Looking Forward To The Blenheim Palace Christmas Lights Trail

There’s nothing lovelier, in the run-up to Christmas, than going to fetch the Christmas tree or visiting a Christmas market. But if you want an extra special treat, why not book a trip to Blenheim Palace Christmas Lights trail. We went for the first time in December 2020. It was the first time we’d been out of our village as a family …

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A Weekend With the Girls {Montcalm East Review}

Review of the Montcalm East in Shoreditch

Looking for an honest review of Montcalm East, Shoreditch? A couple of my friends — Amy from Everything Mummy and Sarah from Extraordinary Chaos — and I had been invited by Mumsnet to do a little filming job at their Workfest event, which took place last weekend in London. Although Workfest was on Saturday, with …

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Introducing The Playmobil VW Camper Van | AD

We were given the Playmobil Camper Van for the purposes of this review. All thoughts, words and images — as ever — are entirely my own. I always wanted a VW Camper Van when I was younger. They always seemed so much cooler than boring, beige caravans; and the hippy in me was desperate for …

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Introducing The OLPRO View 420 Caravan Inflatable Porch Awning

‘This is an unpaid review of the OLPRO View 420 Caravan Inflatable Porch Awning. Disclosure: I received an OLPRO View 420 Caravan Inflatable Porch Awning, as part of my ambassadorship with OLPRO. With half term on the horizon, we’re dreaming about going away in Dolly The Caravan again. I can’t believe we’ve only been away …

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Do We Celebrate Grandparents Day In The UK?

Have you ever wondered if we celebrate Grandparents Day in the UK? It’s on the national day calendar, but it’s not something we generally celebrate in our family. It’s the kind of thing that I feel is an American marketeer’s creation; a ‘Hallmark holiday’ if you like. But, when we were given a Land Rover …

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Making Holiday Plans to Keep Upbeat

AD | I have been (or could be if you click on a link in this post) compensated via a cash payment, gift or something else of value for writing this post. See the full disclosure policy and privacy policy for more details. With the thread of Covid-19 looming ominously over us all, so many people have had to …

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Our family road trip from LA to San Fran

This time last year we were preparing for our long awaited, family road trip from LA to San Fran. Mr D grew up in San Francisco and — even though we’ve spent loads of time in the USA as a couple — we’d never gone to the west coast together. We’d planned our holiday for …

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The Queens Head Troutbeck | Cumbria

Occasionally, you go somewhere and for whatever reason — sometimes good, sometimes bad — it sticks in your head and you can’t shake the memory of it. I’ve had this with The Queens Head Troutbeck for the last twenty years. My boy and I had gone up to the Lake District for a wedding and …

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Our Bluedot Review 2019 | AD

We’ve been to many types of festivals over the years; dance music, food, family, folk — as well as the grandaddy of them all, Glastonbury — but until a few weeks’ ago, we’d never been to a science festival. Bluedot festival at Jodrell Bank is not just science though. I wrote a post about it …

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Calling All Revellers!! 6 Sleeps until Kendal Calling 2019!

It’s that time of year again; festival season is in full swing folks! And just 6 sleeps until Kendal Calling 2019! We’ve been maniacally checking the weather report, planning multiple outfits; for rain, sun (and everything in between) and getting generally over-excited about the prospect of hanging out in a field with likeminded people — …

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A Celebration Weekend | Wild Camping with Friends

Last weekend we finally got around to celebrating Mr D hitting a massive age milestone. His actual birthday was back in March; but our idea of a little wild camping party with friends wouldn’t have been such a success with the temperatures in the minuses, and snow on the ground. That said, a couple of …

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Win a Family Weekend Pass for BlueDot Festival

OK folks. You may have gathered, from the title of this post, that I have exciting news to share. Let’s have a quick show of hands… who wants to win a family weekend pass for Bluedot Festival?? Yes?!! Read on… You may remember that I wrote about Bluedot back in March. We’re lucky enough to …

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Planning the perfect staycation in Cornwall

Ever planned a staycation in Cornwall? So once again, the Met office are forecasting an unusually warm spring. Of course, The Sun have reported this as ‘a three month heatwave’ — with 26°C predicted next month’. Never let it be said that they don’t like to make a juicy headline out of the British weather. …

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Going dotty over Bluedot Festival

Aaaah… (breathes a huge sigh of relief) spring is here. Finally. And whilst we didn’t have a return of the Beast From The East (thankfully), the weather over the last couple of months has certainly still been a little bit ‘unpredictable’ and challenging at times. To say the least. I spent quite a lot of …

