My first triathlon: taking an 'alternative' approach

There are a few things that I'm pretty sure you won't ever see in a triathlon training programme:

1. Don't do any formal triathlon training other than running a bit, swimming very little, and cycling less than 6 miles at a time, never in race conditions
2. Get your race kit ready the morning of the race, deciding what to wear last minute
3. Fuel yourself the afternoon and evening of the day before the race with crisps, white wine and cava
4. Go to bed at 1am the night before

This, however, is exactly what I did in preparation for my first ever triathlon - the super sprint distance at the ITU PruHealth World Triathlon at Hyde Park on Sunday 1st June. While I do not recommend this approach in the slightest, I reckon there's something to be said for  just 'going with the flow', and here's why....

I've had quite a lot of going's on in my personal life recently, so much so that I just didn't have the time or energy to give this triathlon my full attention. I have been itching to try a tri for a while now and was a little nervous that I'd put so little preparation in, but reassured myself that I could swim 450m no problem, could cycle 15.5km (albeit fairly slowly), and run 2.5km without too much bother. The only problem would be putting it all together.

When I woke up on Sunday, after an unexpected drinking session on Saturday, I hesitated about competing: my head was pounding, I was dehydrated and feeling a little fuzzy. But it was 7.30 am and the race wasn't til 5pm - thank god it was a late wave! Nothing that a bagel with peanut butter and another 2 hours of sleep couldn't help rectify. Well, almost.

Sticker, stickers, everywhere!

With still a bit of a headache I began furiously drinking water and getting my bike and kit ready - this really should have been done way before as I struggled to get screws on and off and my brain seemed to have forgotten how to work a bike pump. But I got there! I also had to decide what to wear to run - I already owned a wetsuit but no tri suit, so my swimsuit had to suffice. And I took some shorts and a vest to throw on for the run: that'd be ok, wouldn't it?! I also had some self-tying lace things, so attached those to my trainers as well. So many things I really should've done before the day of the race!



One problem with a triathlon is that you need to get your bike to the start line. The only way this was possible was to cycle the 5 miles to Hyde Park - great, just what I needed! I guess bike transport is something I might have to think about for future races too. I arrived nice and early to meet super-supporter Josie who had kindly brought along a race belt for me. Another oversight on my part! You need to have the number on the back during cycling and on the front during running, so an elastic belt that you can swing round in transition is the best approach.

I managed to find my way to registration, attached the various stickers across bike, body and bag, and then get over to the bike transition check-in point, before it dawned on me to ask: where and when do I put my wetsuit on?! Apparently the answer is wherever and whenever you like, with some people arriving in theirs (did they come wearing it on the tube?!) and others getting in to theirs at their bike rack. 

Racked up with Vaseline at the ready

I opted for the latter but quickly noticed that most people were not wearing swimsuits: tri suits or cycling shorts and sports bra (for the ladies!) were outfit of choice because - as I was later informed by a fellow competitor -  swimsuits can really chafe on the bike. Great. Nevertheless, I was glad I'd chosen to wear my swimsuit under my clothes otherwise my fellow competitors would've gotten an eyeful that I'm sure they'd rather avoid.


Wetsuit on, I first scoped out where my bike was in relation to the swim entry, bike exit and run route, then headed for the swim start on bare feet across the grass and paths. Running has left me with rough leather soles on my feet (delightful, I know) and so I didn't struggle too much with the spiky terrain - every cloud... 

I had been watching the waves go off and decided to get myself to the front of the holding pen so I would be at the edge of the swimmers and give myself a bit of space. I'm a relatively strong swimmer, but the hangover had given me cause for concern that I might drown, so aimed to be as close to the kayak helpers as possible.

