Albufeira, Portugal: Part 4, The Old Town & Olhos de Água

It was the morning of my departure day from Portugal. I wasn’t being picked up till 2 p.m., so I checked out of my hotel at around 8.50 a.m. and was on a mission to do some more exploring and make the most of my 4 hours and get back in time to freshen up before my flight. The holiday isn’t over until it’s over, right?

My plan was to have a walk into the old town since I hadn’t really visited yet and to use my still valid lucky hop on hop off bus ticket, which I told you about in my last blog, to visit a place called Olhos de Água.

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Albufeira old town

I arrived at the old town just after 9 a.m. I’m not sure how busy it is here in the summer, but on this November day at this time of the morning it was perfect. There was hardly anything open, which meant there was hardly anyone around, which suited me perfectly because I was able to freely wonder around and enjoy the place almost to myself.

There are many interestingly decorated buildings and attractive whitewashed structures around the old town. When wondering around the streets, you may notice some influences from its interesting past, which included periods of occupation by the Romans and Arabs.

To be honest, I didn’t really see anything of great significance here; I just enjoyed walking around the residential areas and seeing all the decor and cats.

Before travelling to Portugal, I watched a video of Portas Da Villa Antiquity Bar . On my stroll through the old town, I happened to come across it; it was one of the spots I had intended to visit but never got around to, which was a bit of a shame as it looked like a great place to experience.

I grabbed a coffee at one of the many quirky little cafes while appreciating the surroundings and thought about what a fantastic morning it had already been before boarding the following hop on hop off bus to Olhos de Água, which was scheduled to depart at 10.30am.

Olhos de Água

Olhos de Água is a gorgeous little resort town that used to be a minor fishing village and has a population of just 3,221. The town has since become a major tourist attraction and has various hotels and holiday apartments, as well as shops, cafes, and restaurants that cater to tourists, but it has still kept its Portuguese character. You can still see the old fishermen here at work, who have their little huts along the beachfront.

Olhos de Água is centred around a sandy cove and is well known for its most beautiful coastal lines. It has Praia da Falésia beach to the east of the cove and Praia de Santa Eulália and Praia Maria Lusa on the west.

I only had time to visit Praia da Falésia, which was perfectly fine with me as my intention for this morning was to enjoy a nice, quiet beach and take a walk along the stunning red cliffs and soak up the amazing coastal views.

And that pretty much brought an end to my vacation here in the Algarve. As I left this stunning pocket of paradise, I couldn’t help but feel incredibly fortunate and appreciative; it was the ideal way to spend my final hours here, and I’m even smiling as I text this.

Thank you for reading and taking time to visit my blog today.

Until next time, stay blessed. 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤️

Mar 22

Albufeira, Portugal Part 3: A bus tour and the most colourful marina

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It was day four of my trip and my last full day here in Albufeira, but if you read parts one and two of my posts, you may have noticed I’ve not really posted anything yet about Albufeira itself. My last post was about my safari trip, which was in the Algarve countryside just outside of Albufeira.

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Hop on hop off bus

On this morning, I decided to do the hop-on, hop-off bus. It’s not really something I’d usually do, but I hadn’t seen any of Albufeira, so I thought this was the most convenient way to see it with such a short time left.

I paid €22 for a ticket that was valid for 48 hours since they often only last 24 hours. I’m not sure why it might have been due to the season, but it was nonetheless encouraging to hear because it meant I could use it the following morning before leaving for home.

On board, I was handed a free map and tour itinerary, along with some earphones.

You could plug your earphones in on the bus and choose from twelve different languages to listen to the commentary, although I did have to fiddle around with it for a bit and adjust it again whenever there was a bump in the road, which I found quite amusing. The commentary had lots of information, but sometimes it didn’t tell the bus what stops we were at. So most of the time, I didn’t know where I was.

I wasn’t really planning anything, but I knew I wanted to visit Marina de Albufeira.

I decided to stay on the bus and enjoy the scenery up until this point because the Marina was the farthest away.

