30 Apr 2026
Notes on nature and travel from The Pumphouse
I step softly out the bedroom with the baby on my hip, trying to stay quiet so as not to wake everyone else in the house, but when I glance out the landing window, I audibly gasp.
We are staying in The Pumphouse, a lone structure perched on the side of a river in the Fens, and the misty sunrise outside is spectacular. I am in my wellies and out there quicker than I ever usually move at that time in the morning. I can practically hear the Pride & Prejudice soundtrack playing as I walk through the dewy grass, watching the sunlight sparkling through the mist and listening to the geese gently honking in the fields beyond. My lungs exhale a lot of tension I didn’t even realise I was holding.
I need to be in nature more. Whilst I don’t have plans to move, for the first time in my life, I can understand the appeal of living in the countryside. I’m not sure I ever would – I think my desire to live very close to both a coffee shop and a bookshop will probably always win out – but I have a feeling my nervous system would be a lot happier if I were surrounded by trees. I’ve noticed how much happier Alfie often is when we’re in the middle of a lot of green stuff and I think noticing what the kids need is a very good way to learn, or at least be reminded of, what you need.
I keep having this feeling of wanting to disconnect and simplify. I suspect it’s simply a product of being a mum of two young children in a system that demands perfection and offers very little support to achieve said perfection, but I find myself fantasising about throwing my phone in the sea, going and living in a cabin in Scandinavia. In the meantime, a peaceful, misty sunrise definitely helped.
Later, my step-mum and I have a conversation about travel and what we want from it. I used to feel a pressure – almost certainly derived from social media – to go everywhere. And actually, I don’t regret leaning into this in my twenties. There are a lot of places I want to go, and I feel very lucky that I ticked off quite a few bucket list places before we had kids. But I feel a lot more intentional and selective about it now. It’s got to feel worth leaving home for – I like being at home (despite fantasies about upping and leaving for Denmark)! I don’t want to go somewhere less nice than my home and my own bed. I don’t want to go somewhere just because the masses declare I should. I want to go somewhere because I know that if I were in my eighties and I had not gone, I know in my soul that I would regret it. Letting go of this pressure is quite freeing; it allows you to focus on where you truly want to go.
We stayed very close to home last year; I vowed I wouldn’t force us into stressful scenarios with a new baby and a three-year-old just because I felt like we should and so we none of our trips took place outside of East Anglia. I have learned that the feeling that we often chase from a holiday is perfectly possible to find without actually going very far. The Pumphouse was a twenty-five-minute drive from our house and I left feeling refreshed, like I’d been somewhere different, like I’d cleared my head and taken a pause. And the lack of travel is such a perk; we left on Monday morning and could still be back in time for Gary to start work and Alfie nursery. It means that the refreshed feeling doesn’t get ruined by a long, stressful journey.
I sometimes miss the freedom I used to have when it comes to travelling. I never enjoyed the travel per se – it was a necessary evil to get where I wanted to go – but I miss how I could just go. Not having to weigh up the multiple needs of multiple people, questioning how fair it is to put young children through the stresses of travel when you know in your heart that they are probably happier pottering about at home. I hope to show my children more of the world as they get older but in the meantime, I hope to teach them that you can still gain a lot by hardly travelling at all.
Written November 2025
19 Nov 2025
Why I'm A Center Parcs Convert
There are a lot of adventures I would like to take my kids on, but they all require them to be older and as a result, I have struggled to know what do if we have wanted to go away with young children. You don’t really get a holiday with young children I’ve found, not in the sense that you come away feeling like you’ve had a break (if anything, the opposite) and whereas once travel was just a necessary to get where we needed to go, it now feels like some bush tucker trial one must complete and I’m not entirely sure the results are worth it.
So when I was saying I just wanted a trip away where we could be outside a lot and I wouldn’t have to think too much about how to entertain the kids, Gary gave me a look and that was how I was persuaded to book a four night stay (I was unwilling to commit to more) at Center Parcs.
And do you know what? It was the first holiday I have been on since we became parents where I can honestly say I properly relaxed. I mean, stating the bloody obvious, but it turns out going somewhere that is truly catered to children makes it so much easier for the parents. DUH.
My fear that I might feel like I was stuck in a resort full of shrieking children (look, I love my kids, but I am not a natural when in a room full of children. I find softplay so overstimulating that I have to wear loop earplugs if I don’t want to end up rocking in a corner hyperventilating) was unfounded. Okay, the echoing swimming pool was a lot on the senses, but otherwise, I really did feel like I was in a quiet forest a lot of the time. The cabins are cleverly designed in such a way that you don’t feel like you have neighbours so waking up and looking out the window at trees and little deer scampering about was very calming.
