July in Photos

01 August 2016

I cannot believe July is over, that was a super fast 31 days full to the brim of adventures and time outside.  I usually join Hawthorn Spellweaver for these posts, but not this month.  She kindly took the trouble to email me the prompts for July, as I was away the first two weeks of the month, but I am rubbish at checking the email address for this blog so I didn't pick up the email until the end of last week.  Sadly I hadn't taken any pictures that matched the prompts for July so I will give you a selection of my own choosing.


We started the month by travelling south for a family holiday.  We had dry warm weather, which makes camping so much easier, we picked the location for a few reasons but one is that the south of England generally has warmer weather over the summer than where I live.  In the weeks leading up to our holiday it was much drier and warmer where we live, I was worried we were in for a cold, wet week!





We enjoyed hours of cycling on fantastic off road tracks through beautiful countryside.



The area is famous for its wild ponies and cattle.  Some of the properties have commoners rights attached to them which allows the owners to graze their livestock on local land*.  They often came wandering though our campsite.


When it comes to food on holiday I have, in the past, done a lot of cooking prior to going away, reheating it when we were to eat it.  It always meant a huge amount of work in the week leading up to going away which often meant that I was exhausted by the time we actually went away.  I tried a different approach this time taking a box of basic ingredients and buying fresh ones locally.  There was a fantastic farm shop a two minute drive from the campsite which supplied most of our needs.





We don't usually take a planned 'holiday' from home education mostly because we don't differentiate between family life and learning.  July ended up being a month when we only had one week of our usual rhythm, and on one day of that week we had great fun at a friends house making huge bubbles.  It was a really easy activity to set up and provided plenty of entertainment.  The bubbles were amazing to watch as they wobbled through the air, seemingly fragile, but covering considerable distances on occasions.






Last weekend we travelled to visit friends and their local air show, I had never been to one before and had no idea what to expect.  It was incredibly busy, especially to us small village dwellers, but we managed to find a quietish spot looking out to sea with the crowds behind us.  There were so many different displays going on, WWII planes, parachute displays, a beach assault, gyrocopter and helicopter displays.  The highlight for me was definitely the Red Arrows we saw them twice and they were fantastic on both occasions.

My diary for August is looking very empty, I have plans for a few of the days but nothing else at the moment.  I know that we will slowly fill it, but I am looking forward to a very slow, gentle month.

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* all land in England is owned, the right to graze your livestock on land owned by others is a very old one in some cases it has been around since the time of William the Conqueror (nearly 1,000 years)

14 comments:

  1. Your holiday sounds lovely, relaxed and plenty of time to just enjoy each others company and the beautiful surroundings. Glad you got some good weather, it does make a big difference when you can get out and about without getting soaked.

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  2. I've loved trips to the New Forest in the past, though haven't been for years. Your pictures brought back memories of a beautiful place. Glad you enjoyed your break, I am also looking forward to a quieter month in August. x

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  3. Your holiday location looks perfect. I may have a look at that area next year. The off road cycling tracks look ideal for us. I'm glad you had such a great time and hope you enjoy your slower paced August. X

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  4. Glad you had a good camping trip in the New Forest. My husband grew up near it, so it's favourite with us. I'm impressed that you've cooked beforehand in the past. Fabulous photos of the Red Arrows.

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  5. your July went fast, mine goes so very slow because I don't like hot and humid weather. However, now it's August and I've set my sights for fall!! Love the forest photos, reminds me of here. I love the quiet of the woods and the stillness. Quite peaceful!!

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  6. "A slow gentle month",a good idea nicely put.
    Me too.A trip to the second hand book shops,pins and wool ,walks in the woods & on the shore line planned.I'm set.

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  7. The place where you camped looks really beautiful. I enjoyed seeing your campsite and equipment too. I haven't ever cooked before camping, but I can see how that would make things easier. I usually just bring foods that can stay in the cooler and then cook quickly on the campstove. They're probably not the healthiest foods, but camping is like a vacation to us, so it's okay if we eat a little junk. :) I loved seeing your bubbles, they really are huge. I saw some colored bubble solution in the grocery store the other day and almost bought some but I'm concerned that they would stain clothing. Your photos from the air show are great. I love watching the military planes fly in formation. We live close to an air force base (my husband actually works on the base as a civilian government contractor) and we often see interesting planes over the house, such as various bombers and Ospreys. I hope you're having a good week so far!

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  8. your holiday looks absolutely lovely... i need one too!
    and my boys would have loved the air show.
    lovely words and pictures shared - thank you.
    happy new month, new moon, new season xxx

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  9. enjoy your slow gentle August, it sounds perfect x

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  10. I have never been to the New Forest - it looks a great place to go camping. The month went by so fast, I wonder what August will bring, more nice weather I hope.

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  11. oh, your buying food from a farm shop reminded me of how much i love the Famous Five books when they go gadding about the countryside, buying food from kindly farmer's wives....*happy sigh*

    enjoy your quiet(er) august....xo

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  12. Your camping trip looks lovely! It looks like a fantastic place for biking with kids. British Country Living had a nice article about the New Forest and the ponies in one of their past issues. Really interesting.

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  13. I love the New Forest, it feels like a very special, ancient place. Beautiful photos as always :)

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  14. I'm missing your posts but i guess you have been busy, cause family life is like that. Please note that i pop along to get the links for other blogs from you inspiration tab so even if you are not writing at the moment your blog is helpful!

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