Review: Ox Pasture Hall, Scarborough, North Yorkshire - Part 1

Over the weekend, Robert and I had the absolute pleasure of staying a night in the very lovely Ox Pasture Hall. A two and a half hour easy drive from Manchester city, we decided to make the most of our stay by hiring a car and whizzing out of the city early on Friday evening in order to avoid any weekend rush traffic. In hindsight, it was a decision well made.

Cruising along the motorway and taking in some beautiful scenery, we made it to Scarborough in no time. Often when staying somewhere a little off the beaten track you worry yourself about finding your lodgings,but Ox Pasture Hall didn't cause us an ounce of worry or stress and I've since found out that if you travel by train, a taxi fare from the station will only cost you about £7. Worth it, if you ask me.

Upon arriving, we easily found a parking space and were immediately taken in by the array of flora and fauna surrounding the hotel. Ox Pasture Hall has well kept gardens which appear to be tended by someone who understands how to make a garden look rustic, organic and a touch overgrown - but in designer, naturalistic way. Almost something you'd spot at the Chelsea Flower Show and award a gold medal to. With the autumn colours starting to peep through, it proved to be a warm and welcoming sight.

We unloaded our luggage and made our way to reception. Greeted promptly by Alan, he welcomed us to the hotel and took the time to show us to our room. A short walk through some courtyards, passing more beautiful landscaping and some flowing water features, Alan presented us with our home for the night. The staff at Ox Pasture Hall had generously opted for us to stay in one of their luxury suites. Impeccably clean and well presented, the suite felt like a self contained apartment. A home away from home. 

Part of the suite contains a dedicated living space complete with a flat screen TV, a soft two seater sofa and ample storage for all your clothing etc. Gasping for a cuppa I set about making some tea and dived straight into the supply of biscuits on offer. More than enough was supplied in the form of tea bags, milk, sugar and even hot chocolate which tasted sweet and not too powdery which can often be the case with those sachets. We were also supplied with two large bottles of water and as Robert, guzzles water like a camel, he certainly made use of it. 

The bathroom was stocked with fluffy towels and more than enough mini beauty essentials. It's normally standard to find a complimentary shower gel and shampoo in a hotel, however Ox Pasture Hall added a few extra touches which in my book go along way. Further supplies included cotton wool and buds, a sweet smelling body lotion, a soft soap and tissues. These little extras show thought and consideration to the guest and as someone who forgot to bring moisturizer and cotton wool with her, they proved to be more than handy. I'd go so far as to say that Ox Pasture Hall rescued me in my hour of beauty need.

The bathroom facilities felt clean, modern and like a real treat. The luxury suites come equipped with a spacious bath with room for two and a rain shower, powerful enough to wake you in the morning after your deep slumber. I had such a cosy and good nights sleep in their king size bed that I felt a little sad that I couldn't opt for a duvet day and just set up camp and watch TV for the day. That's the other thing, as well as providing a TV in the living area, another is provided in the bedroom. I felt spoilt.

As we prepared for dinner, Robert made use of their bath robes, two of which were supplied and it was refreshing to see that both an iron and ironing board were stored in the wardrobe. Rocking back up to reception to request an iron or ironing board or even both is often a little bug bearer of mine. Our suite supplied us with everything we needed in order to relax, prepare for dinner,sleep well and ultimately feel rested after a busy week of work.

Adding to the suites sense of calm was the view. Overlooking green pastures and grazing cattle, staying in this room you felt like you were in the middle of nowhere, lost in the countryside, truly getting away from it all. As the sun began to set and sky changed, we began to prepare for dinner. Our bellies rumbling, I had eyed up the menu in advance of our trip, so I knew we were in for something special. More on our delicious meal in part 2 of our visit.

The suite supplied on the evening was provided and paid for by Ox Pasture Hall. An invite to stay does not always result in a positive review, however on this occasion I was more than happy with the room supplied and service received and I would be happy to return to Ox Pasture Hall for a paid stay.

Preloved Vintage Event - Night and Day, Manchester

Ping!

