A Girl’s Weekend Away

In light of the fact that tonight Kirsty and I are heading off for our colleague Nicole’s hen party, I’ve been thinking about what makes a weekend with the girls so damn great. Over the last few months I’ve managed to catch up with so many friends that I love, despite now being scattered across the country (and in fact, world). There are friends from working at various different jobs, my childhood, college, university, blogging and some of my oldest friends from when we bonded in year 7 over a mutual love of gel pens and those funny plastic knotted string things you’d make into keyrings. LOL

I have always had a very mixed bag, ranging from those I would usually hang out in groups all together with, to some where we’re literally just us two with no mutuals in common. Being a soppy sentimental Susan that I am, I hate the idea of growing apart from people and do my very best to try and stay in touch with as many people as possible. For some, this is definitely easier than others!

Whilst there are a small handful I talk to almost daily, and a few funny Whatsapp groups to share the important stuff, I still find most catch ups happen sporadically, after not talking for a few months at a time, and are usually accompanied by food, drinks and an evening of life news and interesting stories. They’re my favourite kind of times, and being in our mid twenties, there always seems to be exciting celebrations and life changes for all of us as we stumble our way through, each of us trying to adult.

a-weekend-with-the-girls-27

a-weekend-with-the-girls-7

a-weekend-with-the-girls

a-weekend-with-the-girls-5

a-weekend-with-the-girls-8

a-weekend-with-the-girls-4

In the early Autumn I had a weekend of exactly this. A girl’s weekend was planned with some of the women I’ve known the longest, and we’d booked an amazing AirBnB in the Cotswolds months before for a few days of catch up, exploration and the kind of gossiping over wine you only get with the people you’re utterly 1000% comfortable around.

We all arrived at different times on the Friday, and I was lucky enough to get a lift with Liss in her fancy pants car (it turns out, running your own business is worth the hard graft!) and when we arrived Charlotte and Hatty were already there and settled in. The funny thing  (I say funny, it was actually pretty annoying) was that the place didn’t actually have a kitchen, nor any cooking facilities whatsoever and the only fridge was a tiny wine cooler. Good job I’d brought ingredients to make up a chicken and avocado salad with a pre-roasted bird. Liss’ idea for a beef stirfry was thrown out the window (quite literally actually…!).

We settled in for a night of wine, nibbles and chat in the gorgeous hayloft before giving in quite early and heading to bed, realising that actually having grown up jobs and then travelling after work on a Friday does make you pretty darn knackered!

a-weekend-with-the-girls-15

a-weekend-with-the-girls-20

a-weekend-with-the-girls-16

a-weekend-with-the-girls-9

a-weekend-with-the-girls-17

Saturday morning was bright and sunny with the September light streaming through the windows. We lazily got up and mooched about making some pretty delicious coffee from their fancy machine and deciding what to do with the day. Nailsworth has a small spattering of cute independent shops which we wondered around, introducing ourselves to the stallholders dogs in the Saturday market and enjoying the weekend vibe from the locals.

Making the most of the weather we headed out over the hills for a walk, alternating between following the river, picking apples on our way, and then getting lost in the long grass high up on a hill. I was definitely not dressed for the occasion in thin dolly shoes and my white stripey dress!

Nevertheless we did eventually guess a correct gate and wound our way back down to the town for some brunch at the Wild Garlic, a fancy bistro restaurant right in the centre. Sitting outside, I had some seriously delicious huevos rancheros and mango tea in the coolest loose leaf pot and cup. Chatting as easily as we did when we were children, time flew on, but unfortunately so did the glorious weather and as clouds appeared we went back to our loft to speculate what to do throughout the afternoon.

a-weekend-with-the-girls-12

a-weekend-with-the-girls-14

a-weekend-with-the-girls-13

a-weekend-with-the-girls-11

a-weekend-with-the-girls-19

Trampolining was not what I expected.

However, it was actually my idea and seemed like the perfect rainy afternoon activity. Just like everyone else in the Gloucester area, apparently!

Luckily, once we actually got to bounce, donning our lurid green non-slip socks, it was exactly as I remembered from the hours spent bouncing around at home. Possibly with just the extra fear of breaking something or just general serious injuries. Why my brain allowed me to back flip with ease when I was younger, yet left me with trembling knees and an inability to force myself to repeat it as an adult baffles me? Still, it was pretty great fun all the same, thought far sweatier and more exhausting than it ever used to be. #gettingold

a-weekend-with-the-girls-21

a-weekend-with-the-girls-22

a-weekend-with-the-girls-23

a-weekend-with-the-girls-24

a-weekend-with-the-girls-25

a-weekend-with-the-girls-6

Dinner that night was candlelit, wine fuelled and delicious, in a big old pub in the town, and as Hatty was running a half marathon the next day, we didn’t make it too much of a late one again. Disappearing early, by the time we were packed it was just Liss and I, so we settled in to watch a Bake Off episode before heading home, leaving the rest of the weekend to do anything we pleased.

Making the most of your friendships is so important, even more so once you have inexplicably busier lives and live further and further away. Just taking one weekend a year to see the people that matter can make all the difference.

When was the last time you called your best friend?