Colours & Street Art of Southend

Last week we lost our dear friend Liz after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was just 43. It doesn't seem real at the moment and my heart breaks for her husband, father, sisters and the many friends she has left behind.

Many years ago, Liz started a book club at her home and over time, those meetups became so much more. I feel very privileged to count those book club girls amongst my best friends now and we've seen each other through love and heartbreak, career changes, children, weddings and loss.

Liz was also a blogger and I always admired her sunny, happy, relentlessly optimistic outlook on life. Even through the hardest times, she had a way of finding joy and sharing it with the people around her. She was such an inspiration.

We shared so many adventures over the years, and our final one was a girls' weekend away in Southend in February. I'll always remember the colour of that weekend: the street art, the ride on the pier railway, the superb Thai meal, and the laughter we shared. Those memories feel especially precious now.

Right now, I feel bereft and a little adrift. But alongside the sadness is a feeling I can't shake: that I need to live life as fully as I can, for all the people we've loved and lost who no longer have that chance. I'm inviting gratitude and grace into my life and I'm making a promise to keep exploring, to keep noticing the beauty in the world, and to celebrate the extraordinary privilege of being here on this little blue planet.

Fun fact: Southend Pier is officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest pleasure pier railway in the world, stretching 1,889.8 metres (6,200 feet) along Southend Pier, which itself is the world's longest pleasure pier, extending 1.34 miles (2.16 km) into the Thames Estuary.

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Visiting Kirkstall Abbey: Medieval Ruins by the River Aire

On a sunny spring morning in March, we hopped on a bus from Leeds city centre and headed to Kirkstall Abbey. Our first glimpse of the ruins came from the top deck of the double-decker bus, and it did not disappoint. The abbey hardly needs flowers or blue skies to enhance its beauty, but the daffodils put on a spectacular show that day.

The abbey was founded in 1152 by the Cistercian order and was built over several decades.

Much of the stonework that survives today dates from the 13th century.

It was dissolved in 1539 during Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries, and over the years much of the stone was removed for local building projects.

Despite that, the ruins still feel remarkably grand.

The grounds are free to wander and so we did exactly that, strolling along and enjoying the sunny day.

Of course, it was Leeds in spring and it was actually very cold indeed, think hat, scarf and big winter coat-cold.

As we made our way around, I realised that I very much wanted to go inside the ruins.

You can pay what you can to explore inside the abbey itself, which I think is a wonderfully inclusive thing to do. If I had to choose a favourite photo from that day, I think it would be the one above.

Walking through the arches and along the old cloisters, you can really picture the life of the monks who lived here centuries ago.

The gothic arches and light spilling through the windows of the old Chapter House proved to be very popular amongst visitors.

The abbey sits beside the River Aire, no doubt a very strategic location chosen in the 12th century.

The site is exceptionally well-maintained by Leeds City Council and it’s one of the most-intact ruins I have visited.

You’re really able to get a true sense of the scale of the abbey and it is impossible not to appreciate the skill required to build structures that have endured for centuries despite Henry VIII’s attempts to destroy them.

Henry VIII really has a lot to answer for. (Side note: I’ve been to see Six: The Musical three times, twice with my mum. It is such a great stage production!)

The abbey is a popular location for TV and films.

This summer, the abbey will be host to the Live at Kirkstall Abbey 2026 series, featuring two weekends of music including The Streets (24 July), Sunshine Underground (25 July), The Maccabees (31 July), and Loyle Carner (1 Aug). I very much hope that festival-goers respect the site!

With one last look at the ruins of the old guest house, we wandered across the road to the Abbey House Museum, which I’ll revisit in a later post.

Kirkstall Abbey
Abbey Road
Kirkstall
Leeds
LS5 3EH

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Photo Essay: A Weekend in Worthing

Last month, something quietly monumental happened: I finished the photo project I had been working on for 18 months.

It began, as many things do, with loss. I started it because I wanted to work through the trauma of losing my mum and, most importantly, to reclaim the memories of our last weekend away.

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The Bernina Express: A Panoramic Train Through the Swiss Alps

I’ve found my new favourite rail journey. In November, we travelled on the famous Bernina Express, a panoramic train that runs from Chur, Switzerland’s oldest city, to the Italian Alpine town of Tirano. It’s an incredible experience offering uninterrupted views across the Swiss Alps, from glacial landscapes and snow-dusted peaks to winding viaducts and tiny Alpine hamlets.

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Hot Air Balloons & Spa Days: 36 Hours in Bath

Oh, for the love of an August bank holiday weekend! With a long weekend stretching ahead of us, and the satisfaction of meeting a major deadline on Wednesday, Stephen and I couldn’t resist the allure of a short escape. On Thursday morning, we set off bright and early for two nights in Bath. It was the type of perfect timing with enough of a getaway to recharge, yet two extra days to rewind when we returned home.

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