 |
| Taken on day he was the happiest I've seen him since he was born |
Sunday, 22 March 2015
Saturday, 21 March 2015
The Weir, Hereford
I'm back with another National Trust adventure! As you may recall from previous posts, we bought full memberships back last summer when we were on our babymoon in Cornwall, and in the past few months we've really tried to make the most of our membership and go somewhere regularly, although this past couple of months life and the weather has really got in the way.
A couple weeks ago we went to visit a friends new baby, and about an hour from them in Hereford is a place called The Weir, so we thought we'd go and take a peek. The Weir is probably one of the smaller National Trust places we've been to, but also one of the ones we've enjoyed the most.
When we got there, we tried to take a family selfie in the sun, but it only made Squidge and Chris squint, and me smile/squint - either way, I thought it made for a funny pic so I added that here for good measure :)
It's pretty cheap to get in to if you're not a member, £6.75 for adults and £3.30 for children, however there isn't a great deal to do there so if you're on a budget, you might prefer to spend a little more money and go somewhere like Tredegar House instead as there's more to look at and do (£8 adults, £4 children). That being said, with a 5 month old we had a great time.
The suggested path is in a bit of a narrow V, starting on the higher part of it, and going a little uphill. The views (which is really why you'd come here) are fantastic, both looking down at the lower path you'll walk back along, and at the hills in the distance over the river. The above pic was taken just at the beginning of the path.
Here's some of the views you'll be greeted with along the higher path - there were lots of daffodils and snow drops cropping up and the paths were lined with trees. I'd really like to come back here in the summer when the trees have leaves on and there's a new assortment of flowers that will have grown.
If you wanted a shorter walk, there was this path down to the lower path - or if you simply wanted to explore without having to do the whole walk (although it isn't that long).
Not too far down the path there was this lovely little hut, I couldn't get a great picture of the outside of it, but this is the inside - it had a really funky handmade bench and pattern on the floor - everything looked reclaimed and used from fallen wood etc, but really creatively made.
We were heading straight to the tea tent as we hadn't had lunch - we picked up some cakey treats from the admissions hut to have when we got there, and on the top path was this house. Unfortunately when the whole place sold (house and land) the National Trust didn't buy the house either, which is a shame as it would have been fab to have a look around it.
A view through a break in the hedges just beyond the house - spectacular!
This was the recently added tea tent. There was 3/4 picnic tables, each with some fresh flowers on (lovely touch), and a table by an outdoor tap with a kettle, fridge and some tea bags. That brick wall on the left was the back of the loo's - don't worry you couldn't hear anything or smell anything! It's worth mentioning that the loo's were made up of 1 room which accommodated men, women, disabled people, and had a baby changing table on it, which we used.
There's a trust box there to pay and you serve yourself, I was very disappointed to see though, that we were the only people who actually paid for our tea - there were 2-3 other older couples there, and a young couple, all who drank their tea and left without contributing.
After the tea tend we walked to the pinnicle of the path (the peak in the V) and started our walk back. On the walk back there was this gorgeous tree which had spread out in a really unusual way, so of course I had to stop and take a picture!
My second favourite photo of the day, the hubby with Squidge on the walk back along the river.
At the end of the path there was this roman octagonal cistern (water shrine) - me, I though it was an old fire pit, but just goes to show what I know! Apparently it was first discovered in 1891 - this wasn't it's original place, it was dug up, and after they realised how significant this find was, they placed it back, but not correctly.
Other than places with houses to explore, this was probably one of our favourite National Trust places we've been to. It helped that it was a lovely fresh Spring day and that the staff there were so lovely. If you have kids that need to be kept entertained this may not be the best place to bring them to as there's not much to do - but for a short-ish walk and a bit of hill it's great - if we didn't have our memberships though, I'd have said this was a little expensive for what it is and admission should really be cheaper.
Thursday, 19 March 2015
My first Mother's Day as a mummy
This time last year when Mother's Day hit, I was about 3 months pregnant, and what I didn't expect was to have a card from the hubby as a 'mum to be' - it was so lovely it made me cry, such a thoughtful gift. Mother's day has been hard for me the past 10 years, since my mum died, so this really meant something to me. This year was no different, just much more awesome :)
Last year's card
The day started off like usual, with Squidge cooing then crying in his cot - but this time Chris got up to dress him and feed him, while I stayed in bed!!! Ok so I didn't get any more sleep as I was 'awake' by then but I did get to get out of bed when I was ready. As I was in the process of getting up, Chris brought Squidge up to see me, dressed in a waistcoat, shirt and bow-tie (my favourite outfit of his), greeting me with a gorgeous rose-print bad full of gifts.
Squidge's first marks
I opened the cards first, this was the first time I cried that day (and not the last!). He'd bought me a card from him (Chris), basically thanking me for being a great mum... that choked me up - but when I opened the card from Squidge, that's when the tears flowed - Chris had given him a pen and got him to create his first 'pen to paper' marks on the card, that was more precious to me than anything he could have bought.
In the bag was a lovely cherry yankee candle (he knows how much I love a good scented candle), a box of lindt (the red ones - yummy!) and a 'best mummy' mug with a teddy bear in it - awwww so cute! I collect mugs so this was a very happy present to receive.
Lovely presents
After that I jumped in the shower then came downstairs. Chris popped to Starbucks for us and came back with their new maple syrup macchiatto's (the caramal macchiatto is my fav) but it wasn't really sweet enough for me, back to favourite latte's I go! He also brought back a cinnamon bun for me, yum!
After that we headed to his mum's house to wish her a happy mother's day and have a cuppa. Squidge was not on good form that day, he was really unhappy and crying a lot - just getting over a cold and not napping. So we went for a bit of a drive so that he could get some sleep. We popped to Waterloo Tea in Roath to pick up some cake (takeaway), but much like last time, the cake was very dry (and expensive!). Needless to say, we won't be going back there.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing at home, and trying to keep Squidge happy. Once he was in bed we ordered a chinese. I'm a vegetarian but for a long time I've been thinking about eating shellfish again, not normal fish, just shellfish, in fact, just prawn and crab. After having a prawn curry recently and hating it (VERY fishy curry and the prawns were really overcooked) I thought I'd give it one last try, but king prawns. I opted for king prawns in satay and veg and it was so yummy! I know what a veggie is called who eats fish, but what about one who only eats shellfish?
The two most important people in my life
Anyway, I had an amazing day, Chris did pretty much everything and without any grumbles (much appreciated!) especially as Squidge was so grouchy and unhappy. It was such a lovely day, it felt like my birthday, I loved every moment and felt really special :) Thank you Chris <3