The Golden Hour

 "The golden hour (sometimes known as magic hour, especially in cinematography) is a period shortly after sunrise or before sunset during which daylight is redder and softer compared to when the Sun is higher in the sky"

Last night I took my bee down to Bradgate to take some photos during the Golden Hour. We had fun. He played on the rocks, I played with my new camera.

It's fair to say that I wasn't feeling particuarly in sync with my camera last night and I wasn't very inspired by my surroundings, but I still managed to get a few nice photographs I think!

Jack Frost

We have been in our little house for nearly 4 months now and it is safe to say that I love living in the countryside. This morning we decided to get ourselves all wrapped up and head out for a walk around the local foot paths near our house. It was a frosty and misty morning which made for a truly beautiful walk.

We walked, we got lost, we had a run in with a naughty horse but the general sense of accomplishment from negotiating ourselves around the unknown countryside was absolutely fantastic. I certainly think we need to invest in a local OS map!

Annual Lunch and Ramble

It is nearly time to welcome in another new year which means only one thing, our annual trip to our favourite restaurant, The Three Fishes. This year, Dan and I had some precious time to ourselves as Louie wanted to stay home and play hot wheels with Auntie Elle. It is rare that we get to spend an afternoon as just husband and wife so we cherish that time when it comes up.

After our terrific, and I mean terrific lunch, we had a lovely walk around the surrounding countryside. There were terrific views of Pendle Hill and other hills that we couldn't identify. With out printed out map, we navigated our way through fields and kissing gates and over bridges and styles. It was an adventure into the unknown and utterly thrilling. A passtime we need to explore once we are back home.

Rainy Day

Our plans were diverted today, heading to Calke for its shelter from the rain. We dipped in and out of all of the buildings and the boys still managed to have fun without getting totally drenched. Lunch was homemade flatbreads followed by chocolate cake and an indulgent orange hot chocolate. I even had a lovely sit down in the Riding School, the very place that I will be walking down the aisle in just over two months... (that sounds absolutely weird!) They were showing photographs on the projector, and I couldn't help but envisage and dream about our special day.