We are half way through February and we are just starting to see some longer spells of sunshine here in the UK. Its a great opportunity to get outside and explore the outdoors close to home.
I often feel at this time of year that I’m just coming out of hibernation. The days are less gloomy and dark, and I’m out of my cave again enjoying the sun on my face.
Now that my youngest is a bit older and is a happy and confident walker, it opens up more opportunities to explore places without the buggy. This year I want to really start to make the most of the area we live in. There are loads of great places nearby- one of which I’ve not visited for years!
Quarry Bank Mill in Styal is less than a ten minute drive from my house. It is a National Trust property, I’m not currently a member, but handily my parents are. We checked the weather forecast and jumped at the chance to visit on a beautiful sunny morning recently.
Despite the sun it is still bitterly cold so we needed to wrap up warm. I wore a couple of new pieces by Fat Face which is a brand I’ve become increasingly aware of in the past year. I previously saw Fat Face as a brand that was too outdoorsy for me- sporty even. But they have really developed their clothing range to include more denim, and a lot more casual everyday “fashion” items.
This jumper is totally my style, I love a stripe and this one is warmer than my other striped tops. It is warm enough to wear this time of year on its own, but I’ll also be wearing it over a denim shirt for sure. Another thing I love about this jumper is that its actually not wool, but 60% cotton and 40% acrylic… For me this is great because wool makes me itchy! This jumper hasn’t made me itch once- massive thumbs up.
FYI the colour I’m wearing is currently sold out, but there are four other colours to choose from.
And have you seen these lovely boots?
Dark brown leather ankle boots with an almond toe and a slight cuban heel. I was worried these might be a little high for me as I’m so used to wearing flats these days. But they were incredibly comfortable. I will say though that they did come up large on me. I’m the UK average of a size 6 and I needed to wear two pairs of socks with these to stop them from feeling like they might slip off.
The leather is incredibly soft and I can see me turning to these boots a lot in the future.
We had a perfect morning at Styal and finished it off by stopping for coffee in the cafe there. I’ll be coming back to Styal much more this year as it is truly a beautiful place with gardens and woods to explore, as well as the mill itself.
Huge thanks to my parents for our morning out and my Dad for taking the shots of me here. A sneaky shot above of my parents with littlest.
- Jumper and Boots c/o Fat Face
- Jeans- M&S Sculpt & Lift
- Jacket- Belstaff
susan earlam ~ horror author 
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