Hever Castle

Call me a nerd if you will, but I love exploring castles and old houses and I am very lucky to live in a country that is filled with them. We have so much history in England and it would be a shame to waste it. Countries with less visible history our jealous of us for it, so we should all get out and make the most of it. 

Hever Castle is a lovely one although as Jack was quick to point out, 'it's more of a big house than a castle.' Although isn't that what a castle really is at the end of the day? Anyway you'll find it in Kent, 30 miles south east of London. It's got beautiful grounds and gardens as well as a humongous lake you can walk all the way round. The castle itself is teeming with history, it was once owned by the Bullen (later Boleyn) family - yep as is Anne Boleyn and is where she grew up. William Waldorf Astor (yep as in the hotels) acquired it in 1903 and restored it to it's former glory after it had gone to rack and ruin for some time. As with all these places there's a lovely cafe but on a warm summers day there's plenty of places to lay out a picnic mat and enjoy the castle in all it's glory. 

It's not too pricey at £16.90 per adult for the castle and gardens and £9.50 for a child. It's definitely worth it.

WHAT I'M WEARING

COAT Miss Selfridge | JUMPER New Look | SKIRT Topshop | BOOTS TU | HAT Dakine

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Center Parcs Nov 2016 | Video

Center Parcs is somewhere me and my family have been going since me and my brother were little and we still love it. For us it still has that magical quality you get when you go as a child but it is a great place for a little escape no matter what your age and no matter if you've been there before or not. There's so much to do and you can do as much or as little as you want. It can be an active, adventure break or a chilled, relaxing break depending on what you choose to do. It's great if you've got young kids cause there's heaps to keep them entertained but there's also plenty to keep a group od adults entertained as well. It's basically the perfect place for a break.

Toffee Apple Cake

It was my Grandad's birthday last Friday and one thing I love doing is making family and friend's birthday cakes. I like to make cakes personal to them, things, flavours, that particular person likes. My Grandad LOVES toffee. To put this in perspective he got six bags of toffee for his birthday (as well as other things, but still.) He's also a lover of a good old fashioned pudding such as Spotted Dick, Apple Crumble, so I decided to combine the two and this is what happened.

You will need

225g self-raising flour

115g unsalted butter

115g light brown sugar

1 egg

8 tbsp milk

225g Bramley apples

100g sultanas

110g butter

220g dark brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp milk

350g icing sugar

1/1 Bramley apple

How to

Preheat oven to 180C/160F/Gas 4

Grease and line one 20cm cake tin

Cube the butter and add into the flour. Crumble them together until it looks like fine bread crumbs.

Stir in the sugar before beating in the egg. Add the milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach a smooth batter. 

Peel and core the apples before cubing them and adding them and the raisins to the batter. Stir in until everything is well combined.

Pour into the pre-greased tin and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Warning this cake is very crumbly and moist so be really careful when turning it out of the in. 

Chop an apple into slices ready for later. 

For the icing, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the sugar and salt and boil for about 2 minutes until everything is melted. At this point dip the apples into the toffee and place onto a plate for the toffee to harden. (If you're not serving the cake on the same day as baking do this step before serving)

Take the pan off the heat and add the milk. Bring back to the boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for around 20-30 minutes. 

Take a tablespoon or two from the pan to drizzle over the iced cake later. Sift in the icing sugar and beat until smooth and cool enough to spread. If the mixture stiffens up you may need to add another tablespoon of milk to loosen it up. 

Once you have a smooth mixture spread the icing onto the cake. I like mine to look messy and not too  perfect. Drizzle the toffee sauce you put to one side earlier over the top and then decorate with the apples.

Stick in a couple of candles, or put on the kettle, and enjoy. 

P.S That's my brother and yes he's currently single handed. He volunteered to help. 

Tea Talk

I love tea, I mean I'm British and nothing if not a cliche. Aside from the classic English Breakfast tea, which is a staple addition throughout my day, every day, there are other teas that I reach to on occasion. Apart from the warming, comforting benefit of drinking tea, the ultimate and instant refresh you get from the first sip, there are teas out that with actual health benefits. I thought I'd tell you about a few of my faves, but first I'll tell you for herbal tea I always go Pukka. It's reasonably priced, all organic ingredients and there's heaps to choose from.

Peppermint Tea is a fairly recent discovery of mine but I love it. A cup of peppermint is normally my last cup of tea for the day. It's super relaxing and makes me feel calm and ready for bed. Added bonuses are that it's good for the immune system, aids digestion and can help with nausea. If you're feeling a bit crampy and bleugh in the stomach region, try a cup of peppermint tea, it will probably sort you out.

Echinacea tea if perfect for this time of year. Like peppermint tea, it boosts the immune system but can also relieve the symptoms of cold and flu. I really like the Pukka variety as it's flavoured with raspberry so it's lovely and fruity. And definite must have for your tea collection.

Lemon, Ginger & Manuka Honey is my favourite of the bunch and one I drink through the day. It tastes delicious and is the most comforting of the bunch, I think. Manuka honey is great for the immune system, warm lemon is a good antioxidant and ginger is good for relieving nausea. (Any pregnant ladies out there, apparently ginger tea is really good for morning sickness.) What I love most about it though is the spicy, sweet flavour which is really warming and relaxing.

The Detox and Night Time variety aren't ones I reach for very often but I do enjoy them every now and again. They're both a mixture of different herbs that are great for doing what they say on the tin basically. The detox tea is full of antioxidants that help you feel renewed and this is something I'd grab on a Sunday morning after one too many or really whenever I'm feeling a little groggy. The Night Time tea is perfect if, like me, you tend to get a little anxious. It's made up of different herbs that help to make you feel relaxed and calm which is great for just before you hit the hay, but also if your mind is working at a mile a minute and you're feeling a little stressed.