A lovely email popped into the The Lucky Rainbow inbox a few weeks back inviting me down to the Preloved Vintage Event taking place in the bar Night and Day located in my favourite part of Manchester, the Northern Quarter. As luck would have it, lots of other fabulous Manchester bloggers were attending also so it was the perfect opportunity to catch up with some familiar faces and exchange chatter over a lovely glass of free prosecco.

Starting back in 1998 Preloved's mission is to help you buy and sell second hand and previously loved items. It's different to the likes of Ebay or even Etsy, in that there are no auctions, listing or selling fees and obviously promoting buying second hand means its awesome for our lovely planet too.  Having had a browse on their website, I've spotted a few bargains already. I'm only dying to dress up our little apartment with a few trinkets and art pieces and Preloved is a cheaper alternative to hitting the likes of Ikea.

Us bloggers were given a little heads up advantage over members of the public and were allowed to arrive 30 minutes earlier so that we could snap up anything we desired in advance. The lovely Breige from the Rare Opal blog (go check out her nail polish addiction!)  and I arranged to meet up and travel over together and it was a real treat to get a glass of bubbly and a goody bag on arrival. 

Breige and I made a beeline for all the cute stalls at the back of the bar and it wasn't long before we were knee deep in all kinds of treasure and we ducked and dived around all the vintage goodies while listening to some lovely music. We spotted and got chatting to Susan from Susan Styles You and heard all about what she has been up to lately, She was rocking an amazing skirt and looking back I should have taken a photo of her, as she was looking impeccable as always! I finally got to meet in person, Emma from Miss Pond, and was introduced to Cat from Cat Girl Blogs. I also got to say a quick hello to the always lovely Georgie from She dreams. Sometimes the best part about attending these events is catching up with the lovely blogging community and inevitably you end up being introduced to more people and thus discovering more blogs.

There were also some stalls selling some lovely foods and it wasn't long before I came across some delicious homemade chutney. I am a slave to that stuff and combined with the perfect cheese....oh my! We were lucky enough to receive a mini free sample in our goody bags and I'm on the hunt for the perfect complimentary cheese. I particularly loved the gorgeous flower fabric adorning the jars, a change from the usual gingham.  Great tastes and flavours from the team behind 'Love Spreads'

While I didn't pick up any items myself, it was so lovely to have a rummage around all the beauts on display from Oxfam and I later heard that over £300 was raised on the night. I'm a little nervous buying vintage clothing sometimes often preferring to buy little trinkets for my flat much to the amusement of my other half.

Thanks to Preloved for inviting me along and for a lovely chilled and relaxed evening.

Why September + Students = No Blogging

Well hello there!

It's been quite a while, I know. I mean it's been weeks since I've put a proper and robust blogging schedule together and part of me hates that I'm writing this post to apologise or explain my absence from the blogging world, but it's simply because at this time of year (mid August to late September) my 'bread and butter' job goes into mayhem mode. 

By day, I work with students in halls of residence and given that thousands of them have just descended onto Manchester once more, you can't even begin to imagine the workload it creates for my team and I. It can be tough mentally and physically but you feed off the energy from the excited first years and their anxious parents and go from there. 

Before you know it, it's late September, the workload decreases and you realise you've neglected your little corner of the interweb, you've a trillion - million blog posts to read and you've missed interacting with all your blogger buddies from near and far! So apologies folks if you've been wondering why it's been nothing but tumbleweed  and cobwebs here. Someone, somewhere needs to help me source additional hours in the month of September!

So, whats coming up now that Autumn is here? Lots and lots! I've been to a few, awesome Manchester blogging events recently, so pics and posts to follow. I've had the opportunity to meet some lovely new bloggers that I've admired from afar and get to know better and I'm still enjoying the perks of eating clean. 

In the coming months, I will be increasing the blog post output. I recently made it to the finalist list for best blogger in the category of 'Disapora Bloggers' in the Irish Blog Awards and it's really inspired me to write more and write better. While I didn't win the overall award, it was an honor to be nominated, shortlisted and placed on the finalist list. It's more than nice to know there are readers and fellow bloggers out there enjoying your output and going to the trouble of completing a nomination form just so you can receive a little recognition. I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

So, increasing some lovely blog posts, sharing some more fabulous blogging events and more than a few more ideas up my sleeve, The Lucky Rainbow is back in action once more. Queue happy dance, I've missed you all.