There's no such thing as bad weather.

A Frugal Walk
Since Christmas I had been looking forward to a crisp, winter walk somewhere but the weather was unpleasantly cold. It wouldn't have been easy with little Benjamin as we wouldn't want his head to blow off.
But then yesterday, we woke up to a beautiful, dry, still cold day and that to me is the perfect mixture for a winter walk. No nasty wind or rain.
Recently I had discovered on our Natwest Gold Account that because we pay a monthly fee we receive two family day passes a year to any National Trust Park. So I printed off the vouchers and off we headed to Calke Abbey in Derbyshire. It's only a 20 minute drive from us and the drive itself is beautiful. We showed the car park man our pass and parked for free.
We packed up a picnic and had a long walk together (when I say long, I mean as far as Benjamin's legs would take us). What I love about walking is observing the scenery, breathing in the fresh air, short jolly greetings with other walkers about their dogs or other funny moments. Everyone is happy.
We eventually found a picnic bench and ate our cheese and home made chutney sandwiches, carrot sticks and hummus and pieces of fruit. This gave us more energy to carry on.
Unfortunately, the house was closed but it meant we got to save the rest of our free pass so we can use it later in the year at some other National Trust place.

Me on the left, my sister on the right.

Whilst I love nothing more than spending time in my own home, you can't beat getting out there and smelling the country side and getting some exercise. Of course I also had my new Joules wellies which I got for Christmas that were desperate to be walked in mud and puddles and piles of leaves!
So there we have it a frugal day out which only cost the small amount of petrol we used. The result? Lasting happiness which couldn't be created with a day clothes shopping or an expensive meal.

TTFN x