Spa and Stay near Skipton

For my birthday in January Lee bought me an overnight stay at Coniston Hotel near Skipton, including breakfast and spa access for us both. He had booked it for the beginning of April which was fine by me. It was the first day off Lee had had since Christmas, except for the Easter bank holidays, and he had been working so hard so he really needed it. So we were both really looking forward to it!

We left our house just after 10am and drove to Scrap in Leeds first of all. I've heard of it loads as a lot of my friends have been, but I've never been myself. It's all repurposed art and craft supplies and I really wanted to go and I ended up loving it and I'll definitely go again! I spent eighteen pounds which wasn't bad at all. There's lots of bits I would have liked to pick up but I did restrain myself a little! Apparently there are other shops and restaurants in the same complex but we didn't see them as we wanted to get to Skipton. So we just set off.

We got there about 1pm and parked the car, and then went into a cafe to get some lunch. In fact it was the second cafe we tried because the first was incredibly rude, but there we are. Lee had a jacket potato and I had Greek salad, and we both had delicious hot chocolate with cream and a flake. Then we went into a few shops - I bought some books in charity shops, like I do - and looked at the market, where we bought a fitted sheet and a Johnny Cash t shirt that we will probably end up sharing. We went into the little shopping arcade where we went last time we went to Skipton (in summer 2022, I think) and looked in the shops there, and then went into The Cake'Ole for coffee and cake. Lee had a ridiculous Oreo milkshake and I had a coffee and we shared a piece of chocolate cake. 

By this time it was getting on towards 3pm which is what time we could check in so we drove up to the hotel. We checked in and had to walk miles to our room, but it was a suite so it was really nice. It had a balcony which was also lovely. We had a spa booking at 3.30 though so we got changed into our swimming stuff and walked up to the spa at about 3.40. 

It is an absolutely beautiful spa and I would definitely go again just for that. There's a lovely pool inside, three different saunas, a steam room, a jacuzzi, a bar, and outside there are two infinity pools with bubbles too. We headed out there and the water was so warm! It wasn't a warm day really but there was a nice breeze which kept us from overheating in the pool. We got some drinks from the bar and sipped them while in the pool which felt so fancy and decadent! 

We did move around and I tried two of the saunas and the steam room. The jacuzzi inside was really hot so we didn't spend long in there. We left around 5.40pm, as we got two hours in our booking. 

We went back to the room where I had a bath! I never have a bath because ours is tiny, but this one was big enough for me. If I had known there would be a bath I would have taken a bath bomb, but I didn't really think about it. But I used some of the stuff the hotel provided, which was lovely. Then I got in the shower to wash my hair, and finally I got ready. Lee had a shower after me. 

We headed down to the dining room for 7.15. I was wearing my red leopard print dress from Yours, which is nice but not too fancy. The restaurant does feel really upmarket but not everyone was dressed up so it was fine. I had already checked the menu to make sure there was stuff we would both eat, because if not we would have gone elsewhere. But there were a few vegetarian options. In fact I think mine were both vegan. I had mushrooms on toast, which were delicious, and Lee had mushroom soup which was really good too. Then he had a margherita pizza and I had roasted cauliflower with spring vegetables and a herb puree, and fries. It was nice food, a bit fancy but delicious. 

After we had eaten we went into the bar for another drink. We went back to the room at about 9pm and watched some TV before bed. I've been having problems sleeping so wanted to get a good night; I've had some Nytol and it has helped. The bed was huge and very comfy. 

We got up early, at 8am, because we had breakfast included and then we had another visit to the spa, so we had to eat before that! There were a few choices from the hot menu, so Lee went for eggs florentine and I had a vegetarian breakfast. There was a buffet too, so Lee had some coco pops and I had a pain au chocolat which was lovely. We had plenty of decaf coffee, too. 

We went back to the room, got changed quickly, and headed back to the spa for about 9am. It was much emptier than it had been on the Friday, so it was really lovely! We swam for a bit first, then I tried the other sauna and then we went outside again. It was so, so lovely and relaxing. We left at 11am and we had been given a late check out which was great, so we went back to the room where I had a quick shower and got dressed before we checked out. That meant I didn't have to worry for the rest of the day! We got home about 1pm. It was a lovely present and so nice for us to spend some time together.

Here's like a zillion photos... sorry!

Outside Scrap. It's upstairs in a mill but there is a lift. Chloe and I will have to go one time, she loves it

Look at all the stuff to be discovered! They do refills of soap/conditioner/etc too, and they have little kits of craft things which would be really nice gifts

I was tempted to buy some rolls of film to use in journals but I didn't

Here's Lee in Coffee and Clay 

And my ridiculous hot chocolate

Here's me. I don't love this photo but there we go

Here's my salad which was delicious

This was the fridge in The Cake'Ole, isn't it cute?

