if you go down to the woods today...be sure to wear wellies/sensible shoes.

On Friday, I decided to take myself off to a local National Trust Park. I'm a lover of my own company, some people might think that's pretty strange but I don't. I can be independent, I can be on my own quite happily, I don't always have to be surrounded by people.

In the morning I had done a few jobs around the house, you know the usual boring cleaning jobs. But I thought, you know what...all work & no play makes for a very boring life so off I went. With it being nice weather already, I didn't really think I'd need to wear my dog walking wellies. I thought I'd be able to walk on the paths that weren't muddy. Within seconds of arriving, my curious side got the better of me & I headed over to a information sign that was on a grassed area. Boots, with very little grip lead to this...

a) am I really sharing this photo on here? yes, looks that way &  b) did I really need to take a photo? oh of course, I need to take photos of everything! How else will I document my life? ;)

If I hadn't managed to keep my balance I would of been well & truly covered in mud & slightly extremely grumpy. Luckily a few months ago in a moment of madness which I now think was actually a very good moment, I decided to buy an extra pair of wellies to keep in my car because well you never know. Safe to say I was very extremely pleased to open up my boot & grab my wellies to go.

Recently I've taken my camera out alot (to the point of boredom) when I've been out dog walking but since we tend to walk in the same area it was lovely to be able to take my camera with me & snap some photos of some other beautiful scenes.

Of course if I'm sharing them on here, I'm going to have to share them how I would in person...talk you through every single photo.

Ok?

If you've got a problem you'll have to have a word with goosey Lucy (googled this to be doubley sure it was a goose, it is...a canada goose infact...canada? canadian?)...

The sun was shining, so a shadow shot was in order...I look soooooo bloomin' tall!

& you know, just incase one shot isn't enough I had to strike a pose. I did check behind me to make sure that nobody was too close to think I was a little strange...

No matter what age you are, you are never too old to walk/jump in puddles! Unfortunately today there was no jumping, I was feeling a little uneasy so I just stuck to steady walking.

Every now & then though it's ok to take a little photo of yourself, right? Right...I thought so too.

Seriously how beautiful is this lake. It's almost too good to be true, there must be some kind of lake monster hiding under there somewhere?

Oooh, how pretty & I can spot my shadow too...

How many Trolls could live under this bridge? It automatically made me think of Billy Goats Gruff.

In some ways this isn't the most 'perfect' photo but in my eyes, it is absolutely beautiful. The sun was well & truly shining bright & look at those clouds too.

A little part to add in here, when I was finally ready to start my walk I had no idea where to walk. I'd never been to this park to walk. I'd been once before & we was on a big field before the main part of the park so I had no idea where to go. I spotted a sign, it had a map & marking showing the walk route. At the side it also had some writing too, saying it was a 1.5 mile walk. Easy peasy I thought to myself, when I've mapped my dog walk before it has been 2 miles, no worries.

No worries until I wasn't actually going the right way & ended up not only taking the wrong way but also ending up on the wrong side of the lake. I knew it would still be alright though, I'd got my trusty wellies on so the muddy paths didn't bother me & the sun was still shining. Thankfully about three quarters of the way round, there was a lovely little cafe on wheels.

What a nice little treat.

I bought myself a lovely cup of peppermint tea (managed to spill some on my hand & also on the serving counter....oooopppsss! turns out I wasn't the only person to do it that day, thank god) & a scrummy flapjack.

It felt like I'd spent so long in the woods it was only appropriate I snapped this sign, I thought the sun shining through also looked pretty cool.

Speaking of the sun shining through looking pretty cool. I was just hoping that the sun would stay up long enough for me to get back to my car in time. I had absolutely no idea how much further I'd got left to walk. I could of sat outside the cafe on wheels but I didn't dare because I didn't have time to kill.

This photo reminds me of a campfire scene in a movie. You know like when you see people go on spring break? or a family holiday.

I was amazed by the different shapes, shading, textures & patterns...

If I see or hear a squirrel I get a little bit excited, maybe a little bit too excited sometimes. Hey, they are such cute little creatures. I was absolutely loving how many squirrels were about, I mean fancy it...in the woods, squirrels?! never!

I couldn't get over how close they would stay to me neither. Where I normally walk the squirrels don't stay near you at all. These ones weren't scared at all, I didn't have to zoom in this photo (below). I just wish I could of fed them, can you feed squirrels?

The sun was setting but the views were still absolutely beautiful.

Can you spot lines running down the right hand side? Yeah, I'd got something on the lens & hadn't realised but still, it doesn't ruin the photo (I don't think so anyway).

Another corner, another beautiful view...

A cheeky selfie? oh why not...but I mean looking back at this now, WOW talk about dark circles...

I'm a) currrently in love with how I'm curling my hair &  b) I seriously love this scarf too. It goes with so much, just whack it on & you're good to go.

If squirrels weren't cute enough, I spotted some bunny rabbits too. They were alot closer (I used zoom on this one) but I didn't get my camera out quick enough.

I have no idea who this man was, but I just had to capture the cuteness. I mean, talk about friendly squirrels...

Sunset, chapel & trees...

Something so beautiful as this row of trees, yet some people don't appreciate the beauty.

You can kind of spot the smudge/lines again but I wasn't going to focus on that & let it ruin the photo.

So a few hours down the line, I was done. Even after taking the wrong route, it was still a beautiful walk with some breathtaking views. I will definitely be returning again & hopefully I'll head on off to some other parks too. I'll certainly be better prepared, I'll be taking a rucksack...armed with snacks & drinks.

I can see massive improvements in myself, two years ago if you had said I'd of been able to manage this I'd of thought you were crackers. Infact, if I had gone with someone I would of probably struggled more than I would compared to on my own.

♥

A little note too, my mum bought me a National Trust Membership in the middle of last year & this is the first time I've got round to using it but I will definitely be using it again & rejoining too. For a young adult it's just over £20 a year...madness!

Do you have any favourite parks to visit? Or any other National Trust place?

I'd love to know if you do.

♥