The Park

Recently we have been allowing Nell a lot more freedom on her walks. She has been absolutely loving it! 

Although Nell was allowed off her lead on a few walks in nature parks, we didn't let her off her lead very often. We knew that she loved being off her lead but we just don't have the time to drive to nature parks every week. 

We have had Nell for almost one year now and we thought it was a about time we let her off her lead at the park near us. She has been well behaved recently and listens to us. We live literally three minutes walk from the park and wanted to finally take advantage of it. 

I took her to the park pretty much most days last week. Rob joined me one evening and took a few pictures. They aren't the best quality or greatest photos. Animals are hard to take photos off, especially an excited dog like Nell. I just love how happy running around the park makes her. 

Great Notley Country Park

This weekend was our first weekend together for a few weeks so we wanted to make the most of it. I asked Rob to arrange something nice for us to do and he did well. On Saturday morning we were up relatively early. After filling our tummies with peanut butter toast and cups of tea in bed, we piled into the car and were off to Great Notley Country Park. 

After driving for around an hour we arrived. The Country Park is in a weird position, just off the motorway. We parked up and set out exploring. The Park has a small lake and then a massive trail with lots of kids activities. We headed to the lake first and then found a spot to settle down and have some lunch. 

I cooked up some cheese and onion quiche and paired it with salad, sweet chilli beetroot and home made mustard potato salad. A nice filling lunch. Rob ensures me that he will arrange the picnic next time, which would be nice. 

After lunch we found a big field to explore. We could let Nelli off the lead, but the ground was too hard for her to really run hard. She was already pretty tired at this point and was mainly lagging behind us!

After exploring the field, we headed back to the park and towards the activity trail. We couldn't resist showing the kids our skills. We also had lots of fun on the swings. 

After about two hours we thought it was time for another rest. We headed to the cafe and it was time for a sugary pick me up - our first ice creams of the year! I had a feast and Rob had a mint chocolate cornetto! They were both yummy and it certainly made us realise that winter is finally going away and spring is here!

We headed back home in the afternoon. We were ready for another nap as soon as we got in!

Making doggie friends in Essex

After visiting Wat Tyler Country Park in Essex last month and having a ball, we were desperate to return. Nelli had an amazing time being able to run around off her lead. There isn't really anywhere near to where we live that she can really run about off her lead so we don't mind driving for a while to give her a good run. Wat Tyler is in Basildon, which is so near to our friend Reece's. Last time we visited we called Reece to see if he was free and unfortunately he wasn't. But we swore we would come back again soon. 

A few weeks later we arranged to meet Reece at Wat Tyler one frosty Sunday morning. However, the road to Wat Tyler had been closed. Luckily Reece's local knowledge led us to another Country Park area. 

It wasn't as big as Wat Tyler and there was less to do but it was a large open space, lots of hills and lots of friendly doggies. Nelli has been a bit nervous towards dogs when on the lead recently so we were keen to socialise her. She didn't waste any time getting to know Reece's two beautiful dogs.  

She was really friendly to all of the different dogs she met. She also met another greyhound and she had a great time chasing it around. She wouldn't even come back to Rob when he called her! Nelli's favourite dog was a lovely little Spaniel puppy that she just would not leave alone. Her favoruite dogs are certainly the smaller ones. 

The best thing about the Country Park was how friendly all the people were. I wish we lived nearer. It was amazing to see Nelli enjoying herself again.

After our walk we dropped the dogs back at Reece's so they could sleep. Rob, Reece and I headed out for a carvery dinner. Although I ate far too much, it really hit the spot. We headed home with tired feet and full bellies. 

Wat Tyler

Vicki and I spent some time pondering over text about where we would next meet. We considered the beach but recently it has been terribly cold. Vicki also said she wouldnt mind coming up to Stevenage. However, there isnt really anywhere amazing to walk round here. Then I remembered Wat Tyler. 

