Go West

I really love exploring the UK and it's something that I've always done.  Growing up my Mum always very much championed us exploring our own country before hopping onto an aeroplane.  When I was young I didn't really understand, my friends were all off to Spain whilst we had walking holidays in the Lakes .. looking back now though I'm very thankful.  Now that I have my own money it's fun to go off and explore the world but I will forever be in love with the UK.

This weekend Simon and I took a little road trip.  Having been without a car for many years we loved every second of having our beautiful hire car.  We started our weekend in Wigan for a family wedding before moving to Oswestry for an engagement party. 

Quick shout out to Simon's cousin Holly who makes the best cupcakes I have ever tasted and we all know I have sampled a fair few cupcakes in my time.   She did an amazing job of preparing all of the food for her own engagement party and the room looked absolutely gorgeous so I thought I'd share a couple of pictures.

Having a little look at the map before leaving we couldn't help but add a few more excursions on to our trip and both picked an extra place to squeeze into our schedule.

I chose the beautiful Roman town of Chester.  I hadn't been since a short stay with my family years ago and had always wanted to return but never found myself in the area. 

If you haven't been before I highly recommend you visit next time you are venturing west, Chester is absolutely stunning.   The architecture is gorgeous, there's something extra special about going into a New Look that's housed in a beautiful building.

There are lots of streets to explore, city walls to walk, and it is the only city in the UK to boast "rows" - shops that are based on levels.  Many of the ground floor shops are below street level and so are accessed by little staircases which makes everything feel like a bit of an adventure.

Chester has a fantastic collection of lovely looking restaurants, bars and tea rooms, I spent much of the afternoon wishing that my belly had the capacity to allow me to go on a "lunch crawl".

Simon's choice was a trip down Memory Lane.  He moved about a lot as a kid and most of his favourite memories are to be found in the West Country, in a beautiful little town called Much Wenlock where he went to  High School and the nearby tourist haven Ironbridge. 

Ever since we started dating Simon has told me all about Ironbridge and how much he'd like to take me so being only 45 minutes away it was too good an opportunity to turn down.

For those interested in a bit of history Ironbridge is the birth place of the industrial revolution as it boasts a 30m cast iron bridge dating back to 1779.

When I arrived I was expecting just a bridge and a crowd of tourists taking photos, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the town itself is very picturesque and has a lovely little street full of quirky little gift shops and restaurants.   I actually did a squeal when I found a cupcake shop, much to the amusement of the owner who was sitting in the window.

 
 
I really wish we could have stayed a little longer as the fairy lights draped across the buildings gave the promise of a beautiful town at nightfall but unfortunately we had to get back on the road.

Our drive back to the North East provided us with a beautiful sunset which just finished off a lovely weekend perfectly.

 The West is definitely somewhere we will be returning for a visit, I feel like our quick trips only whet my appetite .... I want more!