Here's the cake we shared

And Lee with his milkshake

This was the view from our hotel balcony!

And our bathroom, it was huge

Here's one of the outside pool, isn't it lovely? I tried to avoid taking photos of strangers, hence the slightly weird cropping here. The other was just off to the other side

Looking from the spa towards the hotel 

Here I am in the infinity pool with our drinks. Proper fancy bitch life!

This is the outside of the spa as we were walking back to the hotel

The pornstar martini I had with my tea

Mushrooms on toast 

Roasted cauliflower

These are the books I bought

And here's what I bought in Scrap

Red leopard print dress and grey footless Snag tights

The view from the balcony when it got dark

The view from the restaurant in the morning while we were eating breakfast - it was beautiful and it would be lovely to sit on the terrace in the summer

My breakfast - it was really nice

And a delicious pain au chocolat

Looking outside at the terrace while we were sitting by the pool

Me in the infra red sauna. My costume was from Crazy Clearance recently and it's actually a blouson tankini top and some ruched bottoms. It's really nice. I know you can't see it fully but that's the info on it anyway

This was just before we got out of the spa, we had this pool to ourselves at this point

Look at the beautiful terrace. It was less sunny on this morning but still not too cold

This was the jacuzzi inside, I cropped this oddly so I didn't take photos of people in the sauna here

Lee took this

And he took this of the pool - it was so much quieter on the Saturday morning

Finally, looking back at the hotel just before we left...

What I Did 4th April

I had a very busy day on the 4th of April and I thought I would meet myself coming back but it was actually all fine. First of all, I needed to go swimming early on and have a shower afterwards because I was having my hair cut later in the day and needed clean hair for it. But we couldn't go first thing because my mum was having her shopping delivered between 10 and 11 so couldn't set off until it had come. Then I needed to go to the post office. We no longer have one in our village, but there's an outrach one at the library every Thursday between 10 and 11, so I wanted to make it to that. Then just as I was getting ready to go out my friend Sarah messaged me to ask if I wanted to meet her for lunch shortly after noon. She was in Penistone getting tattooed. I said yes, of course, as I hadn't seen her since the beginning of March, and it had been R's birthday so I wanted to pass her presents across. 

So. I left the house in the new car and went to the post office to post my stuff. My mum still hadn't messaged but I drove to the gym anyway and then got a hot chocolate and waited. My mum texted me to say she had set off but I knew she would be a while so I got in the pool. I had a new swimming costume as I recently got four from Simply Be - two are more sporty for the gym and two and just fancy ones for my holidays. It's nice, it's an Ellesse one and it's ombre coloured between orange pinks and purples, so I like it! Nice and colourful.

My mum arrived not long after I started swimming. We stayed in until about five to twelve and then I had a shower and got dressed. I set off to Penistone and met Sarah at Holme. It used to be something else and I haven't been since this opened. There's another branch of the cafe in Holmfirth but I haven't been there either. So I wanted to try this! It was lovely. I had avocado toast on sourdough, with added feta and mushrooms, and a decaf latte. It was delicious! The place is really busy so I was glad Sarah had managed to snaffle us a table. We turned out to be sitting next to two people from my book club which is weird!

We said goodbye about 1.30 and I drove home. I then had a few hours at home before I needed to go out again. Lee and I went into Barnsley so I could get my hair cut. First of all though I went into Foster's book shop to buy presents for a friend. It's a lovely little book shop and has books from £2.50 up to like £100 and so on, for special editions. I am often tempted to give something a go if it's just £2.50! I bought myself a mystery book but I haven't actually opened it yet!

Then I went to Coven to get my hair cut. It's a coffee shop/tattoo shop/piercing shop in the Victoria arcade and it's such a nice welcoming place. I have had my piercings changed in there but nothing else so far. But I saw that they have an autism friendly hair salon so I booked myself in. I hate having my hair cut as it's just a nightmare for me but it really needed doing as due to my anaemia it was looking really tatty at the ends. No wonder though as I last had my hair cut in March 2023 when Lee's mam did it for me on Mother's Day! I just had a dry cut and Chloe was really lovely and I would really recommend going if you're nearby. They are trans positive and charge just for what type of cut you have, which is ideal. I really liked it, and I'll be back!

After that Lee and I just headed home to have tea. I was wearing my leopard print dress from Boohoo - I do still think it's a bit short on me but with leggings underneath I think it's absolutely fine. 

My delicious lunch - I'm glad I added feta

Waiting for Lee just when I had had my hair cut. My hoodie is from Yours originally but I got it off Vinted for about eight quid I think. It's soft and comfy

Here's a better look at my shorter hair and my lovely dress!

