There comes a time in a girl’s life when spending a few hours in the company of one of your most favourite friends doesn’t always mean shopping, getting drunk and chasing boys. And a couple of weekends ago, Lynsey and I decided to meet somewhere in between Cardiff and Brum, and do something really lovely.
We went for a stroll in the Autumn paradise of the Westonbirt, the National Arboretum.
The week running up to our date the weather forecast was awful, so we woke early, made a cup of tea and had a PJ FaceTime date to assess the situation. It was Beeyootiful! So we both jumped in the shower, got dressed and hit our respective roads.
This was my first visit, and the Autumn colours were fabulous, ranging from bright green to fiery red.
We picked up a map, then talked too much to look at it and just meandered around, chatting and pointing at trees and scenes that you couldn’t walk passed without stopping to appreciate.
I am not the best at dressing right for the situation, and i’m not sure i’m wearing the right thing for a walk in the woods!
Westonbirt is famous for it’s collection of Japanese Maples, and you can see why here. They were so bright, they looked as if they had been painted.
You’ve got to kick leaves about when they look this good!
There is loads to do for people of all ages. I think these stepping ‘stones’ were meant for kids but when we saw them we whooped and jumped and skipped our way through the woods until we popped out the other end.
Our trip to Westonbirt was bittwersweet to Lynsey, who lost her mum at the beginning of the year. Almost exactly a year ago to the day of our visit, Lynsey and her mum had come to see the beautiful colours together. Lynsey is my role model and inspiration; she always has a smile, and no matter how sad she feels, she has never complained or felt sorry for herself. We found the tree that they’d had their photos taken underneath a year ago…it was still looking gorgeous, as was Lyns.
As the sun started to get low, we headed off in search of tea and cake, a final gossip and were just heading back to the cars for one final hug and a teary goodbye when the forecasted rain decided to make an appearance.
We were just in time!
What a treat!
