10 Beautiful UK Destinations to Visit this Autumn

30.9.21

The end of summer brings a feeling of sadness and longing to a lot of people. The days start to get shorter again, and those long sun filled days are quickly taken over by the rain and chilly evenings. But it is hard to deny that autumn is also a wonderfully beautiful time of year. From mid-September to the end of October, the landscape is full of crimson and golden yellow colours from the leaves that fall from the trees, and there are plenty of autumn treasures to find on woodland walks. It's a great time to get those wellies on and get exploring! In this post I'm going to share 10 fantastic spots from all over the UK, that I think you should try and explore this Autumn.


Faskally Wood, Perthshire, Scotland

Perthshire is famous for it's huge trees - having around 25 species including the Scots pine - and you can find lots of these whilst enjoying a walk in Faskally Wood. It is a charming destination for autumn as the colours and the natural landscape offers visitors an unforgettable experience, while the bright lights and musical performances, make the nights take a magical form.

Marbury Country Park, Cheshire, North West England

Located in the heart of the Northwich Community in woodland part of the Mersey Forest, Marbury Country Park has plenty of explore and enjoy. The blonde shades that the unique autumn landscape of the area will give you will force you to photograph it a dozen times till you get that perfect shot.

New Forest, Hampshire, Southern England

The ancient woodlands of New Forest National Park cover over 50 acres. You can discover the impressive sequoias planted in the late 1850s, as well as elder, beech, chestnut and many other varieties of trees. Take the path with the tall trees under the iconic conifers on the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive - one of the most beautiful places to experience the image of vibrant autumn shades, which are at their best at the New Forest Hiking Festival in October. Make sure to always keep an eye out for the famous New Forest ponies too!


Richmond Park, London, England

Escape the city and enjoy the rich autumn colours by cycling or walking in Richmond Park, at a time when the old oaks seem to be painted in bright orange. Richmond is one of the largest royal parks in London and is actually three times larger than Central Park in New York! You will likely discover wild animals living among the autumn leaves too, since Richmond has been a deer park since 1637.

Bodnant Gardens, Colwyn Bay, Wales

Bodnant Gardens boast a magnificent location overlooking Snowdonia's Carneddau Mountains, with its most impressive sites being the majestic chestnut trees, a waterfall and a deep valley with tall trees. October is the best month to enjoy the shades of the season and find plenty of autumnal treasures amongst the leaves..

Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest, Kent, South East England

Located in the 'Garden of England', Bedgebury is the place to find the finest coniferous trees in the world. Most of these species come from all over the world, and you will see trees from California, Scotland and even Taiwan along your walk. If you are looking for something a little more adventurous, you can climb, balance, and zip the treetops at Go Ape Bedgebury, or if you're visiting with little ones, there is a fantastic play trail, easy bike paths as well as the Gruffalo Spotters Trail to enjoy. 


Mount Stewart, County Down, Northern Ireland

The majestic house is surrounded by one of the National Trust's most unusual gardens. The warm climate of Strangford Lough lagoon favours the growth of exotic plants, which has led parts of the garden to look very much like parts of the Mediterranean. In October, Mount Stewart guides take guests on an autumn walk in the bronze colours of the garden.

Stourhead, Wiltshire, South West England

The world-famous 18th-century Stourhead Gardens, which include classic temples, a pond and a vaulted cave, were described as a 'living work of art' when they first opened in 1740. The reflection of the trees in the lake with all their golden glow is an incredible spectacle and something not to be missed in the autumn months.

Kew Gardens, London, England

Just 20 minutes from the city centre, Kew Gardens is home to some of the rarest plant species in the world. If you wish to learn more, then why not sign up to enjoy one of their organised excursions and tree identification courses - perfect for budding gardeners or plant lovers!

Westonbirt National Arboretum, Gloucestershire, South West England

The Westonbirt Arboretum was created in the mid-19th century and is home to around 15,000 species from around the world. The serene oasis is perfect to explore from late September to November; however, October is generally the best time to visit the place when maple is at its best. There are 17-mile trails along the 600-acre area, which is divided into three main areas: the Old Arboretum, the ancient Silk Wood Forest and Downs Meadow. 


Of course in order to be able to enjoy all these incredible autumn landscapes, you will need to have a reliable car to get you there. If however, you don't have a car of your own, then the ideal choice for you is to focus on choosing a rental car from a reputable company such as Enjoy Travel, that will transport you safely and comfortably all over the UK. Let me know if you get to enjoy any of these beautiful locations this autumn!

This is a collaborative post.

Top Tips to Ensure you're Working to your Full Potential from Home!

11.9.21

If you own your own home business or are now working from home, you will want to find ways the maximise your efficiency and keep yourself working to your full potential . Working from home can result in your feeling disengaged from the company you work for, or cause you to feel lonely and / or unmotivated. However, there are many ways you can post your enthusiasm and find ways through those through periods. In this post I'm going to share four ways to help you combat these issues, to ensure you succeed whilst working from home.


Dress the Part

Even if no one is going to see you all day, psychologically, it is better if you dress the part. This is because the whole process of getting ready and dressed will put you into work mode and can definitely give you a little spring in your step to start the day! There's nothing worse than sitting in your pyjamas for a long work day - you definitely won't feel productive this way. You will most likely have many face-to-face meetings virtually anyway, so making sure you're dressed correctly is best practice.

