Exploring More of Newstead Abbey

Last weekend we visited one of our favourite places in Nottinghamshire, Newstead Abbey. We have been so many times now and each time, we usually walk around the same bits. This time though, we spotted the old cannon fort on the other side of the lake and decided to take the muddy walk over to see the abbey from a different perspective, as well as seeing this wonderful old piece of history.

When you hear about a cannon fort, you probably wonder how much navel defence was required in landlocked nottinghamshire, but the real purpose of the fort was as a play thing for the 5th Lord Byron, along with his fleet of miniature vessels. The lord would fire real cannonballs at the ships. which were crewed by his unlucky servants. According to the staff, none of the servants were hurt but I can imagine it still being a frightening experience.

I only slipped over once as we headed through the muddy forest, much to my husbands amusement. Along the way, my daughter picked up twigs, trees and plants for her nature project which she happily carried in her jelly bag. 

It was fun to explore a piece of the abbey we hadn't seen before, and it would be good to go back, maybe on a less muddy day next time. When we got to the cannon fort though it was well worth the wobbly trek over, you can only begin to imagine what this would have looked like back in its time.

The view from the other side of the lake was amazing and one we've never seen before and possibly very few people who visit do, I absolutely love the idea of this eccentric Lord playing real life battleships here.

Each part of Newstead feels as though it has been made with the view in mind and it is always a pleasure to take pictures there.

Afterwards, we headed to the rose garden to eat our picnic, the children had a quick game of hide and seek and then played on the park, before we moved onto our favourite spot, the Japanese Water Gardens. We love this place, the sound of running water, the shapes of the trees and stone decorations and there is always time for the children to role play some ice cream selling from the wooden hut.

It was great to find something new in one of our favourite places to visit, hopefully this post might inspire other visitors to go in search of the magical cannon fort too.

Mother's Day Treats

Looking for something to treat that special mama in your life on Mother's Day? Well, I have a few tried and tested goodies for you.

First up, is this fabulous flower delivery service, Wild Flowers Company deliver gorgeous flowers to your door, weekly or monthly. A great idea that keeps on giving, the flowers are all sourced from British suppliers and the stunning bouquets are a delight to receive - From £28, pop back to my original post for 20% off!

Next up, if you have a mama in your life that likes baths and all things natural then this Weleda Wild Rose Bath Cream is for them, this luscious bath cream is beautifully silky and leaves your skin feeling wonderful and moisturised, the bottle is also super pretty - £12.95.

With spring on it's way the fabulous Sun Jellies have a great new range of bags and their shoes and jewellery is always a hit, you can find my review of the shoes and bag for more information. Prices starting from £10.

And finally, the fabulous Yumbox, this is a great lunchbox for busy mums, whether they are out for a picnic, at work or just want something that you can pack in the morning and take with you to ensure you get a balanced lunch. They even have a mothers day offer of free P&P so check them out, it's a box that can be used day in day out and looks great too, for more check out my previous reviews of the Yumbox and Panino. £24.95

Now, I wonder if this is a big enough hint of what I might like, a girl can never have enough bags, shoes, flowers, bath stuff and lunch boxes right.

Return of the Original Jelly Bag - My 80s Dream

Once upon a time in the 80s, there was a young girl who wanted a jelly bag so much, but money was tight so she never got to own one. Ok, so enough of the sob story and me showing my age, yes that girl was me and no it doesn’t bother me, that’s just how it was.

However, thanks to Sun Jellies my jelly bag dream was realised last weekend. I was like a small child when I opened up my parcel. The bag  was unclipped for easier shipping , which meant I had the privilege of putting it together. Much to my dismay my pink loving three year old daughter quickly swooped it up and walked off with it, proves jelly bags haven’t lost their appeal then.

Having managed to persuade her that it was too big for her I managed to gain control of the bag, for now, but she does look cute in her 'princess' jellies as she calls them ;)

Now on to the bag itself, in the same jelly material as the shoes it is sturdy and well-made and best of all I love the colour. I opted for pink as I thought it was the perfect summer colour, however it was a difficult decision between this, the coral red and timeless black.

We are going to France in the summer (home of the Meduse Sun Jellies) so I can’t wait to take this around the markets for fresh fruit, veg and cheese as well as to the beach. I think this is where the bag will really come in to its own, not only is it the perfect bag to take my books, sunglasses and sun creams in but it won’t get full of sand, well if it does it can be emptied out. It also looks rather cute with a pair of jelly shoes don’t you think?

I love this bag, I love the colour the design and it is also plenty big enough to fit lots of holiday essentials in, it can also be unclipped again so perfect for fitting into your suitcase.

It even comes in a smaller size in the pink for little girls to be like mum, you know because jellies are cool! Thank you Sun Jellies for bringing back these bags, just like when I listen to Madonna's Dear Jessie, I have been transported back to my childhood. Carefree and feeling like I could take on the world.

The bag costs £10 and is 34x25x25 so it is a decent size and I certainly managed to fit plenty of shopping in.

NB I was sent this bag to review, all words and thoughts and opinions are my own.