In to the water, a wave of the flag to say 30 secs to go, the horn and then: WE'RE OFF! I kicked hard for the first 50m and managed to get myself in to a good position ahead of the mass of the pack who I feared might contribute to my drowning if they swam over me. As Dory from Finding Nemo advised, I Just Kept Swimming! keeping a nice steady pace. Next thing I knew I was up and out of the water, running along the pontoon looking like I had a wasp in my wetsuit as I twisted and contorted trying to get the bloody zip down. Yet another note to self: practice this more!

In to transition and I struggled to get my wetsuit off, but followed others with a sort of 'stampy dance' on top of the wetsuit until it eventually set me free. I hauled on my shorts and vest, stepped in to the race belt, vaseline-d up my thighs (a necessity if you get 'fat-man thigh rub' like me!), helmet on and fastened (word to the wise: the marshalls get very cross if you haven't fastened!!) and trotted down to the bike route.
 
This was the part I was least looking forward to. I'm not a cyclist and have never really taken to cycling the way I seem to have with most other sports. I get a bit bored and just want to stop at pubs for pints all the time, which defeats the purpose, really. But in triathlons it's often the longest part, so I had to suck it up as the thing I needed to do to get from the swimming to the running. So off I went - 2 loops of the course, 15.5km in total. 

I'd guessed that I'd maybe do this in 40-45 mins or maybe slower as I was just using my hybrid commuting bike, which looked super clunky next to all the streamlined road-racers that most had. I just had to finish the cycling and then I could run: head down and pedal! On the way back on the first lap I spotted Josie waving and shouting like the crazed loon she is, which gave me a big boost particularly knowing she'd be there again the second time round. Sure enough, more crazed lunacy ensued! Mostly downhill back to transition from here, I was feeling that the bike leg had gone better than expected - in fact, I later found out I'd completed it in 33.33 mins: result!

I entered transition, racked my bike and swung my number round to the front, having no clue as to how long I'd been going or where I was in relation to anyone else. It's an aspect of triathlon I really like: you have no idea who's racing against you, its really just a race against yourself to push as hard as you can completely blind to the time in many cases, like mine. 

My legs were a bit jelly and, I have to say, 2.5km seemed much further than usual after the swim and bike leg. But I just reminded myself that 2.5km is nothing in the grand scheme of marathons and half marathons, so 'shut up legs' and just keep shuffling. I felt like I was going so slowly, but managed to hold on to the heels of a guy ahead and passed a few people en route.

All the happiness of triathlon captured in one beautiful shot by Josie

Turning the last corner, the finish 'chute' was in sight and so I managed a sprint down the line with some more crazy Josie cheers to see me home, which you can't not smile to!


  I stumbled up to collect my bike, changed and packed up for the 5 mile cycle home. It wasn't until later that night, safely home with the Serpentine waters washed away, that I checked the race results. As I come middle of the road in most running races I just searched for my name and time: 1.02.26. Not knowing what times are good for these things, I thought I'd done ok. Then I looked at the overall women's rankings for the super sprint race: 13th overall and 6th in my age group! What the....?!! 


I'm not quite sure how I pulled that out of the bag given my absolute lack of preparation and, for some aspects, lack of training. I'm not suggesting that the moral of the story is to go out and drink all day and night before a triathlon and don't prepare well enough, but I think that sometimes just being a little easier on yourself and trying to relax can work wonders. 

I really enjoyed my first triathlon and this was a great race to do it - expertly organised, friendly marshals and competitors, and a bloody beaut of a medal!

Tri-bling is the best bling, evidently

Are you in training for your first triathlon? Or are you a well-seasoned triathlete? I'd love to hear your thoughts and tips for the next one!

Katy | City Girl Fit

Race Report: Royal Windsor Trail Half Marathon

This is a race I signed up to after reading an awesome race report from my running bud Laura on last year's event. It sounded perfect for my first trail experience and in many ways it was, with just a few hiccups along the way...

