A Christmas Retreat

I escaped this year, heading away from home (from family and fuss!) to spend Christmas in a little old cottage on top of a hill, just inside the Northumberland border. It was absolutely brilliant. Five days with no people and no hassle, just walking and reading. The best Christmas I've ever had!

I travelled up the M1 on Friday afternoon and quickly got settled in to the cottage...

It was an exposed spot, on top of a hill, and with Storms Barbara and Conor brushing the UK during my stay the weather was pretty wild but who doesn't love being all snug indoors whilst the winds howl all around and whistle over the roof?!

I spent the evening reading :)

On Christmas Eve I walked through a nearby wood and beside the River Derwent. The stormy weather had brought down a few branches and there was a lot of hanging deadwood so I collected a load as I walked, for the fire.

Again, the evening was spent all cosy in the cottage, drinking mulled rum punch and reading some more!

Christmas Day was even windier and I'd intended to hide away indoors all day but then I popped out to say hello to the neighbours...

Bill and Ben the alpacas

and despite the wind, just couldn't resist heading out for a walk in the (unseasonably warm) sunshine.

One cosy little cottage

This was a walk straight out of the door, down the lane...

and into the woods.

It was weird it being so warm! I wore a hat and jacket for a bit of wind proofing but it was so warm outside I wouldn't have been cold without either. At times I was too hot!

I followed the tracks through a couple of woods down to the River Derwent again (but a different stretch to that which I walked alongside the day before).

Before heading away from the river, across fields and up the hill back to the cottage.

It had been a beautiful walk but towards the end of my 3.5 miles I was rather ready to get back and out of that wind! It really was quite breezy...

Just back up the track...

and I'm home! I'd collected some bits of seasonal greenery to make a festive 'thing' for the table...

This was the new books haul this Christmas (the ones gifted that is... there would be another couple of piles if I'd included the ones bought myself!) 

Boxing Day was very windy and pretty cold, with a few showers, so I made that the 'don't leave the cottage at all' day and spent the whole day in my pyjamas reading! I did take a break from reading in the evening to watch Revolting Rhymes and, of course, the Christmas Lectures.

Today I caught the sunrise from the bedroom window one last time (incidentally, the bedroom had skylights and one of them was positioned right above my head as I lay in bed so there was quite a bit stargazing when I was supposed to be sleeping!)...

and then I headed home via a quick visit to Durham where I might have gone into Waterstones and bought an armful of books ;)

I only booked this Christmas Retreat in response to a lot of other things going wrong in 2016 which led to a desire for solitude this Christmas, but I have to say, with the cosy cottage and the pleasant walks nearby, I think this was quite possibly my best Christmas ever. Certainly the best Christmas I've had as an adult! I would love to return to that little cottage again some time... perhaps next Christmas if things don't go to plan in 2017!

How was your Christmas?!