Rob and I visited Wat Tyler Country Park just outside Basildon several years ago with our friend Reece. I knew it would be a great place to walk our doggies. Nelli has been a bit nervous around other dogs recently so were keen for her to socialise with Ted the border collier pup. We couldn't believe how much energy Ted had. Nelli was really patient with him. 

Not long after arriving we discovered a little field area that was mostly enclosed. It meant that we could finally let Nelli off her lead! She hadn't been off the lead since our holiday walks in Somerset. It is amazing to see her run and Ted chase after her. We spent ages in there until Nell was tired and Ted... well Ted was still full of energy.

Wat Tyler is huge. We walked around for around an hour and half. We came across kids playgrounds, wildlife areas, a marina and random cottages and houses. There is so much to see. We also came across a geocache, which was fun. 

After our walk and selfie session we put the dogs back into the car for them to get some much needed rest whilst we popped to the cafe for something to warm us up. The cafe was really reasonably priced, warm and the staff were friendly. I had chicken soup as I was feeling a little under the weather. The others had ham, cheese and onion toasties. We also had tea and cake. Rob and I both had lemon meringue pie - which was pretty good, but the tea was better.

We left soon after with tired legs, full bellies and smiles on our face. It was a really lovely day. We will definitely be returning again soon and definitely in the summer for a picnic.  

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas 2014! 

Cheddar Caves and cheddar on toast

On the last day of our holiday we finally got round to visiting the famous Cheddar Gorge and Caves. 

We headed out promptly at 10am, waving goodbye to our quaint little cottage. We piled into the car and drove the short ten minute drive into the heart of Cheddar. There are lots of shops and businesses right on the edge of the gorge. They look so interesting. 

The caves didn't open until 11am so we killed some time with a coffee in the Costa coffee that is directly next to the entrance. You actually have to exit the cave tour through costa, which does kind of ruin the charm. Costa doesn't really fit with the other independent cafés, tea rooms and shops that surround it. However as it was out of season 90% weren't open. We drank our coffees outside with Nelli and watched and marvelled at the mountain goats until we could go in. 

We were the first people into the caves. You could take dogs, so it was also Nellis first cave experience. Our ticket included an audio guide, access to the caves, the gorge mountain top walk, a small museum and a tour of a smaller cave which was aimed at kids. In the summer they also run a bus your. For that reason it was pretty expensive. We only visited the caves and did a little bit of the walk as they rest was basically aimed at children. 

We enjoyed the caves, although we visited some caves on our trip to the Peak District earlier in the year so we weren't really seeing anything new. It was pretty cool to see cheddar cheese maturing in the cave but we didn't want to pay £6 for a small slice.

We started the gorge walk but we were tired so only really had a 30 minute wander. I am sure the sights got better further along but it was far less pretty than our other walks (which we didn't have to pay for). We climbed to the took of the viewing tower and had a look out across Cheddar and the surrounding areas. 

We didn't bother with the other parts of the ticket as they weren't really our cup of tea. We wouldn't return to the caves, but it's something you should do whilst you are there. We headed off in search of something hearty for lunch.

We passed this brightly coloured cafe/house everyday when passing through cheddar. I was very intrigued so had a look on trip adviser and it was rated very highly. It's a veggie cafe which is a converted living room. I believe the owners still love upstairs. It isn't huge but there are a few seats and sofas inside and a spacious garden outside. 

We decided to sit outside as Nelli couldn't settle inside. The staff were beyond friendly and offered to bring blankets to us several times. They even bought out a little treat for Nell.

The menu had a lot of variety and there were about five things I wanted. In the end I opted for the soup of the day which was cauliflower and nutmeg. It was some of the best soup I had ever tried. It was flavoured perfectly and so filling. Rob had the Welsh Rarebit - an obvious choice for him. It was absolutely incredible. We have been meaning to recreate it at home ever since. We were so pleased with our lunch but a little gutted that we hadn't discovered the restaurant sooner. 

With our bellies full we headed back home and back to reality. 

