Life’s A Rollercoaster | Thorpe Park 2017

“Just close your eyes and enjoy the rollercoaster that is life” Zayn Malik.

Last Monday I had the pleasure of spending the day at one of my favourite theme parks Thorpe Park, with my best friends Emily and Chantal, and it was one of my favourite days out of this year so far with fun all round as we enjoyed rollercoasters, KFC and a pit stop at Bicester Village on the way home.

Thorpe Park is located in one of my favourite counties Surrey, (another bonus as to why it’s one of my favourite theme parks) and it’s just an hour away from where the girls and I live. We began our drive down to Thorpe Park at the early but not too early time of 8am, ready to arrive for when the park opened at 10am. We made it in good time so we stopped off at McDonalds first so Chantal could get some breakfast.

We had a bit of a dilemma as we arrived at the park as our tickets were scanning through on the machines as invalid, so we couldn’t get through the barriers. Thankfully our situation was resolved in minutes as the staff members helped us by manually scanning our tickets and letting us through the entrance.

As per usual our first ride of the day was Rush, a giant swing like ride which is terrifying yet fun. Chantal was freaking out a little before the ride started which made me feel more scared than I usually would, so whilst we were swinging back and forth up in the air I really couldn’t wait to be back safely on the ground.

Our second ride of the day was Colossus which is a ten loop rollercoaster and I question why I go on it every time. For the whole duration of the ride your head just bangs constantly on each side of the seat, it’s so painful and I felt so sorry for my poor little head afterwards, it really took a bashing. The rides not even so fun to make it worth the head bashing but still, I know I’ll probably go on it again when the girls and I next go to Thorpe Park.

Look at that loop.

My favourite ride of the day was definitely the rollercoaster SAW, which is obviously based on the film of the same name. SAW has always been one of my favourite rides at Thorpe Park as it’s just so exciting and thrilling, I love everything about the ride, from the theme to the speed to the twists, turns, sudden drops and high climbs. This ride has such an element of surprise as even though I’ve been on it so many times the first drop always seems to come out of nowhere for me which is so exciting. It’s so good that as the ride comes to an end I’m already buzzing to go on it again. Seriously I could spend my whole day on SAW, it’s such a fun ride.

The best rollercoaster ever!

Another favourite rollercoaster of mine is The Swarm although my experience wasn’t so great this time as I had to sit next to a complete random stranger and it was so awkward. Like how am I supposed to enjoy the ride fully with someone I don’t even know sat next to me? It’s not really possible. Regardless, the ride itself was amazing as ever as when you’re on The Swarm you literally feel like you’re flying, even though it’s pretty speedy and of course has the element of excitement all rollercoasters have, I find it a pretty relaxing and calm ride as you get to feel the cool breeze on your face and admire all the beautiful surrounding views of Surrey. I genuinely find it such a peaceful ride and if I could have a replica in my garden to enjoy whenever I pleased I so would.

Pretty pretty views. Obvs I didn’t take this photo whilst on The Swarm – I’m not that skilled a photographer buuuuut this is the view on leaving Thorpe Park. So gorgeous.

One of my favourite things about the day was the fact that the girls and I went on a few rides we usually don’t and Chantal and I also experienced Derren Browns Ghost Train for the first time ever. I’m not going to lie, I was a little disappointed with the Ghost Train as I was expecting it to be a lot more scary and interesting than it actually was. I’m not in a rush to go on it again as once you’ve done it once you don’t really need to a second time, but I would definitely recommend it if you haven’t been on it before so at least you know what it’s like.

Emily and I also went on Depth Charge, a water slide style ride which I used to go on all the time as a kid and literally haven’t been on in years. I forgot how much of a fun ride it is and I would definitely go on this again, it’s one of those rides you could go on three times in a row and enjoy it equally every time. I’m so glad Emily and I went on Depth Charge together!

Happy after Depth Charge.

The ride I was most nervous for was Stealth, as I haven’t been on it in absolute years and the last time I did I got my necklace caught in the overhead seat belt which was a little scary. I mean obviously I was fine but it was enough to put me off for a while. Stealth is also an incredibly fast ride, going from 0-80mph in just two seconds, so I have an irrational fear that my eyes are going to pop out of my head when it sets off. Silly and totally impossible I know but even so, I can’t help feeling a little concerned. It took a lot of encouragement from the girls to get me on this ride but legit I am so glad they persuaded me because I enjoyed it so much. It’s literally the quickest ride ever as it goes so so fast, taking you up and over into an almost vertical drop and before you can so much as blink it’s over, but my word is it exciting. We actually ended up going on it twice and our second time on Stealth was our last ride of the day. Typically for me I got into trouble when leaving the ride, as rather than buying the official ride photo of the girls and I, I took a sneaky picture of the screen instead. The sales assistant demanded I delete the photo which I did obediently and to be honest it’s not so much the end of the world I had to as it wasn’t the most flattering photo of myself I’ve ever seen. I mean how could it be? I’m on a rollercoaster going 80mph, even a Victorias Secret model would struggle to look good in that situation.

The girls and I went on so many rides at Thorpe Park, we got through them all super fast as the queue times were so short and the distance between rides isn’t far at all. The park was open for 5 hours and in that time we managed to do everything we wanted to do, we even managed to do our favourite rides SAW, Stealth and Rush twice. What more could we ask for?

The girls and I left Thorpe Park feeling content as ever, having really enjoyed our day there. On the way home we decided to take a quick detour to Bicester Village, a designer shopping outlet with shops such as Burberry, Pandora and Ralph Lauren. Everything retails cheaper at Bicester Village and I was so impressed at the price of some of the Pandora charms with some being just £10, to call it a bargain would be the understatement of the century. I didn’t buy anything as I’ve really been enjoying saving my money lately and wanted to keep at it, however I am so happy I got to experience the Village as I’d never been before but virtually everyone I know has! Now I can finally stop feeling left out! I’m definitely planning on going back to Bicester Village at some point to treat myself, a day there with the girls before Christmas would be perfect.

I really loved spending quality time with my best friends at Thorpe Park and I had one of my favourite days of the year so far with my favourite people at one of my favourite places. All of the favourites!!! I had so much fun at Thorpe Park and it was super cute to round up the day with a little venture to Bicester Village.

What a wonderful day!

Have you ever been to Thorpe Park? What’s your favourite theme park? Let me know in the comments below.

Thank you for reading,

love,

Jennie.

♥

My Favourite Holiday | 52 Week Blog Challenge

Hello everyone!

Today it’s 52 week blog challenge time – don’t forget to check out Jenny and Britt’s blogs as they are the inspirations behind this challenge.

The most recent 52 week blog challenge post I wrote was one of my favourites being the top 5 places I’d like to travel and I’m v. v. excited as todays prompt is again on the topic of travel – this time being My Favourite Holiday.

Be prepared because this post could get rambly as I’ve been fortunate enough to go on quite a few wonderful holidays, from America to Magaluf to Amsterdam, I couldn’t possibly pick just one favourite.

So let me talk about my top 3.

The three I mentioned above. America, Magaluf and Amsterdam.

Back when I was 15, I visited the USA with my parents and brother and we had the most adventurous time together. We explored so much as although our base hotel was located in Anaheim, California, we also road tripped to Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Arizona and Mexico. I was blessed enough to have some amazing experiences during those two weeks with my family with the highlights being staying in the New York, New York hotel in Vegas, seeing the natural wonder that is the Grand Canyon, falling in love with Arizona and taking a helicopter ride around LA. Not forgetting either seeing the walk of fame, lazing in bed watching the Disney Channel every morning eating doughnuts, playing Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez albums on a loop whilst we road tripped and generally just having epic fun with my family. When I look back I realise just how lucky I am to have parents who took me on such a wonderful adventure and who have allowed me to see and experience so much of the world. I am so thankful for the adventures we have shared and continue to share together – ALSO this was my first and only holiday abroad with my brother, how crazy is that?? It was great to get to spend more quality time with him and I’m so happy he got to experience the USA with me.

Magaluf with the girls last year has to go down as another of my favourite holidays because it was just so much fun, with so many new experiences, laughter upon laughter and parties 24/7 I wish I could go back with the girls right now. Emily, Chantal and I had the best time together in Magaluf and we made the best of memories to last a life time, every time I think about this holiday I’m filled with such happiness and love for my besties. Some of the highlights of the holiday have to include ‘Freshers Night’, experiencing a Booze Cruise for the first time ever and Parasailing with Chantal. For sure one of the funniest memories from the holiday just has to be the TOWEL THIEF. Hahaha, such good times. The girls and I are thinking about returning to Magaluf again next year so all I can say is roll on Summer 18.

Last but by no means least has to be the city break I took to Amsterdam last year with my best friend Emily. The few days we spent in Amsterdam were honestly some of the best of my life, Emily and I had such a brilliant time together and we really explored and experienced so much. Visiting the Anne Frank House was by far the highlight of the trip, as it was so moving and insightful and I feel so incredibly blessed that I got to visit such an important, historical place. I would go again tomorrow if I could and I’d highly recommend a visit there if you’re ever in ‘Dam. God bless Anne Frank. Other highlights of the trip include visiting Madame Tussauds, having all the fun at the fair and chilling in the Ice Bar which was literally so cool. Amsterdam definitely ranks high up as one of my favourite places in the world (plus they do the best Nutella waffles I’ve ever tasted) and I can’t wait to go back, I’m just so thankful I got to visit last year with my best friend and make so many wonderful memories with her! Thank you Emily for being my ultimate travel buddy.

This year I have two big holidays planned and one weekend break away so I am really looking forward to those, I’m positive they could even end up surpassing the trips I mentioned above as my new favourite holidays. Time will tell…

What has been your favourite holiday so far? What trips do you have planned for this year? Be sure to let me know in the comments below.

Thank you all for reading,

love,

Jennie.

♥

Top 5 Places I’d Like To Visit | 52 Week Blog Challenge

Hey guys.

Today its time for another of Jenny and Britts 52 Week Blog Challenge and this weeks prompt is The Top 5 Places I’d Like To Visit.

As a keen traveller I’m sure it comes as no surprise when I say I’ve already done a couple of posts similar to this which you can read here and here. Since writing these posts I’ve been lucky enough to tick Amsterdam off the bucket list and by the end of this year I’ll be able to cross off Italy and Florida too. How amazing!!! Seriously, I can’t wait to go to Italy with my family, it’s going to be the most perfect holiday with my favourites and of course I am seriously excited for Florida with my bestie. Every time I watch Lucy and Lydia’s Disney vlogs I almost cry with excitement.

I am so blessed that I have so many exciting adventures planned for this year (including a little trip to Disneyland early Summer- eeek) but having said that, there are still so many more places in this world I would love to visit.

Here’s my TOP 5.

1. NEW YORK. I was lucky enough to go to New York for my 10th birthday which was so amazing, and I feel so blessed that I can say I have already visited the city that never sleeps, however for the past couple of years all I’ve wanted is to go back. New York is such a vibrant city, full of life and excitement and I just long to feel that sense of being alive I know I’d feel when I’m there. I so want to go back to Times Square, to see School Of Rock on Broadway, to stand in awe as I gaze upon the incredible skyscrapers in front of me. If I could get on a plane to New York right now I would. I would love to own an apartment there one day, that would be a dream come true.

Now you’re in New York, these streets will make you feel brand new big lights will inspire you…

I love you NYC!

2. Iceland. Iceland has been on my bucket list for a good couple of years now, the Blue Lagoon looks absolutely breath taking – even just looking at photographs of it or seeing it on TV has me thinking wow. Not to mention all the incredible natural Icelandic scenery from the volcanos to the glaciers. Seeing and experiencing Iceland would be such an incredible experience, I long to go as soon as I can.

3. Dubai. Dubai looks like the dream paradise destination with the perfect mix of adventure and relaxation. Of course if I visit Dubai I’d make the most of relaxing by the pool and enjoying the glorious beaches but I’d also make the most out of my trip with hot air balloon rides, dune buggying and shopping, shopping, shopping. I think I’d find myself in awe quite a few times too admiring the incredible buildings such as the Burj Khalifa and the Burj Al Arab.

 4. Cancún. So I have actually been to Mexico before but only for about 20 minutes and I didn’t even step foot out of the car. My family and I crossed the border from the States and the town we found ourselves in wasn’t the friendliest, but in contrast Cancún looks the complete opposite- tourist friendly and gorgeous. With wonderful nightlife, I think this would be the perfect place to go with the girls as we could go out and party when we liked but then enjoy other activities such as scuba diving, snorkelling and swimming with dolphins if we pleased (I would definitely want to do all those things and more).

Thank you Google Images

Thank you Google Images

5. Istanbul. Turkey has never been on my radar, I’ve never been too interested in visiting the country until my Dad showed me an Istanbul travel brochure which completely changed my mind. Istanbul? Yes please. With so much to see and do, this city seems like the perfect destination for a real sightseeing holiday. The main thing on my list if I visited Istanbul would be to cross the Bosphorus Bridge, a suspension bridge which connects Europe and Asia- how cool.

Thank you Google Images

Thank you Google Images

I am so excited to one day visit all of these amazing places. How lucky are we to live in such a vast, incredible world?

Have you ever been to any of the places on my list? Where would you most like to travel to?

Let me know in the comments below.

Thank you for reading,

love,

Jennie.

♥

April Reflections 2017

Okay so this post is slightly overdue… In fact it’s majorly overdue! We are halfway through May already, say what?!? Where does the time go? It’s really crazy how we are almost half way through 2017 already! I swear these days I don’t even stress about having to wait a week to watch the next episode of a TV show because I’m like oh, the weeks gonna go so quick anyway!

Ramble aside, today it’s finally time for my April reflections.

April was definitely my favourite month of the year so far, I made tons of fab memories with my loved ones, visited new places and adventured pretty much every weekend.

The first weekend of the month was all about friendship as I spent Saturday evening with the work gals for Jemma’s cheese night and Sunday was spent with Emily and Chantal exploring the beautiful Willen Lake.

The second weekend of the month was definitely my favourite as it was my long weekend off work and I had so much fun with my friends and family. I had a movie night with Emily and Chantal followed by a night out in the Buzzard with the girls and a few of Daisy’s friends. This was such a fun night out as it was a little spontaneous and everyone knows the unplanned nights out are always the best ones.

Then on the Sunday I got to sunbathe and read my book all day as the weather was so glorious. I love sunbathing and I was proper buzzing as this one day sesh actually left me with tan lines hallelujah! I also had a little BBQ at home with my fam that day so it was the perfect Summery day!

On the Monday, my parents, sister and I took a trip to Stonehenge, as I had bought my Mum tickets for her birthday. I’d never been to Stonehenge before but its always been on my bucket list and I’m so thankful I finally got the opportunity to go, its such an interesting and fascinating place and the day was made even more special as it was spent with my wonderful family. I would safely say that my day with my family visiting Stonehenge was my favourite of the year so far.

Other highlights of last month include a second night out in the Buzzard with my pals, rock and roll bingo with the fam, spending Easter Sunday with my family playing pin the tail on the rabbit and of course my weekend trip to Blackpool with my best friends – Emily, Chantal and Daisy.

Blackpool with the girls was so much fun! Blackpool is another place I’d never visited before last month and the city did not disappoint, so vibrant and fun with that typical seaside holiday atmosphere, I loved everything about it, from the exciting and interactive Madame Tussauds to the fun filled Pleasure Beach, up there in my opinion with Thorpe Park as one of the most fun amusement parks in the UK.

April was also the month I started my fitness journey starting with hill sprints inspired by Vikki followed by joining the gym inspired by Atlanta. Yasss I am so happy I have joined a gym, honestly I never thought there’d come a day I became a gym goer but now I am and I am loving it. Seriously everyday I’m like oh I can’t wait till my next gym sesh. I try to go as much as possible but its been averaging about twice a week. I do weights, cardio, swim and obviously I also make full use of the steam room and sauna whilst I’m there too, well it would be rude not to right?

All in all April was a brilliant month full of excitement, adventure, new experiences and happy times with both my family and friends. I did struggle with a few personal issues throughout last month but I’m finally starting to feel like myself again and hey, all flowers grow through dirt so here’s to me being better, brighter and the best me I can be!

So far May is going alright, its definitely more of a chilled month but I’ve definitely needed some time to relax after the activities of April and I have so much coming up this Summer its nice I’ve got a chance to chill.

I hope everyone had an amazing April and here’s to the happiest of Mays.

Thank you all for reading,

Love,

Jennie

♥

London In Pictures #2

Anyone who knows me will know how much I love London. Its one of my favourite cities in the world and there’s nothing I love more than hopping on the train and heading to London for the day.

At the start of the year I published a London In Pictures post which was really fun and as I have visited London twice again since then I thought why not do another?! So here I am today presenting you with London In Pictures #2.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a theatre show playing at the Palace Theatre in the West End. I didn’t go to see this show (although I’d have loved to) but the theatre was too magical not to take a photo of.

My mum, sister and I posing outside of New London Theatre before seeing School Of Rock.

A candid photo of me admiring the views of Camden!

Pretty Camden in the sunshine.☀️

Soho Square, city of Westminster. This place is beautiful, a gorgeous little area of grass where you can sunbathe and picnic in the Summer!

And I may as well throw in some throwback photos whilst we’re here…

Orange juice stalls in Camden. So fresh!

Camden Market! Such a vibrant and interesting place to visit.

A giant model M&M at M&M World in Leicester Square.

Isn’t London just wonderful?! So many amazing places, so much to see and do there. I love London!!!

Where’s your favourite place to go in London? Let me know in the comments below.

Thank you for reading,

I hope you enjoyed this post and liked my pictures.

Lots of love,

Jennie.

♥

A Weekend In Blackpool.

‘Hello Blackpool’

This weekend has been one of the most fun I’ve had with my besties this year so far.

As I woke up at 6am on Saturday morning, I was tired but excited as it was finally time for girls weekend in Blackpool, something we’ve had planned for months now.

Morning selfie, why not?

 

Daisy picked me up at 7:30am and from there we picked Chantal up and drove to Emily’s, as Emily was driving us to Blackpool in her new car.

With a four hour journey ahead of us, we were set for the ultimate road trip.

Arriving in Blackpool around midday, we headed straight to the Lynmoore Guest House where we were staying for the weekend. The four of us shared a room with two single beds and a double plus an en suite bathroom. For the price of £60 (£15pp) the guest house was everything we could need, clean, spacious and close to the main strip. I would definitely stay there again when visiting Blackpool.

Once we had dropped our suitcases off in the guest house we headed straight out for our first activity of the day – Madame Tussauds!!! Eeeek, I love Madame Tussauds (although I’ve only been once before in Amsterdam) and this one exceeded my expectations by miles. Daisy even said it was better than the one in London!

There was so much cool stuff to see and do whilst at Madame Tussauds. We got a photograph with Jeremy Kyle and Emily and I posed as if we were arguing which was absolutely hilarious, we posed with Keith Lemon and even saw Peter Andre.

We got to have a drink in the Rovers Return, the pub which features in one of my favourite soap operas ‘Coronation Street’. This was super cool and I enjoyed my coke so much, although the only Corrie waxwork I recognised was Deirdre Barlow, everyone else was too old for me to remember.

The highlight of Madame Tussauds was obviously ‘meeting’ my bae, Joe Hart. I have been looking forward to getting a photo with his waxwork for so long now and I am sooooo buzzing I got a good few. I hope one day I get to meet the real Joe Hart but for now, I’m content with seeing his waxwork.

And the second best thing about Madame Tussauds Blackpool was the Festival Fields area which was so cool, we posed in giant wellies and saw Ed Sheeran, who I had to get a photo with because duh, Ed Sheeran. Love him!!!

Once we had seen all the waxworks it was time to purchase the professional photos we had taken throughout the day which were all so funny and cute. I think it’s great they had so many photo ops at Madame Tussauds because the printed photographs are such great keepsakes.

Madame Tussauds in Blackpool is so much fun and I would highly recommend a visit there if you’re ever in the area. There’s so much to do there and its such a fun experience, I’d definitely go again.

♥

Blackpool’s Sea Life Centre was our next stop of the day and I really couldn’t wait to see the animals. I didn’t get any pictures from the day but we saw pregnant seahorses (so cool), clown fish Nemo’s and Dory’s (soooo cute) and jellyfish!

Not to mention the huge tank which had stingrays, rays and sharks which were so amazing. As I watched them I was in awe, literally I just thought it was so fascinating to see these amazing creatures up close. It made me so excited to go scuba diving at Discovery Cove in Florida!!!

After we left the Sea Life centre we had a wander along the sea front and played the penny machines at the amusements. I love the penny machines, always have always will. The 2p ones are so much better than the 10p ones as your playing time lasts longer with them (unless you spend a small fortune using so many 10p coins).

Somehow, I won so many tokens on the 2p machine I was able to choose a free minion bubble blower, a Nicki Minaj keyring, a fake tattoo and some sweets for my prize. How exciting, I love winning things!

By the early evening we had completed all of our activities for the day so we headed back to the guest house to relax. We chilled in bed and watched some TV. It was really relaxing and fun to just chat and giggle with the girls. Sometimes that’s my favourite way to spend time.

We intended to go out that evening for some drinks but we were all just too sleepy, so instead we grabbed some fast food and headed back to the hotel to sleep, such wild gals we are.

♥

Day two of Blackpool was spent at the Pleasure Beach, but before heading there our first stop of the day was obviously Spoons for breakfast. The Weatherspoons we went to was called The Velvet Coaster and I have to say it’s quite possibly one of the nicest Spoons I’ve ever been to. I had fried egg on toast for breakfast and it was delicious plus the whole layout of the place was gorgeous and modern. I definitely enjoyed my experience there and my chats with the girls.

Breakfast finished it was finally time to head to the Pleasure Beach, the sole reason we wanted to visit Blackpool in the first place and can I just say, if you’ve never been to Blackpool Pleasure Beach before then you need to. This was my first time visiting and I bloody loved it!

With so many rides ranging from tame to thrilling, I would actually put Blackpool Pleasure Beach on a par with Thorpe Park and I would say I much prefer it to Alton Towers. I feel like this amusement park is so underrated and everyone needs to go now to appreciate its brilliance!

My favourite rides of the day were The Steeplechase, The Big One and The Grand National. We went on The Steeplechase three times, it’s such a silly and funny ride where you sit on model horses and ‘race’ each other round the track. I would genuinely go back to Blackpool for this ride its that amusing.

The Big One, also known as the Pepsi Max is huge and terrifying. Although it doesn’t go upside down, it goes so high you can virtually see the whole of Blackpool and it drops almost vertically. It’s amazing. I knew sh*t was about to go down when I read the sign ‘Do not take your hands off the bars’, like I wanted to wave my hands in the air but after reading that I was not risking it. I loved this ride so much, definitely a solid 9/10 for the thrill factor.

The Grand National was just so funny, another silly but brilliant ride, this is a wooden rollercoaster which could quite possibly win the award for ricketiest of all time. There are two tracks on this rollercoaster so you’re opposite another group of people for the whole ride which is highly amusing, I believe its designed this way as the grand national is a horse race, so the two coasters were racing each other.

Overall we went on three horse themed rides so I feel like the people who designed the rides for Blackpool Pleasure Beach were kind of obsessed with horses! But hey the best rides of the day were the horsey ones (bar The Big One) so clearly having an obsession with horses works when developing rides.

The Pleasure Beach was open from 11-5pm and in that time we fit so much in, we went on almost every ride. The only ride we didn’t do which I would have liked to was Infusion, a rollercoaster which goes upside down but I’m not overly bothered about that. We did the main ones!!! All the queue times were so short, the longest we waited was probably about 20 minutes. I’m sure in the busier Summer times they would be longer than that but still, I was really impressed and it was also a huge plus that the rides were all so close to each other so we didn’t have to walk too much for too long.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach is so amazing and I am so happy I got to visit, the park exceeded my expectations by miles and I would 100% go back and 100% recommend it to anyone and everyone! Its such a fun day out.

And before I go I just have to mention something funny that happened whilst at the amusement park, a seagull stole my burger!!! Hahaha I never thought something so silly would happen to me but I left it on the table as I went to grab a chair and next thing I know this seagulls grabbed the bun and is pecking away at it. Ever so kindly the seagull left the beef and the other side of the bun, so gross as it may be I went ahead and ate what had survived, sorry but I wasn’t about to spend another fiver on a burger.

♥

Overall the word I would use to describe my time with my friends in Blackpool is FUN. Emily, Chantal, Daisy and I had a lush time together and I enjoyed being with them so much.

Here’s to more adventures!

Have you ever been to Blackpool? Would you like to go? Let me know in the comments below!

Thank you for reading,

love,

Jennie.

♥

Stonehenge | English Heritage

Stonehenge, an English Heritage site surrounded by mystery, as although it was founded 1000’s of years ago, to this day the true reason for it’s existence remains unknown.

For a long time visiting Stonehenge has been on my bucket list, as one of the most famous places in Britain it seemed essential to me to visit at least once in my life time. Last week I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit with my family as I bought my Mum tickets for her birthday.

Starting off our experience at Stonehenge my family and I parked up at the visitor centre and queued to pick up our tickets and guidebook which I had pre-ordered online for £4.99. Although when booking your tickets online you have to pick a specific time slot to arrive between, we arrived a little early and were let in just fine.

Before heading off to explore we decided to grab a quick bite to eat at the visitors cafe as we were hungry after a long two hour drive. For me being quite a fussy eater, I felt the options of food were slightly limited with a selection of sandwiches and pastries, none of which took my fancy. I settled for a giant homemade Bourbon biscuit which although wasn’t unpleasant to eat, wasn’t the best biscuit I’ve ever had either! My parents and sister opted for a pastry each and even though they enjoyed their food we all came to the mutual agreement that if we were to visit again we would bring our own lunch and have a picnic!

After we had eaten, we took the shuttle bus over to the site of Stonehenge, which is located a little way away from the visitors centre. You can also walk to the site which would take about half an hour, but as it was quite a windy day we decided against this. I imagine it would be quite lovely to walk down there though and had it have been sunnier I would have loved to.

We were a short distance away from the stones as the bus pulled up to drop us off and as I caught a glance of them from the window I was initially quite surprised at how small they were. Obviously distance fooled me as when I had gotten closer to the stones, I realised just how big they were!

One of the mysteries which lies around Stonehenge is how the stones got there in the first place, as they are so huge and all so intricately placed with some even laying on top of others, what kind of popeye could lift these things?? Obviously thousands of years ago the technology we have now didn’t exist, so it wouldn’t have been so easy to just lift and move giant stones around as you pleased. The stones laying flat across other stones were the most intriging as how on Earth could they be lifted? My family and I discussed this and we figured even with 50 men pushing the rocks it could possibly be done, but where would there be room for 50 men to get behind the stones first place?

As we walked around Stonehenge, there were little plaques around which we read for more information.

Even now, I’m still not entirely sure what Stonehenge is really about however I do know that it’s highly linked to the sun and the way it shines through the rocks. I wish I knew what the designers of Stonehenge were thinking when they created it… If only we could time travel back to the Neolithic times to ask them!

As we walked around Stonehenge, we saw so much more than just the ‘main’ stones. We saw the ‘Heel Stone’, a giant stone located opposite the main attraction just across the path.

I also saw a large sarson stone which had fallen onto the floor, partially hidden by the grass. On the outskirts of the main attraction there are little hills, where people used to be buried back in the Neolithic times.

Once we had seen all of Stonehenge (and bumped into my sisters old work colleague as we walked- how random) we took the shuttle bus back to the visitors centre where we browsed the gift shop. I bought some Stonehenge stickers for my scrapbook, a postcard and a mini stone which I am going to use as my gratitude rock.

We then explored a mini model village which showed us how the people lived back in the day when Stonehenge was first created. They lived in little huts with wooden beds which were super uncomfy to lie down on even for just one minute, I don’t know how people ever slept on them.

Then it was time to see the exhibition, with videos, pictures, and exhibition models it was really interesting to learn more about Stonehenge and how it has changed over the years. For example, 30 years ago when visiting Stonehenge you would be able to actually walk up to the stones and physically touch them whereas now unless you book a special visit to do this, you are no longer able to in order to protect the stones and their surrounding area.

The exhibition was our last experience of the day and information indulged, it was time to walk back to the car and start our journey home. I had an amazing day at Stonehenge with my family and it was really interesting to see the site in person, as it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Stonehenge is a truly fascinating place and its crazy to think that its been there for so many thousands of years, how amazing!!

I would highly recommend visiting Stonehenge as it truly is an interesting day out and something really quite different to do, a chance to see a real wonder of the world. I am so happy that I can say ‘I’ve seen the stones’!!!

Have you ever been to Stonehenge? Would you like to go? Let me know in the comments below!

Thank you for reading,

love,

Jennie.

♥

Click here to visit the English Heritage website and learn more about Stonehenge.