Beltane: Day 6

It's the penultimate day of our Beltane celebrations for this year. I was at work all day, but there was something nice planned for the evening, so that's okay.

Bakewell Puddings and Tarts

Took a little souvenir of our holiday into work today to spread a little springtime. Bakewell tarts for a volunteer meeting, and Bakewell puddings for me and my manager!

Bailey’s Wood Beltane Walk

I led a Beltane Walk in the Woods this evening for Friends of Bailey's Wood. It was lovely to wander through the woods, talking about the folklore of the season, and seeing that the hawthorn blossom and oak leaves have appeared since the last time I was here. It's really May now!

Stag’s Breath Liqueur

Since we've been celebrating all things Green Man this Beltane, we picked a treat tonight that feels pretty foresty... Stag's Breath Liqueur! It really does taste of comb honey (and also whisky, of course).

Beltane: Day 5

Another day of celebrating the season... and we had lots of nice seasonal treats lined up today.

Bakewell

It was our last morning in Bakewell today. We had a bit of a mooch round the town, and then lunch at The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop. I had Derbyshire Rarebit and a Bakewell Pudding (of course).

Beltane Wreath

This was a lovely surprise... when we got home from our holiday, my mum had hung a lovely springtime wreath on our front door.

Cherry Bathe-Well Bath Bomb

A bath-time reminder of our holiday... it's a Cherry Bathe-Well Bath Bomb from Bomb Cosmetics.

Beltane Wax Melts

We lit our diffuser tonight with some seasonally inspired wax melts: Wild Bluebell by Orgánico.

Beltane Dinner

Rob cooked our traditional Beltane dinner of Sausage Casserole tonight.

The Wicker Man

And we watched our traditional Beltane film, which is obviously The Wicker Man.

Beltane Gifts

After dinner, we exchanged our Beltane cards and gifts. We'll add the whiskies to our seasonal collection, to drink when we're in Cornwall in December.

Beltane: Day 4

Our fourth day of Beltane celebrations! And neither of us has got sick this year! Woohoo!

Bakewell

Our little holiday in Bakewell continues! It's the last full day today, so we're planning to make the most of it.

Magpie Mine

We went for a picnic and a wander round Magpie Mine today. We came here a couple of years ago and just loved the place. It's so atmospheric and evocative. There are also a lot of wildflowers growing on the site. I particularly enjoyed spotting mountain pansies today.

Honey Tea

We took a moment to enjoy the season with a nicely evocative tea. This time, it was Honey Tea from Tugboat in Truro.

The Deceit

We spent this evening puzzling over an escape room game called The Deceit. This game was from Puzzle Post, and we really loved the attention to detail in the contents and clues. As always when we play games like these, we were so proud of ourselves for solving it, we considered (yet again) opening our own detective agency.

Beltane: Day 3

Another day of celebrating Beltane! And today was an absolute cracker.

Bakewell

We're still on holiday in Bakewell, and today we baked up a picnic and headed out for an adventure. It was so sunny... I even got to wear my sunglasses for the first time this year!

Monsal Trail

Today we walked half (sort of) of the Monsal Trail. Two years ago, we walked from Bakewell to Upperdale and back again. This year, we wanted to explore the other half, so we went from Upperdale to Chee Dale and back (just over nine miles). It was absolutely glorious! Everything was green, and we were surrounded by butterflies and bees and birdsong and bluebells. We explored tunnels and disused lime kilns, and I had a Banana and Toffee Ripple ice cream. Just a properly perfect day.

The Green Man: A Field Guide

I am a bit obsessed with the Green Man this Beltane, so when we got back from the trail, I read a bit of The Green Man: A Field Guide by Clive Hicks.

Beltane: Day 2

Our second day of celebrating Beltane! And we had a nice little trip out planned today.

Bakewell

We're still on holiday in lovely Bakewell. The weather isn't too bad today, and apparently it's going to get even better tomorrow.

Summerisle Mugs

Celebrating Beltane with our new Summerisle mugs from Cultzilla!

Robin Hood’s Stride, Stone Circle and Hermit's Cave

We had a lovely walk and a picnic in the hills above Bakewell. We visited (and climbed all over) Robin Hood's Stride, and I found a little grotto to sit in. Then we visited a nearby stone circle and the Cratcliffe Hermit's Cave, where there's a stone crucifix that dates back to the thirteenth or fourteenth century. It was a really brilliant walk!

Green Man Puzzle Box

I'm a bit obsessed with the Green Man this spring, so I treated myself to a Green Man puzzle box from Bakewell market today.

Beltane: Day 1

It's time for Beltane! Halloween in Spring! We're really looking forward to celebrating this year, as we were both recovering from serious illnesses last Beltane, so we didn't manage to do very much at all. Fingers crossed, this year will be very different.

Bakewell

We're on holiday for the first half of our Beltane celebrations. It's our annual trip to Bakewell, and we've got lots of lovely things planned.

Tree Necklace and Earrings

Rob got me a lovely Beltane gift before we set off on holiday... a sparkly tree necklace and earring set that I absolutely love.

Abominable Books

I saved this month's Abominable Books box to open while we're on holiday. I got Red River Seven by A.J. Ryan, My Throat An Open Grave by Tori Bovalino, a Cthulhu pin and a massive block of Slab maple and walnut fudge!

Rose Bath Bomb

I've been saving this bath bomb for the springtime.

My Throat An Open Grave

Even though it's set in September, I decided to jump straight in to reading My Throat An Open Grave (at twilight, near some ivy, obviously). The Lord of the Woods storyline appealed to me, as I feel like this Beltane is going to be all about the Green Man!