23 Oct 2020

An Autumn Mini Break In Cambridge


Cambridge mini break

 

Pre-Covid, I’d have probably asked myself if going 10 miles down the road really counts as a mini break but this is 2020 and we gotta take what we can get these days eh lads? 


On the basis of nothing more than we had a booking.com voucher (a wedding gift) that had been refunded more than once due to covid-related cancellations, we decided to book ourselves into the four-star Clayton hotel in Cambridge for a night. Because if there was ever a year to spontaneously ‘treat yo’self’, this would be it. It had cloud-like super king beds, a gorgeous bar and truly superb interiors. From the spiral staircase in the entrance hall to the panelled-wall library areas to the velvet pink pouffes; everything was very much up my street. 


Clayton Hotel, Cambridge

Clayton Hotel, Cambridge

Clayton Hotel, Cambridge

It was the last weekend of September and the first time it really felt like Autumn; we’d dug out the knitwear for the first time and everything. We arrived in our neighbouring city in the afternoon, dropped our bags off, marvelled at the marble bathroom and beautifully comfy bed and then headed into the centre of Cambridge. Something I’m slowly learning this year is that an unexpected joy of trips close to home, apart from the lack of travelling, is the lack of pressure to squeeze it all in. Which to be fair, I don’t actually mind when you’re excitedly trying to take in a new place, but on the other end of the scale, knowing I’ll come back to Cambridge many times gave me the permission to gently wander which is a different kind of joy. 


And Cambridge city centre is a great place for gently wandering. Full of beautiful architecture, an abundance of recognisable and independent shops and an overall studious feel, there is a lot for the eyes to absorb and you can easily while away an afternoon by meandering around the town, the shops & the market. We stopped in Aromi for a tea break or, in my case, a hot chocolate break. We found it at random so I was taken completely by surprise by how good their hazelnut, velvet hot chocolate was. That combined with the aesthetically-pleasing slice of pistachio cake we shared and the cosy interiors made Aromi a great accidental find. 


Cambridge

Cambridge

After the obligatory pre-dinner-crash-in-hotel-room that is synonymous with city breaks, we had a drink in the hotel bar which we both agreed reminded us of a New York bar, although we couldn’t put our finger on why. Anyway, there was stylish décor, great wine and a marble bar complete with beautiful fairy lights. And then we headed to the Old Bicycle Shop for dinner which has been top of our list of places to try in Cambridge for a good while. 


The Old Bicycle Shop literally used to be a bike shop and there are nods to it throughout with curled bicycle handles mimicking antlers and photos of the old shop on the wall, and wooden floors, leather seats and moody décor that you could just imagine in a shop selling bicycles. The food did not disappoint; Gary had the crispy salt & pepper squid with squid ink chilli mayonnaise & charred lime to start whilst I had the honey & thyme baked feta which were both great, but we both agreed that the gnocchi with sun dried tomatoes, olives & almond pesto (Gary had the added trout) was the shining star. Our only disappointment was it left us too full for dessert but hey, we’ll definitely be going back. 


Cambridge

Cambridge

Cambridge

We had the comfiest night sleep in our king cloud bed and then headed to Bill’s for breakfast for old time’s sake; we miss having a Bill’s round the corner and their lovely décor and lovely food always make it a reliable option. 


I would highly recommend wandering around the centre of Cambridge on a Sunday morning; with the shops not opening until 11, it’s a rare dose of quiet and a joy to watch the city sleepily wake up. When it is awake, if you’re a bookworm, I would recommend a visit to their Waterstones as it is freakin’ huge. It’s spread over five enormous floors and, yes, I made Gary walk around them all. Always happiest wandering around a bookshop me. 


New book in hand, we took a slow wander back to the train station for the 20 minute journey home. 


Cambridge

Cambridge

Cambridge


13 Oct 2020

The September Highlights

September Highlights


Do you feel it? It’s in the air; the crisp feeling, the smell of woodsmoke… the golden season is rolling in. Normally I’d be excited at this time of year but, well, 2020 init? This isn’t the post to dwell on the sense of impending doom currently floating about so I’m not going to. September mostly felt like a last hurrah for summer and the temporary grant of sort-of freedom; here’s the good stuff! 

Out & About

Keen to squeeze every last drop out of the last of the summer, our weekends have been pretty busy in September so it’s difficult to just pick one thing: adventures included a day at the beach, a day trip to London and a mini break in Cambridge plus a cheeky pub lunch and a couple of ice creams to round up the warm weather. Check out all our photos here. Summer is well and truly out my system now; HEY AUTUMN.

Watching / Reading / Listening

I seem to be having a cooking show moment and am loving Jamie’s Keep Cooking, Nadiya Bakes and, of course, Bake Off. They are all so soothing. At the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I have to mention Des which was very good if extremely creepy. Whilst I don’t think he’s ever given a bad one, David Tennant’s performance was particularly noteworthy.

And on the subject of crime drama, Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith was my favourite book this month. My favourite of the Strike series so far even if, at 944 pages, my wrist needed physio afterwards. 

A belly full of food

This was the month I learned a very easy method of making Portuguese custard tarts at home and oh my what an exciting moment it was. Buttery, nutmeggy and, of course, custardy… so good! Grab yourself some puff pastry and Nadiya’s new cookbook and get going. 

Show & Tell

I finally bit the bullet and bought some Lucy & Yak dungarees having perused their website on the regular for ages. They are absolutely worth the investment; beautiful colour and material, so comfortable and sustainable! 

Tiny, happy moments

When we spent the day on Brancaster beach in Norfolk, the sun shining across the huge sprawling beach combined with hundreds of kite surfers made for the most beautiful of scenes. 

September Highlights





2 Oct 2020

Photo Diary: The Last Days Of Summer



Over the last few weeks it has felt like we have been squeezing out the last drops of the summer whilst the hot weather clung on throughout September. I guess subconsciously we’ve been trying to make up for the fact that the majority of summer was spent in some form of lockdown with the knowledge that further restrictions were probably imminent.

We had a mini break in the Cotswolds to coincide with my best mate's wedding where I had the honour of being his best wo-man. The Cotswolds was just as pretty as everyone says and it was so lovely to get dressed up and watch some of my favourite people get married, particularly given the shitshow that is 2020 and all the restrictions around weddings. We had a lovely day trip to the beach in Norfolk with my rents which coincided with glorious sunshine, warm sea and hundreds of kite surfers! There have been sunny walks, ice creams and pub gardens plus I went into London to catch up with some of my favourite people, who I hadn't seen since before lockdown. The last time I saw Beth's ickle bubba, he was only 3 weeks old! And Alice & I celebrated our ten-year friend-iversary with lunch in Gloria where there were - count them- seven different occasions of the waiters singing 'Happy Birthday' to unsuspecting strangers... And whilst different to what we’d anticipated, it has felt like we’ve had a little sliver of the summer we’d originally planned.

A big ol’ photo dump:


The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer

The Last Days Of Summer