CCL Diaries – 5 – Torquay Stayca, Life After Lockdown & New Blogs

Happy 1st September!

What!! How have we got to September already. This year has been a complete blur. I still think that I will just wake up a few days after the Cheltenham Festival, and we will be back in March, and things will be back to normal. Anyone else feeling like that?!

So here it is. Autumn is now upon us.

What does Autumn mean to you?

Autumn has always been my favourite season.

What does Autumn mean to you? For me, it definitely means field sports. When I had my old Thoroughbred, hunting was something I looked forward to every single Autumn. I miss that so much now, but I still love going to support on foot. I would much rather be riding, but something is better than nothing! I also used to beat a lot, like a lot, and I absolutely love it. Over the last year, I just hadn’t had the time to go very much because of my job, and with so little time to spare, I really had to make the choice between shooting/beating, or horses, and of course, I would choose horses every single time. Despite the lack of time, it’s these activities that make me fall in love with the Autumn time and time again, and when time does allow, this is where you’ll find me pining to be.

I love everything else to do with Autumn too though, its the cosy fires, layering up, winter walks, Halloween, pumpkin spice, and of course it leads us to… Christmas!! There is something so cosy and comforting about Autumn. That crisp of the first frosts, the burning orange of the leaves – it’s such a beautiful time.

Someone pass me some hot chocolate already!! Did anyone else just feel seriously wintery reading that!

Torquay

Unexpected and completely amazing!

Anyway, from cosy Autumn feels, to a Summer Stayca! Is Stayca a really annoying word? I feel it will annoy people the same as Holibobs, but I would also probably use that too sooo….! If you follow me on social media, you will have seen that I popped down to Torquay for a mini Stayca! In all honesty, seeing everyone going away was making me so envious, I would have loved to have gone abroad, but I just wasn’t organised enough to plan something, particularly with knowing where has restrictions currently when coming back, it seemed to be changing constantly. I definitely thought at the moment that I didn’t feel confident booking something alone with not quite knowing what is happening there and on return.

So, I took myself off to Torquay. I heard the UK beach scene in 2020 is the new Santorini anyway, right?! I have never been to Torquay, but it is only a few hours away, so was easy enough to get to and plan. I had no expectations for the stay, just wanting to get away and have a little bit of time to myself. I was definitely ready for a change of scenery.

I was quite surprised that I was able to book a hotel so easily with it being the Summer Holidays. I booked the Belgrave Sands Hotel & Spa, and I couldn’t recommend it enough. The staff were really helpful, the place was really clean, and it was centrally located – you could walk everywhere you wanted to go. Breakfast was included in the hotel pricing, and it was incredible, it is usually a buffet, but due to covid restrictions. they made everything to order and then brought it out to you. I had the french toast both mornings, it was just too good!

I did go to Torquay on my own. My friends were working, and if you keep up with the blogs, you will probably know that last year I was in a relationship that came to an end. I have really had to get used to ‘dating’ myself, and going places on my own. My best friends are all mainly married, and do not necessarily have the same interests as me, so going away or planning trips isn’t maybe as easy as having a group of single friends with similar jobs. When my relationship came to an end, my life definitely changed. I had been really busy and was doing a lot, visiting a lot of places, and going on a lot of holidays. Entering back into single life has been tricky to say the least, and not only has life felt a little lonely, but I have missed having that ‘go to’ person to do everything with.

Anyway, I went alone, and it was great! I actually have no issue travelling alone, I would maybe rather go with someone given the choice, but I am not worried about going alone. I will quite happily eat in a restaurant on my own, and I am certainly getting braver going into bars after my solo trip to Nash (read here). I love the freedom of being able to do whatever I want, and go wherever I want, when I go alone. There is no one else to think about or consider, and when travelling, that can actually be quite a nice thing. I had lots of comments about solo travel whilst I was in Nashville, and it is definitely something so empowering to do.

I had the best time exploring Torquay. I just love walking, I could walk and walk and walk, so this is actually what I mainly spent my time doing, that and eating! We had a mixture of weather, but it did remain mainly dry the whole time, so I was lucky with that. I did pretty much spend all my time walking, soaking up the sun, enjoying the scenery, eating, and drinking!

On my first night I ate in the hotel restaurant, the meal was INCREDIBLE. It was SO good. On my second night, I actually met up with an old uni friend, who was visiting Torquay too and he reached out after seeing my stories, realising we were both actually in the same place! Isn’t it amazing how things like that happen! We haven’t caught up for so long, so it was amazing to have that opportunity whilst we were both in the same place again!

I would 100% recommend the Belgrave Sands hotel if you are visiting, obviously I have nothing else to compare it to, but I was so satisfied with the stay, and I would definitely recommend Torquay if you haven’t been before. It had such a quiet peace to it – and if you want to go alone – go! I had just as much fun.

What’s next?

I have made the decision this week to publish a blog every single night at 7pm. I have never done this before, but I have a lot of things that I want to work through and share. I have no idea how this will turn out, but I am excited for the change, and trying something new.

I am always asked if I run out of ideas for content, and the truth is, it is the opposite. I currently have so many drafts that I am trying to work through, and I have new ideas popping up all of the time.

I think the hardest thing for me blogging at the moment has been the lack of going out and doing things. I would have normally had a Summer full of events, interviews and exciting things to post about, but with lockdown and a very quiet Summer, my posts have been very much based around fashion, as opposed to lifestyle.

I hope you have enjoyed this little update. I was never quite sure whether starting the CCL Diaries was the right decision, but I wanted to be able to give a bit more of an honest insight into blogging and my lifestyle. I generally don’t push these blogs as much, I leave them here for the people who want to find them and catch up on things.

The next blog will be out at 7pm tomorrow, back with a fashion twist again. Stay tuned, and I will see you then!

Lots of Love, Lucinda xo