarrassingly long time to mess around with mosaic-making this morning, so words will be brief....hope you enjoy a little visual summary of our five days away.....oh, and by the way, please do click on any of the images to pop them up and make them bigger.....

Holiday Flowers :: stunning displays outside pubs and tearooms, and natures wild flowers on the beach and riverside.

Holidayish Activity :: beach playing, kite flying, carousel riding, seagull watching, cafe and tearooom visiting, picnicing.

Coastal Appreciation :: driving the coast road between Bridport and Abbotsbury, stopping at this viewpoint to eat icecream and ooooh and aaaah at the view of Chesil Beach and the Fleet. Our destination was St Catherine's Chapel for a wonderful picnic lunch with views that take your breath away.

Dorset Countryside :: in full Summer swing, it was truly beautiful.

Dorset Beaches :: we visited all of our favourite beaches, at various times of day, for paddling, picnicking, tea drinking, strolling, beachcombing and gernerally lazing around.

Carnival Time :: Bridport was in Party Mood at the weekend, with the busy streets all decked out with bunting flags in preparation for the annual carnival. We missed the procession as Little Lady was unwell that day, but we did make it down to West Bay the following night for the "Torchlight Procession". This is where hundreds of people walk the 2 miles from Bridport town to the beach at West bay, carrying wax torches. There are marching bands and much jollity as the procession winds it's way to the sea, with a huge bonfire being lit on the beach when the hundreds of burning torches arrive. Then at 10.30pm, a spectacular firework display from the end of the pier. Memorable and fun.

 

Day to Night :: One of our favourite things to do on a clear evening is to go down to Eype beach to witness the close of day. We take a flask of hot tea, chocolate biscuits and plenty of blankets, and watch as the sky changes from day to night and the first stars appear. Magical.

Hope you enjoyed that little peek at our week...sorry I don't have time to elaborate more. Right now I need to go and attend to the business of making clean all the dirty post-holiday clothes as we are off again tomorrow and have nothing whatsoever to wear.

Yes, tomorrow we are heading off for another week of coastal fun and frolics, up north to our beloved Northumberland this time.....see you when I get back.

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Jollying

Hello!
Just to let you know that I'm taking a weeny blog break this week as we are officially Jollying.

Can you guess from my souvenirs where I spent the day yesterday???

It was a mighty fine jolly indeed, short and sweet, but mighty fine.

We'll be in our own beds tonight, but heading off again tomorrow, hosteling for a few days in the Lake District.

See you Monday, have a wonderful week whatever you get up to
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Dorset Holiday :: Blissful Days

 

When I compose my blog posts, they always start with the images. Always. My ideas for each post evolve directly from my photographs and I always upload all the pictures first before turning my mind to the writing. It takes quite a long time to upload photos to typepad, mainly because I am too lazy to resize them and make them smaller, so they are large, unwieldy files that have to make their way from my Attic computer through cyberspace to you.

Anyhow, this morning I wanted to tell you the story of one Blissful Day of my holiday last week, the day in my life that was Thursday 16th April. There are twentyone pictures in total which has taken me almost two hours to upload (I blog visit and email and make coffee and surf the net whilst doing this, so admittedly I get rather distracted along the way). And whilst I've been watching the images appear on screen, I've been able to re-live this particular day all over again, and it's been surprisingly emotional for me.

 

The morning started with a plan, and involved meeting family for coffee and cake at 10.30am at the Hive beach cafe (I chatted a little about this place on Wednesday). Even though the weather was quite grey and windy on this morning, the delicious coffee and cake, and time spent idling on the beach afterwards was delightful. The Little People are now at an age where they can quite happily amuse themselves for a while without adult participation, especially on a beach. There was lots of digging, stone throwing and collecting, drawing (we always take sketch pad and pens with us in the rucksack, and Little Lady spent a surprisingly looong time sat on the beach colouring a whole page in blue, which was her picture of the sea she said).

