Category: Travel

Lanzarote Holidays …

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It’s on days like today when [ I’m a little hungover] it’s cold and dark outside, I’ve got my candles lit and I’m snacking on mince pies. When I have a Christmas movie playing on repeat and I’m making present lists that my mind starts drifting towards holidays.

Planning and reminiscing.

Reminiscing and planning…

Thoughts of visiting and exploring far off places with the sun beating down on my back , sand between my toes and a cocktail to hand spring to mind. They excite and lift my spirits.

One place basking in glorious sunshine all year round and a place I’ve visited on a couple of occasions in the past is the wonderful island of Lanzarote.

Making up part of the Canary Islands, it is often said to resemble the surface of the moon [ not that I’ve even been to the moon! ] thanks to the fact it was once an active volcanic island. It is extremely scenic in places with beautiful views in each and every direction; a photographers dream.

Now I have to hold my hands up and admit that although it is breathtaking ; on my very first visit I was slightly unimpressed by the journey from the airport to our hotel . All I can say is please don’t be disheartened the resorts are beautiful !

Lanzarote holds such fond memories. I’ve just been looking through my photos and stumbled across some proper corkers.

Take this for one.

Meet Kevin !! Boy did we laugh …he goes on a lot of girls holidays with us. [ though it’s not always the same Kevin, we tend to puncture him a lot!]

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Shall We Spa . . . Cha Cha Cha 

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It’s me again … twice in one week bloody hell wonders will never seize !

Today I’m going to be introducing you to a fabulous , intimate little day spa just outside Penistone. [Hollin Lane, Millhouse Green, Sheffield S36 9NH] It’s only 20 minutes from my house.

Oh oh I have a feeling this could be dangerous.

Smallshaw Cottages & Spa is A- mazing and if you don’t already know about it then you really should.

There are 4 beautiful cottages available to rent, complete with landscaped gardens and tennis courts . Today however I am concentrating and going to take you on a tour of the Spa.

Before I go any further I just need to clarify something with you – I don’t love everything.

You probably think I do and the reason for this would be because I only accept and feature on the blog things / places / experiences that interest me; that I would do or buy myself.

I turn down a lot of opportunities [ mobile phone covers , bingo nights, clothing ] or product reviews because they simply aren’t my bag.

If you make it this far … you are loved. I have enjoyed you.

I certainly enjoyed this.

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 A Sheffield Girls Guide to Cornwall . . . Part 1

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“The deeper blue ocean, the paler blue sky. The call of the seagulls all soaring on high.

Weherever I travel , wherever I roam, one day I will live here, and call Cornwall home”

If you’ve been following my ‘stories‘ on Instagram you’ll have no doubt noted that I’ve been staying down in Cornwall for the past week with my dad, boyfriend and our dog Mollie. I’ve become a ‘Cornwall bore’ although I can assure you there is nothing boring about Cornwall at all.

We choose Cornwall for numerous reasons.

My dad’s brother lives in Coombe [ near St Austell] and due to sickness couldn’t get up to Sheffield for mums funeral. Dad was keen to see him …as you can imagine.

It was a special place for mum and dad. They’ve spent a few holidays there in the past, the last one being in October last year. Not even a year ago – life … it’s so unpredictable, so preciousness .

So dad mentioned that he wanted to go back, I think in a ‘weird’ way it brings him comfort. It holds precious memories.

Who were we to say no?

We stayed in the beautiful area of Carbis Bay just outside St Ives which is around a 6 hour drive [ traffic willing ] from Sheffield .Yes you could get to Spain quicker!

I never intended to blog about my time spent in Cornwall … but after being there a few days I’d basically fallen in love.

The aqua blue seas drew me in, the tropical plants that surrounded the house made me feel like I was abroad. I just grew to ignore the biting wind . It had a magical feel to it. The view I woke up to every morning was delicious. Beautiful sunrises with multi-coloured skies. I honestly sat in bed every morning and pinched myself.

Basically I decided it was too good not to share with you all.

View from the terrace

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Discover Sheffield … #StayDifferent

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“We live in Sheffield, we write about things we see here. What else is there to write about“ – Alex Turner, Arctic Monkeys

It may seem strange to anybody looking in that I got invited to spend the night at St Paul’s, Mecure Hotel and Spa in Sheffield.

Why you may ask ?…

Well basically because I live in the steel city. Apart from a 2 year stint in Lincoln it’s always been home.

I did question why I’d been invited myself but as I often get asked where to stay in Sheffield AND as I am a massive advocate of the beautiful city I thought it was an ideal opportunity.

What better way to recommend a hotel than to have stayed there yourself .

What better way to promote a city than to see it through ‘first timers’ eyes…

So I said yes … if it was still ok with them then I’d love to take up their generous offer.

