2015 best nine

Over the past few days 3x3 collages have been popping up all over instagram, and I decided to play along. Creating using a new website (aptly named!), it allows you to instantly collage your most liked photos of the year up to that point. Here's an overview of my year, in instagram likes. 

Wishing I was at camp // This summer saw the first time in four years, that I didn't work as a summer camp counsellor. Cue emotional throwback post, whilst sat in a laboratory working on my final university dissertation. 

Graduation // My masters graduation happened to be on a gloriously sunny day in December. 

Cheshire Ice Cream Farm Tree // A local tourist/kid-friendly hotspot near me is an ice cream farm. Complete with a tree made of ice cream, which 'snows' every thirty minutes.

Graduation 2.0 // I was fortunate enough to snag an extra ticket to my graduation, which meant my brother was able to tag along, making the whole shebang even more special. 

Cambridge explorings // Gondola rides on the River Cam with one of my uni BFFs.

Spring blossom // The hidden delights of the backstreets of Bath

North Wales // Being home for the autumn meant many walking trips, one of which resulted in said photo. 

Pontycysyllte Aqueduct // Autumn wanderings

Rowing on the Dee // New, post uni hobby

#2015best nine // what a fantastic reminder of the moments that make up a year.

A weekend catch-up

There is nothing better than a semi-impromptu visit from your best friend. Especially when that visit coincides with a weekend when you really need a few days off from normal life, which was definitely the case this past weekend. Meg lives a good train ride away, in our home town which means our visits are intermittent, making this weekend even more special.

So how did we fill our time? Chatting, chatting and more chatting! Despite having big plans to go out in the evenings life interfered and we were both exhausted by 9pm, resulting in Netflix watching and snack eating, whilst catching up. What could be better right?

On Saturday morning I had to work for an hour in Bristol, so we caught a early train, and walked through the city to Park Street, meandering through the knick-knack shops on the way, and drinking our first of many cups of coffee. The rest of the day was spent shopping in Cabot Circus. Which is always incredibly busy on a Saturday, and slightly overwhelming!

Sunday was spent exploring Bath. Consuming a huge breakfast (Pancakes and Maple syrup for me!), at Cafe Retro and again leafing away through as many independent stores as we could find.

We are both big readers, so a lot of this time was spent in bookshops. We first explored Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights, with it's book bath, reading nooks, and three stories of books to peruse.

On the way to the second shop, we stumbled across the set for BBC's Sherlock, where they were filming the next day. The street was in the process of being dressed like a Victorian Christmas, and it was fascinating to see them change the window dressings, and shops signs.

We finally managed to squeeze in one last book shop, Topping and Company Booksellers, which had one of the best selections of Young Adult books that I have ever seen in a store. I will definitely be returning to both in the near future.

Overall it was a wonderfully busy weekend!

Yes, I joined the National Trust!

I love Sundays. They are the one day in an otherwise busy week that I always try my hardest to set aside and explore somewhere new, or somewhere old.

As I have only lived in Bath for a couple of months, I am still in the new phase of visiting places, which I absolutely love. I am fortunate enough to live in the prettiest city in England (in my opinion!) and there is no shortage of things to do.

This past Sunday, after a strained morning of studying in the library, I made my way back down the hill to meet up with my friend Harriet. Our aim, to make it to Prior Park, located just over a mile from the city centre.

Prior Park is a National Trust owned landscape garden originally cinstructed in the 18th century. It boasts some amazing views of the surrounding area, thanks to Bath's hilly location. As well as a Palladian Bridge.

We decided to bookend our visit with lunch at a local garden centre on the walk up the hill, and a cup of coffee and cake in Bath city centre afterwards. Which were both well received, even if the sandwiches we ordered did take half an hour to arrive! 

Overall it was a lovely autumnal Sunday and a welcome break from the reality of university life.