I can't lie, I adore Whitby, the pretty little coastal Yorkshire town has had a long standing place in my heart.  There's nowhere like it, it's quaint cobbled streets awash with pretty little gift shops and an abundance of restaurants and cafes serving a multitude of fish based dishes.  It doesn't matter if you want plain old fish and chips or the best seafood platter teaming with jewels of the ocean, it's all available in Whitby. 

The Jewel in the Whitby seafood crown is the much applauded Magpie Cafe, it's never without queues, even at it's takeaway section but if you can prepare yourself for just a little wait (if you don't visit in peak season at noon) then you'll soon be rewarded with boat fresh fish guaranteed to give even the harshest of critic a very happy seafood filled tummy.  Even the house champagne, a very reasonable decadence satisfied my bubble loving palate.

Whitby though isn't just about the fish and chips, there's an ease to the pace in the winding streets of Whitby that lends itself to relaxation, within moments of arriving you forget the stress and worry of the world you've left behind, the smell of the sea air fills your lungs and with each breath you feel your shoulders drop just a little as the calm of the seaside takes over.

I'd never been to Whitby on a girls trip but I cannot recommend that you immediately take one highly enough, there's just something amazing about spending time with your girlfriends, while going with children and partners is lovely, there are also the pressures that go along with that.  Going with girlfriends is almost as good as a solo travel experience but what you lose with solo travel you immediately gain when you have your closest friends by your side.  The camaraderie, the laughs and giggles, the inside jokes, the ability to have many conversations at once because you know each other so well, I'm so appreciative of my friends and it's a joy to get to spend extended time with them.

Whilst Whitby is a joy to spend time visiting at any time of year, I love to go at Easter, the weather is improving but it's still not too busy, if you go during the summer months be prepared for queues everywhere, as I mentioned earlier try to avoid eating between 12-2 if you don't want a long wait, during the Easter holidays though it's not quite so much of an issue barring the bank holidays when it feels like half of Yorkshire has come to the seaside.  

Here's just a smattering of pretty photographs of our wonderful Whitby Friday.

My beautiful friends, Harriet, Laura from Sharpe Recruitment and Julie from Epic Times

The meaning of life - It's 42!

According to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy the meaning of life is 42, being that I reach that on Monday I'm crossing my fingers and toes that is actually true.

41 for me was a bit of a weird age, it started off quite badly as I remember it but then it just got better and better until I found myself having the most fun I have ever had.  

In work I've photographed portraits and great travel destinations, beautiful weddings and I've written about some of the most glorious places in the country and Europe, I visited 5 countries in 4 days, went on my first cruise, holidayed for a week in Edinburgh and reviewed some of the loveliest dog friendly places in the country with Holly Bobbins my chief doggy travel expert.

41 was the age I went to my first ball and the age I really learned to appreciate the friendships you have with women, it's been the age of actually letting people in my home, I never thought I would see the day I actually let a TV crew into my living room, I think I got 10 bonus brave points for that one.

There's a comfort and knowledge that comes with age, especially as a woman I think, society places so many pressures upon us, the ways we should look and feel and think and we're judged on every little thing, I think somewhat we still have a long way to go to be seen truly as equals but we're breaking through glass ceilings every day and whilst there's still a long way to go I'm glad I've had my time on earth when I have.

I'm having a weekend in a luxury cottage this weekend, part travel assignment and part rest and relax with my gorgeous friend Li who I don't see enough of since she moved away from Newcastle, along with our wonderful daughters I think we're going to have a lot of fun and a stress free time.  What's even better is that Holly Bobbins will also be there assessing the dog friendliness of the property, I'm already pretty sure we're going to be delighted with what we find.

Monday is my birthday and I'm going out to dinner with some of my favourite people, a tale of 11 invade As You Like It will be a definite tale to tell next week.

I'm working on plans for the things I want to achieve this year, I have some travel assignments I'm working on at the moment, trips which are sure to be exciting and I can't wait to share those with you, I'm in the process of arranging Barcelona at the moment, we're just working on which dates are going to be best.

One final thing to look forward to is the fact that it's February next week, spring is on the way, I like to count down to spring as often as possible because I loathe winter so much, I'm already noticing that it's getting lighter in the mornings and it's getting dark just a little later in the evening, the promise of lighter, warmer, brighter days to come. Lets all celebrate the fact that we've now made it through January, Payday for most of the known world tomorrow and then you can all get on with planning lovely spring photo shoots or Mothers Day presents or Easter or making the final arrangements for weddings, I still have availability for 3 more weddings this year, I won't be taking on anymore once I have those final 3 so if you are still looking for your wedding photographer then get in touch!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, I might still be hiding under a duvet but at least I can poke my head out thinking about the promise of spring to come!

2 weeks in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria

It's been a month since I last blogged Dear Reader, please forgive me for I have a very good reason, I've been on holiday!!

Yes for the first time in 13 years we had a 2 week family holiday to sunny Gran Canaria or as I like to call it 1987!!

Going to Gran Canaria is like re-visiting the 80's, not quite Blackpool but pretty touristy with a lot of Variety acts!

So here's a few photos from our trip and I should add that I didn't take my proper camera, for a couple of weeks I managed with my Samsung Galaxy camera which is actually quite a nifty little thing!

and so that was it, our holiday, 13 years in the making over in just 14 days which seemed to speed past us faster than we could blink.