Marina de Albufeira

I can’t really tell you much about Marina de Albufeira apart from the fact that it was developed in 2003, is said to be the safest and most protected marina in Portugal, and is the most colourful marina I’ve ever seen.

It is a tourist attraction and development complex with several hotels, apartments, villas, restaurants, and leisure centers, although with only 5000 hash-tagged posts on Instagram, it appears to be a not-so-known little gem.

If you do get a chance to visit Albufeira, add a bit of colour to your day and visit this lovely marina.

Nosolo Italia restaurant

It was around lunchtime upon my arrival, so I had thought it would be a nice place to stop for lunch with the intention of sampling some Portuguese food, but since this area is primarily a tourist area, there was no option for that, so I settled for an Italian restaurant called Nosolo Italia which is a lovely, affordable place with friendly staff and is perfectly located on the Marina.

My choice was the cheese omelette with salad, a side dish of chips, and a large glass of red wine, which all went down a treat.

Afterwards, it was a lovely walk around the Marina before catching the tour bus back.

Pau da Bandeira

Pau da Bandeira was the next stop I hopped off the bus at, and funny enough, unbeknownst to me until I took this bus, it was just a short 10- to 15-minute walk from my hotel.

Pau da Bandeira is known for its stunning panoramic viewpoint of the old town and Praia de Pescadores beach and is the most popular area of Albufeira and a must visit. If you didn’t see this on a visit, then you didn’t go to Albufeira.

I spent the rest of the day catching rays at the beach and then watched the beautiful sunset, which was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

I hope you enjoyed my post today.

Thank you for visiting.

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤️

Mar 08

Albufeira,Portugal: Part 2, Safari trip to the countryside

Comments 18

Hello everyone and welcome back to my brief Portugal series.

I spent four nights in Portugal in November, as you may have read in my last blog, that the initial portion of my trip didn’t quite go as planned. However, I made up for it during the remaining two and a half days, and I’m very happy to share the places I managed to visit during this short time.

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I went on a safari trip to the Algarve countryside

It was the third morning in Portugal on the day of my safari trip, and I was super excited because the day before I had managed to leave my lazy relaxing for a half hour and go downstairs to the reception to book something exciting to do for this day. It had been recommended to me by one of the lovely ladies after I told her what I was hoping to see.

I’m really glad I made the decision to go on this trip since it taught me a lot and showed me things I never would have seen otherwise. I had such a unique and genuine experience travelling around the Algarve countryside. Seeing old villages and learning about rural traditions and agricultural life as well as the making of cork.

Let the adventures begin!

I was greeted at 9 a.m. outside my hotel by my tour guide for the day. I shamefully forget his name now, but he was a bundle of joy. You know when you meet those people who are so energetic and happy, and you just gravitate towards them? Well, he was that kind of person.

There were already another six tourists in the jeep, and I was the last person to be picked up, which was a little awkward as they all stared at me as I approached the jeep. Luckily enough, they were all super friendly and gave me a hi and a wave as I stepped into the jeep.

We arrived in the countryside in as little as 20 minutes, and the scenery had changed so drastically, in fact, I remember thinking how much it had changed within 10 minutes of the journey. We were surrounded by nature and lots of greenery, which was apparently unusual for this time of the year, and everything was so calming and relaxing, well, apart from being tossed around on the bumpy ride.

What I really loved about this trip was that as we learned about all the things Portugal produced, which was pretty much everything, we drove through all the trees producing the products and could often smell everything, and our guide would often stop and take things from the trees for us to smell, such as rosemary, tea, lavender, etc.

The first stop

Our first stop was the millhouse. I can’t really tell you much about the house; all I know is that it is owned by a German man. None the less, it was nice to see it and explore the nearby land.

The views were stunning up here.

Castelo de Paderne

Our next stop was Paderne’s Castle, one of the seven castles on the Portuguese flag.

There isn’t much left of the ruins, but it’s amazing how there’s anything left at all considering it was built from earth and sandstone and sits up high in the hills overlooking the Quarteira River.