The things that struck me the most was all the little details when it came to being set-up for kids. The child-sized trollies in the supermarket that turned a practical task into an activity within itself. The mini softplay areas tucked inside the restaurants that turned dinner into a relaxing experience as opposed to some weird challenge where you have to attempt to shovel food in your mouth whilst wrangling an octopus. The staff member who bribed Alfie into wearing a life jacket with a cuddly bunny rabbit when my pleas were falling on deaf ears.
We are a family that need to be outside a lot so being able to step out the front door and immediately be in nature was a delight. We taught Alfie to scooter in the forest, took regular trips to the beach, played in some epic playgrounds and would swing by Starbucks for a chai latte and a wander through the trees (yes, I enjoyed this first hint of Autumn), and that was before all the other options available to us. Arthur and I did a baby sensory class, we swam everyday, took a boat trip on the lake and discovered we all really like playing adventure golf together. Having it all right there and hardly having to think about what to do was such a treat for the ol’ noggin. My brain slowed down, and I can’t tell you how nice a feeling that was.
It meant that we could just focus on being together as a family. We made core memories. It will always be the first place Arthur went swimming, his little chubby thighs splashing about in the water. Him accidentally dunking himself is already turning into a family anecdote. It was the first time Alfie went on a water slide, the place we taught him how to ride his scooter. When we got caught in a rainstorm, we had no choice but to turn it into a game and we jumped over giant puddles and 'ran away' from the rain. Pausing on our way home at dusk so Alfie could quietly watch the deer walking through the woods.
Very happy to hold my hands up and say, okay, I was wrong. You gotta embrace the phase of life you are in and with two active boys (if you’re thinking, how can an eight-month baby be active, please feel free to come look after him for an hour), Center Parcs actually enabled us to feel like we were having a proper holiday for the first time since becoming parents.
31 Jul 2025
How To Spend A Week In North Norfolk (With Young Kids)
When it came to planning our summer holiday this year, our first as a family as four, an hour’s drive was all I was willing to commit to. With a 3.5-year-old that cannot sit still and a 3-month-old in tow, I just couldn’t face a long journey and to be honest, I liked the idea that we could go home without too much fuss if we really needed to. So we settled on North Norfolk.
Our Airbnb was an old farm, all the barns converted to cottages and one very picturesque shared indoor swimming pool, where each cottage had allocated times to have it to themselves. The cottage was on one floor, and the garden backed onto a large field with a playground area and ride-along tractors. It was really peaceful (well until we arrived with our 3-year-old) and there were dozens of rabbits just hopping about. It was perfect for families, and we used the pool nearly everyday.
North Norfolk also turned out to be extremely child friendly. And my favourite kind of child friendly, where things directed at adults still had things for the kids or vice versa. So, here’s what/where I’d recommend for adults and kids alike:
Wells-next-the-sea
This cute little town is perhaps a tad overhyped in my opinion but definitely still worth a visit. There’s lots of cute shops – I sadly didn’t really have the opportunity to delve into the homeware places thanks to buggy/small children, but I was itching to all the same. We did, however, explore some of the food places along the front which is an activity the entire family can get on board with. Two Magpies Bakery was my favourite (excellent cakes, and decent hot chocolate) and we had a tasty lunch at Wells Deli. For the kids, there is a very good playground right in the harbour – big slide, pirate ship, tractor, obstacle course; enough to keep a kid entertained for a decent amount of time basically.
Hunstanton Sealife Centre
Depending on how much you love sea life, this leans more towards the kids than it does adults. But then, what adult doesn’t want to walk through an aquarium tunnel and see a shark swim over their head? It was the first time we’d taken Alfie to something like this, and it was a lot of fun seeing him so engaged with it – in particular, how much he loved watching one of the seals swimming around. We named him Sammy obviously.
Beaches
I can’t talk about North Norfolk without mentioned the stunning beaches – Brancaster and Holkham in particular (if you go to Holkham, The Lookout café is worth a visit) but I’m not going to pretend that I massively enjoy going to the beach with a young baby. Trying to breastfeed as the wind whips sand around you is not the one. Neither is trying to keep the baby in the shade when the sun beats down (although I think my idea of using the buggy parasol and wandering up and down the beach like a Jane Austen character was kinda genius). But obviously worth going if you don't have a freshly baked one.
Pensthorpe
Hard to know who had more fun here, me or Alfie (okay, it was Alfie but only by a small margin). This is a very beautiful nature reserve, humming with wildlife – don’t forget to check out the flamingos – but it was the epic outdoor and indoor play areas that made it worth every penny of the ticket price. The slides were so much fun and Alfie had the time of his life – we literally had to haul him out kicking and screaming when it was time to go. Also, the shop was a dream if you’re into interiors.
