My 2017 Travel Round Up

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2017 has been epic for a whole host of reasons (which I'll be sharing tomorrow), but one of my favourite things about this year has been how much I've been able to travel. I've definitely squeezed more travel into this last 12 months than I've ever managed before, from local UK breaks, to adventures in Europe and a week in my favourite city, New York.

Today I thought I'd put together my 2017 travel round up - I love writing these posts because they're really fun to look back on in years to come, and hopefully it might inspire some of your 2018 travels too! Here goes...

January

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tower of london

Sam and I kicked off our 2017 travels with a little weekend trip to London in January. I travel to London a lot for work but it's rare that I get to spend time in the capital for fun, so this was a real treat. We stayed at the CitizenM Tower of London hotel which was dreamy, and spent the weekend drinking fancy cocktails, eating Shake Shack burgers and exploring in the sunshine. It was so much fun that we're heading back again in March for another indulgent weekend in the Big Smoke!

February

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learning to live in the moment more

February marked our first flights of the year as we headed off to Berlin for 4 days. Our trip was originally planned around a gig that we had tickets for, but sadly the tour was cancelled a few weeks before we arrived. Thankfully we still had an ace time - we ticked some sights off the list that we'd missed on our previous trip, hung out with friends and consumed A LOT of seriously good food and drinks.

March

March was a quieter month on the ol' travel front, but we did squeeze in a long weekend in Anglesey. The purpose of the trip was to crack on with wedding planning, but we also managed to show my family a couple of the island's best sights too!

April

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fun things to do in london

Things ramped up again in April with three trips taking me to different parts of the UK. First up was another trip to Anglesey, this time in the sunshine! We had a lovely weekend and I was inspired to write this little guide to North Wales - a lot of you have since messaged me to say that it inspired you to make a trip to the island which makes me SO happy as it's one of my favourite places in the world. I also squeezed in a lovely weekend in London with the girls and went glamping here in Yorkshire with all my very best ladies to celebrate my hen do which was so much fun.

May

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amsterdam city guide

May was the month I spent a brilliant weekend in Amsterdam with two of my favourite blogging ladies, Beverley and Sam. We booked this on a total whim in between Christmas and New Year, and fun fact: Beverley and I had never hung out with Sam IRL before until we all met in Amsterdam airport! We had such a good time and it was honestly just what I needed - we ate brunch, drank cocktails on a rooftop bar and wandered along the pretty canals.

June/July

new york holiday diary

new york holiday diary

June and July were busy old months as we only went and got married! We were back in Anglesey for our wedding and had a brilliant time sharing the island with our family and friends - especially as the weather decided to play ball too. We then hopped on a flight to our favourite place, New York, where we spent 8 brilliant days in the city. We soaked up the sunshine, ate some incredibly good food and generally indulged our newly wedded bliss!

August

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a love letter to madrid

I think August tends to be a busy travel month for most people and we were no different! We spent a lovely weekend in the Lake District to celebrate Sam's 30th birthday and had a great time - I definitely want to explore this part of the world more next year. Then at the end of the month, we headed to the South of France to celebrate my friends wedding and were lucky enough to tag on stays in Toulouse and Madrid to the trip. Madrid was a particular highlight and quickly became one of my favourite cities.

September

manchester northern quarter

manchester northern quarter

We kept things closer to home in September, with another trip to sunny Anglesey and a weekend spent exploring Manchester's Northern Quarter. It was this trip to Manchester that sparked my desire to spend more time in the city, which is funny to look back on now as I'll be starting my new job there next week!

October

how to spend a weekend in bilbao

how to spend a weekend in bilbao

October saw us back in sunnier climes with a little trip to Bilbao and San Sebastián. Both were cities I've been dying to visit for years and neither disappointed! We explored the amazing Guggenheim museum and ate Michelin star quality food in Bilbao, before soaking in the gorgeous sea air in San Sebastián. I think this may have been my favourite trip of the year, and it's one I've recommended over and over again.

November

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rudding park

All of that brings us nicely to November, when we rounded off our year of travel with a few more UK jaunts. First up was a night a the UH-mazing Rudding Park Hotel (which you all need to visit ASAP), and then we headed up for a festive weekend in Edinburgh which was so much fun. In fact, we had such a good time that we've vowed to head back to Scotland in 2018!

December

10 favourites this week

10 favourites this week

If you've read this post then you'll know that I decided not to travel in December, and after recounting all of the travels we've enjoyed this year, I think you can probably see why!

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So there you have it, my 2017 travel review. I have thoroughly enjoyed every single trip I've taken this year and I can't wait to see what adventures 2018 brings.