The Romans first occupied this location in the second century, but the Berbers built the current building in the 12th century.

The castle had been battled for by Christian reconquistadors against the Muslim creators, which had been an ongoing battle until 1248, when the castle was captured by Portuguese forces, who brutally massacred all the inhabitants. It was abandoned in 1858.

Wine tasting, or perhaps whisky, or whatever it was

Our next stop was wine tasting, or at least that’s what we were told and was on the leaflet, but to be honest, I’m not really sure what we were tasting that day, and I’m still no wiser now, but I know the strongest one was firewater, known as Aguardente de Medronhos, which is a strong spirit made with a traditional fruit called medronho.

On our way to the distillery, we had the opportunity to eat this fruit because our tour guide had plucked some from a nearby tree. It tasted similar to a strawberry but was more subtle in flavor. It was lovely.

We arrived at the distillery, which has been in the same family for over 100 years. As we arrived, the owner looked surprised. It turned out he wasn’t expecting us, but he kindly set up the tables for us.

It was a really nice experience tasting all the jam, honey, and spirits. The firewater was so strong that my entire insides felt like they were on fire!

I don’t usually like honey, but this honey was so pure and tasted so good that I just had to purchase some. I also got some bee pollen.

The village of Alté

We got to go through a couple of villages, including one where we stopped for a small cafe break, but the village that stuck out the most to me was a little village called Alte in the northwestern part of Loulé tucked away in the mountains.

Unfortunately, as much as I would have loved to have walked around here, we were running out of time, so we’re only really able to see what we see in the moving jeep, and the rough ride through the streets made it difficult to capture pictures and videos. But I managed to snap a few photos, although not the best.

Because of where it is located, the village has kept its authentic and traditional Algarvean style. The streets are so narrow, and the houses are simplistic and white washed with a touch of colour and decorative elements owed to its past Arabic motifs. And there are lots of impressive chimneys here, and I couldn’t help but notice how tiny the doors on some of the houses were.

We briefly got to visit and have a quick stop at Fonte Grande and Fonte Pequena

It was a place in the past where women would come to get clean water for laundry, but now it’s used as a place where people come to swim.

The iconic flag

We also got to see the iconic Portuguese flag painted on a hillside. It was painted here to support the Portuguese football team during the Euro 2016 games, which they went on to win.

This pretty much was the end of the tour. I hope you enjoyed the blog this week.

Thanks for visiting

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤️

Feb 22

Albufeira,Portugal: Part 1

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I visited here in the second week of November 2022. It had been quite a strange lead up to this short getaway, as just two weeks earlier I caught COVID and I wasn’t quite sure if I was going to postpone it. I knew for sure just five days before the trip, and with only five days to prepare for the trip, I had little time to plan an itinerary. However, I didn’t even bother because, to be honest, I was so worn out from COVID and had so much else to do.

My hotel

I arrived at my hotel at around 9.30 p.m. I was staying at the Ourabay Apartments hotel, which was quite a luxury to me as I usually only stay in 2 or 3-star hotels. I’m not the fussy type when it comes to hotels; as long as it’s a safe, clean place that suits me just fine, I’m rarely ever in them anyway.

I arrived and was welcomed and greeted by a very friendly lady at reception, and I must mention here that every member of staff I came into contact with here was so friendly and accommodating. It was an absolute pleasure to have stayed here.

I did nothing for the first part of my trip

As I arrived so late, I didn’t do anything on the first night; however, surprisingly even to myself, I didn’t do anything the next day either, apart from walk down to a nearby cafe to grab breakfast and find a supermarket to get some supplies.

While I was out shopping, I found myself daydreaming about returning to the apartment and doing nothing but nap, binge-watch Netflix, sip wine, and drink herbal tea. This was quite out of character for me because I’m usually itching to get out and explore. I can only assume it was a result of the fact that I was still a little exhausted from being ill and travelling. Exploring didn’t at all feel appealing; in fact, it felt quite the opposite. But the idea of remaining in a tranquil location felt pleasant, so that’s exactly what I did.

