18. Master of all I survey [Skipton Castle, Yorkshire]

It’s only right, when on holiday in the UK, that you experience one or more of the following: rain, lots of it; the odd, joyous day of wall-to-wall sunshine; shonky, styled-in-the-seventies accommodation; ancient monuments; and, of course, random events that remind you that eccentricity is normal round these parts.
Luckily for us, our holiday in the [...]

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17. I charm the birds and the bees, the flowers and the trees [Bolton Abbey, Yorkshire Dales]

‘That boy can smile, can’t he?’
I’m changing Milo’s nappy and he’s lying on the mat kicking his chubby little legs. He spots the woman behind me and turns on a hi-beam smile.
‘Aye, he’s a charmer.’
This boy’s smile can light up a room. Heck, his smile could light up a muddy field. I don’t quite know [...]

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16. Things that go grump in the night [Grassington, Yorkshire Dales]

It’s 3.57am and Milo is howling. An electric fan drones, feebly pushing warm air from one corner of the room to the other. Sweat prickles in the small of my back and my usual PJs (a woolly cardigan and trackie bottoms combo – who says you let yourself go when you become a mother) lie [...]

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