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Boys, Cars and Toy Trains { An Honest Ford Kuga Review}

‘This honest ford Kuga review is in paid partnership with Vertu Motors. However all thoughts, words and images are entirely my own.’ Although we’ve never pushed gender specific toys on the twins — always offering them a choice — like an inherent magnet, they’re inexplicably drawn to cars and trains. Ever since they were very …

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Our Good Life Festival Experience Review 2018

Looking for a Good Life Festival Experience Review? Here’s mine from 2018. We’d narrowly missed the boat for tickets to the 2017 Good Life Experience, so this is something that I’d been looking forward to for an entire year! And it absolutely didn’t disappoint. I wrote about Good Life back in April; a little potted history, …

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Learning how to make pom poms at Camp Bestival

When I talk to people about our festival antics, some people occasionally express surprise about the kind of things we get up to when we’re there. I guess, festivals come in all shapes and sizes, and if you’ve only ever witnessed Glastonbury on the TV, you could be lulled into thinking that all festivals resemble …

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Just So Festival | The Lantern Parade

Aaah the sun is shining, summer is well and truly in full swing and — more importantly — festival season is here folks! Hurrah! Regular readers of my blog will know that this is my favourite time of year, bar none. The boys and are already getting excited about the festivals that we’re booked to …

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In search of The Good Life Experience

What’s that shining, golden orb in the sky? I *think* it might be the sun but, it’s been such a long since I last saw it, I can’t be totally sure. The breeze feels warm today; we’ve thrown open the windows and the stale, winter fug that has been occupying the rooms of our little …

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A Night at The Wood Norton Hotel

We went away for a night at the Wood Norton Hotel and it made me think… every once in a while, getting away with your significant other and rediscovering ‘why’ you got together in the first place is a wonderful thing. And before you get carried away with the smutty references; I wasn’t *necessarily* referring …

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Is Lapland UK Worth The Money? Our Lapland UK Review

Is Lapland UK worth the money? I thought I’d write my Lapland review for any parents looking to book tickets. There’s no denying that it’s expensive — but is it worth it? Read on… ‘Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house,Every creature was stirring,As they’d all been kept awake by two very …

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All Things Bright & Beautiful {Bosinver Farm Cottages}

When you think of Cornish holiday cottages, what’s the first thing that springs to mind when it comes to decor? Blue. Whitewashed wood. Seaside themed accessories. Certainly not punchy brights, designer prints and funky furniture then? No. Me either. I must admit, they certainly wouldn’t be top of my ‘Cornish cottage decor’ list. So when …

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How to make the perfect Mojito | Dreaming of cocktails & summer

Want to know how to make the perfect Mojito? Read on! I was dreaming of cocktails and summer yesterday; winter has us well and truly in its grips. It snowed here yesterday morning! Funnily enough, it snowed in November in the very first year we moved into this village too. Proper snow. Big fat flakes …

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Is the land rover discovery sport a good family car?

‘This is an unpaid Land Rover Discovery Sport Review. Disclosure: we were given a Discovery Sport HSE LUX to test-drive for a long weekend, in order to give an honest review. The Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE LUX might look like a total babe but it doesn’t just have a pretty face; it definitely has a …

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A Day Out at The Chiltern Open Air Museum

On Saturday, as part of our Landrover Discovery Adventures, we took the boys to The Chiltern Open Air Museum for the afternoon. It’s a really fascinating family day out I’d highly recommend it, if you’re looking for something a little different to do. Founded in 1976, with the aim of rescuing threatened buildings; more than …

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Just So Festival Review & Video {The Best First Family Festival}

AD | I have been (or could be if you click on a link in this post) compensated via a cash payment, gift or something else of value for writing this post. See the full disclosure policy and privacy policy for more details. Is Just So The Best First Family Festival? A question that I’m often asked is;  ‘Of …

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Just So Festival

Just So Festival

So whilst Camp Bestival may be over for another year, festival season is still in full swing — hurrah — and the boys and I are now counting the days until Just So Festival, which is on the 18th-20th of this month. We’ve never been before, and I am beyond excited!! It’s now in it’s …

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The soggiest Camp Bestival ever — summer 2017

Camp-Bestival-2017

What makes Camp Bestival 2017 stand out from any other year we’ve been? It rained. And rained and rained and rained. But as a very wise man, called Gilbert K. Chesterton, once said; ‘When it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.’ And I think that perfectly sums up …

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A week at Bosinver Farm Cottages in Cornwall