I'll admit that I was a little nervous heading in to this race - since the marathon I've done very little running bar that 'little' 13.1 miles with the boy in Geneva 3 weeks ago. I had, however, done a 10K training session (with Louise Hazel, no less!), and a few sprint, weight and HIIT circuit sessions, mostly because I could feel that jiggly spare tyre round my middle starting to rear it's ugly head. Toto, we're not in marathon training mode any more: we cannot eat ALL the food. Sad face.

On yer bike!

After a grey and all-round miserable Saturday (brightened up only by parkrun volunteering and a lido swim) I was plenty chuffed to wake up to some sunshine bright and early on Sunday morning.

My mate Steph had offered to give me a lift over to Windsor, so I hopped on the bike and pedaled the 5 miles or so over to her pad (wearing my lovely new Lululemon run capris - see left). The ride there was lovely. The way back not so much! Note to self: it is hard to cycle 5 miles over undulating terrain after a half marathon. Lesson learned.

Loo queues

Anyway, arriving at the small event village there was the tell-tale sign of not enough portaloobees - a massive snaking queue.

Fortunately, the event organisers seemed pretty laid back about when you started, with waves going form the start line a short walk on the other side of the river every 5 mins from 8.30-9.00.

Most chilled-out start line EVER!

 Myself, Steph and Steph's mate Liz started in the 8.50 wave and, despite some initial bottle-necking as we all piled on the the narrow trail path, we were cruising along nicely within 10-15 mins.

Most of the race took place along trail paths by the river and it was seriously beautiful. I will definitely be packing my kicks and heading out that way again, race or no race. Be prepared for major house (and boat!) envy though - not sure if I was green with effort or jealousy for most of it.

Sunshine and trails

We had settled in to a steady 9.45-10.00min mile pace and I was feeling good. So good that I decided to kick it a bit and see if I could drop down closer to 9.30, which I'd averaged Geneva... Yup, felt good too. So at half way I decided to go all out and aim for sub-2 hours. Why the hell not?! It was perfect running conditions for me - sun on my back but with a cool enough breeze, and lots of beautiful scenery to make you just fall in love with running all over again.

Just before I went past ALL of these guys :)

I threw on some tunes and actually started singing aloud at one point in a sheer moment of running love. My fellow runners did not share this love - I am not known for holding a great tune - and so quickly piped down, but continued rocking out in my own head, of course.

Unfortunately, it seems that the laid-back attitude of the organisers came at a cost. They apparently didn't set up the start-line timing mats properly and so all the timings were out and only a gun time could be salvaged if you emailed to give your start time. Cue much enragement on Twitter, but not me: I bloody loved this race, I had my TomTom watch of pace-telling genius on which told me I'd just cut it under 2 hours, and ain't nobody was gonna rain on my trail-running parade.

Big smiles and jazz hands: what trail running is all about

Ok, ok, there were a few other not so great things, like the most piss-poor goody bag ever (two leaflets in a plastic bag - say what now?!) and water supplies in low abundance at the finish line. But on the plus side the medal was a beaut!


Despite a few setbacks it had beautiful countryside running, friendly runners, and a flat, beginner trail runner's dream course. If the organisers can iron out the issues for next year then this will definitely be a 10/10 race, and in the immortal words of Arnie: I'll be back!

Katy | City Girl Fit

On giving a little back

Running is a bit of a self-absorbed sport, really. It's ultimately a solo venture and most thoughts revolve around me, myself and I: What will I wear? How will I get there? What time will I do? I'm no exception - I tend to focus on my race and have rarely stopped to appreciate all the people other than runners who are needed to make a race happen. 

Now, having completed some fairly big events, I've come to realise that so many people contribute to the race being a success and to my enjoyment of the run: the marshals on the course who give you that much needed support; the bag drop and pick-up people who, in my experience, have always been super efficient; and you have to give it to the people who sit there cutting people's timing chips off what can only be pretty sweaty and smelly shoes!

Brainstorming at LiRF

That's why I decided that if I'm to take part in an event a month, which seems to be my average at the moment, then maybe I too should give something back to the running community. 