Whilst the LP were busy with their own pursuits, J and I were able to talk to each other. I don't know about you lot, but often I feel that in the bustle and humdrum of daily life at home, it becomes increasingly difficult as a couple to find time to sit and talk to each other. To talk about the way you are feeling about life, to make plans, to sort of review where you are at and where you see yourself headed if you like. Often J and I will do this on the occasions when we are out walking together, and last week, on this Thursday morning on the beach, I found I really enjoyed talking to my husband and had missed it. I remembered that I really, really like him a lot. That he is funny, thoughtful, honest and very hard working. That he has worked hard to provide us, our little family,  with a great deal of security and stability, and that he will continue to do so. And that I must never, ever take this for granted or forget how lucky I am to have him and this life of ours. And I tell him so.

 

We notice after an hour or two at the beach that the weather is brightening up considerably from it's grey start, and that blue sky is appearing. It's still windy mind you, so we make a spur of the moment plan and decide on a venue and an activity for the afternoon. We choose Eggardon Hill, and Kite flying. Eggardon hill is the site of an ancient iron-age hillfort, but I am not especially interested in the history of it. What I love about it is the height, the views, the space and the light. And the fact that it holds a great many memories for me, of my parents and grandparents (no longer with us) and the many happy childhood picnics and playtimes that have taken place here over the years. Oh, and that it is always very windy and therefore exceptionally good for kite flying up here.

 

The kite flying was a huge success. In my experience, kites can be quite unpredictable (we've had some disappointing "bad flyers" over the years) and this was the first outing for this little kite as it had been sitting under a little pile of dust in the cellar for quite some time. I came across it still unused and in it's packet when I was  busy gathering blankets and boots, balls and spades and packing up the car ready for the journey to Dorset. And now looking at these pictures and remembering the joy of this simple afternoon on the hilltops, I am so glad I did.

 

As a child I used to adore kites, and can so remember the feeling of exhilaration when ones kite actually does work and does lovely simple kitey things like going up and staying up and following you as you walk it along on it's string. Its magical! And the Little People really, really had a lot of fun with this kite. Doesn't it look stunning against the blue of the sky? Mmm mmm!

 

When we begin to tire of looking skywards, we stroll on further across the hilltop. It's hard to capture the true scale of Eggardon on camera :: the expanse of the sky and the surrounding panoramic views is awesome. One of the things I love most of all is to sit and watch the dark shadows move across the vast hillsides, the shadows made by the clouds themselves. Love that.

J and I spread a blanket and sit on top of this ancient ridge to drink hot tea from a flask while the LP do their thing. Their "thing" here involved chaotic frisby throwing, interspersed with running up and down the steep grassy slopes and some rather speedy roly-polying. It was exhausting watching them, how is that small children can find sooooo much energy in their little bodies?

 

This last photo above of the view across the valley was taken at 4pm just as we were preparing to head back. We had a table booked at a small local Thai restaurant at 6pm :: I remember thinking then that this day was shaping up to be truly fabulous, and yet I did not know at 4pm that the best was still to come....
 

The meal out was wonderful, quite a treat. The food was fantastic, the children very well behaved in such a small intimate restaurant. While us adults enjoyed spicy Thai curry, they happily tucked into prawn crackers and chicken satay sticks with a peanut dip (their first experience of Thai food, and was declared YuMmY-can-we-have-it-again).

We come out of the restaurant at 7.30pm or thereabouts, and step into an unexpectedly glorious early evening light. So instead of heading back to the house, we make a spontaneous decision to go for a walk instead, to extend the day so to speak.

 

I know exactly where I want to go :: a little known patch of land a few miles out of Bridport called Eype Down. Park the car in a  layby just off a quiet deserted country lane at the foot of the down and begin climbing. Up, up across the steep grassy slopes  which in a  few weeks time will be a glorious shade of bluebell blue. As we get near the brow of the down, we catch the setting sun streaming over the horizon, the quality of the light at this time of day is breathtaking.

 

Long shadows (that's mine above), and golden light, I am thrilled by the beauty of it all and feel fit to burst.

Eventually after some climbing we reach a point where the coast is visible. We see the flat top of high Golden Cap, the little village of Seatown nestled down underneath it, and the milky sea under the golden sky.

