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Life Through The Lens • Brighton

Yesterday, Ashley and I took the train to Brighton and had an amazing lunch at the BBQ Shack at the World’s End pub. If it’s good enough for Jay Rayner, it’s good enough for us! And no trip to Brighton is complete without a stroll down the Laines, perusing bric-a-brac shops and hot sugar ring doughnuts on the pier!

Brighton is one of my favourite places, ever. If you’ve never been, you need to go! It has such a relaxed atmosphere, not to mention great food, great shops and great, eclectic, eccentric people.











Long Journeys With Babies

It’s summer time here in the UK (well, sort of!) and you might be planning a trip away with your little one, which inevitably includes a long car journey. As you know, we recently went to Cornwall with Byron for our first holiday. Not only was it the longest distance I’ve ever driven, it was also the longest that my boy’s been cooped up in a car. Luckily for us, he slept the whole way there and back! Naturally, your life completely changes when you have a little person in it and you start thinking more about safety (and keeping little fingers & toes away from places they shouldn’t be!) It’s the same on car journeys too.

Setting Off
Where Baby Sits
Obviously, you need to make sure you have the correct car seat and ensure your little one is strapped in properly— it sounds obvious, but apparently, only 30% of car seats installed using an adult seat belt are fitted correctly! This increases to 96% using an isofix base. We use an adult seat belt and it’s really easy, if you’re doing it properly. NEVER place your baby in the front of the car, particularly if there’s an airbag fitted. Byron is still in a rear-facing seat, which protects his head and spine better than a front-facing one, but at the rate he’s growing, he’ll soon be into the next stage. He’s just so long!

Keeping Baby Cool and Comfortable
If you don’t have tinted windows in the rear of your car, make sure you attach some removable shades to the window, to stop your baby getting hot and sticky, as well as keeping the sun from going in their eyes. Even if it’s not sunny when you set off, the weather can quickly change within just a few miles.

The same goes for the clothes you decide to dress your baby in— make sure they wear lots of layers so you can add more or take them off as necessary, to keep them cool/warm and comfortable. Jersey and cotton materials are probably better than denim.

Your Car
Car batteries dying are just one of the many things that could go wrong on your car on any journey, but they’re so easy to sort out and prevent beforehand. We’d been having problems with my car for a few months before our trip to the South West, so we got it serviced, not only because it was new (to us), but it hadn’t really been on a longer journey than the 10 mile round trip to the supermarket! It gives you piece of mind and reassurance that you’re not going to be stuck on the hard shoulder with a screaming little one, but despite that, anything could happen, so make sure you have adequate breakdown cover.

On The Road
Where You’re Going
Try and plan your route beforehand if possible, so you can look at good places to stop to stretch your legs, and feed baby (and yourself!) When you’re looking at your route, it’s also best to see if there are any planned roadworks that you need to steer clear of. Make sure you have the traffic reports on your car stereo too (even if it does interrupt your fav tune!), so you know about any accidents to avoid as well.

Baby Bag
Pack all the things you normally would in your baby bag, plus a few extra clothes, nappies and milk, just in case you have to stop more than you’ve planned too or get stuck in horrendous traffic. It’s also a good idea to pack a first aid kit, just in case!

Entertainment
I don’t know a baby that doesn’t nod off in the car, but if you can, strap some toys to the car seat or the back of your seat to keep your little one entertained, if they do wake up. There are so many toys that are made specifically for travelling, as well as your baby’s fav teddies and rattles!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. You can read more about my policy on sponsored posts, here.

Life Through The Lens • Meeru Island, The Maldives

All this lack of sunshine this year has got me thinking about my last holiday abroad— our honeymoon— to The Maldives, last May. It’s such a beautiful place, that I’d recommend to anyone for a once in a lifetime experience. Paradise! It was the hottest climate I’ve ever known. I’m a complete sunworshipper and usually avoid the pool a lot of the time, but even I had to dip in and out, just to stay alive.












It was our best (and most expensive!) holiday ever, which has completely set the benchmark for future getaways— none of which will meet the idyllic scenes of The Maldives, BUT I’d kill for a holiday abroad anywhere sunny, sometime soon!

We came back from our honeymoon, I fell pregnant within weeks and we got wrapped up in that new chapter of our lives, so I’ve only just edited some of our photos. Such a slacker.

As always, there are more on my Flickr set.

Where’s your favourite holiday destination?


Life Through The Lens • Tintagel, Cornwall

We went away last week for our first UK break and Byron’s first holiday, staying in a lovely cottage, in a small little village in Cornwall, called Tintagel. It was a lovely quiet location, with the high street just around the corner, full of tea rooms, places to buy pasties, country pubs and Tintagel Castle, but with access to lots of tourist attractions within an hours drive, such as The Eden Project, Bluereef Aquarium, Newquay Zoo, plus lots of nice sandy beaches and other places of interest (providing you don’t mind driving down lanes as narrow as your car, that have two-way traffic. Eek!)

Up until now, I’ve been a bit of a snob when it comes to holidaying in the UK. We’ve always been much more into the sun, sea and sand of far away places, but it was much easier to stay in the UK this year, with the baby. We were pleasantly surprised just how much we enjoyed it though— so much so, we’re hoping to return next year! Luckily we had more good days than bad, so we were able to venture out a lot. UK breaks won’t ever replace a week or two abroad, but I love a day-trip to the seaside, so this was like an extra long visit!

The Eden Project




In and Around Tintagel










Newquay





You can find more photos in my Flickr set.

Have you ever been to Cornwall?


Life Through The Lens • Fanny’s Farm

I’ve been meaning to go to Fanny’s Farm Shop for ages. Three years, in fact! I regularly drive past the sign to it and it’s always intrigued me, but by the time I get home, it’s slipped my mind! My mum reminded me though, so today we decided to pay a little visit along with Byron and my aunt, who’s recently moved nearby.

The farm is situated just under junction 8 of the M25, selling homegrown veg, original flavours of ice-cream, smoked meats and other delicious looking goods from local suppliers! It’s cluttered and higgledy-piggledy, but in the best way. Think teapots and mismatched cups and saucers, handmade bunting, real jam and a cute little shop. There are secret overgrown little areas and everywhere you look, there’s memorabilia spanning the last 30 years or so. It’s so quaint. I’ll definitely be visiting again!



We had scones with clotted cream to die for in the tea room, but you can also book The Pudding Room or The Treehouse (above!)



You can see the entire set of photos here.