Every year our Parish holds a camping event for men and their kids/grandkids and a small pack of dogs. A group of us whose partners attend this fabulous event take the opportunity for a child-free few days to do something fun.
We've been to London, held garden parties and most recently a small group of us have headed to Orford in Suffolk for a blissful few days at a house owned by a friend's family.
I don't know what it is - the company, the location, the rarity of completely child-free days but I found this trip extremely relaxing. It's a proper spa for the soul.
We don't do much-chat, walk, eat, read, snooze, eat...yes eating is deliberately in there twice as Orford is quite the foodie's paradise with great restaurants, pubs and a couple of great shops. We ate quite a lot!
We actually indulged in a two stage breakfast which went on until almost lunchtime after failing to resist the magnificent handmade pastries at the award winning Pump Street Bakery which is also a slow food cafe.
As well as pastries they make their own chocolate and amazing bread there (tours of the chocolate room and bakery can be booked) and you can buy wonderful artisanal tea and coffee too.
We concocted amazing lunches using purchases from the Pump Street Bakery, the Orford Meat Shed (great name!), the little shack selling fish and seafood on the Quay (half a dressed lobster for £3.30? Yes please!) and the village shop.
We caught a whole load of crabs of a decent size but they escaped being included in our lunch - we released them back into the sea after they'd scoffed a load of lovely thick bacon from the Meat Shed.
We spotted some jellyfish on the beach - dead sadly. Any experts out there able to identify what type?
We had a nice evening meal in one of the village pubs but didn't linger as it was so humid - we headed down to the Quay to watch the moon's reflection glistening on the water - until the blood-thirsty flying creatures drove us away.
It was such a lovely weekend and to top it off when I got home my lovely husband had bathed the children who'd spent the weekend round the bonfire and washed their clothes. He's even done some gardening and hung the hammock I bought back from Cyprus.
Now there's just one week left of school during which I expect to spend mostly in tears as I have one going up to secondary in September and those "lasts" just finish me!
I don't know what it is - the company, the location, the rarity of completely child-free days but I found this trip extremely relaxing. It's a proper spa for the soul.
We don't do much-chat, walk, eat, read, snooze, eat...yes eating is deliberately in there twice as Orford is quite the foodie's paradise with great restaurants, pubs and a couple of great shops. We ate quite a lot!
As well as pastries they make their own chocolate and amazing bread there (tours of the chocolate room and bakery can be booked) and you can buy wonderful artisanal tea and coffee too.
We spotted some jellyfish on the beach - dead sadly. Any experts out there able to identify what type?
It was such a lovely weekend and to top it off when I got home my lovely husband had bathed the children who'd spent the weekend round the bonfire and washed their clothes. He's even done some gardening and hung the hammock I bought back from Cyprus.
Now there's just one week left of school during which I expect to spend mostly in tears as I have one going up to secondary in September and those "lasts" just finish me!