 

Words cannot describe how amazing all this makes me feel. This landscape and light, this freedom and exhileration of being out at this time of day when normally we would be indoors and therefore missing it all. Hope that doesn't sound too soppy? Or over dramatic, haha, yes maybe it does but what the heck!

The Little People are caught up in my excitement, they do NOT want to go back because they know it is really their bedtime, yet here they are in the midst of the countryside, running around and eating chocolate :: what fun!

 

So we make another spontaneous decision :: we decide not to go back and put pyjamas on just yet, but to walk back down the down (!) to the car and drive the mile or two to the sea. Just for the joy of it. Shall we? Yes, lets do it!

It is 8:20pm when we arrive at Eype beach and the fishermen are just setting up for the night. Another family with excited children is collecting driftwood to make a beach fire.

 

The colours in the sky are amazing, incredible and I am trying not to cry with the pleasure of it all, it seems so emotional for me somehow! I'm quite sure I'm not normal, I become  so affected by little things all the time it seems.

 

We settle down on the beach to watch the day draw to a close, and there is a chill in the air now. Luckily I have my faithful knitted blankets (remember them?) to keep me warm and I feel so happy, snug, content. I am so very in-the-moment, you know?

The sky slowly, slowy changes colour and begins to darken.

 

The Little People are beside themselves with excitement. I think as adults, we forget how rarely young children get to stay up beyond 8pm and venture outdoors to witness the close of day :: it's normally a time for being home, locking the door, drawing the curtains shut and preparing for bed. And so when it does happen, it holds a great deal of unexpected excitement.

 

As you can see, they are, quite simply, loving it.

 

Loving every minute. And quite rightly so.

As the temperature falls, J and Little Man (who are too manly to snuggle under knitted blankets it seems) retreat back to the car to warm up. Little Lady and I wrap ourselves up in the wooly, blankety warmth, snuggle down together on our backs and keep watch for the first stars to appear. We spot the first ones twinkling just before 9pm. And it seems to be a signal that it's time to end our day and head back.

As I recount this story to you today, I realise with a start that for me, this particular day in my life was as near to Perfect as I could ever ever hope for. Time spent with family in a beautiful and much-loved little corner of the world, enjoying the moments unfold from early morning through to night. It was a day I didn't want to end. It made me feel so profoundly Complete in a way that is incredibly hard to describe.

I loved the day because it was so simple. Because the pleasure came from love and laughter and relaxation, from good food and company, from the land and sea and the elements, from simple pleasures. Good coffee. Cake. The sounds of waves breaking on the shore. Of being high up and enjoying a view. Of Kite flying. Of sunsets, warm blankets and starry skies.

So simple to find happiness, it is right there to be had, in the small moments of each day. All you have to do is hold yourself in those moments, and cherish them.

xxxxxxxxxx

Dorset Holiday :: Seaside Days

During last week we went down to the sea every day. Sometimes we stayed local, sometimes ventured further afield. Sometimes it would be early morning for breakfast (as in these photos) sometimes for lunch, or an afternoon stroll, sometimes evenings.

We watched the sea and the sky in all weathers, from the brightest of sunny days through to the darkest of rain of storms. Rain or shine, morning, noon or night, crowded or deserted, beach, harbour, pier, promenade and cliff I just love love loved being by the sea.

These first pictures were taken earlyish (9.30am or so) on Easter Monday, and as you can see the weather was absolutely glorious. The intense blue of the sky was magical.

It was actually quite hard to photograph the seascape on this morning because the light was so bright and intense as it reflected off the water. We strolled the promenade, sat on West Beach and drank it in.

 

We were there for breakfast on this morning. Can you see in the above photo look, across the harbour is a row of "Snack Shacks"? That's breakfast calling. Shall we walk round the harbour and go see what's on offer?

There is hot competition at this side of the harbour. Oooooo, shall we go to JB's, Mungo's or the Snack Shack? Which one?

J chooses by scrutinising the various menus and I choose by the colour of the painted wooden tables. Snack Shack it is then because the tables happen to be the exact colour of the sky.

