Weleda Gardens Open Day

Earlier this month we visited the fabulous Weleda gardens on their open day, if you haven't heard of Weleda before they are a world leader in holistic natural cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

With gardens all over the world it feels like such a privilege to have one so close to us, I have visited the gardens before for one of Weleda's insight days but wanted to take the children so they could experience the gardens and see the wonderful flowers and plants.

First off my daughter and I made flower crowns, I had never made them before but it was super easy and so much fun. We chose our flowers from the selection they had and then carefully wound each flower onto the wire.

After we'd made our flower crowns we walked around the gardens, the plants were all labelled so you could tell what they were, some more deadly than others.

It was such a wonderful day and I enjoyed watching my children walk through the flowers, looking at the wildlife. We spotted some ant hills in the polytunnels and saw the bees that live in the gardens, we couldn't help but stop to spot the many butterflies and moths in the wildflower meadow too.

I use Weleda on a daily basis, my favourite products being their foot balm, arnica shower gel and skin food they smell great and work so well.

If you haven't heard of them before and are looking for more natural products to use as part of your beautify routine then do check them out.

Shipley Country Park

Last weekend saw some gorgeous weather, it was a bit drizzly on Sunday morning so we headed to Ikea for an early morning trip and a hot dog for lunch and then popped over to Shipley Country Park for a walk around and some fresh air.

Shipley is a vast space with lots of park areas and plenty of space to run around, it is also a haven for horse riders.

Next time we go we will take a longer walk round to see if we can see the old American Adventure site, so sad this is no more.

Basilia in Langley Mill

I have worked in Langley Mill for 7 years now so imagine my delight when a new deli style cafe opened but two minutes away.

Basilia offers a huge selection or gorgeous homemade food and cakes you can either eat in the welcoming cafe or take out, perfect if you are driving by on your way to Shipley Country Park.

I have tried several different items from the menu from the wonderful ploughmans with homemade ham and local cheeses to the rather delicious paninis and cheese and broccoli quiche.

Cakes are in plenty supply with my favourite being the chewy choccie slice, this is quite frankly the most amazing thing I have ever tasted, but they have so much more including a selection of gluten free.

They also offer a large selection of gourmet goodies to make into a hamper for a gift and lots of cheeses and cooked meats to take away too.

If you are over that way and fancy something a little different for lunch I can highly recommend Basilia.

The staff are helpful and knowledgeable about the food and everything is freshly cooked on the premises.