So many people say to me that they want to start Yoga, and I think 3 things,

1 – Woohoo, what a journey you are about to begin!

2 – I hope you come to my classes otherwise this conversation will be weird.

3 – I wonder what type of you you will like best?

Because here’s the things no-one on the outside of yoga tells you before you go to a class is that Yoga is SO varied. Oh my gosh is it varied!

Yoga is yoga, yet it comes in many different styles. Hot Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Yin Yoga, and more!

No yoga class is really the same, and no studio really teaches the same. That may give you an understanding of why there is so much fuss about Yoga, and why the people who go love it so much.

For a new person to Yoga it can be challenging to find the style of yoga that you enjoy. It is therefore essential that you try as many different types of yoga before you find ‘The One’.

Not only are there different styles, there are 1000’s of different teachers. What you may not enjoy from one teacher, you may LOVE in another teacher. Imagine finding a class, teacher, or studio that makes your heart sing? Imagine! 

Yoga really is for everybody, so please don’t write it off if you’ve tried a class and didn’t become an instant fan. Try different styles on for size!

Yoga styles in a nutshell. (Call it a 101 of Yoga but not to its face)

Pretty much all western yoga came via the same person, Tirumalai Krishmanacharya, often called the father of modern Yoga.

Yep, pretty much all of the Yoga we know today came directly from him and his Shala in Mysore, India.

Students of the brands of yoga we practise, Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Vinyasa were handed down from T Krishmanacharya. What an amazing legacy.

If it didn’t come from Krishmanacharya directly, it came from a student who studied under him.

There are 4 main styles of yoga that you will find on a class timetable, and here I explain a little on their history and what you can expect from a class.

Hatha Yoga

History: Hatha yoga is basically all yoga. It is the earliest form of yoga to be documented and dates back to the 15th century. It includes standing postures, seated postures and twists.  The Hatha Yoga Pradikipa is one of the most cited yoga texts and very much worth a read if you are interested in exploring Yoga’s rich history.

What to expect: Just as its history is varied, Hatha takes many forms in yoga classes too, varying from teacher to teacher. It is generally slower and great for beginners. A class will take you through different postures and you will hold them for several breaths. thoroughly enjoyable and a definitely a good place to start.

Summary
Gentle, slow and great for beginners .

Vinyasa Yoga

History: Vinyasa originates from the Ashtanga school of yoga. Ashtanga Yoga practise starts with Sun Salutations A and B, and these vinyasas are also included later in the practise.

Vinyasas are also taken to balance out the body. This heady flow creates heat and balance in the body. Vinyasa is a western style that joins all of the Hatha Yoga postures (and some new ones!) into a flowing style.

What to expect: A faster paced class that moves between postures, leading from one to the next in a flowing style. Generally one side of the body is worked through postures, before repeating the sequence on the other side.

Classes can vary in pace, so pay attention to what is listed in the class description. Slower classes will generally be listed as Gentle Vinyasa. Music is normally played too, so let go and enjoy!

Side note: Vinyasa classes changed Yoga for me, they were quite a revelation compared to the Hatha classes I had been used to.

Summary
Faster-paced, fun and all about flow – a real revelation

Ashtanga Yoga

History: Ashtanga Yoga founder Sri K Pattabi Jois studied under Krishmanacharya in 1930’s.  Ashtanga means Eight Limbs in Sanskrit and this is the basis of its style of yoga. The eight limbs in yoga are Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. (I will go into these in more depth in another post but if you can’t wait, google or read up!). Ashtanga yoga is rather disciplined and follows a set sequence, moving with breath and count, enabling students to move along the series as they attain new asana. Ashtanga follows the moon cycles and students do not practise on full moon days, or Moon days as they are called.

What to expect: A set routine starting with Sun Salutations A & B, then standing postures leading to seated postures, then backbends, inversions, meditation, and savasana. Ashtanga is fast-paced and great for building strength.

If you can try a Mysore room at an Edinburgh Ashtanga studio, you will learn so much more about this style of yoga and how it works for you.

Summary
More disciplined and great for building strength

Iyengar Yoga

History: Iyengar studied under Krishmanacharya but only for 1 year, he was then sent to oversee a shala in Pune. Side note, he was also Krishmanachayra brother-in-law not that this earned him any favour, quite the contrary.