We order bacon and egg rolls and cappuccinos for the Big People. Icecream for the Little People, which they thoroughly approve of. Not every day you get to eat icecream for breakfast, hot on the heels of chocolate easter eggs.

Our breakfast, with the above view was completely scrumptious.

A stroll round the harbour and as always I find myself going off on a giddy little spin all of my own. I get such childish pleasure from harbours and boats, they never fail to make me feel like squealing and hopping with pure excitement, which I quite often do.

My children have come to think this is quite a normal way to behave, they don't bat an eyelid. They even make suggestions as to which boats will be the best for photographs.

Look Mum :: orange buoys against the blue of that boat!

Oooo yes!! Squeeeeeal hoppity hop, camera-click-click, ahhhhhh!!!

My husband tolerates me in this mood, but doesn't get it really. He rolls his eyes a little, becomes slightly impatient with the halting exclaiming progress. Obviously he doesn't experience colour in the same enormous way that I do. I mean just look!! Look at the colour of that boat there above, Isn't that blue just the most perfect boaty bluey-blue?? Doesn't it make you want to go oooooeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and hop with pleasure?????!!!!! :o)

I find it all so beautiful, exhilarating, heart-expanding. Even though I've walked round this harbour  a gazillion times since I was a small child, it still never fails to thrill me.

 

Beautiful.

It's all so perfectly beautiful.

We are around the harbour now to the other side, and this is East beach, with East cliff towering vertically in the background. East beach is an unpredictable, ever shifting bank of shingle. Some years it's almost flat. This year there is this huge mound to negotiate up and down. The Little People are expert mound-negotiators. Roly-polies are the way to go here. Endless satisfaction and amusement. I squash the urge to try it myself.

Crocs are abandoned and bare toes are out for a wiggle.

This cute row of houses sits at the back of the beach. I have always loved them, even as a child I always wanted to live in The Pink House.

And another fabulous house of childhood fantasies. Can you see the whale on the weather vane?

We have moved on now....these photos were taken last Tuesday, on a rather more cloudy, grey day. This is the East Dorset coast, at Durdle Door. When you arrive at Durdle Door, the car park is located high up on the cliff top and in order to see the Durdle Door itself you need to walk. Down, down, down you go along the descending cliff path, with stunning views of the cove below.

The colour of the sea here is magical, even on a grey cloudy day such as this one.

And eventually you come down low enough to see The Door, in all it's geographical splendour. You then need to decide whether to turn round and huff and puff back up the cliff, or whether to descend even further to one of the two little curved beaches either side of the arch. You really do want to go to the beach, but you know that aaaaaaallllllll those steps that you walk down to get to the beach will eventually have to be walked back up again. You put it to the vote. Three against one in favour of the beach :: hooorrraaahhhh, and down we go!

A very pebbly beach. Chocolate for energy. Building stone towers to make targets for throwing competitions. Enjoy the moment, then eventually prepare for the inevitable climb back up the million and one steps. Was worth it though, wasn't it? Yeah, definitely worth it.

Ajoining Durdle Door is the small village of Lulworth, with its popular curved cove and beach.
Its extremely, impossibly pretty but extremely impossibly crowded here. It's hard to photograph because people are everywhere, and I have an issue about having strangers invade my photographs, I don't like it one little bit. So no pretty pictures of cute thatched cottages, winding lanes, dinky shops or picturesque beach scenes, sorry.

But there is this fabulous bucket tree to show you.

And these delightful windmills.

 

Quite a lot of hoppity squealing over brightly coloured buckets and windmills I might add.
Ahhhh Seaside Days, I just adore them with all my heart.
I've got one more Holiday Story for you tomorrow.
See you then
xxx

Dorset Holiday :: Lazy Days

The first day of our stay in Dorset was Easter Sunday, and aside from a little Easter egg hunt for the Little People in the garden we had nothing planned. In fact the whole week was rather unplanned from the start and thats just how I like my holidays to be. No point working to elaborate schedules is there, partly as so much depends on the weather from day to day and partly because its a joy in itself to greet each day with freedom and a little spontaneity I think.