So I took the first step and signed up to take a Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) course, which would enable me to become a run leader for the brilliant charity A Mile in her Shoes. 




The charity encourages women who are at risk of homelessness or affected by related issues to try running as a way of exercising, socialising, lifting confidence and boosting self-esteem. To be able to organise new sessions, however, the charity needs qualified group run leaders, which is where the LiRF course and volunteers - like me - come in.

LiRF is taught by Run England, and takes place over one day where you learn everything, from how to lead the session from warm up to cool down, to how to overcome barriers that people may have with running. It was quite an intense day with lots to take on board and practical sessions to learn the most appropriate way to lead an engaging and useful run session with appropriate care and safety. 

Leah (top) and Charlie (bottom) leading the mini sessions

But it was a really good laugh as well, helped by the fact that two of my run buddies, Charlie and Leah, were also there, as was Charlotte from fab fitness site lunges&lycra. 

We had a fun afternoon in the park with our respective groups, leading mini sessions to demonstrate the skills we had learned throughout the morning. I definitely learned a lot and am looking forward to taking my first group out later this year.


To enable the ladies who attend the sessions to go out and run at these sessions, A Mile in Her Shoes also provide appropriate clothing and footwear, most of which come from donations of kit from the public. If you have unused or worn but in good working order running clothing or shoes then the team would love to hear from you so please get in touch and share what you can.

Give a little back - it'll make you bloody ecstatic!

To keep my 'give a little love' halo shining a little longer, I also decided to volunteer for the first time at my local parkrun in Brockwell Park - a free, weekly, timed 5k run. Unfortunately for me, it was the wettest Saturday morning that London had seen in quite some time and I cycled along to the park in my waterproofs in the driving rain fully expecting nobody to be out to run. How wrong I was! 

Dedicated parkrun runners
in the rain

I was assigned the prestigious role of 'barcode scanner', and loved playing a small part to ensure that the run could go ahead smoothly. 

The runners were so friendly and appreciative of the volunteers, with some specifically coming back over once changed and dry to say thanks again. I enjoyed volunteering so much that I've signed up to do it all again next week! Hopefully the weather gods will be kinder to me this time..



As big races are often on a Sunday I don't tend to run on a Saturday, so volunteering at parkrun it's a good way to rest your legs but still be part of the running community. Why not have a look on the parkrun website and see if your local group needs some help? It's a great opportunity to give a little back and share the running love :)

Katy | City Girl Fit

10k training with the BHF and some athletic superstars

Now that marathon is over (did I mention that I ran a marathon??), I can get back to doing some of the other fun stuff I love to do like swimming, spinning and running shorter distances that 26.2 miles. 

While I love half marathons and they are probably my 'goldilocks' race - just right - I do love a swift 10K. As a beginner runner 10K is a great distance to set your sights on, which is exactly what I did back in the day and worked my way down from about 60 mins to a recent PB of 50.39. Now I've had more experience of longer distances, I realised that 10Ks are a fun distance and great to really sink your teeth in to when it comes to working towards a new PB. 

Post last year's Mo Run 10K - good times!

I've made a decision that, although I will most likely run another marathon in future, I'm not going to chase a marathon PB beyond the 4h23 I ran at London. Not because I don't think that with dedication and commitment I couldn't - I'm sure if I dedicated my life (possibly quite literally!) to it I could - but because I don't want to. I just don't have the time on my hands or the drive to do what is needed to achieve a close-to- or sub-4h marathon. With 10K, however, I have a goal that is clear, definite and - most importantly for me - realistic: sub 50.

Fortunately I have friends who share in this goal AND who are lucky winners of competitions. Enter Josie, who was jammy enough to win a 'you plus one' 10K training session, organised by the British Heart Foundation, with Laura Fountain (of Lazy Girl Running fame) and World Championship heptathlete Louise Hazel. Possibly the best 'plus one' invite I'll ever have!

Smile for the camera!
(My technique is horrible - but let's ignore that for now...)

