Back in the sea fret of time

Late morning and the sea fret lingers on the coast of Northumberland, swirling around dog walkers who emerge from the cold dense air like apparitions in waterproofs and walking boots. 

The fishing hamlet of Low Hauxley may be accustomed to a few spectres since this area was an ancient burial place and excavations have found remains from the Bronze age under the dune system, marram grass anchoring secrets from thousands of years ago. An eroding coast of cairns and cists containing human bones and beakers decorated with incised markings.

The beach gradually appeared through the shroud of mist as I walked with my trusty terrier, pattering paws on flat sand rippled with patterns of coal dust. Crab pots left by rocks and a smattering of beach huts on the coastal road, today's inhabitants alongside their Neolithic neighbours.

Frost

Memories of Jack Frost winter's mornings as a child with patterned window panes and crunchy grass under school shoes and breathing out a flurry of air like a little dragon. Examining frosty gems on leaf edges and being satisfied with a sparkling covering, second place to snow in its transformation of the daily landscape. Something new, a fresh angle, changing that which seemed insignificant into a glorious winter view of white rooftops, ice in buckets and tones of blue. I can stand for ages, absorbed in its beauty and admire the grasp of Old Man Winter. A ferocious grasp on any herbaceous plant that dared to have perky green shoots this far into winter, now slumped in defeat.....for now at least. A dazzle of silver as the low sun hits each crystal, ready to burn away into vapour like the circle of smoke from next door's chimney.

Leaf kicking

I'd been thinking about leaf kicking days and crisp air. I'd been thinking about how much my son loves crunching through those leaves with wellies and scooping armfuls up. So, that's what we did.

An autumn carpet, warm clothes and a dry day with all but that slight mist that seems to linger all day. Across the field of cows and through the woodland and along the pathways. Running and cheering and the nearby cows did not mind,  just carried on grazing and looking every so often from under the canopy of trees.

The wellies were making a debut, Star Wars ones for that is all that they had in his size but they look smart and kept little feet dry as they scudded and scampered in the amber heap of leaves. A time to do so for you can blink at this time of year and suddenly it is winter and sludge and bare trees. Today though, cold air biting, mushrooms springing up from logs and mellow happiness.

Days out for the first week of January

A certain little boy is 6 at the start of January and we are taking him out for the day. He likes exploring so a few ideas of places to go involve bracing the elements, putting the wellies on and walking in the winter landscape.

So in the running are:

Bodnant Garden near Conwy which is one of the National Trusts top winter gardens to visit. If the flooded areas have receded and enough of the garden is open, off we will go to enjoy the winter colour of dogwood stems and hellebores. 

On the same day we are thinking we could also go to Conwy Castle too for a history fix and LB has never been. Another of Edward I's fortresses, up to the battlements for a fantastic view out to sea and imagine life in a Medieval castle. Our Cadw home education passes will give us free entry so that's more money to spend on lunch in the walled town.

If Wales looks to be a wash out we may head further south to near Lichfield which in itself is a super place to explore with the cathedral and the museums but this time we would like to look around the National Memorial Arboretum. 150 acres of green space; trees, memorials, a wildlife pond and activity packs for children, it's really appealing to me and I'm sure LB will love the open space.

If we are still puddled out with rain I think we will go to the World Museum Liverpool to marvel at the collections especially zoology for our animal-mad boy and a saunter around the aquarium too. 

Will let you know where we end up going! I have a feeling based on the weather which it is going to be......

A rainy Dig the City - urban garden festival

 It was a very rainy day but I don't like to miss Manchester's Dig the City and have very much enjoyed the festival in previous years. Gardens amongst the city architecture and some great community gardens, perhaps a little scaled down this year but I still saw some fabulous creative ideas to share with you. 

Could you be living on #BritainsBrightestStreet

My father has been umming and ahhing for ages now about investing in solar panels. A few houses local to him have had them installed and he's had a chat with neighbours about how utilising solar power could reduce his energy bills. He's certainly interested, as hearing how much he could save, it sounds like a sensible option.

Perhaps he needs to consider entering the SunEdison search for #BritainsBrightestStreet competition who are looking for  5 – 20 houses on the same street who want to save money whilst benefiting from solar energy. This great community minded initiative will offer the lucky winners free installation of solar panels and 10 years’ worth of SunEdison’s Energy Saver Plan for free, which means savings of approximately 45% off electricity bills during this 10 year period.

Along with this saving, the street awarded #BritainsBrightestStreet can also nominate a local community project or a school that they think deserve free solar panels installed. More community minded positivity and I can think of many, such as my son's autism group that would benefit from energy savings. 

Backing onto my allotment site, many of the houses have solar panels installed and it has made me also consider having them when I finally find our forever home. I studied environmental science as my Degree and renewable energy was a huge part of that where we learnt all about the technologies involved and their benefits. As a home-owner, there are Government incentives to generate your own energy by way of solar panels, with money saving on energy bills and  a tariff that offers payment for excess energy transferred to the National Grid.

SunEdison are the world's largest renewable energy development company and are the first company in the UK to offer this type of solar energy saving plan to homes requiring neither no upfront payment or installation cost. Perhaps like my father, the initial cost had put you off so this is really a wonderful option. You will save money on your energy bills and improve the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)  rating of  your home which could increase house value.