Create a Home Office

Ideally you will want to have a room dedicated to work, or at least a dedicated corner of a room to call your home office, which is free from distractions. You may want to put your personal mobile away while you're working too, maybe in a different room to help stop the temptation of looking at it! Decent home office desks are a must; try to position your desk so that you're near a window to help with natural light. Be sure to check the desk and chair you have are suitable for extended hours of sitting, as you do not want to end up with a long lasting injury or pain from bad posture. 

Have a Structure to your Day

Try to keep to your regular working day schedule as much as possible - if you used to wake up, shower, and then have breakfast by a certain time, try to stick to this routine (although you may be able to benefit from those few extra minutes in bed). It is far better to have a regular structure to your day, as you will be able to work more effectively. Getting up whenever you want to eat or stretch your legs would not happen in the office environment, so try not to get into bad habits at home. BUT do make sure to take regular breaks for lunch and getting some fresh air - you'll need it!

Stay in Regular Contact

If you are in a situation where you are working remotely, ensure you maintain regular contact to stay connected with the company you work for. This can be done in a variety of different ways, for example a daily call, or an open instant messenger chat with one or several of your colleagues, where you can quickly throw a question is another. Zoom meetings are a great way to see colleagues face-to-face, and although you don't have to be on screen, it can be good to see some familiar faces. The more connected and in touch you can be, the better you will feel.

This is a collaborative post.

7 Marketing Tips to Really Engage your Audience

2.9.21

To achieve success in any business, you need to make sure that you are highly focused on the marketing that you are using to do so. This is something that can be easier said than done, but it is absolutely necessary to try to make it true for you and your business. One of the main qualities of good marketing is that it finds a way to connect with the audience powerfully. If you are curious as to how to achieve that more effectively then hopefully this post should help. Here are some of the things to focus on in order to make sure that your marketing will really engage your audience well.


Know your Buyers

One of the most important considerations in all this is to make sure that you know your buyers inside out. This means that you are fully aware of what kind of personal they tend to have, as well as what they tend to respond to well. And this of course just comes down to one thing - research. The more that you research your consumers, the more you are going to know about them, and the more thoroughly and easily you can direct your marketing to make sense to them! It’s important that you don’t just focus on your target audience though. It is much more important to know who your actual audience is, as this is much more important.

Use Social Media

It can’t really be overstated just how important social media is to a contemporary business’ marketing efforts. With so many people on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, it’s just where you need to go if you want to get in touch with as many people as possible. If you are looking for higher engagement levels with your audience, social media has to be a central part of your campaigns.

But how you use these sites is just as important as the fact that you do, so you need to make sure that you are doing all you can to use them right. That means adopting a voice that you know will go down well with the particular audience you have, and doing all you can to actively engage and interact with those people using that branded voice. You should also be linking back to your website wherever it makes sense to as well. Playing the social media game is going to really help you out in the long run, and will ensure that you have a much more engaged audience.

Be Unique

Branding and marketing more broadly are often all about being as unique as possible. As long as you are able to show what makes you special / different as a brand and as a business, you should find that you are much more likely to make things a true success. Of course this is why you have to design a brand to stand out, and it is not just something that happens by accident: you have to really work at it, looking at what design gaps there are in brands in the marketplace and doing all you can to make yours as unique as possible.

Focus on Interactivity

Make sure you try and interact with your audience, and not merely focus on one-way communication. The more that you interact with your audience, the more engaging your marketing material is going to be for them. Interact with people as people, rather than just think of marketing as pasting up a message and then leaving it for people to see. Increasingly it is interactive marketing which sells.

This can take the form of polls and quizzes online for example, which are immediately attractive to a lot of people and can be a powerful way to subtly get your brand across. Or it can be live video, a mode which many companies make use of these days and which can work very well in creating a sense of intrigue around the business. For that you will want to use a professional video production company rather than just trying to produce the video yourself, to ensure the highest possible quality at all times.


Answer Customer Questions

In the age of information, what people really thirst for is the answers to their questions. If you can give it to them in the form of interesting branded content, then you are going to find that you can engage with them in a much more powerful way indeed. Think about and research all of the common questions that people ask relating to your area of expertise or industry, and then it’s about compiling clear, sensible and well-formatted answers to those questions, in such a way that you are able to get your webpage right up there at the top of the results pages. This allows for a greater audience engagement, and it empowers your business to achieve so much more.

Consistency and Trust

Better and fuller engagement comes only if you are allowing your customers to really trust you, so this is something that you are going to want to think about too. Trust is only ever earned so therefore it is important to try and find a way to do so, and the best way you do that with marketing is by making your brand and your voice as consistent as possible. With greater consistency comes much more trust, and the ability to engage with your audience more powerfully and directly comes from that in turn.

To be consistent, it helps to have a style guide that all of your employees know to follow. This will cover everything from which colours to use to what kind of voice you are going to employ on social media, and it is one of the most powerful tools you can have.

Social Listening

Social listening is all about going where the engagement already is, where the conversation is already happening. It’s about seeking out people talking about your brand already, and inserting yourself into it. This helps in a few ways: it cuts out a lot of the work in trying to build conversation, and it allows you to actively show your brand in whatever light you like. It works well on social media, in response to people’s threads and conversations, and you should definitely start doing it if you aren’t already. It could be one of the best changes you ever make to your marketing. Twitter is a great place to benefit from this!


This is a collaborative post.