Summary – April to June 2026

Published on by Mélodie

After a long, wet winter spent dodging raindrops, attending several kids’ birthday parties, and getting lost in some great books, spring finally arrived. And with it came the sun. We traded our indoor blankets for hiking boots and passports, filling the sunny spring months with unforgettable family adventures. From exploring hidden gems right here in the UK to jetting off on beautiful overseas escapes, it felt amazing to hit the trails and make new memories together under the open sky.

Read – January to April 2026 summary.

Crummock Water in Cumbria
Marcus, Skye and I wild swimming

Personal Life:

With the sun rising earlier, Skye and I have finally moved our morning walks to the scenic bicycle track on our way to work. It has made the start of the day incredibly peaceful, giving me a rare, quiet moment to relax and clear my head before diving into my busy schedule. The only real challenge is Skye’s absolute obsession with the fresh spring grass. I constantly find myself gently dragging him along, trying to keep him moving so we both aren’t late!

The Cumbrian spring weather wasn’t exactly perfect, but we didn’t let that stop us. We still managed a couple of bracing Sunday morning wild swims in Crummock Water. Mainly, though, this season was all about packing our weekends with exploration, both near home and further afield. We also had the visit of Matt’s parents and we took that opportunity to explore with them the charming, historic village of Corbridge.

Finally, I have treated myself to a KitchenAid mixer and have been busy practising my baking skills.

Cake with chocolate and cherries
baking mixer
berries and cream cake

Dark chocolate sponge and cherries with chantilly cream cake (left) and japanese genoise, berries and chantilly cream cake (right)

Walking:

We haven’t done a lot of walking as such during spring months as we were busy exploring villages, cities and National Trust properties or doing road trips. However, we still managed to meet our friend Tania for a riverside walk starting from Hexham.

Read – Exploring Corbridge and walking along the river Tyne from Hexham

Spring flower along the river Tyne near Hexham
River Tyne

Travelling:

We travelled a lot during spring months, which included two home exchanges during the April and May bank holiday weekends and a 10-day holiday overseas.

Observing the full length of the Falkirk Wheel
Falkirk Wheel

April: We kicked off the bank holiday season with an Easter trip to Falkirk, Scotland. Even though the British weather gave us its classic 4 seasons in one day, it didn’t lower our mood. We braved the elements to explore the historic streets of Culross village and the dramatic heights of Stirling.

Read – Our weekend in Falkirk

May: Brought the next bank holiday, which we spent exploring Alfreton area. We spent our days wandering through two spectacular National Trust properties: the grand Kedleston Hall and the striking Hardwick estate.

Read – Our visit of Kedleston Hall and Hardwick Estate

June: We flew out to Lanzarote for a fantastic 10-day family holiday filled with volcanic landscapes and warm sunshine. I am still buzzing from the trip and need to finish writing my dedicated posts for it soon!

Read – Our visit of Timanfaya National Park

Volcanoes and field of lava, Lanzarote
Lava fields in Lanzarote

Blogging:

I managed to stay consistent during the spring months and published a new post every two weeks. However, I still haven’t finished writing about our holiday to Norfolk from last year, and I now have several posts to catch up on for this year’s trip to Lanzarote. To add to that, I had an eye infection at the start of July which bothered me for a couple of weeks. Also, now that the nice summer days are finally here, I find it hard to sit behind my computer on the weekends. Because of this, my posts during the summer months might not be as regular.

The beautiful facade of Kedleston Hall from the garden
Kedleston Castle

Books:

I have managed to read several books during these spring months.

  • A brief history of Earth: Four billion years in Eight Chapters by Andrew H Knoll (EN)
  • Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas (EN)
  • Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women by Kate Manne (EN)
  • The beginner’s Guide to Stoicism by Matthew Van Natta (EN)
  • L’ile Mystérieuse by Jules Verne (FR, EN title: The mysterious island)
  • Une forme de vie by Amelie Nothomb (FR, EN title: Life Form)
  • The drowned forest by Angela Barry (EN)
  • Les identités meurtrières by Amin Maalouf (FR, EN title: In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong)

I think my top three books of these spring months are: Blood of Hercules, Les identités meurtrières and L’ile Mystérieuse. Have you read these books?

Blog discoveries:

Here a short selection of blog posts from fellow bloggers. During spring months:

small streets in Corbridge town
Little house in Corbridge village

Final Thoughts

Join the Conversation

How was your spring months? Any plans for summer?

Share your thoughts: Don’t hesitate to tell us what you think by leaving us a comment below!

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38 thoughts on “Summary – April to June 2026”

  2. It’s much easier to spend time on the blog in winter, isn’t it? Shame to waste lovely evenings. They’re gone so soon. It’s too hot here for much walking, but we love the evening entertainment which takes place from July till early September, and there’s a different festival almost every week. Many thanks for the link. I’ll go and check those I’ve missed. Have a great summer xx

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    1. Enjoy your summer Jo. It is nice to have these evening entertainment. Ot was the same when I was living in the South of France.
      We are always trying to make the most of the sunny days we have in Cumbria and blogging can wait the colder months.

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    1. Merci beaucoup, mon oeil va mieux. J’aime aussi cette photo de nous 3. Oui je suis d’accord, il faut aussi avoir un minimum de connaissance en pâtisserie 😊. J’essaie de m’ameliorer à la décoration car ce n’est pas quelque chose que je fais souvent. En general mes gateaux sont simples.

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  7. Sounds like you have had a busy few months. Snap on the KitchenAid colour! Your cakes look fab. I hardly ever go to the effort of baking/decorating a cake, as there’s just the two of us (flapjacks for packed lunches and brownies tend to be my go-tos). Looking forward to catching up on and reading more about your time in Lanzarote. I have not yet been to the Canary Islands, but the landscapes look beautiful. I find the content on my blog is always several months behind real life, but luckily my travel journals keep me right when I do get round to writing posts up!

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    1. Marcus picked the colour for the KitchenAid 😊. I am the same most of my cake are simple ones so I am trying to do more difficult and decorated ones.
      I also try to keep written notes to be able to write my posts after.

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  8. Time outdoors, books to read, family holidays and cake. All sounds wonderful! Our spring -summer plans involve a lot of exploring in Kent before we move again next year.

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  9. On a passé notre printemps et début de l’été à organiser notre mariage qui est maintenant dans quelques jours. Pas beaucoup de balades pour nous depuis Lincoln mais on a bientôt se rattraper 😌

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  10. Wow, those Lava fields in Lanzarote look amazing, and so do your yummy cakes. I also find it hard to sit behind my computer on the weekends during the summer months, especially this year as we’ve had quite superb weather for the past few weeks. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx

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  12. I think your baking skills are really impressive – that cake looks so yummy! I completely understand that you’d rather be outside during the lovely summer months than sitting in front of your computer – I can’t wait for our summer to arrive! Oh, and I hope that maybe one day, you guys get the chance to experience how beautiful it is in Franschhoek (and how good their wine is 😉).

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  13. you’re certainly keeping yourselves active and enjoying life. I sympathise that you’re behind on your blog posts. Not so easy to find time write up all your adventures when you’re busy getting out and about and enjoying the sunshine.

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