Combermere Abbey is a special place for us. We’ve been four times now and we gave our best friends a voucher for their 30th birthdays. We’ve stayed at Stone Lodge, the old gatekeepers cottage at the bottom of the drive, three times now, and each time has been significant. It’s the cottage in the picture at the top.

Our first visit to Stone Lodge was for a few days after Christmas when I’d just gone on my antidepressants. I spent most of the time sleeping. The second was just before I returned to work after having Soph. I did spent a significant amount of time crying! And this time seemed poignant too; as I settle into ASSF and Nathan turns a page in his ministry, it was a very special place to be yet again.

I can’t tell you what it is exactly about Combermere that we love so much. It could be all those memories, all that time spent in peace and quiet and comfort when life has been tricky. We have been looking forward to it so much, counting down the days and the hours, and when we got there, it absolutely did not disappoint.

On Saturday morning, we went into nearby Nantwich for their farmers market and Christmas Tree Festival. I love a market, so when we go away, one of the first things we do is look at when the markets are. We had a good look round, picking up locally made pork pies, cheese and other tasty treats. It was then that we saw an advert for a free minature steam engine at the local methodist church. Well, we found it and it was brilliant!

There were two young lads helping as well as older church members welcoming, driving, giving out tickets and stamping them. Because it was free people were, of course, tripping over themselves to make a donation. After doing a bit of research, I’ve seen that they have space for prams and wheelchairs, so even more people can join in. We were so impressed with the train that we joined them for worship on Sunday morning.

We also enjoyed the Christmas Tree Festival at the anglican church, St Mary’s, organised by a local hospice. It was absolutely heaving, and it is clearly such a great opportunity!

On Sunday lunch, we had a Yorkshire pudding stuffed roast beef, stuffing, onions and gravy from local bakery chain, Chatwins. We sat by the war memorial where Sophia’s Great Great Great Great Uncle’s name is. She crunched through the leaves on the nearby grass and had a brilliant time. I like to think GGG Uncle Charles would have liked that.

Since we were last at Combermere, there were a couple of new additions nearby, namely the Piggery Cafe, which does delicious breakfasts, and Three Wrens Gin, which houses a gin school and distillery, as well as a bar to sit and enjoy a drink. I had a wonderful hour to myself, sampling a couple of gins as Nathan watched Sophia back at the cottage. It was lovely!

But there were many gorgeous moments with Sophia too. We went to a Toddler Swim with rapids and lots of interesting slides and floats, which she loved. We also found an imaginative play cafe with a library, shop, vets, ice cream parlour and a stage! Soph made friends with some other children and they made up plays on the stage.

My favourite day though, was the Wednesday we stayed on site. In the welcome pack, Combermere suggest that guests have a day where they explore the grounds and ‘give the car a holiday’. We have managed this every other time, but I was dubious as to whether we’d manage it with our super active little hurricane who likes to be entertained! But in the end, between the main cottages and the Piggery, we found a long dirt track with loads of puddles and she was entertained for ages! She must have walked a good couple of miles that day so the rest of the time she was happy to chill in front of the fire and TV.

Speaking of the fire, I think my favourite bit about Stone Lodge is the fire. It’s shaped a bit like church windows, as much of the details in the cottage are. It just says,’Come on in, relax and stop a while’ to me. It’s been a while since our last break, and summer was difficult for a few reasons, not least Nathan’s needing to use crutches and a mobility scooter. So a week at the beautiful Comberemere Abbey was a most welcome pause before the chaos of Christmas appears!