After our St Mawes adventure in February, we followed it up with another trip down to Cornwall in May. This time to Bosinver, near St Austell. I wrote a little post saying that we’d booked to go, back in September of last year, and we’d been looking forward to it for the best part of 8 …

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A night at the Bath Spa Hotel

I thought I’d write down my thoughts about our stay at the Bath Spa Hotel, whilst I remembered. Last Friday evening, my boys and I had just checked in there; courtesy of our lovely friends at Joules. We’d had such a fun day with them at Badminton Horse Trials and they’d kindly arranged for us …

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A date with Joules at Badminton Horse Trials

I think it’s fair to say that — for me — the last eight weeks have been tinged with frustration and a little bit of boredom. It’s unlike me too; I don’t get bored easily. If I ever feel my attention waning — and inertia setting in — I tend to just change direction and do something else. But …

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Our Review of The Hotel Aiguille Percee in Tignes

Looking for a review of the Hotel Aiguille Percee in Tignes? Here’s what we thought. Our Trip to Tignes With Mark Warner For someone — like me — who’s never been to the mountains before, the coach journey from Grenoble airport to the ski resort of Tignes was pretty spectacular. Winding through the French Alps, looking …

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5 Weird and Wonderful Things To Do at Camp Bestival

Hurrah! The clocks have gone forward!! This annual event literally makes me smile from ear to ear. Goodbye winter. We’ll miss you! Said no-one. Ever. It’s that time of year where I start coming out of hibernation and begin to look forward to the warmer months that lie ahead. We bought a family calendar a …

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207 weeks and 2 days | Me and Mine {February} featuring Joules

February. A very short and very memorable month for me and mine. We’ve done some decorating. Been  planning and getting very excited for our upcoming ski trip with Mark Warner. And, of course, we celebrated our wedding anniversary down in Cornwall; at lovely Dreamcatchers; courtesy of St Mawes Retreats. It is definitely one of the most …

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Celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary at St Mawes Retreats

At around twenty past two on the third of this month my boy and I had been married for sixteen years. The happiest times of my life have happened with — and as a result of — this amazing man. I love him more than words can say. I’ve written about our wedding day before. It’s bizarre that it was …

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A Beautiful Home | Dreamcatchers at St Mawes Retreats

This is an unpaid post for Dreamcatchers at St Mawes Retreats but all thoughts, words and images — as ever — are entirely my own. Many thanks to Amanda and the team at St Mawes Retreats for generously allowing us to come and stay and sample the delights of Dreamcatchers for the purposes of this review; …

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Golden Anniversary Weekend at Center Parcs Sherwood Forest

Back in October we celebrated my mum and dad’s golden anniversary weekend at Center Parcs Sherwood Forest FIFTY YEARS!!! Such a huge milestone! They had decided ages ago that they wanted to take us all away for the weekend. We wanted somewhere that would appeal to all ages and — as my heavily pregnant sister wasn’t able to fly …

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A Little Slice of Heaven | Introducing Bosinver Farm Cottages

Since we’ve been a family of four, all of our holidays — apart from our amazing first family abroad to Sardinia in July — have been in and around the UK. Luckily, Britain is such a beautiful island and, arguably, there’s nowhere more picturesque than Cornwall. So much to do — sweet little fishing villages to explore …

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181 weeks and 2 days | Camp Bestival 2016 — Out Of This World

Camp Bestival 2016. What an epic adventure. Unbelievably it was a few weekends ago now that we were packing up Dolly The Caravan; to make the journey down to Lulworth in Dorset. I took almost 1000 pictures over the 4 days that we were there (!). And have been ploughing through them, trying to work out what to write about …

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Lizzie’s Way at Camp Bestival

Situated in a leafy glade, with sunlight dappling the ground. Lizzie’s Way offers much-needed respite, of festival madness at Camp Bestival.

