Piel Island

Not far from the coast of Barrow-In-Furness lies a curious little island with an rich and interesting history. Earliest records stretch back to the 12th century when King Stephen placed the island under the care of Savignac Monks and the Cistercian order. It was here that for centuries grain, wool, wine and other precious commodities were stored (and smuggled).

What remains of the castle and it’s surrounding fortifications today is mostly a mass of crumbling stone and a pub called ‘The Ship Inn’. This pub has taken care of those that pass through with lunch and a pint of local ale for centuries. Traditionally whomever runs the pub is crowned ‘King of Piel Island’ and the tradition continues to this day. Apparently there is a ceremony that involves you sitting in a 300 year old wooden throne and having beer poured all over you.

My idea of heaven.

Last July when we visited Cumbria we took a tiny little boat across waters peppered with jellies to explore Piel island and a few pints.

We made a friend on the ferry over. 😉

And even more friends once we got there!

I love a good sheepie cuddle. ❤

Our tour guide Mr. Chicken was ace.

A few little jellies…

That’s it! Piel Island done! x

Coniston Old Man

Oh crap….I’m almost a full year behind on posting. 😦

I have no idea how that happened.

I’m so bad.

I keep doing this to you! All 7 of you who come here. LOL.

Lake District. Summer holiday.

After an initial taster walk around the Lakes, S and I decided to take a crack at the Coniston Old Man and Dow Crag walk. Coniston Old Man is a gorgeous mountain (12 largest in England) which stands 2,634 feet above Cumbria and boasts some of the most spectacular views I’ve ever been lucky enough to witness.

Swirling layers of fluffy clouds slicing through the horizon. Bright rolling hills carpeted with greenery and napping sheep. SHEEEEEEEEP.

Ancient boulders jutting from the Earth like sleeping giants in some fantasy novel.

The surprise discovery of tiny sparkling lakes as blue as anything, shimmering in the sunlight like a bag of sapphires.

Making lots of new friends.

Pretty romantic stuff.

But holy hell, you’ve got to work for it. It’s a proper 5-hour climb with some bouldering and nausea-inducing do-not-look-down-for-the-love-of-God moments (granted that’s coming from a complete mountaineering novice who spent much of last summer drinking craft ale and lazing about. See below the out-of-shape beer goddess in her natural habitat.)

S was ahead of me most of the climb as I heaved and puffed and swore until my body warmed up and I got into the rhythm of the ascent. Once my lungs caught up and my booty kicked in it was excellent.

It was windy and warm and lovely and challenging. Totally surreal to be up with the clouds. To have climbed your way up to something that high. For me anyway. I’m new!

We did it in just over 5 hours and we were pretty knackered by the time we got back to the car, but it was really amazing.

Next up… Piel Island!

Belgium! Discovering Ghent, Bruges and Brussels…Part Four.

Ghent was indeed quite beautiful, but Bruges really stole my heart and I didn’t want to leave. ❤

Bruges is where I really let my chocoholic flag fly proudly.

Who doesn’t need a big pair of chocolate boobs?

No shortage of beer!

And beer flag of course.

Mmmmmmmmm KWAK!

Beer bible! The only bible for me!!

Satan makes delicious beer. No surprises there.

Birthday Food was wonderful as well!

Fondue…

Vol-au-vent au poulet

And Bruges, itself…simply stunning.

Basilica of the Holy Blood

DALI Museum

Probably should have split this up into more posts! Oh well. x

Belgium! Discovering Ghent, Bruges and Brussels…Part Three.

There were lots of rainy days when we were in Belgium (which is perfectly fine if your top priority is drinking beer 24/7)!

In an effort to not be completely sloshed for the duration of our holiday, we visited the Design Museum Gent to see the temporary exhibition, Lightopia.

Lightopia is a playful and mesmerising exploration of light. From the humble but extraordinary beginnings of electricity, through the evolution to ultra modern and cutting edge lighting fixtures, we wandered around for hours absorbing the artistry and immersive experiences that the exhibition offered.

The design museum itself was really beautiful, but the contemporary light fixtures woven throughout the 18th century drawing rooms takes you on this amazing journey from the past into the future. Walking away and further contemplating my experience over a large pint of delicious Belgian beer, this part of the exhibition was what really stayed with me.

Photos presented below without comment – Enjoy!

Next up… Onward to Bruges!

Belgium! Discovering Ghent, Bruges and Brussels…Part two. WAFFLES.

Who’s in the mood for some motherflippin waffles?!

The answer is: ALL Y’ALL.

I did some investigative “wafflesearch” (as you do). So there’s this place called MAX in Ghent.
It’s this super cute but 100% touristy little art nouveau cafe that says they invented the waffle.

Isn’t it a beautiful building?

Of course, I ordered a waffle.

A big, fluffy, light-as-air, splendid and amazing waffle. Crispy. Slightly Sweet. Yum.

And a really dumb fancy coffee.

And then I ordered an apple fritter because I’m insane.

Next up – LIGHTOPIA!!!!

Belgium! Discovering Ghent, Bruges and Brussels…Part one.

Ahhhhhh Belgium! So many reasons to visit this beautiful country.

Picturesque cottages. Quirky Cobblestone streets. Beer. (REALLY AMAZING BEER) Art. Chocolate. (REALLY AMAZING CHOCOLATE) Swans. Misty canals. Moules Frites. Medieval churches. Waterzooi. More beer. More beer. More beer.

I chose Belgium for OPERATION: DECOMPRESS VIA ALL OF THE BEER.

The old Monastery conversion we stayed at in Ghent was absolutely stunning!

And the historic town centre itself is incredible.

Sint-Michielskerk glowing at night…

Graffiti tunnel…

Had a beautiful dinner at De Graslei where I ordered the very traditional Flanders dish “Waterzooi”

It was SO YUMMY.

All the walking around in the freezing rain made us VERY thirsty. So we spent a lovely evening sampling (pouring beers directly into our faces) a few of the 250 beers on offer at Pub ‘de Dulle Griet’

If you want to drink the gigantic “Max” beer, you must hand over one of your shoes. It goes in the basket, the bell is rung, your shoe is lifted high to the ceiling and here comes your beer!

And then you drink the rest of the beers…

ALL THE BEER! Up next…The Design Museum Exhibit Lightopia and WAFFLES!