Having said that, when we're down in Dorset visiting with family, a certain amount of co-ordination does need to take place so that other family members know roughly when and where to expect us, especially around mealtimes.
I think there's also a feeling that occurs on holidays, a feeling that it's important to find the right balance between relaxing and lazing the days away (pretty essential part of a holiday) yet also making the most of one's time there.
Planning, Co-ordinating, Balancing?? Didn't know holidays could be so tricksy did you eh???
Only kidding :: in truth, our days away last week evolved and rolled along with pleasure and ease, and yes it was all quite wonderful. I was looking through the photos again earlier today and wondering how to order them, how to tell you the Holiday Story if you like, how to condense it all into three posts without boring the pants off you. I think I've got it more or less sorted in my mind, but it's taken some doing. I'm out of bloggy practice!
So any road, today I've decided to share some bits and pieces of the week that to me sum up the joys of being away from home, of being at leisure to relax and potter and well, to be a little lazy I guess.

When faced with a small pocket of time in the day to occupy oneself with something, I did love how it all panned out for our little family. For me, lazy moments inevitably entailed a great deal of hooky action :: hoozah!! J would take time to read the daily papers and the Little People chose to watch a film/colour/draw/play games/run/jump/hit things with sticks/climb/slide/mess with water/eat chocolate. Great stuff.

Did I mention that I L:O:V:E to sit in the sun and crochet when on holiday?

There were also lazy afternoons sat by the river at Mums cottage....

....admiring her flowers, drinking tea, chatting, watching trout swim.

There was also the job of supervising mini expeditions to find woodlice, and dealing with the most ferOCIOUs red-legged spiders too....

....and loving Mum/Grandma's beautifully decorative Easter basket, admittedly a little robbed of it's chocolate stash in the above photo. Woodlice-hunting and spider taming is hungry work for Little People you know.

There were lazy evenings spent in B's beautiful garden, watching the magical early evening slant of sunlight move slowly across the grass. Chilled white wine, scrummy food, chat and laughter.

There was a little lazy pottering around Bridport town too. Into various shops to buy sunglasses, toys, wine and nibbles.....

...oh, and Vintage. Of course. The precious Girls Own Store, as delightful and charming as ever.

Just a few weeny purchases into my bag look, crikey, how restrained. A Greengate tin (reduced in price due to a small dent), a dinky green and white striped jug and a little spotty Greengate dish. Pretty darn happy with those.

Ahhhh yes, more me-time, and I stroll in Magazine-Wonderland. I visit this beeeaauuuutiful home inside the pages of Homes and Antiques (May issue), and am so happy to be there. Incidentally this issue also has a fabulous article about artist Cressida Bell. Truly beautiful and inspiring.

 

Hmmm did I mention how I Love to crochet whilst on holiday?

Lazy playing by the river :: well lazy for the Big People but very industrious for the Little People. Climbing and splashing and digging and stone throwing, what fun.

A favourite bridge fondly remembered from my own childhood. Games of Poohsticks, and more layers of childhood memories are built.

 

We enjoy Essential Refreshment Stops every day in various pubs, cafes and tearooms around the environs of Bridport. Sat outside in the sun, cappuccino and home made cake to hand, feeling so utterly holidayish. Above picture is a local 17th century mill with a delightfully old fashioned tearoom within. Imagine chickens clucking around under the tables and the sound of the water wheel turning and splashing as you eat and drink.
 

And then there is a visit to my favourite cafe of all :: the Hive Beach cafe at Burton Bradstock. If you ever, ever visit this part of Dorset, you must promise me you'll go here. It's divine. In variable weather there is a very welcome tent-like addition to the back of the cafe look. So you can shelter from the elements while you sip and munch, yet still see the sea and feel outdoorsy. The carrot cake here is beyond words.

After carrot cake and cappucinno comes a spot of lazy close-up contemplation of the Chesil beach....

 

...some serious Horizon-gazing....

....and full-on appreciation of Seagulls-against-bluest-of-blue-sky.

Cor...you know what? It can be hard work being on holiday. All that lazing and gazing, sipping and munching, hooking and reading, strolling and playing. My my, and that was just on the Lazy Days!