We rocked up to Regents Park on a sunny April evening and met with the other 4 people who made up the training guinea pigs. We started with a dynamic warm up of jogging, high knees, side-stepping, then a 10 minute warm-up run over to the track that's hidden away at the back of the park. 

Don't get too excited now: it's gravelly, like what you'd have played hockey on at school if you're from my generation - a 'don't fall in it or you'll be picking red grit out your knees for weeks' kind of terrain. But it's oval shaped and almost 400m round. Who needs an exact 400m anyway? If you're sprinting round that then high five to you, even if it is only 379 metres long. PBs for the '800m' all round! I digress.

Laura led us in some sprint sessions, which she suggested we incorporate once a week into our own training plans to help speed us up and hit those 10K goals. Our session was:

4 x 400m at a little below target 10K pace (for me this was around 4.8min/km or 8min/mile) with 90 sec rest between sets
2 x 60m sprint @ 90-100% effort, 150m jog, 60m sprint @ 90-100% effort, 150m jog. No rests between.

It seemed like we were all playing a game of 'stalk Louise Hazel' at times - she was so fast and it looked so effortless! 

The most conspicuous stalkers ever

This was the result:

Trying not to spew. At least Louise Hazel looks a bit puffed too!

As if all that wasn't enough to knacker us out, we then moved back in to the park where Louise took us through our paces with a fast, full-body workout.

Moving from planks, to mountain climbers, to back raises, to side plank, to crunches - there were 15 moves in total and each was completed one after the other, again no rests, for 30 seconds each. Oooft! We all survived though, and my abs reminded me of my effort for at least 3 days after.

Josie and me - being put through our paces by Louise

It was a tough but great session, and reminded me that effective running doesn't always have to be about pounding the pavements for hours. If I want to hit that sub-50 goal then my abs, glutes and arms are going to have to get used to a bit of hard work and pain with some full body workouts. It's a little different to the endless miles of road running I've been used to over the past 6 months, but it's time to shake things up and get this body back in '10k fit' mode. 

Thanks to the BHF for putting on the event, to Louise and Laura for their excellent advice, and to Josie for letting me be her plus one. The BHF have tons of running events going on around the country, so why not get some speed and strength work on the go along with some running sessions and get involved - find out more here. 

All images courtesy of Jordan Curtis Hughes.

Katy | City Girl Fit

Post-marathon 'recovery'

That's it. Nearly 4 weeks has passed since the event that consumed most of my tiny brain since October 2013. London Marathon 2014 has been and gone and real life has resumed.

My super-short London marathon
race recap: thumbs up!

After jotting down the 10 lessons that I learned on marathon day I was planning to write a race report. But then I sat down and thought about what I had to say different from the 35,999 other people who ran the London Marathon. And, to be honest, there wasn't much so I didn't want to bore you all! It was a great day: amazing atmosphere, busy course at points, overwhelming and emotional, and I highly recommend it for the experience alone. 

The London Marathon is organised to function like a well-oiled machine. Unlike me, who functioned like an extremely rusty old machine for the last 10K of the marathon, but I'm putting that down to the fact that: a) I spent the last two weeks of taper in the US consuming copious amount of food and b) it was a marathon - the wheels are supposed to come off around mile 20 otherwise you're doing it wrong (there is no evidence for this, just my own marathoning experiment with an n = 1. Statistically the most poorly powered study, you'll find. But this is my blog, so my 'evidence' it is!)

Other than that, yeah. Not much else to say. I did it and I'm unbelievably proud of myself and extremely grateful for all who donated to my last-minute charity fundraising. You guys rock.

So, what now? 

Well, after having to walk backwards down stairs for a while, and eventually giving in to a sports massage which hurt like hell (in the kinda bad-but-good way) to see me right, I laced the trainers back up and took it easy... Ha! Are you joking? I'm not so good at moderation - no, no. Instead laced up the trainers and headed off last weekend with the Team Naturally Run crew, plus special guest 'the boy', to run the Geneva half marathon. Three weeks after a full marathon. As you do.

