Over the half term (which seems like ages ago now!) the Husband had some time off of work, which meant we got extra time to go out exploring. Being out and about is my absolute favourite thing to do when the weather warms up – even if it’s raining (which it was quite a lot of the time!), I still love just chucking everything into the back of the car and setting off for the day. We’re thinking about buying a tent so we can spend our weekends travelling the country, but so far there seems to be a hell of a lot of stuff to buy, and our bank account is looking pretty, erm, slender.
Hayling Island is literally minutes away from our house; a couple of junctions down the motorway, and we’re crossing the bridge onto coastal heaven. If you like modern cafes, contemporary shops and plenty of things to do, don’t bother visiting – Hayling Island is a little bit like the Land that Time Forgot, which is probably why I love it so much; there are plenty of lovely antiques, farm shops and rural walks, but not a lot else. We drove through the village of Northney, which is full of tiny cottages, wildflowers and open fields – I could have happily stayed forever!
I fell hugely in love with Northney Farm farmhouse with it’s thatched roof, English Country garden, red window frames and chickens scratching about in the yard – heavenly!
I also stumbled (I say ‘stumbled’ – the Husband was driving past, and I screeched, ‘STOP!’) across the most beautiful little shop called Rosie Loves Vintage; outside there were piles of wicker and woven baskets, old suitcases and wooden crates, but what caught my eye was a beautiful vintage sewing basket.
Big floral patterns just aren’t my bag at all, so when I saw this ditsy printed fabric, I snatched it up straight away – what made it even more wonderful was that it was just £5!
Inside, there were piles of old lace and embroidered handkerchiefs, mismatched crockery, vintage books and games, and furniture that had been beautifully upcycled by the owner; I had a little poke around and was even more overjoyed to find some vintage style botanic prints. I’ve been looking for some for the bathroom wall for ages, but they’re all way out of my price range – these were marked at a purse-friendly £3.50 each, which made me a very happy lady indeed.
What a find! Looks gorgeous. I love finding a new place and this shop looks fab. Elinor x
I'm not sure if I realised you were so close to me! It's always nice to find another local blogger. Hayling Island is lovely, but the traffic on and off it has always put me off living there.
I can see why you snapped up that sewing basket! I love visiting places like this too, in fact we just went to a lovely roadside farm shop and cafe near us that I've been wanting to try for ages.