So that’s what I did last Friday night along with a group of bloggers from around the country. Continue reading →

A Sheffield Girls Guide to Whitby … #draculacountry

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You all know of my love affair with the North Yorkshire coastal town of Whitby. I mean if you don’t where have you been? … I’ve mentioned it enough over the years.

My obsession with all things vampire and especially Dracula only adds to the mystique. In the Bram Stoker novel Count Dracula’s ship crashes into the rocks at Whitby and that my dear friends is how Dracula came to be in Old Blighty.

On a cold, misty night as you totter along the cobbled streets, the Old Abbey looking down on you … I swear there’s the distinct smell of vampire in the air.

Today I thought I would do a photo diary of the few days we spent in Whitby last week, mainly because I took loads of photographs and it would be rude not to share them.

As I mentioned on a previous post the BF and I decided to take my dad away.

It’s been an awful few weeks and I think we all needed a change of scene, especially dad, whose finding it hard. Yes it would be extremely weird without mum but it’s something we all need to adjust ourselves too. Dad has spent some great times there with mum and was keen to return.

Firstly we stayed in the beautiful ‘Coachmans Cottage‘ which is situated just off Church Street. It was ideally located for all the major attractions and having only recently been refurbished it was like a show house.

It allows you to take your beloved dogs [ up-to 2 in fact], and was spread out over 3 floors. Kitchen , living area, bathroom and 2 bedrooms.

Perfect. Continue reading →

Plan . Dream . Discover

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It’s cold , damp and dark outside . We’ve been told to expect Thundersnow. I’m not exactly sure what that is but it sounds fun and very dramatic!

I’m sat drinking copious amounts of coffee while dreaming of far off shores. Imaging the sun beating down on my back (of course I’d be wearing spf 50) of lounging around pools and exploring new playgrounds.

I’ve been really lucky that within my 46 years I have visited some beautiful places. Its well documented that at 17 years old I spent 6 glorious weeks island hopping around Greece with my best friend. If you don’t know… where have you been?!

Just Karen and I with a back pack each . Not a hair dryer in sight. We sailed, worked, partied, slept rough and even met Judith Chalmers who was filming ‘Wish you were here’ It was maybe the most fun 6 weeks of my life.

Greece aside I thought I’d share with you my 3 favourite places that  I have had the pleasure to visit to date followed by my  dream destinations. We should all have a dream, something to aspire too …and what better way to while away a moody grim January afternoon ?

Lets escape if only in my memories for a little while… Continue reading →

Massages and relaxation at Moddershall Oak Spa …

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I don’t think it could honestly have come at a better time.

Liz’s fibromyalgia had been particularly bad. Although  her symptoms mean that her body hurts constantly apparently it had been a lot worse than usual. Last week was a killer by all accounts.

And me ….

I recon I was only a couple of days off being whisked away to the funny farm… courtesy of the ‘turps’ mishap on my face only last week and the never-ending house sagar, which is a case of 2 steps forward, 3 steps back

The only 2 things that saved my sanity were:

1.) The installation of my new cooker. Its been a while . 8 months if we are counting. Grilled asparagus you were worth waiting for .

2.) A spa day at Moddershall Oaks !

We were invited to spend a day at the spa, which included drinks on arrival, full use of the spa, including a limited edition massage of our choice and a 2-course lunch.

Having visited once before we were both extremely excited about the prospect of spending some time there. It really is beautiful.

We arrived just after 9.00am which had meant a rather early Sunday morning start for us both. It’s approximately a 2 hour drive from Sheffield to Staffordshire. Poor Liz had to drive even further from Wakefield!

It was well worth it.

Dairy Lea dippers and ‘chit chat’ saw us through.

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On arrival along with a fresh glass of orange juice we were handed our schedule which detailed massage and lunch times  and a menu so we could pre-order lunch. Continue reading →

The end … Marbella Diaries 

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So as with most good things they come and go far too quickly for my liking.

I had been looking forward to my weekend in Marbella with the ladies for what seemed like forever and it was over in a flash … just like that !

So how did we spend our last day?

Having not really left the villa during the day to explore , we decided today was the day we would venture out to Orange Square in Marbella’s Old Town.

I had heard reports it was amazing and very beautiful.

Having only had a few hours sleep, hung over but feeling surprisingly chirpy , 6 of the 10 booked taxis for 11.00am.

We had strict instructions from Leigh ( who decided to have a lazy day around the pool) that we had to be back at 5.00pm.

We had no idea why but promised we would be.

Old Town Marbella was approximately a 20 minute taxi drive from the villa and cost €24 (about £20.00) which between a few of you doesn’t break the bank.

By golly was it worth it  … when we eventually found her.

Head upwards towards the mountains , not towards the sea like we did initially !

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