the gallery: happy

 

 

This photo of one happy boy makes me happy. A great day out with just the two of us as dad was out on a long bike ride as he trains for Ironman Wales. We decided to visit Heatherton which is a sports theme park. We looked at the many activities on offer and decided upon pistol shooting, adventure golf and archery. The boy then carried on with the fun and had a go at the kids Land Rovers and body zorbing.

 

Well, it turns out body zorbing (or inserting yourself into an large inflated ball and slamming yourself into each other if you were wondering) is the best activity ever. If you are 9 years old that is.

 

This is my first time joining in with The Gallery on the Sticky Fingers blog. Every week Tara suggests a theme and you join in by posting a photo on your blog. Hop over to Tara's blog and check out the other photo theme entries.

 



 



days out in pembrokeshire: coastal path

 

 

The Pembrokeshire Coastal Path is 186 miles long and hugs the spectacular coastline in Pembrokeshire from St Dogmaels in the north to Amroth in the south. Most of the path is within Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Britain's only coastal National Park.

 

The sun was shining so we headed out to Marloes near Dale to explore the path in the beautiful weather. We have tried our best to get out and about when the weather permits and today didn't disappoint. The secluded beach in the photo above is located at Musselwick Sands.

 



 

 

 

We parked up and got out into the glorious countryside. The bees were buzzing, spring flowers bursting out all over the place and the sun making a welcome appearance. It wasn't long before I was stripping off the layers because I was too hot.

 

 

 

The pink thrift was everywhere and looking fabulous. I think that's what it's called anyway!

 

As you can see, parts of the path can be quite dangerous with the path coming quite close to the edge of sheer drop cliffs. This signpost certainly got the message through!

 

 

We picked a perfect day to explore a little part of the path. The sea was like a millpond with not a breath of wind to be had. We only stayed for an hour, just enough to work up an appetite for an ice cream from the village shop afterwards without tiring us all out.

We are planning our next part of the path to walk when the weather allows. Have you walked the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path? Which part is your favourite bit?

days out in pembrokeshire: caldey island

 

 

Caldey Island is located off Tenby's South Beach. Hop on a boat from the harbour for a short boat ride to this secluded island. It is now home to an order of Cistercian monks and their monastery overlooks the village green. The monks make perfume and chocolate on the island which is sold in the gift shop. I can vouch for the plain chocolate, it was very nice (I just had to support the monks in their venture, didn't I?!).

The lighthouse offers spectacular views. As you can see, the sky was an beautiful shade of blue on the day we visited.

There are numerous churches on the island with beautiful stained glass and statues. Some of the churches were quite tiny and we were free to wander in and out of them.

Have you visited Caldey Island? What did you think of it?

days out in pembrokeshire: national trust stackpole estate

 

 

 

 

The weather has been wonderful here this Easter so we have been out and about the local area exploring. The wild garlic in the woods at Stackpole was everywhere. Stackpole is a National Trust site with extensive woodlands, lakes with an abundance of wildlife including resident otters and a beautiful beach at Broad Haven South.  

 

 

 

 

There is a pair of swans nesting right next to the footpath which makes for easy access photography!  Just as well because I didn't have a zoom lens with me today.  The swans must be quite used to people and dogs because the path is widely used and they hardly reacted to us being there.

 

 

 

 

This view is up towards the estate from the Eight Arch Bridge where the otters like to appear from time to time. Sadly we didn't see them today, maybe next time. We have spotted them before so we know that they are usually about.

 

 





 



The greenery was waking up from the long winter slumber. Almost as if it was unfurling itself before our eyes. It was quite a show.

 

 

 

 

The bluebells also put on a good show as usual. This time of year is ideal to be visiting wooded areas in the UK with nature bursting out at the seams at every turn. The Stackpole Estate is just one part of Pembrokeshire worth a trip to visit. I'll be coming back soon with photos of other things to do in the area. Let me know if you have any gems which a worth a visit!

 

 





stationery love

Hands up who loves a bit of stationery? Not the run of the mill boring stuff you get in an office, but fun and pretty stationery in an amazing range of patterns and colours. My day job is in an office and lately I've taken to bringing in colourful pieces from home to cheer up my desk space (and to take away the tedium a little!). I have also taken into work a selection of colourful gel pens but I have got a bit of a job on my hands making sure that they stay on my desk and not accidentally on purpose landed on someone else's!

The washi tape in the top photo are from The Range. They come in a pack of 3 and are great value at only £1.25 per packet, although there's only 2 metres on each roll.

Sticky notes have changed a bit since the days of Post It Notes and their rectangular yellow stickies. The sticky notes with the butterflies on in the photo above came from Poundland  - a great bargain find! The smaller rectangular sticky notes with words on and the arrow shaped paper clips also came from The Range.

One shop I like to visit is Paperchase for it's vast selection. It's like an Aladdin's Cave of stationery porn. Sadly, the nearest store to me is miles away so I only seem to visit on annual basis - good job they do mail order. These fishy sticky tabs are fun don't you think?

These travel inspired sticky notes are from John Lewis. They cost £8.99 for a pack of 8.

Have you spotted any nice stationery lately? I love noseying at new places to shop for goodies.

silent sunday

silent sunday

 

 

do

  

Every New Year I vow to do things. Do less eating rubbish.

Do more eating good things.

Do more sorting and tidying.

Do more painting projects.

Do more sorting and tidying (see a theme developing here?).


So I have decided that my word for the year is do. Do more. Do less. Or just do something. What though, I haven't decided yet. Running definitely. Organising yes once and for all. Do those projects that I have been meaning to get on with for so long.

In the words of Nike. Just do it.

What's your word for 2014?

silent sunday

 

 

Photograph: Rebecca Naden/Reuters