This race was booked yonks ago before I truly came to understand what effects the marathon has on your body, but it was the boy's first half marathon attempt so I said I'd be happy to take it a little easier and pace him round in about 2h10.

Running through the Geneva countryside was fantastic (if a little chilly), and there was even a pipe band playing - it seems there are no bounds to the reach of the SNP to get YES votes for the independence referendum:

2h10 was what I told the boy we were aiming for, but I had the glorious watch of pace-telling magic (AKA a TomTom), which meant I was in charge and decided that little white lies about pace were OK in this situation. We settled in to a nice and easy '10min/mile' (read 9.40min/mile) pace for the first 10K. The boy was concerned about the level of people overtaking us but I told him not to worry, to trust the pace and wait and see. 

Smile if you know the pace
we're ACTUALLY doing!

I decided we should kick it up a gear a bit to '9.45min/mile' (9.20min/mile) pace until the final 5k arrived, which is my favourite point of a well-paced half: when you get to overtake everyone who elbowed past at break-neck speed at the 3 mile point. Now ye shall feel my elbows people! Mwahaha! 

Crazed half-marathon 'baddie laugh' over, and at 2h03 mins after crossing the start line we held hands and crossed the finish line together (all together now: ahhhhhh!). Not bad for a boy who hasn't run more than 6 miles in the past few months! Celebration was some weird cereal-y stuff (hmm) and some chocolate marble cake (yes!), plus a hug with what we thought was a giant peanut, but turned out to be a tupperware water bottle...

It's a giant peanut, right?! The orange
thing, I mean - the yellow thing is the boy...

All in - a great race and I discovered that a weekend race-cation is not a bad way to 'recover' from a marathon. Well, that is if you don't count the fact that I now have a stinking cold. But I've decided that these events are NOT related to my weekend running. Again, my blog: my evidence. Albeit that in this case there is none.

So yes, onwards and upwards post-marathon. Despite being worried I'd have nothing to talk about once the marathon was over, I seem to have suitably filled my sporting calendar with enough events to keep me ticking over. Next, it's just that small matter of the triathlon in that I'm signed up for. In THREE WEEKS TIME!! What on earth possessed me to do that?!

Katy | City Girl Fit

Scottish adventures and an early Xmas party

It's been a busy old week for this city girl, but mostly it's been fitness-associated fun!

At the weekend I headed back to Scotland with the boy to visit the parents, which meant fitting in some fitness around home-cooked meals and wine in front of the fire (it's a hard life, eh?!). I headed out for a run in the sun on the Saturday on a nice 5 mile loop from the house through Uddingston and Bothwell. It was a lovely crisp day, and the autumn colours were beautiful.

On the Sunday we went for a walk around Chatelherault country park which has some beautiful ancient oaks and fantastic trails. I've earmarked these for my training runs over the Christmas holidays. It also means that I need some trail shoes, so went for some retail therapy in Glasgow and got some new shoes :)

 

The legs were feeling a bit tight and tired after an 8 hour drive back down from Scotland so on Monday night I decided to do a bit of yoga. It was a cold and wet evening, so didn't fancy heading out, but I remembered that I'd signed up for yogadownload.com. I selected a 20-minute free yoga for runners class, downloaded the audio and pose guide and off I went! The perfect solution for tight hip flexors and calves.

On Tuesday I decided to try out the Nike Training Club at Covent Garden. This class, unlike Nike Town, involved outdoor training rather than on the shop floor! The instructor, Kezia, was really friendly and the class was pretty fun. We jogged from the store down on to the riverside and along to Westminster where we encountered the a mass protest in front of the houses of parliament with hundreds of people wearing the V for vendetta Guy Fawkes masks. Running through that was quite an experience, but we stuck together and found a spot further down the river to do our class. We had six exercises recommended by athletes, ranging from one-legged lunge-hops to squat jumps and modified burpees, each to do hard-out for 1 minute. Then we jogged back to store for some stretches. I really enjoyed this class, particularly taking in the sights of London and seeing the fireworks over the Thames while we worked out. I'm planning to head back on the 19th when my blogger friend Elle will be taking the class - fancy joining? Sign up here.

