East Cramlington Nature Reserve Trail

We decided to explore somewhere on our doorstep this week - East Cramlington Nature Reserve. We have visited a few times in the past when the kids were teeny and I used to sometimes visit with my friend when I was younger but it has been a good few years since our last visit. 

There is a small free car park at the entrance along the B1326 from Cramlington to Seaton Delaval. If you are travelling from Cramlington hospital towards Seaton Delaval it is just before you get to the bend in the road. Use postcode NE23 6XF and continue driving along the road past Astor Court Care Home - the car park is on the left just before the bend. 

9 Places You Can Visit Where Public Toilets Are Open

It is a personal choice whether you feel it is appropriate to use a public loo at this time. As always, I advise researching and reading scientific advice rather than what random strangers are saying on social media and making your own properly informed decisions.

It is worth noting that because there are so few places available with open toilets, you may find these areas busier than normal and some places may have to close early when they are at capacity (check their social media for updates).

Our May Half Term Plans (2020)

School is out for the week for us today and with the likelihood that Heidi is returning back to school on a reduced timetable soon, we want to make the most of it.

We usually go away for May Half Term and were due to spend the week at Center Parcs in the Netherlands this year. I am sure that trip will still happen at a later date. Steve still has the week off work so it is nice that we are all going to be together.

Can we stop with the lockdown food shaming?

The UK Government recently eased lockdown restrictions. We can now go outside for unlimited exercise and leisure provided we stick with social distancing rules.

As set out by Government plans, many hospitality businesses may be looking to re-open in July. Some businesses like McDonald's could have made a couple of changes and stayed open this whole time if they had wanted to.

Our First Trip to the Beach During the Pandemic

I will be the first to admit that I wasn't keen to rush out after lockdown restrictions were eased earlier this month.

Fish & Chips from Colmans Seafood Temple : A Review

Colmans Seafood Temple is somewhere I have wanted to visit for ages. We were finally able to make the trip on a sunny Sunday in February when working on a different campaign with the Tyne Tunnel (who kindly organised/covered the cost of our meal). 

North East Father's Day Gift Ideas (Delivered)

Father's Day in the UK falls on Sunday 21 June this year. Who knows what the next month holds but for me personally, I will not be spending any time browsing physical shops for gifts any time soon.

I have been researching various gift ideas which can be ordered online and thought others may find this round-up handy. Let me know if you have any other ideas too.

As a side note, nobody has paid/ asked to be included in this post (although I may have worked with a couple of the brands mentioned in the past). This list is made up of my own personal recommendations and businesses friends / family have recommended/tried in the past too.