Despite the fact that the vacation was just four nights long, I didn’t feel at all as though this day was wasted but rather an opportunity for relaxation, a chance to recharge, and a chance to feel better. I really enjoyed it.

You might be thinking I couldn’t have done much in my last two days; you couldn’t be more wrong. Stay tuned for my next blog, where I will share what I managed to do.

Thanks for visiting

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤️

Feb 15

Dovestones: I finally made it to the Trinaccle!

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I’ve been coming to Dovestones for quite some time now, and as I mentioned in an earlier blog, each time I come I find something new, but the thing I always wanted to find that had escaped me was the trinaccle, and on the 27th of November 2022, I finally got to see it thanks to my sister.

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Now don’t get me wrong; it’s impressive, but I had imagined it to be a lot taller, so when my sister said this was it, it was unrecognisable at the time until I went to the other side of it and saw that it was indeed The Trinacle.

Don’t let the picture fool you; it doesn’t look like we are that high up, but we are extremely high; in fact, it’s an elevation of close to 300 metres, and on top of this, the Trinacle itself is around 10 metres high. Some people scramble up to the top of it; I think they’re mad considering how windy it is up here and how narrow the space is to get to it.

The journey to and from the Trinaccle was the best part

As much as I had enjoyed seeing the trinaccle, the best part had been the journey there and back. As we climbed the steep mountain, we chatted all the way and took a few stops to enjoy the views.

As we got to the top, we got a little lost before getting back on track. Once back on track, we followed the extremely muddy trail, trying to avoid the muddy swamps, but it was completely unavoidable and so funny when either one of us landed in a deep mud hole. The trail was on the edge of the 300-metre-high mountains, so this just added to all of the fun.

The scramble down the waterfall

On the way back, we scrambled down a waterfall river. At one point, I got stuck and had to be rescued by my sister. I am the younger sister, and I definitely acted like it in this moment. I can’t swim, so I was terrified of the water. It’s really funny how we were resuming our old roles of little sister and big sister on this day, as even as we scrambled down, my sister guided me all the way down even though she’d only done it once before herself. Not that I had expected her to do so, but she did, which was really sweet.

But what was really special about this day was that it reminded us both of our younger years, when we used to play outside and my sister would take me on adventures even though we weren’t allowed to leave our street. Of course, we were always in trouble when we got back, but it was always worth it.

I hope you enjoyed this short blog today.

Thank you for visiting

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤️

Jan 25

Manchester: Fletcher Moss Park and Parsonage gardens

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Hello to everybody!

I hope that everyone is off to a good start in the new year.

On the second day of the year, I spent a day in the Fletcher Moss botanical gardens to kick off my new year.

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Since it was a Sunday service on public transportation and there were more train strikes, I chose to go there because it seemed like a good choice that was not too far from home.

This prompts me to remark that, except for enjoying and living in the present, I haven’t set goals for this year. Aside from that, I want to start driving again this year because strikes and cancellations on public transportation have been making it difficult for me to get to some places. Do you have any new goals for this year?

Fletcher Moss Parsonage and Gardens

Fletcher Moss Parsonage and Gardens is located in Didsbury, Manchester, and is one of the city’s best-lived green spaces.

Fletcher Moss Park was named after Fletcher Moss, an alderman who gifted his house, known as the parsonage, along with its gardens to the city of Manchester Council but continued to live there until his death in 1919.

The Parsonage is the second-oldest building in Didsbury, dating from around 1650. The house was used by the city council for many years but has since become a community centre with the help of lottery funding.

What to see here

There are separate areas here to see that are all linked in with the same park, so as well as the parsonage and gardens, there is also the Fletcher Moss Park and botanical garden, the nature reserve of Stenner Woods, Millgate Fields, and the River Mersey.

The botanical garden

The botanical garden is a gorgeous, tranquil sanctuary that is changeable with the weather, but no matter what time of the year you visit, it is always beautiful with so many beautiful plants. rock features and mini waterfalls palm trees, and a floating pond.

