Happy Friday everyone, sorry it's been a little quiet here on the blog this week, but after an exciting 5 days in Brighton, I was exhausted come Wednesday and haven't yet really had a chance to catch up. That's catching up on sleep, the to do list or this blog, but this weekend is one of those rare all to myself affairs, and hopefully come Monday I'll feel like life isn't running away with me quite so much.
Looking back through these photos, bank holiday Monday feels like months ago! I think that is because this was a moment of calm in an other wise very busy couple of weeks. I'd spent the weekend working away with some young people on a residential so come the Monday I was ready for a rest, but still wanted to make the most of the day and spend some quality time with the Young Man so we headed off to my old University town of Lancaster.
When we woke up that morning the weather was wet, grey and miserable, and a little off putting to say the least! We were very close to just admitting defeat and indulging in a duvet day, but we put on a brave face and headed out anyway. And I'm so glad we did, because while the weather was still pretty cold, it was bright and beautiful! The perfect day for heading up to the castle and taking in the views.
As a student, I never really paid much attention to Lancaster Castle, we headed there once a year for the firework display but other than that, I guess it didn't offer cheap shots so we weren't bothered! But as you grow up different things start to take your interest and we spent a lovely hour taking in the views and the grounds. The Young Man has just bought a fancy DSLR camera, so the castle made for a perfect first outing, and I snapped away on my phone and tried not to be jealous!
After an hour or so of wandering, posing and snapping, a cup of coffee were high on our agenda. Back in my student days coffee and cake were as important to me as they are now, but unfortunately other than a Starbucks Lancaster never really had much to offer me. That's no longer the case! On the recommendation of a colleague, we headed to Atkinsons in Priory Hall, just 5 minutes away from the castle. A coffee roasters, and cafe bar in an old hall, with big woooden communal benches filled with people and their macbooks, it felt more like Manchester than the Lancaster I used to know! I might be wrong, but I think Lancaster might have a bit of a hipster infestation. Which is no bad thing, because good hipsters tend to mean good coffee!
The coffee was really good, but the cake was even better! I went for a Cocconut and Rhubarb Sponge cake, and the Young Man had a chocolate and pair fangipane. I think mine may also have been gluten free, and if it wasn't there were definitely 2 or 3 options that were!
After our generous portions of cake we went for a quick mooch around town before heading up to the Ashton Memorial. Again not really somewhere I'd paid much attention to when I was at uni, but on a bright and clear day the views from up there are stunning! We wandered around the park for a while, again testing out the new camera, and then I braved my vertigo (something else that seems to have developed with age) and headed up the memorial.
We finished the day off sitting in the cool breeze in the park enjoying a cup of tea from the Pavillion cafe and just generally enjoying the fresh air. It was so lovely to be able to take the Young Man to a place that means so much to me, while still getting to explore new places. I think I'll make a point of visiting Lancaster more often, I already knew it had a great arts scene, but now it has great coffee too!
Have you ever been somewhere old and seen it with totally new eyes? x
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