On Thursday I was invited along to the launch party for Zero Calorie Advent Calendar, a great initiative to have a fat-free Christmas, which is being run by bloggers Mollie, Becca and Christine.


The party was held at Lululemon in Covent Garden, but in true fit-blog fashion we had to earn our prosecco first by taking part in Good Gym. The idea behind Good Gym is that you incorporate doing something good for the community - from helping with a local project to visiting isolated older people - into your fitness session. On the night we ran from the store to Somerset House where we worked as a team to dismantle radiator covers and move some wood for Makerversity.

Afterwards we had a 3km race along the Thames towards Tate Modern before heading back for some well-earned prosecco and cake! The chosen charity for Zero Calorie Advent Calendar is A Mile In Her Shoes - a great charity that supports women in crisis by helping them to get fit and stay healthy. If you have any old trainers or sports clothes then get in touch with these guys and they'd be happy to take them off your hands!

It was great to see some friendly faces down at the launch party, as well as meeting some people in real life for the first time such as #sub50project runner Sian. Mollie, Becs and Christine have done such a great job to pull the event and calendar together and I can't wait until December to begin the countdown to Christmas! It'll be helped along all the more with the lovely goodies and free classes in our goody bags - looking forward to trying out Good Vibes studio in particular.

Marathon training took a back seat this week - was great to do some fun things other than just run. Next week I start to build up the miles again though!

How is your marathon training going? Have you started yet or still in the planning stages?

Katy | City Girl Fit

Living in the trees with peacocks: a secret country hideway

After my half marathon adventures I headed out to East Sussex with the boy for some country-style R&R! Being Scots we miss the green stuff and fresh air, and need our regular fix or we resort to Mel Gibson-esque blue-face-painted warriors screaming something about freedom. Not pretty for anyone...

We had booked one of the eco lodges at Fair Oak Farm after reading a great review online, and we were not disappointed. Our home for the next three nights was small but perfectly formed wooden lodge on stilts, built in to the trees and situated on an ancient tree line.

Eco Lodge at Fair Oak Farm. Boy not included.

Not only was it absolutely gorgeous inside and out, but the farm had some lively residents in the form of five or so peacocks, one of whom had just had three chicks! When Penny, the owner of the farm, showed us to our lodge she mentioned that we might hear some tapping, but "that'll just be the peacocks!" haha - we laughed - very funny! She wasn't wrong... before long we had these two guests at the door:

Darling, there's some peacocks at the door...

That view (sometimes with peacocks, sometimes without) was what we woke up to every morning. Some mornings we just sat in bed with a coffee marvelling at the view, it was so beautiful.

The weather was fairly grim over our stay - typical after the glorious summer we've just had! - but we managed a few country/hillside walks in the area, and there were some paths with signposts around (although without a map it's not that intuitive, so we will definitely take one next time!). We also ventured to Bodiam Castle, a 14th century moated castle that's only a 30 minute drive away from the lodges. It's quite something to behold...

The lodges have a small but perfectly formed kitchen for all your self catering needs, but we ate out one night at the nearby (10 minute drive away) Middle House Hotel - a perfect, traditional country style pub with a great atmosphere and rustic, hefty portions of locally sourced food. What more could you ask for?

We loved our stay, and are already planning our return trip. With various self-catering options from the lodges to 6-person barnhouses, we might even let our friends in on the secret and invite them along! These lodges really are a hidden gem, so shhh!, don't tell anyone...

Katy | City Girl Fit

We paid for our trip to Fair Oak Eco Lodges and all opinions are my own.