I’ve been here twice now, once in the spring and once in the winter, and both times were equally beautiful.

Stenner Woods and nature reserve

The wooded area isn’t particularly large, but it is a perfect place to get lost in nature. There are wetlands here, but there is also a wooden boardwalk to avoid getting your feet wet. There are also fallen trees that have been left there deliberately by the wardens, which just add to the natural environment. I couldn’t help but think how adventurous this would be for children as I walked around. I also saw little love hearts with pictures on them; I think these had been part of the Christmas trail, which I really enjoyed spotting.

There are a variety of species of birds that flock here all through the year; these include wrens, robins, blackbirds, thrushes, treecreepers, Sand Martins, blackcaps, and many more.

Millgate fields and River Mersey

There are also the millgate fields and the River Mersey, which make for a nice scenic walk along with other areas such as Withington, Charlton, and Northernden.

So if your in Manchester and fancy getting any from the city for a little while, I’d say this would be a great choice, and what’s more is that this place is right next to Didsbury Village, which is lined with numerous shops, cafes, and restaurants, which is perfect for grabbing a coffee or a bite to eat after your visit to Fletcher Moss Park.

I hope you enjoyed my blog today.

Thanks for visiting

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤️

Dec 28

Manchester: Manchester Cathedral

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I can’t quite believe I’ve never visited Manchester Cathedral before, given the number of times I’ve walked past this building and never even given it a thought to even take a look inside. Isn’t it ironic how little attention we pay to things and places that have always existed in our own cities or towns?

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Manchester Cathedral is in the heart of the city and has been one of its main attractions for more than 600 years. There was a new calling for a new collegiate church to be built, so in 1421 it was Henry V who signed a royal charter for permission for the rebuild, and then in 1847 a new Manchester diocese was created and this church became a cathedral.

One day, as I went for a walk around the city, I decided to visit the inside of Manchester Cathedral.

I was surprised as I entered because I hadn’t quite imagined it would be as big as it was from the outside. It’s actually a really beautiful cathedral, and the interior is a great example of mediaeval carved woodwork in the North of England; the stained glass is more modern as the church suffered damage in World War II. It also had more renovations after it was damaged in the 1996 IRA bombing.

It’s a great place for anyone who enjoys architecture and would like to learn more history about our vibrant little city.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take many photos as my battery was running low. Maybe I’ll visit again and post a few more.

If your visiting Manchester City Centre, do take a look inside. You can find the cathedral at Victoria St., Manchester M3 1SX.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look at our cities’ little cathedral. Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤️

Dec 14

Greater Manchester: Dunham Massey

Comments 16

My trip to Dunham Massey was my first national trust trip since becoming a member. I visited here at the beginning of autumn in October. If there was ever a perfect autumn day, this would have closely matched it for me.

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What is Dunham Massey and where is it?

Dunham Massey is a Georgian house, garden and an ancient deer park full of treasures and stories. It is situated in Altrincham, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and is regarded as one of the best attractions in this region for history and nature lovers.

A bit about the history

The house was home to two historic families, the Booth’s and the Grey’s, and holds over 400 years of history, wealth, and some rather scandalous stories.

The present house was built in 1616 by Sir George Booth but has since been altered and remodelled over the years 1732, 1740, 1905, and 1908.

The rising of the estate

The house really rose after George Booth, the 2nd Earl of Warrington, inherited the Dunham estate from his father, Henry Booth, the 1st Earl of Warrington, along with a debt of £50,000. As a way to clear the debt, he planted hundreds of trees as a source of timber. However, he finally manages to pay off that debt when he marries Mary Oldbury, who came with a huge dowry of £24,000, which is around £2.5 million today.

The house was inherited by their only child, Mary Booth, who married Harry Grey, the 4th Earl of Stamford, which meant the Durham Estate was brought into the Earldom of Stamford and into the Grey family.

