A couple of weekends ago we went to Doncaster to stay with some very dear friends who we hadn’t seen for ages! On the Sunday afternoon we went up to Clumber Park – it was a glorious sunny spring day, which was perfect for wandering about and having the first picnic of 2014 Clumber Park is maintained by the National Trust (find out more on their website) and so there are lots of lovely things to do with great facilities. You can stay in the busier bits, or wander around on your own and hardly see anyone, so it’s perfect for spending a lazy afternoon!

We had a look around the lovely walled kitchen garden (which you need to pay extra to get in to if you’re not a member) and pottered around the lake and in the fab bookshop, where all books are £1! Tom got me some amazing vintage craft books – they’re so lovely that I’ll be doing a post about them, so look out for that…in the meantime, you can enjoy my photo gallery from Clumber Park!

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This year we spent Christmas in Cumbria, and I took lots of photos in and around Maryport and Keswick. Here is a little selection of the best ones!

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I’m really pleased with these photos of footprints in the sand on Tiree. The wonderful thing about them is that I’d never be able to take them again – once the waves come in the footprints are gone.

This last photo isn’t of footprints, but an amazing pattern left in the sand – I’ve never seen anything like it!

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I’ve just realised that I still have a few more photos from Tiree to share with you! So much has happened over the past few weeks and I’ve had so many blog post ideas that I just forgot about these lovely photos.

These were taken on the western side of the island – I’m not sure which little bay we drove to, but it was great for beach finds and rock pools.

In the middle of all of the stones I spotted this little flower!

My wellibobs made beachcombing so much easier!

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Beachcombing is one of those things that I could actually do for the whole day. Every beach is different, and every day is different, and that is the beauty of it. Sometimes you end up with loads of finds, sometimes the haul is not so good – but our walk along Crossapol beach was rather fruitful!

Here is a selection of some of the finds:

The textures and colours on these shells are beautiful – they are fairly similar in shape but each one is unique. I also made these other finds, which include a small patterned stone, some fragments of pottery and some amazing purple shells – such a beautiful shade of violet!

Crossapol beach was probably one of my favourites on Tiree – the long white sands make for great walks and it was so peaceful there.

I hope you’re enjoying these photos from Tiree!

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We’ve spent the last week on the small Scottish island of Tiree, as we had the pleasure of travelling up there to celebrate a wedding (this explains my lack of posts over the past week or so as there was no signal and very limited WIFI access!). But to make up for it, I’m planning several posts about our time there as it is such a magical place. Beautiful white sands and turquoise sea – I never guessed that it would be so amazing!

These photos were taken on the north eastern side of the island in an area called Miodar, on a day where Tiree had the most sunshine in the whole of the UK – apparently it was 12 hours of sun, but it felt like much longer! Whatever the number of hours, it meant that we could do a lot of exploring which was fab.

Tiree is pretty flat and so it’s perfect for experimenting with a panorama photography app – Tom kept laughing at me because I kept stopping to spin on the spot and get a photo! But it was definitely worth it and I’m pleased with the results – actually, I took all of the photos on my iPhone (because my camera is a bit of a faff to charge up) and it didn’t disappoint.

Overall, I took about 500 photos during our time on the island – quite a lot even by my standards! I’ve been going through them all and can’t decide on my favourite just yet, although I do like this one because it shows how beautifully clear and blue the water is.

Stay tuned for more photos!

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One of our friends suggested to us that we visit the Camera Obscura during our visit to Edinburgh last month, and it was an excellent suggestion. When she told us about it, she said that it is quite difficult to describe, but we would know what she meant when we visited. And she was right! But this is a good thing, and you have to see it to believe it!

I couldn’t take photos of the Camera Obscura itself – it is in a darkened room, but we were shown amazing views of the city by our guide. There are fantastic views from the rooftop terrace, which allowed for more photo opportunities! It was quite a dark day, so some are better than others.

There were some amazing chimney pots, and I’m wondering if I can take some inspiration from them for a crafty project…this will require more thinking!

After admiring the views, we went through the exhibitions in the World of Illusions. There are lots of magic eye prints (including an amazing one of wolves in a wood – my description isn’t doing it justice but it’s hard to describe!), holograms and other installations to trick the eyes and the mind. There is also a mirror maze and light exhibitions which are wonderful – I’m pleased with how these photos turned out!

This final photo is taken at the end of the Giant Vortex Tunnel – you walk across a stationary bridge whilst the light wall spins around you. It made me feel so queasy but Tom was fine! He obviously has a much stronger stomach than me!

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