What I Wore 3rd April

The 3rd of April was a quiet day for me until about 4pm. I was working from home for a little bit, and then I did some crafting too. Then at 4pm I got dressed and my mum came to pick Lee and I up to go and pick up our new car. I think I mentioned that we had chosen it on Easter Saturday. We absolutely did not want to buy a new car but it just didn't make economic sense to mend the Ford. So we went for a Vauxhall Crossland X. I used to have Vauxhall Corsas and we both loved them, so it's nice to go back to a Vauxhall. So even though we really didn't want to buy it, we're pretty happy with it. We went to pick it up and it took absolutely forever which was annoying, but by 5.45 we were done... kind of. The car hadn't been cleaned so we do need to take it back for that. 

So we drove into Wakefield city centre to meet my cousin Nirosha. It was her birthday a couple of weeks previously so we had arranged to meet up. She had suggested Rustico's. It's an Italian place in Wakefield and I have been before but not for absolutely years, but I know that it has good food, all home cooed, and that it's pretty cheap. Nirosha was already there. They had some midweek specials but we all went for stuff off the ordinary menu. 

I had deep fried mozzarella in a tomato sauce, and then I had a smoked salmon pizza. I love smoked salmon and miss it a lot so I do sometimes eat it. The pizza was so delicious and I really enjoyed it. I didn't eat all of it but brought a quarter home to eat the next day. We were all too full for pudding, although I had a couple of glasses of wine. We took Nirosha home and then got into bed when we got home even though it was only about 9pm! I had some cake in bed and we watched TV for a bit. 

I was wearing a new dress that I got via Crazy Clearance recently. It's a Joe Browns one and I love the pattern and the style. In the sale it was only about fifteen pounds which is ideal! It's lovely and cottony, and really long, so it'll be lovely to wear in the summer. I wore it with teal tights though and my navy cardigan. 

Here we are in Rustico's. They have pretty decent vegetarian options which is good

A better look of the dress - it's cream and brown and greys and blues, and I really like the pattern!

Films of the Month - March

I watched fourteen films in March which was a good number. Here's what I saw:

I love James McAvoy so when I saw this film with him in and Claire Foy, I decided to watch it. It's a month later now and I can't really remember it at all, but I probably enjoyed it at the time 

Lee and I watched Wayne's World 2 because we had had watched the first one in February. It's ridiculous of course but I still love it

Someone had recommended Lemonade Mouth to me at Barnsley Zine Fair, because we were talking about fictional bands in films, which is something I really love. This film is basically The Breakfast Club but they form a band. It's pretty cute, I liked it

Netflix recommended The Old Oak to me, about a delapidated pub in Durham where Syrian refugees move into the village and there's tension between them and the regulars in the pub. It's an excellent film about community and the north and all of that stuff. As someone with family in Durham it was nice to hear actual Durham accents! I really liked it and would recommend it

I hadn't seen On the Come Up before I don't think, even though I loved the book. It's alright, it isn't as good as the book of course but it's a decent film

It was a random Thursday evening and I had been out to see a friend and decided to watch this in the evening. It's one of my favourite films - I can practically say the whole script

Lee and I watched The Whole Ten Yards because we had watched The Whole Nine Yeards earlier in the year and I think we've only seen the sequel once or twice. It's alright, but not as good as the first one. Nice to watch Matthew Perry and Bruce Willis, though

Lee suggested we watch The Birds because it's one of his favourite films, so we did. I love it, I love how scary it is with very little technically stuff. I share my birthday with Tippi Hedren, did you know!

BBC recommended I watch Silenced: The Hidden Story of Disabled Britain so I thought I would. It's a hard watch, of course, but really important 

I had seen The Starling Girl recommended on Reddit because it's about fundamentalist Christians, and I finally got round to it. It is interesting but if anything I don't think it goes far enough in showing the culture

I recently read a book called Queerbook about LGBTQ+ history, and this film was mentioned. I read the book last year and I'm glad I did read it even though I didn't love it, so I thought I would watch the film. Tilda Swinton is very good, and I'm glad I watched this but probably wouldn't bother to watch it again

I went to the cinema in Huddersfield with Sam and Jodie to see this recording of the National Theatre play about when John Gielgud directed Richard Burton in Hamlet in 1964. Mark Gatiss is playing Gielgud and Johnny Flynn is playing Richard Burton. I love Johnny Flynn and have for a long time so it was great to see him. I do like recordings of theatre shows

Because I had seen the above I was reminded of Burton & Taylor, with Dominic West playing Richard Burton and Helena Bonham Carter playing Elizabeth Taylor. I've seen it before but not for ages. I actually didn't love it this time around, but never mind

Finally Sam and Jacqui and I watched The Craft remotely with each other on Good Friday because we were all free. It's still one of my favourite films, I love it