A Hygge Staycation

Hello there,

I have just returned back to work today after having a really lovely week off. I've called it a hygge staycation and it's been simply wonderful for re-charging the batteries. This last year has been such a busy one that I haven't had quite as much time as I would have liked to simply stop and switch off from work. I know that doing this is really important for my wellbeing and this quieter down time also helps with new creative ideas. Which may I add i'm full of and can't wait to get going again.

As I write this blog post many of you will be taking holidays and staycations local to home this year with the pandemic and I thought it might be helpful to share some of the ways you can switch off and get your hygge fix even without going away.

We began our week off together by taking a 20 minute car journey from our home to the tiny cobbled village of Howarth. It's an area steeped in history and with the famous Literature background of the Bronte sisters it's a very popular place to visit. We decided to head there early and grab a lovely cup of tea from a tea room on the main street. We then popped on our hiking boots and waterproofs and ventured onto the rolling moors to discover the Bronte waterfall. To say that it was May there was quite a chill in the air and the breeze that picked up blew any cobwebs away leaving us with a clear mind. After a few days of rainfall prior to our visit the waterfall was quite impressive and it was very relaxing to just sit on a rock and take in the sounds. Nature has a great way of helping us be present and truly living in the moment. After an early morning start and getting a few miles in we headed home and cooked up a roast dinner. My fiancé is an amazing cook and made some very impressive Yorkshire puddings which we enjoyed with plenty of gravy.

Over the next few days of our week off we enjoyed heading out for longer walks from our home. We've downloaded the OS map to our phones which makes it easy to find new routes to take. One of which was to a local nature reserve hidden in part of our local area that we had never explored before. Going through the week we were the only ones heres and we enjoyed just sitting peacefully watching the birds feed and the ducks swimming through the reeds. 

We decided as part of our week off to re-live sone of our favourite childhood adventures. This involved heading to the cliffs at Bempton on the east coast of England and going on a puffin hunt! I was so excited to spot two through my binoculars hiding in the rocks. After a sunny coastal walk watching the sea birds we the drove up the coast to the seaside town of Filey and had some fish and chips sat on the beach. 

On Thursday we headed out to one our favourite gardens which is Harlow Carr in Harrogate. It looked so beautiful with all the woodland flowers and tulips and it gave me so much inspiration for my garden. We made a picnic to take with us and enjoyed eating it under our umbrella along with a Betty's hot chocolate. It felt very hygge as we sat listening to the raindrops as we ate. 

Our last adventure of the week was the St Ives Estate in Bingley. Here we spotted the most wonderful carpet of blue bells on the woodland floor. They smelt amazing after a quick downpour of rain! As this was quite a short walk we headed home and indulged in some Bettys bakery treats we had purchased at Harlow Carr and I read a Scandi magazine by the fire. 

One job I finished at the end of ouir week off  was printing off a collection of photos from the last few months and sticking these into my photo albums. I love doing this and then in turn looking back at previous years and all the memories we've made. 

It's been a really relaxing week and I have loved spending it so slowly in nature, I think one thing i've learnt is that the longer you're in nature the more you see. It really does teach us to be patient. 

Kimberly x