More of the salty blue wet stuff tomorrow......

xxxxxx

Farewell

Hoping you're all enjoying a fabulous Easter weekend?
All is hunkydory here.
We are in full-on Holiday Mode and it feels wonderful.

Busy getting things together today, making preparations.....activities and treats are being gathered for the Little People, and supplies to make an Easter Egg hunt happen tomorrow....

....my own weekend essentials are also being gathered together...making a dash over to my fabulous Wool Shop later this morning to purchase yarn colours that I've run short of.

After lunch we will be packing the car up and preparing to drive the 300 miles south to the Dorset Coast. We're spending the next week with my folks in Bridport, and I am sooooooooo excited! Its been eight months since we were last there and recently I've been feeling quite homesick for the place, missing it a great deal.

I am looking forward to sea breezes, jaunty harbours, green clifftops, bustling towns, quiet lanes, picnics, pottering, browsing, meandering, lazing, chatting, hooking, reading, laughing, walking. With my family.
I shall miss my Attic while I'm away and I shall miss chatting to you too.
While I'm gone, if you'd like to re-read a little of my previous Dorset holidays, by all means feel free to potter in the Attic24 archives ::

April 7th 2008 :: Down to the Sea

April 9th 2008 :: Family Connections

April 10th 2008 :: Vintage and Thrift Style

July 28th 2008 :: Dorset Jollies :: Day 1

July 29th 2008 :: Dorset Jollies :: Day 2

July 30th 2008 :: Dorset Jollies :: Day 3

July 31st 2008 :: Dorset Jollies :: Day 4

And you can bet that whilst I'm away I'll be observing and absorbing all the delights of being on holiday by the sea, and shall come back bursting at the seams with tales to tell and things to share.
Have a fabulous week and I'll see you all when I get back
xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lakeland Weekend

Hello, good morning, I know, I know, I am late and I do apologise, so sorry to keep you waiting. I was meant to be here yesterday, but yesterday turned out to be a busy, muddly, Snowy-white day and time for blogging was nowhere to be found.

So only a day late, I have made a cup of frothy chocolatey coffee, baked some lemon and apricot cookies (a variation on the orange and raisin recipe here), and we can sit on the sofa in the morning sunshine and chat a while.

Here in North Yorkshire we have had quite a bit of snow the past two days, with more set to follow. It has been hugely exciting :: flinging snowballs onto the frozen canal has been the most fun ever ever as far as the Little people are concerned. I've been taking photos of the snowy goings-on around here, and I'll share those with you another day :: today I really want to share my Lakeland weekend with you, as promised on Monday.

So :: on with Weekendy stuff, make yourself comfy now.

On Saturday morning when we set out to drive north to the Lake District, there was not a lot to be seen. A thick, freezing fog had descended like a cold blanket wrapping itself around every single thing. But luckily we are not a family who minds the weather, we were very excited for our weekend away, regardless of the fact that we could not see very much.

Some of you may remember that we had our first ever Youth Hosteling experience in the summer, you can read about it here. We really enjoyed ourselves that weekend and had been meaning to do it again, but it had taken us until now to get round to it. We chose to go and stay in the Lake District again, at a fabulous looking youth hostel a few miles out of Windermere.

This is Lake Windermere, down at the lakeside at Bowness. We had a camping holiday near here one summer, when the Little People were very much Littler. I have fond memories of Little Lady, a  little over a year old, taking very wobbly but determined steps along the side of this lake, in hot persuit of ducks and swans. It had been July then, and extremely busy and crowded and I cannot remember liking the area very much. In fact, I think I declared that I would never ever go back there. Ever. But ho-hum, I changed my mind and on a November weekend, in sub-zero temperatures, it was very much nicer. Quieter. Quite deserted in places, which is hugely unusual for this part of the Lake District.

As you can see, the predominant colour on Saturday was grey. Various shades and tones of misty, freezing, foggy cold grey. It had a certain beauty, a certain stillness that I found appealing.