The two had a troublesome relationship. Despite this Iyengar always credits his Guriji with his success. His book Light on Yoga is a worldwide bestseller. We can also credit Iyengar with developing Restorative Yoga. 

What to expect: A class with props and adjustments. Iyengar yoga is almost a personal prescription of yoga and teachers have to undergo vigorous training to teach. You will be in very safe hands if this style suits you.

Summary
A more personal class, with teacher and pupil working closely together

Yin Yoga

History: Yin Yoga was developed in the 70’s by Taoist Paulie Zink, who was better known as a martial art practitioner. He took Hatha yoga postures and separated them into Yin and Yang classes, adding the Yin postures he developed. Sometimes his classes lasted 8 hours! His students Paul Grilley and Sarah Powers brought Yin yoga to wider audiences, helping to spread into the West.

What to expect: A slower paced class with perhaps only 6 postures, all floor based. Poses are held for 2-5 minutes. Yin yoga works with deeper tissue and fascia, as well as ligaments, aiming to improve flexibility.

Summary
A slow class aiming to build strength and improve flexibility.

Other types of yoga

Hot Yoga

History

Hot Yoga was brought to the west by Bikram Choudhury, who began heating his studios to the same temperature of his home town, Calcutta. It is believed he did this after seeing this type of yoga practiced in Japan. Hot Yoga became a fierce trend and everyone who was anyone began tweeting about it!

What to expect

Yoga poses in heated studios. Bikram Yoga is a sequence of 26 postures true to the Bikram style, whereas Hot Yoga might defer and follow a Vinyasa style of sequence. Temperatures are normally listed, usually 32°C or 28°C. Warm Yoga is practiced at  22°C. Classes are high energy and you will SWEAT!

Yoga Nidra

History

Around for centuries, Yoga Nidra has its roots in Buddhism and Hinduism. Yoga Nidra is a form of meditation and sleep-but-awake mindfulness. Enabling the student to become super-relaxed. It has become popular in recent years because of its relaxation properties.

What to expect

A dark, possibly candle-lit, room. A teacher talking you through a body scan to relax every part of your body, then a visualisation exercise to bring you to a deeper awareness. Expect to feel extremely relaxed to the point that you might fall asleep.

You will find a good array of yoga classes at most studios in Edinburgh. The key is try a good selection until you find the one that suits you best!

 

I hope you have a better understanding of Yoga styles and could confidently walk into a class knowing what to expect. We’re lucky in Edinburgh to have such a great array of studios on our doorstep. You’ll find a great selection of teachers, and studios, as well as classes.

They say that the best things are learned when we introduce fun into the equation, so I hope you have some fun finding a studio that sings to the beat of your drum!

When someone asks you to marry them, or you ask someone to marry you, it should be special right?

Our proposal was pretty special and also low key, just like us! I’d like to walk you through how our wedding came about and I thought starting at the engagement would be perfect.

Like most couples we talked about getting married before we did any of the finer details, buy the ring, etc. I think it’s a good thing to sound someone out… “Do you think one day you’d like to get married? To me? ”

It’s good to check.

We’d spoken a few times, and Ross had asked if I wanted him to book something special, and I immediately said no. I like casual. Not just in clothing. I also didn’t want to be dictating exactly how it should be done. I like spontaneity. too (Also in clothing – mainly mad purchases on the internet).

So the week of ‘The Proposal’ we’d both agreed to take the Friday off work, so we could have a ‘nice day’ together. Usually a lazy morning, lunch and good chats. Little did I know this was ‘The Day’.

As Friday rolled around, Ross jumped out of bed and insisted I stay so he could bring me breakfast in bed. Dare I admit it was mildly inconvenient? I am one of those awake awake people, get up and go. But he was so insistent, I stayed.

Then in he came with a tray full of breakfast, coffee and flowers.. while he fussed putting the tray down, he begin to talk… then before I knew it he was down on one knee. Asking me to marry him! Beautiful!

I said yes and he produced a ring. A plastic ring bought from Primark, but none the less perfect. We’d had a look at ones from Laings The Jewellers in Edinburgh and decided on one, but, he’d had a small nightmare trying to buy it online. Nothing to do with the shop, and everything to do with his bank’s security.

We then announced it to the world and went off to TigerLily in Edinburgh for lunch. Casey came to meet us and we had a little glass of fizz and a cocktail to celebrate!

