Sometimes you just need to get away from everything for a little while. Over the half term break, my mum, nan and I took the three children north to visit my brother and to get away and do a bit of sightseeing somewhere different, for a few days. We were only away Thursday-Sunday, so it wasn’t a long break, but very much needed and so lovely to spend time with my brother and his little family, after way too long.
I drove, as Ed didn’t come along with us (usually he is the chief driver on these long trips) and it was a little daunting for me, making these long drives, but I am glad I did it, and pushed myself, and I can now appreciate just how tired long car journeys, especially on the motorway, make you – I was shattered most nights! We broke the trip up by stopping every few hours. 
Our first stop was at Brodsworth Hall & Gardens, which was English Heritage (my mum and I are members). It was lovely, and the sun decided to start shining half way through our visit, which was really nice. The children had a fairy hunt to take part in, and the atmosphere was relaxed, just what I needed after my first long journey.
We got back on the road and had a late lunch/early dinner in a little Yorkshire village, before heading on to the Travelodge we were staying in for the night.
After a bit of a rest, we went back out, this time on foot, to explore York Minster. I have not been before, and found it really interesting, such a pretty and picturesque place – we saw the ghost tours as we walked round, and I would like to go back at some point and go on one, as it sounded really interesting, and a fun activity to take part in during a stay. I did my Instagram thing, with the beautiful cathedral as my backdrop, before we walked back to the hotel and collapsed into bed.
The next morning we set off bright and early, having breakfast at the on-site Costa on the way, before driving a couple of hours to meet my brother and his family at High Force waterfall.
The weather was gorgeous this day, beautiful blue skies, sun shining and nice and hot! It was a gorgeous day out, followed by a picnic, and meeting another family member, my mum’s cousin Debbie, at the now infamous Barnard Castle, which was just a short drive away. I couldn’t resist stopping by the side of the road though, to take some lovely photos of the scenery – I wasn’t sure if this was a leaf or a feather, but it reminded me of my wrist tattoo in memory of my grandad, so I took a few snaps.
Barnard Castle was pretty much deserted when we got there, and we had it to ourselves mostly, allowing the children (and big kids) to have lots of fun rolling down the grass banks, and generally having a lovely time in the sunshine. Next we had a drive to County Durham, where my brother lives, as we were staying at another Travelodge there. We all had a meal at the on-site restaurant, which was so nice, and it was just the perfect day, catching up, watching the children bond with their cousin, and having some good food and drink together as a family.
The next day we took it nice and slow and went into Durham city centre for an early lunch and mooch around. We walked along the river, and had some ice cream, before saying our goodbyes to my brother, sister in law and niece and journeying on to our final hotel of the stay (although we did end up briefly stopping off in Nottingham for some tea, at Debbie’s house on the way).
On Sunday morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and headed to Coughton Court, a National Trust property, to have a look around. The house was open, so we went inside there, and then we started off on the long drive back home. We stopped off in St Leonards, when we were almost back home, and had one last meal of the holiday, before going home. It was such a nice break, albeit brief, and I really enjoyed spending time with the children and my family, before the kids went back to school. Staycations for the win!
