When I first started visiting Newcastle and discovered all of the things that it had to offer I very rapidly made a list of all the places I wanted to visit. Before I fell in love with the North East the plan had been for Simon to move to London so I had a notebook full of things that I wanted to do and a short amount of time to get them done. Luckily it took me only a few visits to realise that my heart very much belonged in Newcastle and since then "the list" has been something we've dipped into every now and again when we're wanting to try something new.A walk in Jesmond Dene was one of the first things that I made a note of and with the promise of a sunny Sunday it seemed an ideal place for an Autumn walk.
We caught the Metro, Starbucks red cups in hand, to Ilford Road to stroll down to the Dene. I'm pretty amazed by our self control as we managed to walk past Jesmond Dene House without popping in for a coffee.
A short walk away we found an entrance to the Dene (there are several to choose from) and had a very pleasant amble through the leaves. Jesmond Dene is a gorgeous place to enjoy the colours of the season, there were so many leaves and although it was slightly muddy underfoot we had a great time kicking them about.
I love places where you can have a good forage, and the good thing about this walk was there was loads of bridges to cross, waterfalls to enjoy, picturesque ruins and nooks and crannies to explore and what's not to love about a walk that finishes with alpacas?
At the far end of the Dene is Pet's Corner, designed with kids in mind but hey we're big kids so why not? I was very excited to discover they had Zebra Finches, I loved them from an early age and pestered my Dad for a little while to get me one - they're so cute with their bright orange beaks and the little honking noise they make is adorable.
By the end of our walk we were a little cold, despite it being a beautiful sunny day we were pretty shaded by trees most of the afternoon so we stumbled across Millfield House for a sit down in the warm. Unfortunately it was a little disappointing - watery hot chocolate in a dirty mug and a very messy eating area but I was thankful for the drink to warm my hands. I think next time we'll make sure we hike back to Jesmond Dene House for one of their lovely lattes in the lounge.
You may notice something new to the blog today .... say hello to Simon :) He's a huge part of my life and it seemed a little mean to keep telling him to get out of the way when taking blog photos.
I'd also like to say that this is DAY 11 of me not using heat on my hair. I've worn my hair in its natural style for almost 2 weeks now and I'm rather proud of myself. I much prefer my hair being straight, but I've found after so many years of using hair straighteners it's very dry and damaged and in desperate need of a break. So I'm being a big brave grownup and letting it do it's thing as much as possible.
What did you get up to on sunny Sunday?
s
