Autumnal Clumber Park Adventures.

So I'm back! After a long, old hiatus I have decided to start blogging again, a rest is as good as a change after all. Life has been busy and has bought me many wonderful experiences and challenges, it just meant that some aspects of my life had to be put on hold for a while. It has been an amazing summer and I will be updating you on some of the adventures I have had over the next few weeks. 

For most of the morning I lay in bed reading, listening to the rain patter on the window, so I was really happy when the weather broke and we could hit the road. Doris, Ed and I headed over to Clumber Park for a walk and a picnic, it was lovely being out in the fresh, autumnal air. We visited the walled garden first and were amazed to see the renovation work that had been carried out on the glasshouse. It looks absolutely beautiful, all clean, pristine and white. I'm excited to see what the gardeners have planned for it next year. 

After we finished looking around the walled garden and glasshouse we headed back to Doris to rustle up a spot of lunch, then we went for a walk around the lake. I love exploring woodland this time of year, everything is awash with ochre and amber hues. The light had started to gloam by the time we got back to Doris and Ed and I were ready to say goodbye to Clumber and head back home. 

Hope you have had a beautiful Autumn weekend <3

Much Love,

Kirst xox

Adventures at Powys Castle.

As Ed and I are visiting my folks for the weekend. The sunshine was too good too miss yesterday and so we decided we were well overdue an adventure. All of us trekked out over the Welsh border to Powys Castle, I have wanted to go here for a while so I was super excited to be flexing my National Trust membership for the first time this year. We decided to peruse around the gardens and leave looking around the castle for another time. The gardens are absolutely amazing, there are the wild, unkempt parts flanked with luscious meadows heaving with buttercups which then leads onto the manicured, baroque gardens and terraces. 

As we were heading towards the car park I couldn't resist looking at the plants for sale, and to my surprise there was a peacock in amongst the herbs. He seemed to be rather enjoying all the attention in front of the camera. It is amazing how large and stunning these birds are, and a little scary when they start yelping away. 

I had such an awesome day out in the sunshine, I hope you have had a wonderful summery weekend <3

Much Love
Kirst x 

Farewell 2013, Thanks for all the Memories.

I thought I would shake together a montage of what 2013 has blessed me with. So many gorgeous memories. Sometimes at the end of the year I sit down and wonder what I have done and achieved, but blogging really helps me piece together all the 365 days. Some of my favourite adventures included: buying Doris & Libertea Belle, free arty gin, bike riding, getting the pigs, picnics, quaffing beer, alotmenting and visiting many National Trust properties. 

Happy New Years Eve all you lovely readers. Thanks for perusing over my blog this past year. I hope you all have a wonderful night full of fun, memories and sparks of excitement for 2014. Here is to many more adventures, journeys and love. 

Much Love and see you in 2014 <3

Kirst xXx 

Christmas at Calke Abbey.

Ed and I had a little Christmas adventure to Calke Abbey this afternoon. We went to go and have a peruse around the craft fair originally but nothing really tickled our fancy there. But fortunately parts of the house were decorated all ready for Christmas so we couldn't resist going to have a look around to warm up the festive cockles. 

The Christmas tree was absolutely beautiful, it was decorated with ornaments that have been handed down the Harpur-Crewe family for many generations. There were some vintage ornaments from the 40s to die for! And the fairy on top of the tree was over 100 years old, she wasn't looking too bad for her age either.

Calke Abbey is probably my favourite National Trust property (that I have been to so far), and one of the reasons for this is the sheer amount of taxidermy that is crammed into this property. There is so many unusual, exotic creatures, bones, shells, oddities. I could easily spend all day here just looking in awe at the eccentric collection. 

All the Christmas decorations made Calke really atmospheric today, it was almost eerie in places. You could imagine all the Christmas' that this property would have seen and the plethora of emotions that would have been housed within these walls. It was really nice to go to a place that nudged you to think about Christmas in a way that wasn't all about present buying and hectic panic.   

If you get a little spare time over the coming Christmas weekends I would highly recommend going to Calke Abbey for a festive experience that with warm up the heart of the most ardent bah humbug.

Hope you have had lots of festive fun this weekend <3

Much Love.

Kirst xXx

The Abandoned Road...

The weather was quite sunny yesterday so Ed and I decided to trek out to the Peak District and have an adventure. Castleton is one of our favourite places, the drive up there is pretty awesome, there are some wonderful pubs to have a pint in and there is the abandoned road! Ed and I accidentally found this road when we bought one of the walking maps, a few years ago, from the tourist information centre in Castleton. I was pretty amazed at how much the road has slipped down the Mam Tor, it really reminds you of how powerful nature is at stripping the human additions away. 

The original road was built around 1819, but due to the natural formation of the rock beneath it meant that it was vulnerable to landslides in wet weather. Because of this major road works were required in 1912, 1933, 1946, 1952, 1966 & 1974. In 1979 the road was abandoned and the traffic was rerouted. When it is quiet here it feels like the apocalypse has hit, I imagine it is even more eerie here at night.   

Ed and I had a really good time, we managed to get to the top of the road eventually (we stopped a lot to take pictures). Then we realised we had to start making tracks back down into the village because we had a tabled booked for dinner at one of the local pubs.  Hope you have had a fabulous Autumnal weekend <3 Much LoveKirst x   

Harvest Day at Attingham Park.

As it is my birthday weekend I got to pick the Saturday adventure (no real change there hehe), so I decided to go to the Harvest Day at Attingham Park with Ed and my parents. The weather was warm and sunny, which made a change because usually my birthday weekend is shrouded in rain, so it made it really special to be able to get out, get some fresh air and a walk around the beautiful park. 

The walled gardens at Attingham Park are absolutely beautiful this time of year. I could spend hours there meandering around with my jealousy slowly building at how large their pumpkins and squashes are, how lavish the heads of cabbage and how intoxicating the huge herb beds. The work the National Trust must put into this immaculate garden is absolutely amazing and I dare anyone not to feel their green fingers becoming inspired leaving this place. 

(... and yes I know Ed and I accidentally 'co-ordinated' our trousers, that's what marriage does to you.)  

I love snatching the last few summery weekends of the year, they always feel special because you can remember them over the chilly winter months. 

Hope you are having a lovely weekend full of adventures. I am going to have a pj day and wait for Ed to get home so I can open my presents!

Much Love 

xkx

Snowy Saturday at Belton House.

It has been snowing all day and most of last night, Ed and I decided not to risk taking Doris for her MOT retest because the roads weren't great and we didn't want loads of salty road crud getting underneath her, as she needs some rust treatment down below anyway. So we rescheduled her in for next week. 

So after we had gluten free crumpets and scrambled egg for breakfast we decided to venture out and have a snow adventure. I whipped out our National Trust memberships and we went to Belton House. It is possible that this is the most beautiful National Trust place that Ed and I have visited so far and the snow made it even more sparkly.  

What a perfect day we had, full of adventure and we even had a hot soup picnic in the car before we set out home. I can't wait to visit this place in the summer when the gardens are all beautiful and groomed. Now we are tucked up under a rug on the sofa watching Eat Pray Love and I am trying to contain my wanderlust.

Hope you are having a great weekend <3

xkx