Tag Archives: days out

Little Railway for Little (& Big) Folk.

Posted on by Abi

Living in Derbyshire means I’m never short of a view, a hill and plenty of activities to take the children along to. My son absolutely adores trains, trams and all things moving. This weekend he made several requests for a weekend activity, one of which was to visit the Steeple Grange Light Railway. He’s been there countless times, but the appeal of a mini railway never seems to fade.

There are two working lines at present which date back to the 1830s, one with an open carriage that stops by some rocks which still contain undug fossils! The second line has a covered carriage, you might need a shoehorn to get in but it’s alright once your there. The amazing thing is that these trains were created to carry full grown and probably quite burly miners.

 

This year is the railways 25th anniversary and there’s quite a few events on, this coming weekend is the Teddy Bears Specials Weekend 24/25 July, children can ride for free if they bring their teddies along for the journey. I think there will be a bear sale and bears along the route too.

There are also some wonderful wildflowers all along the track, I loved this purple field scabious. I had to show you the pic below, it really reminded me of the Railway Children 🙂

Final note, I’m so pleased your all so excited about the blog comp 🙂 not long to go now, but still time to enter here if you haven’t already

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Simple Pleasures

Posted on by Abi

I’ve been feeling quite stressed recently, I think when you run your own business some level of stress is inevitable. But how do you combat this when you feel the tension rising? One of my favourite things is to take a walk, no specific destination, just getting outside and clearing your mind for a while. I think a lot of pleasure (and stress relief) can be gained by taking in your surroundings and enjoying the beauty around you. I’ve taken a few pictures to show you my favourite things that I discovered.

There’s something quite romantic about a gate that leads to nowhere. This one probably hasn’t been opened in years.

Dandelions might annoy me when they invade the vegetables, but they also remind me of being little and gently blowing the seeds away to tell the time.

If you’ve looked at our jewellery you’ll probably know that I love the beauty in old doorways and houses. Even the woodwork on an old fence post can inspire.

Wildflowers are always a pleasure, I especially love the vibrant summer yellow of buttercups. Another memory of holding them up to skin to see if you like butter.

When the weather is as good as it has been recently getting outdoors seems like a must. What delights do you find near your home?

A final note to say a huge big thank you to everyone who has voted for the blog in the Dorset Cereal little blog awards. We are currently in 2nd place! I’m over the moon, it was so exciting to be nominated and even more so now we’re doing so well. Voting ends at the end of the month I believe, so if you haven’t voted please do, just click on the button on the top right. It only takes a second and you’ll make my smile even larger 🙂

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Tea For Two

Posted on by Abi

When I get the time one of my favourite indulgences is to stop in a gorgeous tea shop for a cake and a relax. I was recently visiting one of our gallery stockists in Chesterfield when I noticed a cafe called the Northern Tea Merchants. To say it’s a tea and coffee lovers paradise would be an understatement. The walls are adorned with quotations and the shelves are stacked with related delights to really wet your appetite. The smell of coffee beans wafts through the air and everything is beautifully packaged in gold. My tea was wonderful as was my slice of traditional victoria sponge. I will definitely be visiting again soon.

More information can be found on their website http://www.northern-tea.com.

One of my all time favourite teashops used to be Greystone’s in Leek. Whenever I went there it felt like I’m walking into somebody’s front room for tea and cake. Of course this is probably due to the fact that the room used to be the front room of a 17th century building. The owners have now taken semi retirement and no longer serve tea in their front room at Greystone’s. Fortunately they have taken on a new 16th century building called Time For Tea in the centre of Leek.

The new cafe also serves as a showroom for one of the owners Roger, who repairs antique clocks. In good weather there is a small walled garden to sit in, otherwise there are two beautiful rooms where you can relax.

If customers are interested in the history of the cafe there is a file all about the Parker family who originally built the building. The son Thomas Parker was born in the building in 1666 and in 1718 he became Lord Chancellor of Great Britain. He was also a poll-bearer at the funeral of Sir Isaac Newton.

Like the Northern Tea Company the tea here is made with tea leaves (not bags) and there are several varieties to choose from. For me though it is the cakes that stand out, I think they are the best I have tasted anywhere.

If you’re in the area I fully recommend a visit to either of these teashops.

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