Afternoon tea at Crook Hall.

Visiting Crook Hall Gardens, Durham.

After a day of getting my bearings and a night of drinking games (this girl never learns), we decided to go for a slightly more laid back approach to Sunday; you know, the whole resting thing you're meant to do. I asked if you guys had any Durham recommendations for me on Twitter, and Kelly replied saying that Crook Hall, along with a few other places, was worth a look in. As it didn't look like we were about to get pretty wet 'n' wild up in there, we meandered along the river to give it a go.

Of course, anti-histamines miiiight have been a good idea had I actually accepted that I had hayfever at this point. But, sniffles aside, Crook Hall gardens are some of the most beautiful out there. Clarity was on a bee-hunt (not all that hard, they'd definitely come out to play), and there were more peonies than a blogger could shake her Olympus Pen at. The gardens were split into different sections: from the surprisingly tricky maze that's right in front of you as you enter, to the Shakespeare garden (feat. bust of the big man himself), to the Cathedral garden with stained glass window shaped flower beds overlooking the Real Deal on the horizon, there's plenty to do here on a sunny day.

After a while, our poor little kinda hungover selves head over to Crook Hall itself where you were able to pick up a cream tea with unlimited (!!) tea for £3.60 - giving the South a great big finger, where this would cost at least twice the amount, for sure.

It wasn't long before I had to haul my bag and myself up that massive bloody hill to get the train home to Manchester, where Crook Hall seemed a lifetime away (because it was raining. Again. Of course.). Have you ever visited Durham before, or live there? I'm sure I'll end up there again before long, if not off to Newcastle, and will mentally make bookmarks of your recommendations if you've got any you'd like to share! brb, dreaming of those scones...

WHAT I WORE.

H+M striped top: £7. Fat Face denim dungarees (c/o). Adidas Superstars: £55 (I think, they're kids ones, anyway). Topshop fedora hat: £7.

WHERE WE WENT.

WHAT'S ON INSTA.

Hats off to the weekend 🕵🏻 #durham #boomerang #video #ootd #tb

A video posted by Rebecca (@rebeccacohen_) on Jul 8, 2016 at 10:34am PDT

Promise I wasn't falling asleep, that's my plan for the train ride. 💤 #durham #crookhall #potd #picoftheday #ootd #zara #topshop #selfie #style #wiw #wiwt #fbloggers #fblogger #fbloggersuk

A photo posted by Rebecca (@rebeccacohen_) on Jun 19, 2016 at 10:15am PDT

Give me five mins, and I'll find you a blogger cliché. #durham #thisjoyfulmoment #thehappynow #theeverydayproject #lovelysquares #peony #peonies

A photo posted by Rebecca (@rebeccacohen_) on Jun 19, 2016 at 8:28am PDT

Always got time for a full English. Maybe not so much for the black pudding though... #durham #breakfast #brunch

A photo posted by Rebecca (@rebeccacohen_) on Jun 19, 2016 at 3:38am PDT

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Playing it cool on the set of Harry Potter.

Zara coat. & Other Stories top. Oasis jeans. Topshop hat. Tatty Devine speech bubble necklace. Adidas Superstar trainers.

Visiting Durham

Do you ever get it in your head that you're going to love a place, despite never having visited? Well, I did. I've been internally bigging up Durham for a long ol' time, and when I got wind of my pal Clarity moving there, it was only a matter of time before I'd booked myself some train tickets and was on my way up. I'm not even sure why I'd wanted to go for so long, as it's not like it's been repeatedly talked about online (yeah, you guys have massively killed any want to head to Brighton again, can you stop now?), and barely gets any mentions by my friends. I'm just going to assume that it's down to how much I like York, and just thinking it's an even further North version of that.

Thankfully, Durham lived up to my expectations, and then some.

Okay, okay, the weather's just as bad as it is in Manchester, but as my hair is now in a permanent state of frizzy, I was more than happy to wander from the train station down into town and head straight out for lunch. Clarity recommended a place called Leonard's Coffee House, and boy do they do a decent toasted sandwich. I mean, nothing will come between me and my love for Northern Soul's grilled cheese sandwiches (nothing, I swear), but this sarnie is moving its way up on my List of Sandwiches I Need to Master.

We then headed onwards and upwards to the Cathedral. Even if half of it is currently covered in scaffolding - damn you unphotogenic renovations - it's still pretty impressive, dominating the Durham skyline. Of course, I lost my shit when I recognised bits from the Harry Potter films, so got myself a cheesy lil snap "on set". Don't even try to pretend you wouldn't too.

I've got another post coming up on my second day of visiting Durham too (been storing these up for a while), so keep an eye out if you're a fan of cream teas and peonies like every single blogger out there. Hardly surprising I've been a bit absent from the internet when I've had to deal with such cliché delights, is it?

Where we went

What's on Insta

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You could wait for a lifetime to spend your days in the sunshine.

Catarzi fedora hat: £25 (jeeze, they've really increased the price of these). Warehouse bardot dress: £24.  Oasis loafers: £4. Warehouse belt (I think, found it in my room one day). Marks and Spencer bag: £43. Scarf c/o Style by Portobello. 

Weekend museuming and sunshine.

As I sit here, having just uploaded the best. boomerang. ever. (if I do say so myself) looking at some very grey skies, it's making me chuckle to look at the above photos: what a difference a week makes! It wouldn't be a patriotic Great British Summer without discussing the clouds every two minutes, so I'm glad to see we can continue this tradition. Less chat about the Euros the better, however. 

Making the most of last week's sunshine, I headed along to meet Clare and Joe at the Imperial War Museum North to check out their newest exhibition: Fashion on the Ration. I hadn't been to IWM since 2003, so was well overdue a visit to the funny looking building on the other side of the river to the Lowry. It's a beautiful museum as it is (despite its subject matter), so would recommend a look round. But, if you're nearby, the Fashion on the Ration exhib is worth a look-in too, as it'll definitely make you feel #blessed after last night's asos splurge. Anyone else kinda want those undies made from a silk ex-army map? 

As I'd bought a weekend tram ticket, I asked on Twitter if anyone had any sunny Sunday recommendations for me, and Emma recommend heading to Sale before walking on to Didsbury. The one thing I've found since moving to Manchester and living a stone's throw from the city centre is that I'm constantly in the urban jungle, with little to no green space available. So, without much hesitation, I took up this suggestion, and got my weekly dose of the green stuff. Now, this comes with a warning: take suncream. Idiotic me prioritised ice cream (not really that sorry), and I'm still applying cocoa butter every day to make up for it. The walk along the Mersey to Didsbury was the perfect antidote to a long ol' week, and I think I've fallen a little in love with that part of Manchester. It's got a very village-y feel (think Wimbledon village, if you're trying to work out its vibe), and it sells parma ham paninis for £6.50.

If that's not got you sold, I made a mini-vlog of my Sunday here. Let me know if you liked it, cos I might start making these a weekly thing (when it's not raining).

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