Summer Holiday Adventures - Castle Eden Dene

On the first Monday of our holiday we took a lovely walk through the beautiful woods at Castle Eden Dene Nature Reserve in County Durham. It was a lovely day, sunny but not too hot. The woods were full of wildflowers and butterflies and we even found a few late raspberries, which the Podlings soon polished off! We walked two and a quarter miles in total, which was possibly a little far for Alex who was flagging a bit by the end and needed a few carries to keep him going. He soon perked up when we got back to the car park, where we had tea, orange juice, cakes and biscuits to perk everyone up. We never travel without a Thermos!

Flagging a bit and feeling the need for a sit down!

A quick game of 'The Floor is Lava' in the car park, initiated by Alex!

The cup that cheers!

Summer Holiday Adventures - Fountains Abbey

We have just returned from a delightful two week holiday in the North East of England and I now have the pleasure of re-living our time away as I go through my photographs (which is frankly far more appealing than the truly terrifying pile of laundry demanding my attention!).

We started our holiday with a visit to beautiful Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire. The largest and best-preserved Cistercian monastery in England, we came here last year and loved it so much we wanted to visit again. The sun shone for us and we spent a lovely Sunday afternoon here. 

Mark with his lovely parents, the Podlings' much-loved Nanna and Grandad

A rare photo of the two of us (taken by Lily)