We had a lovely relaxing pre-Christmas break and are now planning our next holiday.  

Cheddar Adventure - Burgers in Bristol and Hilltop Walk

Despite Rob's very convincing Brizzle accent, neither of us had visited Bristol before. As it was less than an hour away, we thought we would include a trip to Bristol in our holiday plans. We arrived mid-morning after a breakfast of coffee and pastries.

First on the agenda was to have a look around the Christmas Market. Although it was very festive, it just couldnt compare to the Bath Christmas Market. We did stop for a chocolate covered marshmellow though, which was very tasty. That also didn't stop us from popping into Ben's cookies when we came across the main shopping centre. Ben's Cookies are THE best, ever! 

We spent most of our time in Bristol shopping in the centre. The centre had everything that we could have asked for, including Harvey Nicks and my new favourite shop - Oliver Bonas. We got a fair few of our Christmas presents sorted.

They were plenty of restaurant chains in the shopping centre. Rob was desperate to try Five Guys. Although I hadn't had the best burger previously at Five Guys in Bluewater, I agreed. I must say that the Bristol Five Guys was loads better. I love the fact you can completely customise your burger with toppings. We also shared a bag of chips, which were very good. Rob was delighted by the drinks machine. He made a concoction of peach sprite, lemon sprite and lemon lucozade.  

The best thing about Bristol was definitely the food. Its a shame to say that the shopping area was a bit run down and there just wasn't much to do once we had been to the big shops. After a lot of eating we were ready to head home and walk off the food. 

The first set of pictures are from a hilltop walk we took Nell on the day before. We walked up the steepest hill we had ever walked in our lives, but we were finally greeted by beautiful views across Somerset.

For our walk after Bristol we headed back to Cheddar Nature reserve. We started our walk a little later than previous walks but we still got to see some beautiful sights. One of the best moments of the holiday was on this walk. Nell saw something in the distance so ran off after it. She soon realised it was another dog so started running back towards us. The other dog was a greyhound puppy that was 13 months old! All of a sudden they started playing together. Although, Nell had already walked for a good 40 minutes, she chased the other greyhound for ages. It was wonderful to see them sprinting up all the big hills. Nelli was exhausted afterwards but it was such a heartwarming moment.

Cheddar Adventure - Gorge Walk and Cider Barn

We stayed pretty local on our first day in Cheddar. We wanted to explore the local area and what better way than with a nice long country walk with Nelli. We put together a packed lunch of left overs from our tea the night before, wrapped up walk, piled into the car and drove a couple of miles until we reach Cheddar nature reserve. We drove down windy road in the middle of the Gorge. As soon as we arrived, we were blown away by the beauty of the place. It was so pretty and it looked like something out of Lord of the Rings. 

The area was so quiet that we were finally allowed to let Nelli off the lead for her walk! We saw a couple of excited spaniels at the beginning and another couple, other than that we were completely alone. 

Nelli loved being off her lead. She could explore. She liked to stay ahead of us but kept looking back every few steps to make sure we weren't far away. She is such a sweet, loyal doggie. 

We came across a little waterfall with fresh, clear water. Nelli had a little explore of that too.

We left as the sun was going down. We walked for around an hour and half and she was exhausted. We drove back and dropped her home for her to have a sleep.

We then headed to a Wells - the smallest UK city. We had a little look around the shops. I bought a cute cape in the charity shop and Rob bought a flat cap that he was chuffed with. 

On the way back we stopped of a Earlydoors - a local cider bar in a converted barn.

I had a beer and after sampling a few local ciders Rob, Rob chose a local pint. It was very strong! The locals were very friendly and the barn was lovely and cosy with a big fire. 

For dinner we walked to a pub that had been recommended to us. The walk down country lanes was a bit scary but we made it! I had steak and Rob had venison sausages. The dinner was lovely. Again, fantastic friendly service. I was fully stuffed after my steak and hugely chocolately pudding. 

All in all a pretty busy first day.