Beautiful gifts that capture slow sunny summer days in the country
Do you remember that feeling when you were small, when the summer holidays felt like a lifetime? That last day of school, it seemed like the lazy weeks ahead would be endless.
In my memory, those days were filled with holiday cottages, canal boats and camping. Long walks, bike rides and picnics; or visits to country parks and stately homes to walk in the grounds and enjoy the scenery.
As a child, the walks were accompanied with various choruses of my moans and groans. But as an adult, long walks are one of my favourite pastimes. I love the countryside and the beauty of nature. The Yorkshire moors, the Derbyshire dales, the Welsh seaside, and those tiny Cornish country lanes that you drive down in fear of an oncoming tractor. And I owe it all to those slow summer days I remember so fondly.
The reality wasn’t always so idyllic of course, but these are the moments I hold dear, and that inspired the artwork in my Tranquil Times collection.
Wonderous* Wayfaring
In my imagination, we are parked up somewhere quiet and beautiful, reading a book and drinking that red wine on the table.
The mornings are misty and fresh, the evenings are peaceful and serene. We have bacon butties for breakfast, cooked on the travel stove, and tea from white enamel tin mugs with blue handles and rims. Bats flit about at dusk and the air smells sweet and glorious.
My inspiration came from my Nanny and Pappy, and their VW camper, 'Sandy'. They were always wandering the country with her, and would travel up to visit and stay in Sandy on our drive.
We'd go out on day trips, Sandy providing the facilities for lunch and tea, and space for all of Nanny's shoes!
Sailing Serene
I can hear the low thrum of the engine and the hypnotic lapping of the water on the bow as we drift down the river. My only care is not to accidentally drop anything overboard. I delight in watching for birds and animals that call the river their home. What might there be around the next bend?
Inspired by narrowboat holidays that we took as a family when I was a child. We travelled the Birmingham Canal and the Cheshire Ring, we wrestled with the huge locks through Manchester and journeyed down the Avon and many other places. The beauty and peace of the English canals and rivers, whilst reading, or drawing, or just watching the countryside slip quietly by, are memories that I will always cherish.
Peaceful Places
After a mid-morning cuppa, we set off from the cottage and walk until our legs ache. We eat our picnic of crusty bread rolls and home-made jam on the moors, amongst the heather and the sheep. If we sit still enough, the rabbits venture from their burrows – but only until the dogs spot them! The sky stretches above us, the clouds scud by. Soon we’ll walk back down to the cottage and maybe get some pasties from the bakery for tea so we don’t have to cook.
When I was young, we stayed in some lovely holiday cottages, from Cornwall to Dorset to the North York Moors. I have enduring fond memories of these happy times, visiting abbeys, long dog walks on the moors, and finding the best fish and chips.
Glorious Gallivanting
This is the glamping tent of my imagination. Just to relax, perhaps a bit of romance. Just me and him. Maybe we’ll play a game of cards, have a barbeque and lie in the grass to watch shooting stars and find the constellations. The sound of the crickets and the hooting of owls will play in the background as we drift off to sleep.
Although the tents we stayed in as children weren’t like this one, I remember those camping holidays vividly. I remember the year we bought stunt kites and spent hours on the beach flying them in the perfect wind; strong without being overpowering, and steady enough that we could do loop the loops without crashing. Giving piggy-back rides to the smaller children on the site, running around the tents and the shower block. And the walk through the dunes to the beach.
Restful Retreat
I drew this for my mum, it’s her summerhouse. When I look at it, I can feel the soft warm breeze, the peace and quiet of her garden. I taste cold, crisp rosé and I smell the pine trees and the honeysuckle.
Although the summerhouse wasn’t there when I was a child, Mum still lives in the house where I grew up. The summerhouse is where Dad’s woodworking shed used to be. Mum has always loved the garden, and it was a beautiful place to spend time as a child; I spent hours playing there. My sister’s children played there when they were young, and now my children play there too. The 30 foot pine tree was just a sapling when we were kids, and the roses my parents planted all those years ago, are still there. As is the brick outhouse where the coal was kept for the fire, and where mum stored the elderflower champagne, the homemade jams, and our wellies. It always was, and will always be, a happy place for us all.
Prints of my Tranquil Times collection are available to buy from my ,online shop, as well as cushion covers, coasters, placemats, tea towels and greetings cards in each of the 5 designs. I love seeing mine around the house, like little pieces of happiness scattered around the home.
Bye for now,
P.S. … I know “wonderous” isn’t a real word. I accidentally added an extra “e” without realising it was wrong. It’s actually “wondrous”. Where did that little “e” wander off to, I wonder?
Anyway, I have decided that the extra syllable I’ve added just makes “wonderous” a wonderful new word – so much more pleasing to say and makes me feel more uplifted. So I’m keeping it!