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beingbuttons May 15, 2019

Exploring the Southern Cotswolds: Castle Combe, Tetbury and more

The Cotswolds is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which stretches across parts of Southern England. It’s characterised by picturesque villages made of yellow Cotswold stone and is what many people might think of as ‘typical England’. Although I’ve heard lots about the Cotswolds, and seen plenty of pictures of some of its famous villages, it isn’t an area that I’ve explored extensively. However, with some recent time off I was determined to change that, particularly as the Cotswolds are within surprisingly easy reach of Bristol. A number of locations across the Southern Cotswolds were what I had in mind, and I’ve shared a few in this guide.

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beingbuttons April 17, 2019

Visiting Lavenham: A day out in Suffolk

I’d never heard of Lavenham before I was taken by a friend recently on a day trip from Cambridge. Last time I visited Cambridge I experienced some of the alternative activities the city had to offer, and this time I was keen to explore some of the surrounding area. You can tell that my friend knows me fairly well as it was pretty much my prefect day out. A pretty village, picnic, National Trust property (and tea room!) and some time walking around in the fresh air. Before we went I was banned from looking it up online, as I was told that it would spoil the effect when we arrived. If you’ve not been, consider this the spoiler alert for the rest of the post. But if you want to see some of what the village has to offer, read on.

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beingbuttons February 14, 2019

There’s no place like York

I lived in York for four years, and it remains my favourite city in the UK. I read recently that “you belong in three places: the place you grew up, the place where you went to college and the place where the person you love is” and so it’s not surprising that York will always be an important place to me. It was the place where I studied, the place where I took my first graduate job, and it was the city where James and I met. However, I still had a nervous sense of anticipation about my recent visit. It was over 18 months since I’d last been to the city and a lot can change in that time. Part of me was worried that going back would feel so much like going home that I’d want to leave Bristol immediately, and a larger part of me was concerned…

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beingbuttons January 30, 2019

Brunch at Yurt Lush, Bristol

I’ve said it before, and I’ll happily say it again – brunch is one of my favourite meals of the day. Associated by me with lazy weekends, exploring new places or seeing friends, brunch is a fun and tasty treat. I could quite happily spend every Saturday going to different trendy cafes and trying out their brunch options. However, my money would soon run out and if I did it all the time it wouldn’t quite feel as special, so for now it’s still an occasional thing. A friend coming to Bristol for the weekend was just the excuse I needed to try somewhere new and when a colleague suggested Yurt Lush to me, I decided not to look too much further.

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beingbuttons November 28, 2018

An Autumn Weekend in Bakewell, The Peak District

Take 12 friends, who all have different jobs, different leave entitlements, who all live in different parts of England (and one currently in France), and try to organise a weekend together. It’s a little bit of a challenge. However, with a bit of discussion it was decided that autumn would be the best time to go. A weekend in October was selected, and then the next challenge was picking a location. It needed to be somewhere that wasn’t too far to drive from Cumbria, the North East, Bristol or London. It needed to have access to a train station, and possibly be near an airport. However we also wanted somewhere reasonably rural so that we could go out for walks in the countryside. Eventually it seemed like the Peak District was the place to go, and Bakewell offered us the opportunity to stay in the beautiful Haddon Villa.

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