Hello Coddiwomplers!
Dare I say it, but are we beginning to see glimpses of summertime?
I felt like I took a while to re-surface back into the real world after the change of routine that the Tulip Festival brings at Pashley Manor Gardens. I know it’s only two weeks, however it’s enough to cause me to feel very discombobulated!
Do you find this happens to you if your routine is changed?
Thankfully there are ways to support ourselves and it’s important that we check in with those to keep us on the right track. For me it’s art, writing and journaling, spending time by the sea and guided meditations & yoga.
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What do you do for yourself when you feel frazzled? Even if it’s only for 5 minutes a day?
Trips and Coddiwomples
The energy exchange for this temporary change of routine is our upcoming trip around the NC500 in Scotland next month. This trip has been a long time coming and I’ve spent the last few weeks researching and booking B&B’s and campsites. We begin with a B&B in Whitby on our first night as a halfway stop, then we head off up to Pitlochry for a spot of wild camping, then another B&B in Helmsdale on the east coast between Inverness and Wick. We are cutting off the top corner to Wick and John O Groats and instead we are heading up to the top coast for another night of wild camping before touring back down the west side via Lochinver (evidently there’s a good pie shop there so Tim will be happy!), Ullapool and Glencoe. I’ve booked campsites for these. The next leg will be a B&B in the Lake District on the banks of Ullswater, then we head down to the Peak District and come home on Tuesday. We will be away for a total of 9 nights and we can’t wait!
We have had some “test trips” recently to make sure we have all we need to sleep comfortably. Tim purchased a bargain bed/storage/sofa from EBay and that’s been a game changer! No more sleeping on the floor of the camper with a blow up mattress that deflates during the night…yayyy! Cushions and a memory foam mattress topper is all we need. Neither of us are good with sleeping bags (I fidget too much) so we also take a sheet and an old duvet, making us snug as bugs in a rug.
Our first trip was an overnight stay in a small site at a pub in Tilmanstone in north Kent. The weather was kind and we were up early on Sunday morning to visit Deal for breakfast on the beach and a walk around the historic, picturesque little town where we met Fanny.
Who was Fanny? What was her dilemma? It took me a while to find out what I think it might be, please comment below if you know!
I can also recommend the Deal Timeball Tower, the views are wonderful and the staff that run it are fun and friendly.
The recent Bank Holiday took us down to the South Downs. Tim’s daughter and her boyfriend were walking from Brighton to Eastbourne and roped us in as Support Crew for the Saturday night. We had booked a campsite by the beach near Seaford Head, and took a tent down for them, plus provisions for an evening barbecue. Tim and I found a brilliant little lunch-stop on the way down, just off the beaten track near Pevensey, called Chilley Farm (freshly made sandwiches and scones) which also has a campsite attached, so we might investigate that properly another time.
We stayed at Buckle campsite in Seaford on Saturday night. It’s sandwiched between the beach and the railway line. It suited us perfectly as we needed to erect a small tent for Libz and Dan next to us. The good weather stayed with us and we enjoyed plenty of Vitamin Sea (evidently it’s not that cold once you’re in, according to Libz!) followed by a barbecue in the evening. The heavens opened overnight, but thankfully everyone stayed dry! The Intrepid Hikers set off towards Cuckmere Haven on Sunday morning while we packed everything up so we could drive to Birling Gap, at the other end of the Seven Sisters. Our plan of action was to walk the Seven Sisters back towards Cuckmere Haven to meet them coming from the other way. There was a slight miscommunication of meeting places, but we got there in the end and walked back along the Seven Sisters to Birling Gap for a well deserved lunch (as by that time Tim & I had walked 14 very uppy-downy Sisters!)Some people were even running the route (how?!) The place was mobbed, but it’s still a spectacular sight to behold. We waved Libz and Dan off on the last leg of their hike to Beachy Head and took a scenic journey back home, feeling very tired! We slept well that night!
Arty Moments
The first thing I did after the Tulip Festival was pick up my sketchbook and some pencils. My first attempt of a ladybird felt a bit rusty, but then I had a go at a sunflower and a bee in coloured pencils and could feel myself getting back into the flow. Again, it’s not one of my best but it felt so good to be doing it. I also had a go at “plein air” drawing while sitting on the beach at Seaford in the sunshine. I rarely get the chance to do this as Tim isn’t one to sit still for long enough to let me do it, but I managed it on this particular day. I’m hoping to do a few more while we’re away in Scotland, chilling out by the mountains and sea. They make lovely mementoes of days out, more so than photos sometimes.
I think that’s about it from me this month, thank you again for being here. I can’t begin to tell you how much it means to me. If you get to the end, please leave the word “ladybird” in the Comments (this helps with algorithm and SEO stuff.) In the meantime, don’t forget to follow your sunshine and I will see you again next month.
Coming up next month:
Scottish Coddiwomples and other random, spur-of-the-moment ramblings.
Much love
xx
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