It was an easy decision not to fly anywhere this summer but that’s not to stay I didn’t feel gutted by it. The lockdown and losing our freedom to travel, or to even leave the house, felt difficult although of course it was necessary. By July the restrictions in the UK were somewhat eased and many did take the opportunity to travel – I’m sure everyone craved a change of scenery and of course to see family and friends we’ve been separated from for months! I have not been in my home country Finland for over a year and have not seen any of my family for eight months now. Noah has never even been to Finland. But I had to be rational and sensible. In terms of coronavirus cases (386K) and the death toll (41,732), the UK ranks amongst the top in Europe and although I’m sure there are safety measures in place at the airports, I felt it would have been wrong to expose my little children to any risk. I also did not want to expose my family and friends in Finland to the virus! So the decision to cancel our planned trip to Finland as well as other plans such as returning to Lake Garda where we got married was easy but disappointing… By the time August came Finland imposed mandatory two-week quarantine for anyone travelling from the UK (among other high risk countries) and we could not have travelled there anyway. And now that coronavirus cases are again rising at an alarming rate, I’m pleased we decided to be cautious.
Not being able to fly of course didn’t mean we could not have a holiday! We decided to make the most of the situation and take this as a chance to visit our family in the UK and to explore new areas. Just getting out of London after so many months felt refreshing and I was excited to see so many new places. We mainly stayed with relatives and drove around in our own car to minimise exposure to the coronavirus. Along the way we stayed three nights in different countryside hotels to break up the journey.
We have family in Leeds and Newcastle and in addition to visiting them we were going to the southwest coast of Scotland, to Dumfries & Galloway, for a week together with my husband’s family: my children’s five cousins and two sets of uncles and aunties and their grandparents. So these three destinations dominated our route and we planned pitstops along the way to see more of the UK and to avoid spending too long in the car.
I’m not going to lie, I was a bit apprehensive about a road trip with two small kids who are not used to being in the car! Screaming kids can be so stressful and stuck in a car on a highway with a baby or a toddler (or both) was literally my nightmare! We did have a few crying episodes but overall everything went super well. The three things that helped us were
- Keeping the car rides short (max 3h) and taking snack/feeding breaks when needed
- Timing the driving during afternoon nap time
- Entertainment: books, music, baby toys and we also bought a kids’ tablet for Maia so she could watch cartoons (although she’s not interested enough to watch for very long)
Also packing for almost three weeks was a mission, especially considering our car which we very rarely use, is a rather small Audi A3. It just fits Noah’s pram in the boot but since it takes all of the space it was not an option to bring it. Instead I just had to hope he would be ok to sleep in the Yo-yo travel buggy, since he doesn’t really nap in his cot at the moment. Luckily staying with family has the additional convenience of being able to wash clothes during the trip and because the grandparents have one travel cot we only had to bring one which saved space in the car. I did end up going shopping in Newcastle though because I didn’t have enough warm clothes for the kids. It was 16 degrees colder than in London which I had not expected!! Also, Noah had outgrown his long trousers and jumpers during the summer, which I had not thought of (oops).
My husband had found a real gem for us to start our holiday at – a luxury B&B at the former house of Florence Nightingale. The house and its garden had been immaculately refurbished and returned to its former glory by a family with three young children. Coincidentally, the owner had previously worked in my field and even in my bank before leaving finance! Small world, eh? They were excellent hosts and we thoroughly enjoyed the lush green countryside of the Peak District and Maia was buzzing with excitement having the sheep and deer surround us. We had a large bedroom, a lounge with a balcony, and a bathroom to ourselves. We ended up having the kids sleep together with us in their travel cots instead of next door because we didn’t want them to get scared in the new place. Surprisingly it went well and Maia and my husband slept trough Noah’s nightfeeds!
So our first day outside London could not have been more perfect! 😍 For me anyway… My poor husband started the day with a board meeting (video conference), but that’s nothing new. After months of him working from home, even Maia is so used to seeing daddy work that she keeps telling everyone to “be quiet, daddy’s on a work call”. I can’t decide whether that’s funny or a bit sad.
