Weekend away

 We normally try to organise a weekend away in the UK around the time of our wedding anniversary and we were a few weeks late this year due to constant indecisions about where we should go! It's all too easy to think you need to visit somewhere quite a distance away to explore the country but this year we decided (eventually) to go somewhere that was only an hour and a half from home but somewhere we had never been to.

Our destination was Stamford, a place we had driven past many times on our way to drop off, visit, or pick up our children from university in Sheffield 20 years ago.  Both decided on Sheffield and as one completed their studies, the other one started so we ended up travelling that road over the span of seven years!

We decided to start our weekend with a visit to Rutland Water.  It was a perfect place for a picnic and I was surprised by how large it is and how many watersports were going on.  The chapel in the second photo was being used for a wedding as we walked past; what a lovely location, although the wind was picking up as the wedding party left the chapel - thankfully no one was wearing a hat and the bride had decided against a veil!

We were staying in a hotel in the grounds of Burghley House.

We spent all day wandering around the house and gardens.  It was built in the late 1500s and there is so much history involved in the house, it was fascinating.  The weather was glorious and we spent the afternoon walking in the grounds.  The Burghley Horse Trials are pretty famous in this area and had taken place a couple of weeks ago.

After we had checked out of the hotel on Monday we decided to visit Ely Cathedral.  It wasn't exactly en route, but it was just an hour away and somewhere that we had often said we would visit.

It is a stunning cathedral and well worth a visit.  We have definitely had our quota of history this weekend!  It just goes to show that you don't have to travel hundreds of miles to find lovely places to spend a few days.

Celebrating in August

 I don’t know what makes me feel older, the fact that I have a 40 year old daughter or that I have a ten year old grandson! So we have had two big celebrations within the space of five days. My daughter’s friends arranged a couple of surprises for her, one local and the other a meal out in Mayfair. We had a more low key meal out at a local pub, we couldn’t go anywhere too classy as we had a little puppy with us!

Fortunately that little puppy wasn’t able to go to our grandson’s birthday party so we stayed home with him and escaped the noise and mayhem of 14 ten year olds running riot at a football party. My daughter’s friend makes fantastic balloon displays which make a great centrepiece for a party.

Life will be returning to ‘normal’ this week as schools return and routines reset. Our youngest grandchild starts school this week and it will be the first time in nine years that I haven’t had one day a week looking after someone. The way they are spaced out it meant that as one started school, the next one needed ‘nanny daycare’. We are trying to take advantage of this freedom by organising a few days away but can’t make up our minds where to go!

My Zumba has resumed and next week Pilates starts again, I have missed having structures to my weeks! My Pilates teacher has just sent details of the Christmas party which seems crazy but the time will soon go and if you don’t organise something early, all the best venues are fully booked.

Our heatwave ended quite suddenly which was a relief but we’ve definitely entered autumn now. Time to ditch the open toed sandals and now having to remember to keep a cardigan/jacket to hand when I go out just in case! I am quite fed up with the clothes I’d been wearing during this very hot spell and will no doubt look through my wardrobe and realise that I don’t have anything suitable for the transition from very hot to cooler 😉

So it is a warm welcome to September, it always feels like the start of a new year. I guess the years of having children at school and then working in a school myself have engraved September into a time to reset routines.  Now to have a look and see what warm weather clothes I still want to wear!