This day I love.......: walks

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Disclaimer : I won the lodge holiday and was not asked to write or share any information regarding it. I chose to do so. The shoes from Hotter were sent for review but no other compensation has been received.

Last year I had to pleasure of running alongside Anna McNuff as she completed running across Britain barefoot. She is such a genuinely lovely person who was incredibly warm and welcoming to us joining her on her run. I has been following her progress across social media for some time so it was great to finally meet her.

Social media has a funny way of connecting people. Had I not have been following her I probably would not have seen the competition to win a stay at the Lodges at Artlegarth. I entered the competition not expecting to win anything and so was unbelievably surprised to find out I won! We booked the weekend of Little Man's birthday, which meant we would have a nice break away for his birthday.

The lodges are near to the Lake district. I was very excited as it meant we would be able to get out and explore and take some nice walks with the dogs and the kids. I was even more excited that I got to put my gifted shoes from Hotter shoes to the test.

Hotter shoes had kindly sent me their Mist shoe in blue river/Navy and our walking holiday was the perfect opportunity to try them out. First Mist shoes are enhanced with waterproof and breathable Gore-Tex® product technology, this was something I was particularly pleased about given how wet the weather had been recently. Having water resistant and comfortable shoes are a must for long walks for me. The rugged and durable sole meant I was even comfortable walking over the stone surfaces with the dogs.

The shoes follow a similar design style to that of a hiking shoe. The profile is incredibly similar. Front fastening laces are fully adjustable to give a secure fit.

I always go up one size in shoes which are for walking or running. My feet tend to get warm and if I stay with my usual size I end up with blisters. A whole weekend of walking and exploring the oudoors, in pretty much every kind of weather including snow and I did not experience any blisters, cuts or other such issues from uncomfortable shoes. In fact I was really surprised as it is rare that a pair of shoes fits so well and causes no issues directly out of the box.

Our weekend was simply beautiful. Lots of walking and exploring new places, had the weather been even better we would have been out even more. The dogs loved it and so did the kids. The girls have not stopped asking when they can go back again. I am just looking forward to the time when I can take the dogs and kids out again to spend the day exploring and walking. Thank you Hotter for sending the shoes and also thanks to the Lodges at Artlegarth for choosing us as your winners.

On a side note I have just seen Hotter shoes have an amazing offer on

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I will openly admit to living in trainers. Once I have run a certain amount of miles in a pair of trainers they become my day to day shoes, until they fall apart and are no longer wearable. I guess that's just what I am used to. Trainers however do get a little cold now that the weather is turning, and it is time for something warmer.

Hotter shoes recently sent me a pair of their Melody boots to try out on my Autumn walks. I opted for a chestnut colour, as I simply preferred the colour. I am also used to lots of space in my running shoes, I wear at least a size bigger, as I find bigger shoes more comfortable as I run longer distances. I will admit to feeling a little worried there would not be enough space, or at least the space I am used to in my boots.

Actually I need not have worried there was plenty of space for me to wiggle my toes inside my boots. Whilst they are true to size I did not feel squished or compact or even squeezed into them, they were comfortable. I was surprised at how comfortable given I wear trainers all the time. The big question was could they handle the walk with the dog and toddler in tow too!

J was busy running around and sniffing everything, and the toddler was busy filling his pockets with rocks! I had no issues running around after them both, even changing speeds and directions with just as much ease as I would have in my trainers.

Wrapped up warm and with warm feet we decided to make the most of the day and go on an adventure. Little Man led the way and we went off to explore in the woods.

We had great fun exploring and playing in the leaves. Little Man collected lots of rocks and even made a few friends along the way.

J was just on constant look out for squirrels.

Lucky for me the grips on the boots were good so that when we did see a squirrel and obviously have to chase it, I didn't fall over!

I think Hotter shoes might have managed to convert me into wearing boots for my walks now in Autumn, they were just as comfy as my trainers but a lot warmer!

Thanks to Hotter for sending the boots in exchange for this post, all words are my own

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I am aware that the Easter holidays were a month ago but marathon training and running got in the way of writing up our holidays, so I shall attempt a quick round up as most of the things we did are in separate posts.

For the first week of the school holidays, with the exception of one day, the girls went to football school. They were there the whole day and so it was just Little Man and myself like any other normal weekday. As we were in a different area to what we would normal be during the week we made the most of it with lots of walks.

On the day off in the week we ventured over to Scarborough for the day. Whilst the weather was miserable we still had a lovely day out together. Little Man loved riding on the train and of course visiting SeaLife in Scarborough.

Our Easter weekend was spent reading books. We read the Easter bunny book by Frankie Bridge and also two new books from Maverick. Each girl was given a book for Easter. My youngest had Adorabull by Alison Donald and my eldest had Not my Hats by Tracy Gunaratnam and Alea Marley. AdoraBull is a rather sweet book that my youngest adores. I think the beautiful illustrations really help to make this book extra special. Not my Hats is a rather good book for my eldest. As she has gotten older she no longer wants to share with her sister and insists on her own space more. Not my hats helps to gently highlight the importance of sharing.

We also got out and did 2 Easter egg hunts. The first at Kirklees Light rail. Little Man loved the trains and really did not want to leave. For the first time we also found a golden egg in the egg hunt meaning we won a big prize! The girls made Easter bonnets and Little Man discovered his dare devil skills in the playground.

Our Second egg hunt was at Nostell Priory. We love the Cadbury National trust Easter egg hunt, even if it was running this year. We all had bunny whiskers and nose painted on, apart from Little Man who had had enough after the nose, and proceeded to follow clues and splash in the mud as we went.

Our efforts were rewarded with a chocolate egg and of course a hot chocolate to warm back up with!

We had planned a day out at Brodsworth Hall but had to cancel due to the bad weather on bank holiday Monday. It was a shame as we were really looking forward to the day. I had a few days of work before we had a day out at Diggerland.

Having never been before we were unsure what to expect but all three children really loved it. The girls could ride on the majority of the rides and Little Man was just in his element driving diggers. In fact I think he was a little surprised when I let him. We shall certainly be visiting again as it is not often you can find somewhere to keep all three entertained like Diggerland did.

The end to the Easter holidays was with the Manchester marathon. I can safely say I was not looking forward to the school run the following day, but actually it wasn't too bad!

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