The dense fog prevented us from taking a boat trip ON the lake, but there were other delights to be found in Bowness. Some beautiful shops all decked out for Christmas, a little quartet of street musicians playing Christmas carols, a fabulous deli where we got freshly made sandwiches and big chunks of home meade flapjack for our lunch.

And there was The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction.

Now my two Offspring adore the Tales of Beatrix Potter, just as I did as a child. Little Man (age 6) is really beginning to enjoy reading to himself, and his BP books are often to be found under his pillow after he has sneaked them into bed for some pre-sleep reading.

It's hard to describe this tourist attraction. It's not exactly a museum, but more a celebration of the characters that Beatrix Potter created. 

The blurb on the website had told us that the attraction "includes all 23 Tales by Beatrix Potter, brought to life in a magical indoor recreation of the Lakeland countryside, complete with sights, sounds and even smells. So you can meet Peter Rabbit in Mr. McGregor’s garden, discover Jemima Puddle-duck in the woodland glade and visit Mrs. Tiggy-winkle in her kitchen."

And that is exactly right. The models (which were much larger than I expected, as large as the Little People) were beautifully made, and the scenery and backgrounds magical.

It was a delight to see the all our favourite characters acting out scenes from the story books, my favourite being Mrs Tiggywinkle busy doing the laundry in her little kitchen. Awww, she was so cute!

By the time we did a Hop Skip and Jump out of there, it was beginning to get dark. So back to the car to drive out of Bowness, two miles up and up into the thick foggy hills above the lake where the Youth Hostel was situated.

We love staying in these Hostels. Well I know this was only our second experience, but we are honestly so thrilled by these places. There is so much warmth and character in the old buildings, such a lot of fun to be had in exploring the rooms and grounds, in finding our family room all warm and clean and ready for us. And there are Bunkbeds. Crikey, I cannot begin to explain the excitement of the Little People, faced with the prospect of climbing a ladder to get into bed. It is huge. Enormous.

The LP allow us to do a quick tour of the hostel :: we discover the wonderful cosy sitting room with its huge wood burning stove, the little kitchen where we are free to make ourselves a cup of tea, the dining room with it's picture windows over looking the terrace and the valley (which we can't actually see of course because it is dark and the fog is sooooo thick by now). Then they demand to go back to the bedroom to play on the beds. What fun!

Later on, after a delicious meal of freshly prepared local and organic produce, we went to the sitting room which by then was beautifully cosy and warm with the wood burner lit. J and I sat and read while the Little People made friends and played with other children staying in the hostel.  It's very sociable, friendly and we enjoyed our evening a lot.

Breakfast the next morning was at 7:45am, and we were in for a treat. The view that was not to be seen the night before was slowly revealed as the light crept in, and it was absolutely breathtaking. It was incredibly cold, well below freezing,  and a thick white sparkly frost had settled on the landscape. We could still see the fog laying low over the lake in the valley, but up above it was becoming a gloriously, bright, sunny winters morning.

While eating breakfast right next to the big windows, we were able to watch the sun rise and light up the distant Lakeland fells...

...it was just incredible.

Beautiful.

A little later in the morning we drove to Coniston Water.

It was also very beautiful and peaceful here, but oh so cold! We had a short walk, but the fog and mist soon came rolling in and we were suddenly unable to see very much again.

 

The Little People loved this wintry weather, loved the sparkle and drama of ice crystals and frost on grass and leaves. But there was no denying it was absolutely freeeeeezing. And a certain amount of tired, persistent whingeing was beginning to take place. So after a short family conference we decided to abandon any idea of walking in the countryside and head back toward home, stopping en route at the delightful village of Kirkby Lonsdale. Beautiful shops, lovely cafes, pretty streets. Old fashioned toyshops to explore and giant strawberry milkshakes to drink. Or in my case, this shop to browse, followed by cappuccino and carrot cake. That's better, smiles are back again, hands are warmed.

A delicious end to a fabulous weekend.

It's been great fun sharing it with you, thanks so much for stopping by. Right, I'm off the PC now and across to my sewing machine. I'm stitching a banner for my soon-to-be opened Etsy Shop. Excited? Moi???? Oh, you cannot begin to imagine!

xxxxxxx