I think it is pretty fair to say that I don’t have much luck when it comes to summer. It often involves a visit or two to hospital or just generally being unwell. This has meant that some summers I have not been able to get out and enjoy the weather. Sometimes I have been cooped up indoors feeling to unwell to even think about the weather. This year I desperately hope will be different. I need a break! This year I fully intend to make the most of every sunny day that I can and get outside as much as I can. I am not normally an outdoorsy kind of person, and the slightest little bit of a chill makes me run for shelter. But there’s only so much brick and concrete I can take.

The last few weeks we have had some really good weather around here. Beautiful, sunny and hot, nice hot though, not scorching hot. Two weeks ago I went to Bakewell with my friends and last week I went to the Botanical Gardens in Sheffield with my family. These days were planned, so we didn’t really know what the weather was going to be like. It turns out on both days the weather was wonderful!

The Botanical Gardens is a big park area in Sheffield. It has a big green house with lots of plants from all around the world. There is also a fountain, a cafe and a shop. You can buy Sheffield honey there which I did not realise until I went. They say that local honey is good for hay fever. I have lived in Sheffield my whole life, but I had never been to the Botanical Gardens before. I felt like I was the only person in Sheffield who had not been.

Picture of the fountain at the Botanical Gardens. It is at the end of a long, wide path. The fountain has three tiers and on the second tier at the right there is a small grey bird drinking the water from the fountain. In the background there are lots of trees, the green house and a bright blue sky.

When we first got there we went straight to the green house. The plants were all so tall and had long, wide colourful leaves. We saw a tea tree, a eucalyptus plant and a plant which they make tequilla from! There were way to many to mention on here, so go and see for yourself. I was trying to imagine these plants in the wild, loads of them all in one space, in a hot country. It would look so beautiful. I hope I get to visit somewhere like that one day.

After we had seen the plants we went for a walk outside. Wide, even pathways, very accessible. We just walked and talked, enjoying the landscape and the weather. It was all so simple, but it felt so good. Sometimes you can spend a lot of money and time travelling to a place that you don’t actually enjoy when you get there. This was free, apart from the cafe, ice cream van and shop. And it was right here in Sheffield.

While we were walking around, everything just felt so perfect. There was no rushing and no stress, just a truly relaxing day. I came home feeling refreshed as if I had just come back from a holiday. I felt the same after my trip to Bakewell. Refreshed, relaxed and ready to face the world again.

I think I have found my new happy place. 😀

Xx ❤ xX