Our holiday at the Mark Warner Perdepera Resort in Sardinia

Disclosure: We’ve been working with Mark Warner this year as part of their ambassador programme. We were sent to review the Perdepera Resort in Sardinia. This is a collaborative post but all thoughts, words and lifestyle images are entirely my own. I love my blog; this little tiny corner of the internet. Since I began writing my …

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Caravanserai at Camp Bestival

Caravanserai at Camp Bestival

Caravanserai. Now there’s a word you don’t hear very often. Initially, I thought it was a name made up by those clever bods who brought us Camp Bestival – but it really, really does exist! CARAVANSERAI /ˌkarəˈvansərʌɪ,-ri/ noun historical an inn with a central courtyard for travellers in the desert regions of Asia or North Africa. a group …

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How to make a rocketpack — Camp Bestival 2016

So I’ve mentioned that next month we’re off to Camp Bestival. Now any Bestival/Camp Bestival aficionado will tell you that one of the best things about the festivals each year is the hotly anticipated theme and this year it’s Outer Space. Some revellers take this very seriously indeed. Others give a little nod to it (and will don a …

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The perfect family holiday | #MarkWarnerMum

What makes the perfect family holiday? Even though the boys will be 3 years old, in less than a month’s time, I don’t have much to reference in terms of our ‘perfect family holiday’ as we haven’t actually had one yet. And don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a pity party, we’ve had some lovely, lovely weekends …

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Review of The Hare & Hounds, Tetbury

Review of The Hare and Hounds, Tetbury

Are you looking for an honest and independent review of The Hare & Hounds, Tetbury? We stayed here for our 15th wedding anniversary and I was so impressed, I thought I’d share my thoughts.

Family Fun at Shambala Festival

August has been the month of festivals for us! As July gave way to August, we were at Camp Bestival, then my boys and I have just seen the summer out with a bang at our last festival of the year — Shambala Festival in Northamptonshire. Funnily enough, last year’s Me and Mine post in August was also based …

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The Art of Spin Painting at Camp Bestival

A few weeks ago we braved the six jour car journey down to Lulworth Castle, in Dorset, for Camp Bestival. A must for any fun loving family, this friendly little festival was an absolute treat for my boy and me and our little sons loved it too. So many things to see and do — the whole weekend was …

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2015 Camp Bestival Review With Video

Disclosure: I was an official Camp Bestival blogger for 2015. My family and I were given tickets in return for our coverage and honest opinions of the festival. As ever, all thoughts, words and pictures are my own. So there we are. All the excitement, planning, packing and anticipation has been and gone. And my head …

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Advice and essential items for a kids festival #3

essential items for a kids festival

Very often, when we have children, we park the things we used to do in favour of more ‘child friendly’ pursuits. That said, there are certain things that we can still do with the kids in tow! Festivals are a brilliant way of spending quality time with our littles, whilst enjoying live music and a carnival atmosphere. …

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Family Festival Checklist

I’ve spoken to lots of people who love the thought of taking their little ones to a festival but aren’t sure what to take. I thought I’d put together a little collection of interviews with friends, who regularly take their  kids to festivals. And compile the ultimate Family Festival Checklist! First off we had Tamandra …

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Advice and essential items for a kids festival #1

Essential items to take to a family friendly festival with kids

So this summer, we’re off to Camp Bestival 2015! So I thought I’d gather together some of our festival loving friends — who regularly take their kids along to enjoy the fun — and ask them to compile their top tips and essential items for a kids festival. Given the fact my boys are only two — and …

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Family Friendly Festivals

As a seasoned festival goer the ‘child friendly’ aspect of a festival really wasn’t on my radar before we had the boys. But nowadays, with my two little tinies in tow, family friendly festivals are something that I’ve been looking into more and more. Especially as festivals are so much a part of our summer — and our lives …

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108 weeks and 1 day | A day out at Folly Farm

A couple of weeks ago we visited the Bluestone Resort in Pembrokeshire and whilst we were there, had a day out at an amazing tourist attraction called Folly Farm. It’s located close to Tenby so brilliantly close to Bluestone and a must-see if you’re ever down in that neck of the woods. Whilst it’s name would suggest …

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Our Bluestone Adventure | Caldey Lodge

It’s always so exciting to go on holiday. Even more so when you arrive, to find that your accommodation is lovely! We were booked in to stay at Caldey Lodge, Bluestone and it totally surpassed our expectations. Caldey Lodge Bluestone We had no idea what to expect when we opened the door to Caldey Lodge at the …

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Dolly The Caravan Goes Camping

These captured moments were taken last year. It was July and we’d taken Dolly The Vintage Caravan to a farm nearby our home; for a camping weekend with a couple of other families. It was a baking hot weekend and our friends were due to arrive,  from London,  later on in the day. We’d finished setting up …

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Me and Mine August 2014 | Scenes from Shambala Festival

This month’s ‘Me and Mine photos will certainly be some of the most memorable in years to come. This August — having been to SO many festivals as a couple — we took our children to Shambala Festival for the very first time. Many would balk at the idea of taking two tiny people to a 4 day festival but this is …

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