How are you feeling about things getting back to normal after COVID-19? For my part, I know that the risk hasn’t gone away, and it makes me nervous. I’m not quite ready to head to the nearest crowded beach (although I’m happy to find the less crowded ones), nor go and rub shoulders with the masses in the local eateries. I am, by nature, someone who likes to be out ‘doing things’ though. I work all week, and the weekend is my time to enjoy time with my daughter, doing things together.

It’s this mindset that has me seeking out potential local days out at the moment with the following criteria:

• Outdoors (I’m not yet comfortable wandering around busy shops)
• Within easy driving distance
• Plenty of space for social distancing
• Attractions to entertain a 2 year old

Which is why I decided to go to Sewerby Hall and Gardens. Sewerby Hall is a beautiful Georgian manor house which sits just outside of Bridlington and which has fabulous gardens as well as a small zoo. Rather than going at the weekend though, when I suspected it would be busy, I took a day off work for us to go and thankfully, the weather smiled on us.

We started with a picnic in the car (which also seems to be a new thing we do to avoid buying pre-prepared food in cafes), before taking a nice meander through the grounds. I had decided previously that we wouldn’t actually go in the Hall itself as that breaks my ‘indoors’ criteria, but the fee to enter is the same irrespective, but at £6.20 for an adult and £4.20 for a child, it’s good value whether you visit the hall or not.

Our first port of call was the zoo. A compact zoo with Penguins, Cappucin Monkeys and goats, amongst other animals, to pique the little lady’s interest. There’s a one way system in place to walk around the zoo, and I have to say, people were in general being quite sensible and considerate.

Little miss was most enamoured of the little monkeys, and we had to stay at that enclosure for quite some time while she joyfully pointed and exclaimed “Monkey’s Mummy”. I’d say she enjoyed it. Despite its fairly small size, it still took us an hour to go around as there are enough animals that a 2 year old will want frequent stops to admire.

There was a cafe on site, and by now, I was craving coffee. I checked it out and the queue was being managed appropriately with a strict one family in the cafe at any one time with masks on, and all food and drinks to be taken away. So I bought a coffee and sat outside in the sunshine to enjoy it. One could even think there was some normality to life sitting out there in those beautiful surroundings, coffee in hand! These are the things I find myself craving these days.

Afterwards, it was round to the gardens. Vast spaces which invited little miss to run and run and run to her heart’s content. Her joy at seeing a squirrel (which she tried to chase but the squirrel wasn’t hanging around for that) was fabulous to see.

We admired the beautiful landscaped gardens with their giant monkey trees leading to the most stunning of walled gardens. Little miss loves flowers at the best of times, even a daisy is a thing of awe to her, so you can imagine what she was like with all that colour and texture, and of course, the bees. I must say, I was enthralled myself and could have happily spent a whole day just sitting in that beautiful meditative space.

We finished off our day in the rose gardens. By now we were pretty tired from all the walking around the garden spaces, so after sitting for a while and admiring the beautiful display of glorious roses (which reminds me, I must go and water my own roses in this heat or they will simply wither away and I will never have a display like a country retreat) it was time to head back to the car for the drive home.

Sewerby was a beautiful day out. I would like to return when things are really back to normal so that I could go inside the Hall itself. I do love a country pad, but even without going inside, it’s nice to know that a 45 minute drive will take me and the little lady to a glorious space that we can enjoy, relatively care free.