Beautiful break in West Cork

We’ve just got back from a wonderful two-week break at my parents’ place in West Cork, Ireland. We go every summer and normally we hope for a few sunny beach days and fully expect ‘sideways rain’ for the majority of the trip. Any sun is a bonus. This year, we were absolutely blessed with two glorious weeks of the most incredible weather. Sunny, hot, beautiful weather.

We swam, walked, relaxed and laughed with friends and family. We cooked, ate out, my dad gave me gardening lessons, we went on boat trips, checked the lobster pots, looked for dolphins and visited new beauty spots and new places to swim. On one of the days we linked up with a number of other friends with boats and linked up to make a flotilla and enjoyed lunch out in the sun, whilst diving into the sea and enjoying the paddle boards.

We visited a cove that was so beautiful and calm and looked like it could easily be a landscape from Bali rather than Cork. I would tell you the name but I would be in a lot of trouble with friends back there if I shared it!

Tilda and Ivy loved the sea so much this year and spent a lot of time in the water. The first few days felt incredibly cold, the kind of cold which takes your breath away. Whether it was the warm weather that brought the temperature up or just us getting used to it we definitely found it easier to stay in longer as the days went on. I think we swam more in the sea in those two weeks than we ever do back at home on the south coast. It has made me think I must do it more.

This year we had an unlikely celebrity arrive in the village. A certain ‘Wally the Walrus’ has been making a name for himself travelling the world this summer and even made international news. We think he’s travelled from Norway, via Spain, followed by a stop in Cornwall and then made it over to Ireland and our local harbour there.

As far as I know he is still there! Unsurprising really, there is an abundance of shellfish for him to fill up on and a lovely pontoon to relax on. Unfortunately for a few boat owners he has caused quite a bit of damage whilst trying to rest and relax on them! It caused quite a buzz locally and he’s being looked out for by ocean experts and locals who have his best interest at heart.

We also had another first this trip, we climbed one of the local mountains! Granted, it’s not the biggest mountain in the world but it was still a challenge enough. I thought it might be hard to get the kids to do it, but thankfully we went with friends and both Tilda and Ivy were eager to keep up with the other kids. Ivy even took the lead a lot of the time like a little mountain goat! We made it to the top and took in the most beautiful view. We will be doing it again next year for sure! What a lovely way to end the summer.

Big Deal

I wanted to let you know about one of our Big Deals, simply because I think it’s fab! It’s by Frank Usher and it’s a two-piece lounge suit. You can get them as separates though if you just want the leggings or the top rather than both. It comes in Black, Khaki, Marl Grey, Navy and Chocolate. The top has sparkling stars down the arms and the leggings also have a sparkling matching strip down the side of the legs. You could even mix and match colours! It comes up true to size, so as a size 12 I am wearing the medium.

A few other things to highlight before I go. The Dyson V11 Animal is already available on pre-sell ahead of its on-air Today’s Special Value.

Also, September has an offer code on a number of our Big name brands. It’s BIG3EZ and you can turn any of the brands listed into 3 Easy Payments as long as it’s current stock and not on Waitlist or Advanced Order. You can see all the brands included here.

Lots of love
Katy xx

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