Here we are at Henelle hall…

Mr and Mrs Oh! Are away this weekend with some friends at Henelle Hall in a beautiful woodland lodge – so just a short blog this weekend.

We arrived only yesterday afternoon and so far we are blown away. What a beautiful site and gorgeous accommodation along with the countryside around us. The lodge is so well appointed and has a beautiful look and feel about it and has absolutely everything you need to have an amazing stay. Do check it out if you fancy a wonderful week or weekend away. We are looking forward to exploring the surrounding site and countryside in the daylight today.

Yesterday afternoon we arrived, unpacked and started relaxing, which happened super quickly. We had a lovely catch up with our wonderful friends and a few relaxing drinkies – ahem! We then cooked ourselves a delicious spag bol (Lisa being head chef) and sat around the table having a good old chat and a lovely meal. You can’t beat time away with friends to restore yourself. We have a lot of laughs with this group and a lot of history too – that’s what we have to stay friends – we know too much about each other!! We finished off the evening with a dip in the hot tub – under the stars – and conversation never seems to dwindle! And finally a film, when we all went quite just for a little while – probably because we were all almost asleep – fresh air tends to do that to you!

Our last blog was about the open spaces and countryside and quiet walks away from the normal theme park action of Orlando and today we are doing just that, having a wander around to see some gorgeous countryside and wildlife – we are on the look out for deer, rabbits, birds and ducks. Grace even has her binoculars so we are sorted!!

Grace and Michael are cooking us a Greek feast for this evening’s meal and Kate is in charge of the sausage casserole tomorrow. Mr and Mrs Oh! Are in charge of lunches – it seems this trip is mostly about the food!!

Food and drinks actually – we have lots of gins to try, lots of pale ales, beers, lagers, ciders and heaven knows what else. We all share and try loads and loads of new and different things. And the snack pile is out of control – enough to start a supermarket of our own. I bet it will all get eaten – like it does in Orlando, when you finally figure out how large the portion sizes are and how you need to pace yourself to ensure you get to try absolutely everything there is to offer – but in small quantities.

What do we know about the group so far this weekend, Rich is obsessed with flapjacks and Dave had the tallest breakfast sandwich we have seen since the last time we went to Orlando! And we only found the non-stick pan after we had attempted to cook the breakfast pecan pancakes – doh!! Scrambled pancakes anyone?? We all slept like logs – its so dark and quiet here. What a treat.

No doubt there will be more chats in the hot tub, even more food, drinks and most of all laughs. Are we in Orlando in a Mickey Mouse shaped hot tub? No we are not (sadly) but time away in fresh air and time spent with friends, laughing and sharing stories is always a great, wherever you are!! As it happens this group of friends have all been to Orlando and all love it. They are as thrilled with it as we are (almost – Mr Oh! Is on another level in the Orlando appreciation society) and they all have plans to return, some sooner than others.

So – it’s now later in the day and here’s the update.

After breakfast we had a lovely long walk around the area and along the canal as promised. There are some stunning views in this part of the world. One of the highlights was the duck pond with loads of cheeky ducks dashing about, and one in particular with a very dodgy haircut, not unlike Mr Oh Orlando’s, less said about that the better. We also saw deer and birds with the help of Grace’s previously mentioned binoculars.

You cannot beat a long walk in the fresh air followed by a glass of something. This particular something was at the lodge bar and grill. A circular room with a huge log burner situated in the centre. This was the best part, ice cold local brew beer, Prosecco and great chat. Good times.

After a lunch of meats and cheeses, breads and salads, and everything else that was in the fridge, it was time for the normal “introspective”…. or as we call it, nap time. This was followed by a cheeky hour in the hot tub with a brew and the normal chats and plans for the coming year.

And now – after an amazing Greek feast there’s currently a poker game going on, we also had an excellent quiz by quizmaster Kate (at which we were mostly not very knowledgeable it seems) and a game of beer pong!

So as breaks go this one is pretty great – friends, gorgeous surroundings, food, drinks and fun – perfect combination really…. and Mrs Oh! Bought her Mickey and Minnie overnight bag, rucksack and hat just to make sure everything has a splash of Disney – as usual!