After the humid heat of London (+37 degrees Celsius), it was a relief to have the temperature gradually drop as we travelled further north. I love the sun but not the heat, especially with no beach or swimming pool to jump into, and we had not been sleeping well for weeks. The fresh air and tranquility of the countryside felt heavenly, too.
The following day we continued our drive towards Leeds but made a quick stop at the little town of Bakewell – and of course we had to have some Bakewell tarts! It was a cute little place but a bit too touristy for my liking. We then spent two lovely days with relatives before continuing our drive to the North-East, Newcastle Upon Tyne, where my husband is originally from. We stayed with his parents for a week, regressing to kids ourselves and enjoying being looked after. We met up with friends and made day trips to the coast. I have lived most of my life close to the sea and the last seven years in London have been my first so far in-land.
One of our day trips took us to the Alnmouth Beach which was so gorgeous! No problem to socially distance there haha. It was warm but not warm enough for me to fancy a dip, but I really enjoyed the space and the fresh air! I love our London home but once I actually leave the city I realise how much I miss the feeling of space – there are simply too many people in London!
Newcastle was mainly cold (+17 degrees) and rainy while we were there, but we seemed to have amazing luck with our little trips out! The day we had planned to have dinner at Riley’s Fish Shack (we needed to pre-book because of the coronavirus) turned out to be the warmest day of the week! Maia couldn’t get enough of the water and got herself wet in minutes. It was such a lovely and relaxed week overall and seeing the grandparents bond again with our two kids after months apart simply melted my heart.
After a week in Newcastle we packed our car again and headed to Scotland to Dumfries and Galloway on the coast. I’d never been to Scotland in my life and didn’t know what to expect. Except for rain! And I wasn’t disappointed as it did rain almost everyday. But it didn’t matter. We had three cottages for the 15 of us, and despite our lodge being the furthest away from the sea, the views were breathtaking! The rest of the family stayed at the farm of Mossyard by the sea. My husband had spent several of his childhood summers there so it was a bit of a trip down the memory lane for him. In addition to the farm and the beach, there were many fun activities to do with the (seven!!) kids we’d brought with us. We took them to the Cocoa Bean Chocolate factory to make their own chocolate, up the hills to barbecue in a Nordic hut (they are called “kota”, no idea why someone thought to build one in Scotland!), pottery painting on the farm, and to the Galloway faerie trail which was just magical. Of course having all seven cousins together for the first time was special in itself! Although not relaxing, I must add. 😃
Poor Maia tripped running around and hit her head on the edge of the terrace and got a nasty cut on her forehead. It was a clean cut but to be safe we decided to take her to A&E to have the cut cleaned and patched up. Such a shame but what can you do… Accidents happen. She was much braver than I was, my little soldier. I on the other hand could not hold back tears and the sight of her cut made me feel sick to my stomach. I just can’t cope with my babies getting hurt! Maia was back to her happy self soon enough though and apart from the huge plaster on her forehead, you would not have guessed she had been hurt. The rest of our stay in Scotland went smoothly. I took so many pictures I struggled to choose which to post, but my favourites are below!
After a week in Scotland we started our drive home. We split the drive over three days and got the chance to see a glimpse of the Lake District as well. We had lunch at Lake Windermere and decided that one year we’ll come back for some hiking with the kids. All I can say is that I’m really impressed with the beautiful landscapes and lush green nature of this country and the quaint little towns and villages bursting with history and character.
Our final stop on our journey was chosen simply because of its convenient location right off the M6 highway on our way back to London, the Swinfen Hall. I have a soft spot for the numerous old English castles, halls and manor houses which make me feel like I’m living in a Jane Austen novel. So romantic, even with kids! We had a nice walk around the grounds with them, enjoying the deer park and even more sheep. There is a highly rated restaurant at the hotel but although we don’t hesitate taking the kids to nice places, we didn’t think it would be worth the money to have dinner there since it wouldn’t be that enjoyable for us (no offence, Maia and Noah). Instead we had an early dinner at the bar and went to bed. In the morning we enjoyed the beautiful dining room at breakfast and didn’t have to feel awkward about the noise and mess created by our kids since there was no one else there! After enjoying our very last holiday breakfast and one last stroll around the gardens, we headed home.
So many happy memories were made on our first holiday as a family of four!
xoxoxo,
Sini