Wedding Anniversary Trip

For our wedding anniversary, Stu and I are aiming to go away or have some sort of an adventure every year. This year it wasn't looking great. Stu got promoted (yay!) but it meant he had to switch from weekly to monthly pay, leaving us with just my wages for a whole month (boo!) in the run up to it, which rapidly depleted our savings. With our wedding anniversary only 2 weeks away, it looked like we were about to fail our aim on our second wedding anniversary. Out of nowhere, suddenly my amazing parents suggested we get a cottage and have a week long holiday somewhere in the countryside with them, and my grandparents. It meant the dog could come along with us, and we'd get to spend time with my parents who live a few hours away from us, yay!

Next thing I knew we had a cottage booked in Ellastone and we were on our way! It was a lovely converted barn in the middle of nowhere, with 4 bedrooms, a mini pool table, access to a sauna and gym, and stunning views over the hills. It was set onto a farm with a field of sheep that the owners kept as pets. So cute!

Ashen thoroughly enjoyed himself. He's 10 now, and arthritic, so for him, lounging in the sun with belly rubs from all his favourite people was bliss. Look at that happy face! We did a couple of little trips; on our actual wedding anniversary we headed into Bakewell which turned out to be an error. Monday is market day, and the market is in the only car park, which meant we managed to find a parking spot that gave us half an hour to run and get some Bakewell tarts, fancy cheese and fudge, before we had to head off again. It was a shame but there wasn't actually a whole lot to do so back to the sunshine and gin it was.

This was Ashen eagerly awaiting our return from Bakewell. Look at that snoot. What a cutie.

We had a real shock one night, all of a sudden there was a lot of activity in the fields below us, people running back and for and the sheep being rounded up. One sheep was laid on the floor, not moving. Seemingly from nowhere, there is suddenly a lamb with another sheep in the field. It becomes clear that the sheep that isn't moving is in labour and is in a bad way. We all became so emotionally invested in this sheep. Next thing we knew there was a lamb being swung by it's ankles that the sheep had birthed. It wasn't breathing either. We are watching in total horror as it seems that both this poor sheep and it's newborn lamb haven't made it. The lady who owns the farm is visibly crying and my heart just breaks for her. These sheep are their pets, and this should be a beautiful moment for them. We solemnly return to our drinks, gutted for them.

We sit quietly for a little while, I keep glancing at this poor family, wishing there was something we could do. They turn away from the sheep and tend to the other newborn lamb that was happily running around, leaving just one man, the farmer's son from across the road, with the lamb and it's mother. And all of a sudden, the lamb moves. I'm the only one who sees it. Everyone is convinced that it didn't and that I just reeeeeally wanted it to. I'm convinced. I grab my Dad's SLR camera so I can zoom in on the field below. I wait, and I wait. And that lamb moves again. And then the mother does too. The farmer's son has done it. He managed to save not only the newborn lamb, but it's 12 year old mother too (12 is super old for a sheep apparently!). I literally cry tears of joy. What an incredible thing to witness, and something I'll remember it for the rest of my life.

The next day I couldn't resist going and photographing the sweet little lambs, so lamb spam incoming!

The rest of the holiday is mostly spent chilling out, drinking, eating, and playing Balderdash. I win every single game of Balderdash and somehow manage to make my poor Dad have to say the word 'queef' about 8 times. If you want a good family board game I highly recommend! It was hilarious.

We had a fantastic week with our family and our doggo, and we are already planning for a new adventure for next year. We might just venture a little further afield next time!

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

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Our Trip To Cornwall

For our first wedding anniversary in June Stu and I really debated about where to go on holiday. We aim to go away every year for our anniversary, but this year we had no idea where to go. We were chatting about it with some of our friends in the pub who jokingly suggested that maybe we could go to Cornwall with them as maybe the timing would be right.... and it turned out that they were away for our anniversary and it was exactly within budget, and Ashen our dog could come too! So we turned our holiday into an adventure with some of our dearest which made it even better.

We stayed in an adorable studio log cabin at Leycroft Valley in Perranporth. It's a couple of miles from the beach, but nestled in a forest. Totally not what I expected but so beautiful, such a lush contrast! Every cabin at Leycroft Valley has it's own hot tub on a private decking area, and the decking area is secure so if you take your pooch they can roam free on it. I'd been a bit concerned that it wouldn't have a good gate on it, but it had a gate with a solid latch so Ashen had his freedom and whenever we were in we left the patio doors open.

Ashen loved the cabin. We took his bed and his favourite toy, Clive the alligator, and his blanket with us. He adventured with us every day and then was so worn out he just wanted to snooze all evening. Most nights after trips out we went in the hot tub and he joined us sat out on the decking. He just likes to be in our company. The hot tub for our cabin was designed for 2 people, a sort of triangular shape, you could maybe have gotten 3 people in at a push but it would have been cosy. Our friends had rented a bigger cabin with a separate bedroom and theirs was a more traditional size hot tub that was fine for 4 people.

 

We went to the Healey Cider Farm where they brew Rattler after Stu developed a taste for it. It had all sorts of adorable creatures, including goats that I think are about the cutest thing ever. In a Big Deal for me sort of moment, I not only went near a shire horse, but I stroked it. I'm terrified of horses and this horses towered over me, but I hid behind Stu and went over after much encouragement and was brave enough to stroke it briefly! I mean, it then had a snorting noise and I ran away but it totally counts as extreme bravery.

We didn't have the best weather while we were there. In fact a couple of days were torrential rain and I was very glad I took leggings with me and a couple of pleather jackets because I really did need them. Our actual wedding anniversary was the only day we had truly lovely weather. It was sunshine all day and we went to The Watering Hole on Perranporth beach and had cheesy chips and gin and it was a perfect chilled out evening.

Ashen loved the beach, he always does. One of the days we took him down it was so windy it was unreal. We'd had the genius idea to get ice cream and eat it on the beach. So Ashen ended up eating my very sandy peanut butter ice cream which he thought was the best thing ever. (I specifically ordered an ice cream Ashen could eat so I could share it with him, such a dog lady)

Honestly these photos of Ashen in the wind are now my all time favourite photos of Ashen. He looks hilarious and they make me laugh every time I see them. His little beard blowing in the wind! Cornwall is incredibly dog friendly so it made taking him and our friend's dog Snoop everywhere really easy. Everywhere provided water bowls and seemed to be happy for your pooch to come with you, bar actual restaurants which is fair enough.

We ate out most nights, and ended up finding a real treasure of an Italian/Fish restaurant that we ate in 2 days in a row we loved it so much. If you go to Perranporth all 4 of us highly recommend Del Mar. So many veggie options, so much fresh fish, it was a total delight. It's not the fanciest looking place but wow, some of the best food I have ever eaten. 

Despite the weather, we had an amazing time. I injured myself twice falling over on the wet decking, and fell down the stairs to our cabin, literally days after I had my facial injury when my stitches were still fresh. What I have learned is that I am not designed to walk on wet floor. No one else had any trouble, including our friend who had recently had a major knee operation. I am just the clumsiest human we've all ever met. We'd never done a holiday with friends before barring music festivals, and it was brilliant fun. The only things I'd have changed were that we'd gone for 2 weeks instead of 1, and I wish the bed had been a king size not a double.

Occasional, sand, our pooches, alcohol and good company, what more could you ask for?

Much love,

Kitty xxxxx

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