Getting into History at York Castle Museum

History has never been a strong point of mine. I always got on well with my history teacher but ever since I stated that the Battle of Hastings was in 1166, he advised me not to take it at GCSE level.

Despite this, I have always had an interest in museums. I've been several times to the museums in Lincoln and will try and explore the museums when I am in a new place. Me and my mum were lucky enough to get invited along to York Castle Museum while we were in York and it is honestly worth a visit. I was really surprised at how interactive the museum was and how much time you can spend there!

 

 

 



 I really appreciated how detailed some of the displays were, the museum had carefully thought of every element from the era that they were trying to convey and they had been done to an exceptionally high standard.

 

 

 

At the time of our visit there was also an exhibition called 'Shaping the body', I found this a really powerful exhibition and seeing the way that our style and our lives had changed to keep up with the ever-changing trends was really interesting. There were also aspects where people were invited to talk about their own bodies and how they saw themselves, some people talked about how they felt confident with their body whilst others talked about some of the issues that they'd faced. As I dealt with a  curvature of the spine at a young age and faced a lot of body confidence issues because of this, this sent a really powerful message to me that we should never be ashamed and always be proud of our bodies.

 

 

 

 

Another aspect of the museum I enjoyed was when we went into the outside world and explored all the shops, although we was indoors, the cobbles and the tall ceiling made it feel as though we were outside and even in that time period.

 

 



 

 

 

 

I am personally a big fan of vintage signs and managed to see a lot of these throughout the museum and perhaps got a little bit addicted to taking photos!

 

 

 

We then headed through to the prison side of the museum which was a very interactive approach and stories of inmates were projected onto the walls of the cells which I thought added a very realistic element and made the exhibition feel very real.

 

 

It made me realise how different our prisons are today and how uncomfortable that bed must have been!

 

 

We then finally headed through to the eccentric 60s exhibition which was filled with vibrant colours and activity, it was one of my favourite exhibitions in the museum (It had a pink shop!) and was a great way to end a lovely day out.

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you again to York Castle Museum for a great day out! Starting tomorrow the museum has a brand new scrumptious exhibition called Chocolate: York's Sweet Past which you can read more about here.

 

To find out more about the museum, visit their website or follow them on social media using Facebook or Twitter.

 

 

J x





 

Exploring York!

I have just returned from a lovely few days in York with my mum! York is a city which I had only been to a couple times before and that was when I was very young so it was great to go back and take in the sights. It is a beautiful historic city and we found that everything was within about a ten minute walk away which made it easy to fit in everything we wanted to do!

We stayed at the stunning Middleton's Hotel, which despite having a country charm, is just minutes from the city centre making it a unique hotel and perfect to get away from the bustling city as it feels so peaceful and homely.

 

 

 

 

 

Our room was a lovely family size room with three single beds, one of the main benefits about our room was how spacious it was compared to many of the other family rooms I have been in. The beds were really comfortable and we both got a good nights sleep on both nights that we was there. There was a separate dressing room within our room where we could hang all our clothes which was very useful and added to the spacious feel. The room was equipped with a fridge and we thought it was such a lovely touch that it was stocked with a few bottles of water for us. It was lovely to have a drink when we came into our room to refresh us from the journey and it was a very nice thought that not many hotels would think of.

 

 

 

 

After checking into the hotel we decided to have a short walk to explore the local area, we ended up going on a boat trip which showed us some of the sights of York and told us about the history of the area, luckily the weather was on our side and we chose a sunny afternoon to go on the trip!

The following day we started with breakfast at Middleton's which was delicious, I had the salmon and scrambled egg whilst my mum went with the full English. This was something that I wouldn't normally go for so it was great to have the opportunity to try new foods! Before we left on the Friday I even tucked into an Eggs Benedict which isn't something I've ever had before but tasted delicious! The breakfast was a great way to start the day off and the staff were so friendly and helpful throughout our time at the hotel.

We then visited the Castle Museum which was a great morning out, I actually took so many photos there that I'll be writing a separate blog post soon all about it! I really enjoyed the Shaping the Body exhibition which showed how aspects of our body has changed through the years focusing on fashion, food and life and the York prison was a great addition and something I really enjoyed visiting within the museum.

After that we took a short walk up to see the York Minster. This is something we was recommended to do and it is definitely worth seeing! It's an amazing building and one of the key aspects of York's history, definitely not to be missed if you're heading to York anytime soon.

 

 After our day out in York we headed back to the hotel for a much needed rest and to pack some of our stuff so we wasn't rushing to get ready on the Friday. On the way back home and after a final walk around York to take some last minute photos, we stopped off at York Designer Outlet for some retail therapy, the perfect finish to a lovely break away!

J x

We can strongly recommend staying at Middleton's if you're visiting the York area. Visit their website or follow them via Twitter or Facebook for more details.

*We worked with Middleton's for the purposes of this review, however all opinions are my own. 

If travel is the answer, what is the question?

For so long I have had a passion for travel, a passion that comes in waves. I have always known that one day I wanted to travel the world but when I am going through difficult times this passion becomes so strong that I begin to feel that it is not so much a passion anymore but a need to get away.

What I need to get away from I am not really sure. I have always felt so free when I have been travelling before, like the world is just such a big place with the opportunity to explore anywhere the heart wants to take you. I think it is just the stresses of life that makes me keep persisting with wanting a life of travel, always feeling held back by something and becoming so stressed and caught up within the life I am currently leading that I feel I will never be able to jet off somewhere for a break, thus making me more stressed.

I have never been lucky enough to find someone that would be willing to travel the world with me, someone that shares the same passion for travel that I do which is sad but at the same time provides a lot of new opportunities if I can be brave enough to take them.

The question is, can the girl that could barely put her hand up in class, now have the confidence to travel the world solo? There's so much that I want to see and I feel like if I just keep waiting my life will fade away before me, that's probably my worst fear actually, the fear of not living.
I've thought about couchsurfing and staying in hostels as a way of meeting new people along the way and sharing experiences with them, I hope that soon I will be brave enough to take the plunge and just go for it.

Life is too short for settling.
J x

Small trips, big adventures

I've been on a lot of holidays and that's something I'm very thankful for. When I was younger my parents would take me abroad every year, sometimes twice a year. I don't know if this was to allow me to see the world and experience travel from an early age or whether it was for there benefit of 'wanting to get away from everything'.

However, over the last year or so I have slowly started falling out of love with these trips. Every year, my parents would head to the nearest travel agents, find somewhere with a  pretty beach and then spend the next six months waiting for the day we would board the plane. When we got there, we'd spend the whole week laying by the beach or by the pool whilst I would beg them to go on the Off Roading adventure or the camel ride. I was always the more adventurous one in the family.

The first real weekend trip that I loved and will always remember was Whitby. I had been to Cornwall a lot in the past but that never felt like a holiday as we was always visiting family down there. Whitby appealed to me, it was peaceful and scenic and I found myself taking pictures at every passing moment. It felt like for the first time I was really truly exploring the UK.

This small trip has what has led me to love taking smaller trips, weekends away. I think I would go as far as saying that they appeal to me maybe a little bit more than a week away by the beach. I'm an adventure addict and if I'm in a new place then I want to see it rather than be laying by the beach all week. I want to know about the culture, the history, the food and be right in amongst all the action.

I'm grateful for every trip and every holiday that I have ever been on whether it be a week by the beach or a weekend in Nottingham or Whitby. They have all made me the person that I am today and have formed part of this ever-growing passion and love for travel. I hope that in the future I will be taking more UK weekend trips as there are still so many places that I would love to visit!

J x