The geek in me loves that SunEdison have a  monitoring platform that you can view through web browser or mobile device so you can see how much energy you are producing. By consuming energy when your solar panels are producing, you'll save even more money. So for instance doing your laundry or running the dishwasher when the system is producing solar energy.

The #BritainsBrightestStreet campaign sounds like such a great opportunity to reignite some community spirit too by getting together with neighbours to enter and see if you can join in on a super energy saving plan that is better for your monthly budget and the environment too.

I'm working with BritMums and SunEdison talking about the #BritainsBrightestStreet search campaign. I have been compensated for my time. All editorial and opinions are my own. Visit http://bit.ly/1ID0enl for more information about #BritainsBrightestStreet search.

Brrrr the chill starts

A winter's day in Buxton

January Allotment

 The sun shone burning away a frosty morning melting the ice, all except that at the top of the water butt which we fished out and set on the floor for LB to investigate. Not an awful lot else was going on. A blank canvas and a LOT of digging.

Snow day sledging fun

 As soon as the snow arrived we drove across the Cheshire county to higher ground at the edge of the Peak District at Tegg's Nose Country Park, a renowned sledging area for winter fun. It seemed so long since we last went sledging so it was exciting to feel the crunchy snow under our boots and watch LB's face as he swooshed down the hill with his dad. There's a nice visitor's centre by the car park and then a trail of about 15 minutes down the iciest path ever where we all took a tumble. However, it was worth it as the fields set aside for sledging are fantastic.  The surrounding landscape is beautiful under a snow covering and I perched against a huge snowman in the making, all prickled with grass and mud, put my rucksack on the floor and poured a nice cup of coffee from the flask. Meanwhile LB went up and down the hill on his sledge with a few landings in the snow and much laughter.  It was lovely watching everybody have such fun. Plenty of photo taking, snowman building, hurtling down the hill on all kinds of sledges and even an igloo being constructed. I had not been to this area before and was astounded that all these years, such a beauty spot has been just there on the edge of Cheshire. Everytime it snows, we will be back from now on.   Tegg's Nose Country Park is on the edge of Cheshire at the entrance to the sprawling Peak District. The origin of the name is somewhat unknown although Tegg is thought to have perhaps been an early Norse settler in the area. The area has lots of history with evidence of activity here since the Bronze Age. The views stretch right across Macclesfield and beyond so it is perfect for scenic views.  After a while, at the top of the hill I could feel the temperature drop quickly. The clouds started to gather as the late winter's dusk that creeps in so soon after lunchtime caused a haziness to the hills and the sky took on a soft pink hue. Chattering of teeth called time to the sledging and we headed back to get warmed up in the car to carry on our little snow day trip to Buxton.....
I hope we get some more snow days this winter. Even if it is just a light covering on the Cheshire Plains, you can be sure that up at Tegg's Nose sledging will be happening. It was fairly deep snow in the surrounding fields that the sheep huddled in and the picture was a quintessential English winter scene. A truly beautiful place to explore and a perfect snow day. 

Rainy day exploring parks in Liverpool

Some last minute changes to plans meant  quick thinking as to where to go instead. We had all got up early so to just stop at home would have been a shame. Looking at the map, we decided to have a little trip to Liverpool and explore the parks. First stop was Otterspool Park. By the time we got there the wind had picked up and as we strolled alongside the River Mersey, the raindrops started. Hoods went up as we pushed on in the hope it was a quick shower......
It wasn't a quick shower! We legged it back to the cafe area for coffee and cake. In ended up being a take-out and back to the car as it was very busy and Little Bird did not like it at all. He was dragging me out saying 'I want door'. It was far too much for him to take in sensory wise with the amount of people and the echo of the room. You get used to this with a child on the spectrum but we are always happy to grab something and eat in the car instead or on nice days outside cafes. On a good spell we have eaten in places like Frankie and Benny's but at the moment LB is going through a highly sensitive stage. I know him so well and can judge what his capabilities are on any given day. Choose your battles.The Sitting Bull used to be part of the Liverpool Garden Festival that I went to as a child in 1984 people, yes 1984 when I was 6 and in Mrs Jones' class. Scary! I can still remember the socks I was wearing. Little ankle socks with a frilly trim. So random a memory. Refusing to be defeated by the rain we went to Sefton Park. I knew it had a Palm House and we could spend some time getting warm in there. I did not realise how huge the park was. It is immense. We passed a cute area known as Fairy Glen where a love/ghost story intrigues you and is a little creepy as you pass the waterfall. Worse than being spooked was that it was so slippy and we all nearly went over several times.   Hoorah, the Palm House and humid air ans exciting tropical plants. Nope. Not our day. Shut 15 minutes before we parked up. Big glum faces then pushed on in now torrential rain.  The goose was there with its gorgeous fluffy family, I guess they were enjoying the rain and it looked very pretty in the stream, like little stars gleaming everywhere. Water was cascading down the pathways resembling mini rivers. I had water dripping off my nose and the OH was soaked. Me and LB were in raincoats at least.  Little Bird was so, so happy though. In his wellies he stomped in puddles, danced across the flooding pathways and skipped along. Despite being cold, I just couldn't help but smile. It was the perfect day as far as my 4 year old was concerned. So we spent a while, basically getting soaked so one little boy could have a whale of a time. It certainly helps for his anxiety. Puddle splashing is good for your health. Then it was back to the car before it sailed away, soggy coats off, heating on, some snacks and a rainy drive home for cups of hot tea and some sofa time.