The estate stays in the Grey family until 1976, when the last Earl, the 10th Earl of Stamford Roger Grey, who inherited the estate at just 13 years old dies, leaving the estate to the National Trust. It is the biggest gift left to the National Trust to date.

Fake memories, an eerie spooky walk, and reindeer spotting.

I was absolutely certain I’d been here once before, on a school trip at around the age of seven. I remember the trip clearly as a day, but strangely, upon arrival and all throughout the day, there was absolutely nothing recognisable. I am still unsure if I have been here before. Perhaps it could be another one of my fake childhood memories. Nonetheless, the first thing I planned to do was visit the medieval deer park, which was first mentioned in 1362.

The park is of scientific interest as it has hundreds of ancient trees and there have been roaming deer here for almost 1000 years.

Walking through the spooky deer park

The more I moved into the park, which appeared to be more like an extremely eerie forest, the spookier it became, especially when I arrived at a creepy looking small house. I’m glad I was unaware at the time because this house is reportedly haunted. Nonetheless, I still stopped for photos, as you can see.

The creepy house with a painted on top window

There wasn’t a single soul around. It gave me the impression that I was staring in a scary movie as the stupid one who goes walking alone.

Although I actually wanted to turn around at this point, I was determined to see the deer, so I kept on going.

Finally, I spotted a herd of deer in the distance. I wanted to take a closer look because, believe it or not, I’ve never actually seen a deer, at least not up close. But as I got closer, they seemed to have all vanished. Then, all of a sudden, I turned around, and there was this huge male Buck staring at me. Then I saw a huge herd of them, and from this point on, they all seemed to appear out of nowhere.

I was so delighted to see them, especially since I was told there was a possibility I wouldn’t due to the weather.

Female deer all sticking together during mating season

With c. 3000 acres of land here, there is plenty of ground to walk on and lots of outside buildings to discover.

Dunham Massey Watermill

The mill is a 17th-century corn mill that was later transformed into a saw mill in 1860. Sadly, after technology evolved and the mill became more expensive to run, it stopped working in the 1930s. It was later given to the National Trust in 1950.

There are tours available here to learn more about the mill and its history, but I didn’t attend these.

The historic stables

The stables at Dunham Massey were completed in the 18th century and have remained completely unchanged.

They were built to house around 25 animals, including race goats, ponies, cows, and carriages.

I had such a blissful time exploring the grounds that I hadn’t noticed that almost two and a half hours had passed by and I’d still not been to the main house.

I visited inside the house,but unfortunately unable to share photos

I eventually go inside the main house, but unfortunately, I cannot share any pictures because, although visitors are allowed to take photographs with no flash, they are not permitted to be shared inside some of the National Trust properties.

What it was like inside the house

I can tell you that this is a great house to visit. It takes you right back in time, and you can almost feel the atmosphere and the stories as you walk around.

I found it to be quite an eerie place, although that could have had something to do with my visiting on a quiet Tuesday morning and being in most of the rooms alone. Of course, there was staff on every floor, but obviously not in every room.

In some sections of the house, like the servants’ quarters, there are staff members dressed in traditional clothing like what the staff would have worn back in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. I particularly liked the butler; he was really funny and filled my head with imagination by telling me stories of how the house was run.

Overall, it was a really lovely experience, and every member of staff here is super friendly and helpful.

If you would like more information about Dunham Massey, visit here.

I hope you enjoyed the blog today.

Thank you for visiting

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤️

Nov 30

Morecambe Bay: My favourite hangout place of 2022

Comments 18

This year, Morecambe Bay has been my favourite beach and hangout spot.

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As you may know, I live in a busy city, so I often opt to find a new quiet spot every year, somewhere not too far away from home where I can make regular trips in addition to my other travel adventures. A place I can relax and take some time to replenish my thoughts while getting some fresh air. This year, Morecambe Bay has been that place for me.

Where is Morecambe Bay?

Morecambe Bay is located just to the south of the Lake District National Park in the Northwest of England.

A bit about the history

Morecambe Bay is a large estuary with the longest stretch of mudflats in the UK.