Then we had to head to a prearranged charity event a friend of Ross’s was having. So all in all it turned into the perfect casual affair we both wanted.

 

 

I really can’t believe I have waited so long to share here that this happened! I mean getting married again is a BIG DEAL.

BIG BIG DEAL! Right?

This blog started with me as a single gal, navigating life; motherhood, work, education and, of course, love. You’ve been there through the ups and downs, and the downs and ups, and look what happened! It happened. Right, so where do I start with filling you in?

The beginning is a good place.

Do you believe in The Secret? Because here’s the thing, I made a vision board a few years ago, of everything that my ideal guy would be. I’d also read somewhere that you should write out 100 qualities you are looking for in a partner. Try it, it’s very enlightening. By the time you get to 50 words, you find a pattern, the same traits under different names.

But back to my vision board, I made it, and forgot about it, as you’re meant to do. And then it happened. It came true. Now I’ve always believed that you attract what you desire, whether good or bad. My Dad always used to say be careful what you wish for. But this exceeded my hopes and dreams. He is my dream guy, we get on so well, and I am proud to call him my best friend.

His name is Ross, he lives in Edinburgh, and he’s a writer too. We met online, as most people do these days. In one of those situations that you read about, I signed up to an agency, first guy I spoke to, first guy I went on a date with… boom.

Then we got married in Edinburgh in May, and I have to apologise because I left one of the biggest things to happen to me off of this blog! But I promise to put more details up in the next few weeks! xx

 

 

My latest favourite things, in that order!

I jest.

I’m not that fussed about Kale chips, although they are deliciously nutritious, stupidly easy to make, and shouldn’t be overlooked as part of a healthy diet. Ahhh Diet… I detest that word, namely because it evokes connotations of lack, want, fear, anxiety, judgement and the constant hopping on and off scales. I also hate scales, if we’re talking about the things I’m not a fan of. I never weigh myself. I judge my body on my clothes and how I feel, something I have Yoga to thank for.

So it’s with some surprise I find myself 3 weeks into the popular ‘Keto Diet’ -(using the word diet here as in way I am eating, not all the negative connotations I listed above.)

I am finding the Keto diet a conflict. I am enjoying the cooking, time in the kitchen, the focus on macros for health, the constant discoveries I am making about nutrition and food, the wonderful news about our Gut Health and how it effects our everything, and how the knock-on effect of living with Autoimmune Disease relates to diet. WHO KNEW NUTRITION ACCOUNTED FOR SO MUCH! I had an inkling when I started out, but I am astounded what I have discovered.

Namely, there are so many good foods out there, and moving is key to health. You cannot out train a bad diet they say, and you also cannot out diet a bad train, at least I’m sure that’s what they mean. Simply put, you need to eat well, and you need to move. Move like your life depends on it, because here’s the thing, it does.

Especially if you have an Autoimmune disorder which makes it so hard for you to do both. You’re tired, you’re in a bad mood and you don’t know why, your nails are brittle, your hair is falling out, you forget everything, life feels bleak and you get used to that feeling.

Getting used to feeling bad is probably one of the worse things life can throw at you. It’s honestly one aspect of Autoimmune disease that is universal. People the world over don’t understand this feeling, or why they feel it, and how they can get out of it. Is it possible to lose the crushing feeling?

Well, it seems, the Keto Diet might be an answer. It might be. And I say that because we are all different. I don’t know your health and before you do anything with your health, get a health check.

A Keto Diet is high in fat, and it works on the basis that you feed your body GOOD fats alongside minimal carbs and moderate protein to achieve ketosis. A state where your body burns fat as fuel, rather than sugar or carbohydrates.

Now, there’s a few things nutritionists are not keen on with Keto, and I happen to share the view. Whatever we think about ‘No carbs before Marbs’ we do need some in our bodies. Especially if you are active.

Keto also claims to regulate our blood sugar levels by decreasing the amount of sugar we intake, not only with processed foods, but with fruit, veg and carbs. This is the point that caught my interest with Keto. We tend to eat ALOT of packaged and processed foods for convenience. Since doing the keto way of eating, I have noticed I walk past so many aisles in the supermarket, 2/3rds even, looking instead for fresh fruit and veg, and fresh meats, fish and dairy.

Do you notice something here? Isn’t this what we’ve been told to eat all along? Fresh food!

So it is here I like the keto way of eating. We are so scared of eating fat, so scared that we have feelings of guilt and regret as soon as we do. Yet we need these healthy fats too. They are essential for a healthy body, mind and gut.

Getting to a good point with Keto; eating less breads, pastas, packets, foil trays, plastic trays, wrappers and, in short, crap. Replacing them with home-cooked food, healthy fats, fish and meat, ALL the green veg, soups, stews, broths, salads and dairy, is key so we can feel better. A lot better.

And, loving ourselves more, we can sashay with the confidence of a Kardashian. Who, whether you like or dislike them, work very hard at keeping themselves in shape, body and mind! And probably eat the odd Kale chip.

Ahhh, where do I start? We are back from an amazing trip around the Mediterranean, aboard cruise liner Viking Jupiter on her maiden voyage.

As it’s our first cruise, we have no comparable, but we are sure Viking will be hard to beat. The attention to detail, decor, staff, services, on board facilities were just wonderful. Even on the rough seas we experienced, me, and my anxiety felt safe and secure. That speaks volumes. But before we get too lost in the ship, what about the lands we visited?

We began in Switzerland, Basel, where we stayed with my life long friend Sinem, and her 3 girls. We accompanied them to the airplane and took off for Venice, Italy. From Venice we joined the ship in Ravenna, a beautiful port in Italy.

First city up was Split in Croatia, a beautiful charming town, we sat in the harbour, and soaked up the early February sunshine. Delightful.

Next up was Dubrovnik, and any Game of Thrones fan would be in their element here. It is packed full with real life sets from the popular show. Everywhere you look, it’s picture perfect and the sun shone all day long. We walked the old castle walls, with views for days.

Day 3 we woke to the beautiful, yet misty scenes of Kotor, Montenegro. We walked the small harbour town, huge red umbrella sheltering us from the drizzle.

Day 4 we arrived in Corfu, an island we had visited previously, which proved a perfect opportunity to pick up a fridge magnet. We took the shuttle bus to the other side of the town and walked our way back across the port. The sun had come out to shine again.

Day 5 we arrived in Olympia, ready to see the beginning of the Olympic games, the iconic place for the lighting of the Olympic torch. Iconic. It drizzled and we hurried back to ship for lunch, grilled cheese steak. yum.

Day 5 & 6 we were in Athens, capital of Greece, cosmopolitan city and place of the Acropolis. I had a gorgeous honey and walnut ice-cream and contemplated all of the wonderful things the Greeks had given us, not to mention authentic honey and yogurt.

Athens made me sad, a city so important, yet covered in graffiti, our tour guide showed us archaeological treasures in the museums and we walked to the Acropolis. This place should be thriving, it should have the feel of Rome, the ease of the city, yet it felt left behind and that made me sad. I wanted Athens to be wonderful and full of life.

I have 2 brothers and a sister who have a Greek father, so Greece has always been a part of my life. Growing up my mum cooked Greek food weekly, and we enjoyed the tales of the Greek gods, Zeus, Poseidon, Helen, Athena, Aphrodite. Greek history being part of their history, was adopted into my history.

I felt emotional in Athens for my brothers and sisters.  They had been separated from their father at a young age and never got to fully experience this side of their heritage. I’m sure they wondered about their dark skin and unruly hair often, but we never spoke about this in depth until we were all older, it was always acknowledged but only as a fact of childhood. That’s just the way things are. You don’t think about the bigger picture as a child. They also never got the chance to meet their Greek father again in the 18 years before he died, which is a story for a whole other day.

Greece and its islands are beautiful, I hope their economy recovers soon, and more people get to experience this stunning, historic part of the world. It had been on my dream wish-list for a long time, and I’m sure i’ll return to savour the sunshine, the history, and the ice-cream soon.

 

Kxx

 

 

Yikes! I did it! I taught my first real Yoga teacher classes in Edinburgh, and I LOVED it!

It’s harder work than you imagine, as you are watching out for everyone in the class, making sure they are getting the most from yoga.  You’re also talking ALOT, giving instruction and motivating them. Then you’re remembering the carefully put together yoga sequence you devised. It’s all so much fun. It definitely kept me on my toes, and I am so thankful.

I had the most loveliest bunch of ladies, and we flowed, chattarangared and asana’d our way through an hour. I was slightly nervous beforehand, but it soon when, mainly because it had to! Don’t you find that? You are nervous about something but time is creeping up on you so you have to bite the bullet and go for it! Teaching my first Yoga Classes has been exactly like that.

Straight after this class, I had no time to catch my breath as my students were rolling up their mats, and the next class were coming in and un-rolling theirs. It was a fantastic 2 hours, and I could not have enjoyed it any more than I did.

I then left that studio, to head over town to teach in my other studio, and met a lovely lady who was getting back into yoga.

In between those classes, I managed to have a delicious fresh mint tea to sip on. Perfect for the yoga teacher on the go! So much nicer than coffee, although it would have been very easy and delicious to have a cup of that too!

One thing that I have noticed when nerves got the better of me, not for very long, but my training really kicked in. I am so proud to have been taught by the teachers I was. I think in all life situations, good training sets you up for every eventuality.

When you have been trained vigorously and as thoroughly as I was, you know you have the wealth of yoga teachings in your bank to call on.

Feeling super proud of myself, and ready for more classes!

 

Ahhh 2018, 17 and 16 passed in a blur when I think about it.

I gave you a quick recap in this post so you know what I was up to, but now I’d like to tell you what I am doing going forward.

It’s this amazing yoga studio in studio in Edinburgh! Yay!

That’s right, I have completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training, I’m Yoga Alliance UK registered and insured, and ready to teach the good people of Edinburgh.

I will be teaching flow yoga, basic ashtanga yoga and express yoga for those busy lunch time workers.

I am so proud to have worked this hard, but then, I always did, I am occupying the space above a gin bar in central Edinburgh, you really couldn’t make it up!

Today, even more exciting, I met with a fellow yoga teacher and we are going to be adding Barre classes to the schedule. Double yay!

Barre has it’s basics in ballet training and provides a REALLY good work out. Your calves and abs always thank you after a barre class. No really!

So, if you are in Edinburgh, come and join me and my fellow teachers for some feel good yoga classes. (And Barre!)

 

www.southedinburghyoga.com

 

I used to love nothing more than writing up my end of year blog posts.  If you care to scroll back through the 8 years of blog posts, you’ll find them.

For the last few years, while I was doing my degree, this site fell by the wayside. Don’t get me wrong, there have been many “i’m back!” posts, but none constant.

The biggest reason why was that I was hired by other people to write for them. Yes, dear blog reader, the dream came true! The dream that initiated this site, being a paid writer, became the reality.

And the most wonderful thing about dreams, is that if you keep having them, you open yourself to the possibilities of those coming true too!

For the last 5 years, or so, I worked as a digital journalist and helped many people get to grips with the internet and online world. Oh what fun!

I also, and this was the big one for me, met THE ONE. Yay! He’s currently sitting on the sofa, (our sofa) watching Homes Under The Hammer, on our TV, in our house, with our dog on his lap! Double Yay!

Next year, 2019, we get married, so the first part of the year will be busy with organising our celebrations with our faves.

And in the wonderful way that life continues to evolve and grow, I trained as a Yoga Teacher and will be teaching Yoga in Edinburgh from January! Triple yay!!

I’m going to aim to keep blogging here, so do pop back if you’d like to keep updated.

And to all those single mums out there, keep striving, keep dreaming, and keep on keeping on! You are worthy of

 

the BEST!

I have to admit, I thought it was a fad that would die out.

I (stupidly) thought, it’s okay, it’s A-okay, it’s ‘Okay Corral’ okay. This won’t catch on.

I, even, in a fringe-skewed-to-the side moment, researched it thinking I’d missed something. What had I missed? Why had I missed it? Surely I stay up late enough scrolling and getting tech neck to NOT miss these things.

Still I had no solace. People were still using hashtags in sentences.

And, to be clear, I don’t mean at the end, like the tags they are meant to be used for.

But #actually in #sentences #why are #they doing #this 

#why

Don’t they #understand that while #yes it puts an emphasis on a certain #word, It makes no #sense #whatsoever.

It also reads badly.

Maybe times have changed, I mean you just have to read this hashtag advice post from 2014 to realise how much things have changed. (Well maybe not so much, if you read

this Hashtag advice post from 2017.)  So, maybe they read a post somewhere, perhaps someone is telling them. Maybe they are replicating someone similar to the way people use CAPITALS when they want to come over POSITIVE AND PRO-YOU! HOWEVER, THEY ARE JUST COMING over as shouty, with bad grammar. 

Please let us keep some grammar rules, Internet.

 

Finding Hashtag fame

Some rules for hashtag usage are dated and misinform users, could that be it?

From the off, the Hashtag took on its own meaning. It enjoyed a ‘Stock, Aitken and Waterman’ level of fame. Then it settled in to become a firm fixture. People owned their hashtags, people joked via hashtags, it got its own T-shirts! The hashtag had found its place.

People even got used to it being used sparingly on Facebook. Imagine!

Then, just when we thought it’d settled in alongside us for cosy late-night tweets, Instagrammers took ownership and maxed out the 30 hashtag limit with gusto. Hashtag power grew influencers overnight. It was like, “Erm, sorry, Twitter who? Don’t know her, but look at this cool photo of my coffee” #coffee #coffeelovers #onmytable #anotherhashtag #andanother 

Hashtag Lovers Unite!

Now, if you haven’t guessed, I love a hashtag? I do. So much so, I even called my new Puppy hashtag. ( not true). But I do love that you can search, group and identify with them. I love the humour associated with them. But this latest fad, this using them IN sentences, it has to stop. 

I know I am in danger of becoming the Hashtag police but I can find no reason for it and no source for it, and I really like understanding things! 

So, please, I appeal to you. STOP using hashtags in your sentences. Add them at the end. It only takes a moment. You will thank me. Everyone will thank you! And who knows, maybe using them correctly will enable you to get the audience you were aiming for?

(Clue, it’s not me)

Ps. This post by Social Bakers is alright if you want an updated post on Hashtags – but ignore the bit about using lots of hashtags, especially on Instagram. It’s okay to do that there.

Travel is one of the greatest gifts in life, being able to see something for yourself is priceless. One of my favourite cities in the world is New York, so I’ve been super happy to visit there 3 times, woohoo!

I think most people are put off because of the expense of it but I’ve never found it super expensive.  We are obviously going to different places!

A visit to New York should be your birthright and hopefully these handy tips will make it more accessible. Please feel free to share your tips too, all welcome.

The first thing with any travel is to make it your own. Sure you’ll want to visit tourist attractions, so grab a guide book, but in a City like New York City there’s SO much to take in, find your own pace and make it your own.  Every second step comes straight out of a movie scene anyway, you’ll soon stumble your way around.

I’ve alway been super lucky when visiting New York in that I’ve gone with people who know the streets. First time visit I was choked with a cold and had paid too much attention to Sex And The City, packing only heels, my boots certainly weren’t made for walking those streets.  So take good shoes! Perfect for finding NYC’s little quirks! 

Second time visit was more chill based, hanging out in Brooklyn and not even crossing the Brooklyn Bridge into the city.

Third time, we hit Manhattan, for reals. The sights, the sales, the bars! Probably my favourite visit so far. But I am due a fourth visit soon, with the man, whether he likes it or not, (I think he will!)

First visit I stayed at The Ace Hotel, Uber Cool, Central and for a decent budget.

Second visit I stayed with Friends, in Brooklyn. Lucked out!

Third visit we stayed at The Sohotel,  Nice, clean, cool, super friendly staff, and for a happy go lucky budget. (Found it on Booking.com)

While you pretty much have to do some of the tourist attractions, (I mean you didn’t come all this way not to did you?), there’s so much to do for free in New York.

I don’t buy into that it is expensive.

You don’t have to eat at expensive restaurants every day, you don’t have to climb every attraction after parting with $40. I’m a much more simple person, so slices of pizza and a beer each for $16 and a walk around central park, is up there in my favourite things to do. Save money for the cocktails!

The Highline is a disused railway linen that takes you up high through the manhattan skyline, see the Hudson, see the Empire State building, sit and take stock at one of the many sitting bays.

Central Park is located at the end of Fifth Avenue and it’s wise to leave any shopping to the out walk than the in, who wants to carry bags in the park? Romantic couples will like the carriage rides around the park, but we jumped in as a celebration of our friendship anyway!

While I am a big advocate of spending money on travel, I do like the odd thrifty day here and there. Look for cheap flights, I flew with British Airways and it came in at less than £450 return from Edinburgh. Search the flights first and work around when is in your budget, I used to check Skyscanner pretty much daily until it hit me to check Airlines websites too.