Droves Orchards
This orchard includes a lovely farm shop, various lifestyle shops and some very good food places. Eric’s fish and chips was very tasty, but their sister pizza place took it up a notch – would highly recommend the goat’s cheese and pumpkin one. They had a great sandy children’s play area with a big boat to clamber on. The ice cream place was also good, and they also had a children’s play area with a kitchen and plastic ice creams that kept Alfie entertained for ages.
Stiffkey Stores
I would put this firmly in the ‘for-adults’ category if it wasn’t for the fact that, once again, little touches had been added to make it appealing for kids as well. This picturesque coffee shop / interiors and homeware shop / general store is a lovely quiet spot for a coffee and (really good it has to be said) brownies, as well as a browse around the kind of homeware shop that makes you want to buy everything. The little courtyard area had a mud kitchen so kids can happily play in the outdoors whilst you enjoy your coffee, and the kid's area of the shop also provides a great distraction as long as you’re prepared to part with money.
Fat Cow Burgers
Situated in a beautiful wildflower meadow, these guys serve delicious burgers (and soft serve ice cream, although the machine was sadly broken on our visit) in a gorgeous setting. If you happen to time your visit on a hot summer’s day, which we did, it makes for one of those dream-like summer scenes that you envision when fantasising about the summer ahead. Colourful wildflowers swaying in a gentle breeze, soft music playing, that golden light as the sun gets lower in the sky. The perfect dinner setting. And if you’re thinking this sounds like it wouldn’t be child friendly, the first thing I noticed upon arriving was a neat little row of Ikea highchairs lined up in the grass. Also, only a few minutes from Pensthorpe. Would highly recommend this place.
Pretty sure we’ve only scratched the surface of North Norfolk but the great thing about holidaying not far from home is it won’t be long before we can go back for more.
31 Dec 2024
Boxing Day Christmas Lights @ Wimpole
23 Dec 2024
Taking A Break: A Christmassy Weekend In Norwich
Going to Norwich seems to be turning into an annual tradition of ours. We love the city, it’s only an hour’s drive away and we’re really learning to appreciate the charm of going back to somewhere we have been before when the intention of the weekend is to have time off.
We drove over on Friday afternoon, listening to the Parenting Hell podcast on our way which is our usual car journey listen of choice. Our Airbnb was lovely, a converted dance studio, tucked away behind some beautiful houses that would fit right into a Richard Curtis Christmas film and very close to the centre.
Norwich had really gone to town on the Christmas decorations; it felt like every street was lit up and there were Christmas trees everywhere. We stumbled across a pub called The Belgian Monk and it felt like old times (aside from the fact I wasn’t drinking alcohol) being sat there sharing crisps and having a proper chat without the interruption of a toddler. We then had dinner at St Andrew’s Brewhouse. We went for drinks there last year and loved the atmosphere and how festive it felt, and we weren’t disappointed this year. We had a very leisurely meal and rather enjoyed people watching the various Christmas parties and trying to figure out other people’s office dynamics.
Pastries at Bread Source was a must on Saturday morning; we love Bread Source. We discovered a different location just three minutes from our Airbnb and it was a lot quieter than our usual – more central – spot and it was lovely and peaceful eating cardamon buns surrounded by piles of baked goods, beautiful handmade garlands and twinkling Christmas trees.
We did a little shopping, finishing off our Christmas presents, browsed Norwich’s abundance of cute, independent shops (can’t possibly comment on whether I bought the bauble-shaped candle…) and had a little look around the cathedral, partly because it’s free and was a good escape from the howling winds, and partly because I knew it would be lovely and Christmassy and I wasn’t disappointed. We had lunch at the cathedral café which turned out to be run by Bread Source as well, so it was our second visit of the day and, quite frankly, we weren’t mad about it.
We then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the Airbnb and I think this was the biggest treat of the weekend. We did venture out briefly to get a hot chocolate from Hotel Chocolat but otherwise lying on the sofa with my book without any interruptions was glorious.
Dinner was at Benoli and I would highly recommend this place. The décor was all deep colours with fairy lights and candles and the food was delicious pasta and Italian-themed starters and puddings. Everything was so tasty.
Rounded off the day by watching Shetland in bed and again, I think this was a bigger treat then going out for dinner just the two of us. Peace and quiet is extremely limited in our lives these days!
We had pastries at Bread Source, of course, the next morning before heading home to our boy who had been treating Granny and Grandad to his loud renditions of Jingle Bells for most of the weekend…
22 Dec 2024
Christmas Lights @ Cambridge Botanical Gardens
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