A Walk With Nostalgia | Rufford Abbey
Ever since the age of five, I have been visiting Rufford Abbey with my family. That's 19 years (nearly) of family memories that I've made off the back of visiting this beautiful part of Nottinghamshire. It's so peaceful, vast and tranquil, no matter what time of year you go. I have always loved walking around the lake, then half way round, stopping to watch all the cars go racing through the ford, creating a huge splash of water. It brings me as much joy now at the age of 23 as it did when I was 5...I think that says a lot about me to be honest!
Rufford Abbey holds a special place in my heart. I have so many memories from my childhood that have all occurred there and a lot of them involve my grandparents, who are sadly, no longer with us. For as long as Rufford still stands, those memories will always be frozen in time there for me.
It's also a special place as my boyfriend and I spent one of our very first dates here. Chatting for hours, strolling through the walkways and foot paths as if no one was there. It felt like it was just myself and my partner and it was a wonderful feeling. Of course, there were people around, a lot of people actually as it was a Saturday, but we were so engrossed with each other that everything else blurred out around us and that's something I will always remember.
We like to come here when we just want some quality family time. My brother is going back to university (in Wales) on Saturday (as I write this, it's Friday 4th Jan), so to mark the occasion and to say goodbye, we felt it was important to spend some time somewhere that was so familiar to us. I actually spent my 23rd birthday here, which I didn't blog as I wanted it to be quite a private affair, but even then, it was wonderful to be back.
As stupid as this sounds, it's almost like there's a force there that keeps pulling us all back, but when we get there, it's such a comforting feeling, as if we've never been away. It feels like the year 2000 again, when we first started making memories there.
We have been incredibly lucky (my siblings and I) to have had an extremely happy childhood and this place just brings all those feelings back and it makes me feel so grateful and lucky for the upbringing I had. A home full of nothing but love and support, something I want to pass onto my children one day. For them to look back and think 'we were happy kids with loving and supportive parents' would be the ultimate achievement for me personally, to know my children felt contented and loved throughout their childhood years, much like myself and my siblings.
I'm rambling now and that got quite deep...I apologise! But anyway, enjoy some pictures from our most recent visit to my favourite place :)
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I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know if you have ever visited this place and what you thought. Have you made special memories there, the same as me? I'd love to know! I will see you soon with another post :)
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