Morecambe was founded when the Little North Western railway line was forced from Leeds and Bradford to a new seashore. This new shore had formed around the village of Poulton-le-sands, which later became Morecambe Bay.

The railway brought in goods and passengers who were going further afield up north, but this new seashore soon started to attract passerbys, which then saw the growth of entertainment, accommodation and other businesses throughout the nineteenth century.

It has the most incredible sunsets and beautiful backdrop

It is an area of scientific interest because of its location, its natural beauty, and the fact that it is home to lots of wildlife.

It also has some of the most amazing sunsets because of its location. I can honestly say I have witnessed the most incredible sunset I have ever seen right here, and I have seen plenty of sunsets. It’s magical!

In addition, it also boasts the most stunning mountains in the Lake District as a backdrop, which is another reason I’ve loved going here and taking long walks down the lovely promenade.

What a nice surprise!

Normally, when I come here, I walk around the promenade and stop when I find a comfortable spot to sit, but the last time I came, I made the decision to do things a little differently.

I continued walking until I reached the end of the promenade, at which point I turned and climbed some stairs to a charming cafe that overlooked the beach. I then turned right and entered a lovely neighbourhood with a small church. Since then, I’ve learned that this region is known as Heysham.

The little picturesque church is called St. Peters Church. It is a 14th century church with parts dating right back to 800AD and sits right at the top of the cliffside.

The views from the chapel were really breathtaking. As I took it all in, I recall thinking how lovely a surprise it all was.

There was also another little surprise too, Glebe Garden, which is right next to the church. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of this, but it was a lovely, colourful garden with an oasis of peace and a calming atmosphere.

Thanks for stopping by today

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤️

Nov 16

I became a National Trust member

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*Please note this is not an advertisement blog and I am not being paid to post this; I just think it’s something that could be of some value to some readers.*

Last month I decided to join the National Trust and I’m super excited about it!

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What is the National Trust?

I’m sure many of you already know, but for those that don’t, the National Trust is Europe’s biggest conservation charity, which looks after over 500 heritage sites across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as well as coastlines, the countryside, and green spaces so that people and nature can thrive and this is done mostly through the help of people’s donations through memberships.

What’s in it for the members?

As a member, I now have access to over 500 heritage sites where I will be able to present my card and get free admission as well as free parking to the sites. Of course, it’s not entirely free because you have to pay for the membership card to begin with, but it is a fantastic investment for plenty of fun and adventures for a fraction of the price I would pay as a non-member.

Overseas and non UK citizens

Not only this, my membership also gives me access to similar sites across the globe because The International National Trust and similar organisations are all in partnership.

The membership is also offered to people in the US, but otherwise non-UK citizens can purchase a touring pass ( prices below)

Membership prices

Memberships last for one year, and there are different types of memberships that can be paid for either as a one-time payment or monthly payments. Although it is worth paying for one all at once, you will receive a £15 National Trust gift voucher. Here are the prices:

Membership Prices

Individual – £76.80 a year/ £6.40 a month

Young person – (18 to 25) £38.40 a year

junior – (5 to 17) £10 a year

Joint – (2 adults) £127.20 a year/ £10.60 a month

Family – ( 2 adults and all children) £133.80 a year/ £11.15 a month

Family – ( 1 adult and all children) £83.40 a year/ £6.95 a month

Touring pass for non UK citizens

Individual ( £37 for a 7 day pass or £43 for a 14 day pass)

Two people (£65 for a 7 day pass or £77 for a 14 day pass)

Family pass ( £71 for a 7 day pass or £91 for a 14 day pass)

See here for more information on the touring pass.

Already seeing the benefits of this little membership card

I bought the individual one because I usually travel alone, and I’ve already realised how valuable it is to have a membership. I recently took my first day trip using my card and would have had to pay a £10 admission fee if it weren’t for having the membership. My next planned day trip would have cost me a £19 admission fee, so it’s definitely worth it for people who like to take day trips.

For more information about the National Trust and its sites visit here.

I hope you have enjoyed my blog today

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤️