Petworth

I've been meaning to mention.. I went to Petworth House the other week, when it was their spring fair. Just in case there was a plant or something that I wanted to buy. Alas, no such luck with plants or Spring Fair type crafts, but what a wonderful place to go and have a look around. The house is so intersting, with the rooms left exactly how they would heva been hundreds of years ago and some as they would have been when the house was donated to the National Trust. They even had fitted carpets, albeit made from rushes. Under the rushes they would lay lavender to take away the general bad smell you would have had in medieval times.

The Capability Brown parklands are home to a thousand deer, no doubt to provide the food for house - I wonder if they still tuck into them now? I'm guessing the herd must be managed? Anyway, apart from the house, I wandered into the delightful, if nothing too much there of interest, town of Petworth, through the door that leads you straight into the centre of town and discovered...

The most wonderful little tea house. I think I'm sounding old at this comment even though I am only 36. Tucked away in a little back road at 1 Leppards, High Street is Tiffins of Petworth, run by the very jolly Niki Jones and Jackie Crew. Just wondering around the town thinking a cup of tea would be grand, when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted this place, immediatly I was drown to the cacophony of chairs and tables all painted in cheery pastel colours, it looked great. In I went and I wasn't dissapointed with the service. The tea (served in a quant old bone china tea cup and saucer) and the scone were delicious and soon dissapeared into oblivion.

I personally don't think that there is too much of interst in Petworth apart from the Great House and antique shops, but I would certainly recommend going to Tiffins of Petworth, for a cuppa and next time I'm passing I'd like to think I will drop by again.

Gareth Sear
Walk and Travel

New outdoor and travel accessories at Walk and Travel

It's all go go go at Walk and Travel. I've got lots of new products coming in and this month Walk and Travel has gone Green. Yes I know the logo is partly green, but I'm talking green green, eco green.

Freeplay are one of the leading manufacturers of Wind Up Torches, Wind Up Radios and Wind Up chargers. These eco friendly outdoor products are now available at www.walkandtravel.com, we are selling the Freeplay Mini Companion Wind Up Radio with built in torch and mobile charger - this nifty little outdoor gadget even has a solar panel to charge it during the day if you can't be bothered to wind it up! The Freeplay Sherpa Xray Wind Up Torch is a fab see through design with the award winning winding technology on display so you can see how it works. It will never run out of batteries and using a LED to light your way, you will never need to replace the bulb.

Finally, in our line up of self sustaining, eco friendly camping and travel gadgets is the Freeplay Indigo Eco Lantern, just great for those weekends away camping, evenings in the garden with the chimanea or just taking with you on your travels in case of power cuts and you still want to see when you are playing cards. And of course - they are all at web competative prices!

Weekends Away

Life moves on at a hectic pace, there are careers to think about, there is the mortgage to pay, the allotment to keep on top of and the grass to be kept trimmed neatly - oh and the small amount of work it takes to run a business from home on top of it all. Some people ask me how I fit it all in. Sometimes I ask that of myself. But, and I'm not sure how, I squeeze it all in along with weekends away.

I like my breaks, the getting away from it all feeling, exploring a new place, getting out into the mountains or hills. It's all about loving the adventure. Because of the pressures of life, no longer are there long lazy travels around the world, you have to snatch a break when you can and this tends to be a weekend away.

This year I've been lucky enough to have a weekend break in Hull, don't laugh - it has a very interesting William Wilberforce Museum and quite a large bridge. I like bridges something really interesting in the way that they are just hanging on in there. Like towers. They just stand there, not caring, a sentinal in a city or a town offering the weekend break adventure seeker a birds eye view of their surroundings. Paris. Is it the best tower to go up in Europe? I think it's fab - apart from the queues. Let me know what the best tower in Europe is.

Well, what got me ranting about weekends away and towers? Oh yes, I've just got back from Dorset, a fab weekend in Burton Bradstock saying in the gorgeous Berwick Manor, just hanging out with my friends and their families. No stress, no computer, just good company, frisbees, small children, beer, wine and great food.

It is amazing how many weekends away you can squeeze in in just six months. Skiing, North Wales, Peak District, all mountian activity trips to balance out the city or town breaks. You need to have a good balance in life.

How are you balancing your life? Tell me about your weekends away and remember to Love the Adventure - it's what life is all about.