West Dean Gardens sit in the heart of the West Sussex countryside, just a few miles north of Chichester. Here you’ll find acres of beautifully maintained gardens and an arboretum to explore, but it’s the walled garden I wanted to see.

Inside those walls I lost track of time as I wandered around Victorian glasshouses and cold frames, kitchen gardens, cutting gardens and orchards. The incredibly friendly and well informed gardeners actively encourage you to enter and browse the glasshouses and were happy to chat and answer our questions.

The restaurant is nicely styled, comfortable and, most importantly, served excellent coffee and a lot of good cake. It was a happy spot to linger before we wandered into the shop to buy a couple of plants to take home with us.

You could spend an hour or a day here, it’s lovely – especially in early summer – when the wildflowers are in bloom and everything is verdant and green.

Images by Gillian Roe

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Leeds city centre is chock full of gorgeous cafes, but so often it’s a different story when you head out of town to the suburbs. And so the rumours of new independent cafe only five minutes from my house were cause for some excitement, and I had very high hopes when I visited Mill Kitchen in Farsley.

It sits on the corner of a busy local high street, surrounded by steep hills and old-fashioned shops built in the local Yorkshire stone. Inside, you are greeted by an airy, spacious room with an abundance of space and light. Its name refers to the old textile mill on whose site it sits, and the reclaimed tables, vintage chairs and other industrial touches are a nice nod to the building’s history.

The coffee, I am pleased to report, is excellent. As are the breakfasts. And the lunches. And the cakes. You see, I’ve been going there rather a lot! My absolute favourite thing to order is ‘Baked Beans’ for £4.50: toasted sourdough bread, topped with homemade slowcooked beans, topped with a poached egg and scattered with chorizo.

For lunch, I love the £5 salad plate – five generous spoonfuls of different types of salad, all made in their kitchen that day. The selection of freshly made cakes is also fabulous. It also operates as a deli, selling local produce, fresh and ambient, and artisan breads are delivered daily. Oh, and as if it wasn’t perfect enough already, they have a lovely selection of well chosen cookery books for you to browse or buy, while you wait for your food.

Images by Gillian Roe

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One the the best things about autumn has to be walking in the woods. The crunch and rustle of leaves of a dry, sunny day, or the squelch of mud on a wet one, I love it all. And that earthy smell of rotting vegetation and damp air, just tinged with woodsmoke, so particular to this time of year, has me reaching for my wellies and hat.

Otley Chevin has become a firm family favourite for woodland walks. It lies about ten miles north of Leeds, just a mere thirty-minute car journey away, yet you feel like you are out in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales. The Chevin is a large wooded ridge with wonderful views north to the market town of Otley and the Wharfe Valley.

One of the reasons we love it so much is the way you get the best of both worlds; that feeling of being deep undercover amid hundreds of trees, then suddenly coming to a break in the woods and seeing the most staggering vista in front of you.

It’s lovely in spring and summer too, of course, but there is something really special about the Chevin when it’s cold, when you can walk for as little or as long as you want, watching the kids get muddy and climb trees, when you can see winter skies through the bare trees, and then pile into the car afterwards and go home for hot chocolate.

Images by Gillian Roe

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It was the first day of our holiday in Cornwall and we were in St Ives. I’d primed the kids on the way: “It’s mummy’s holiday too, you know, we won’t be in there all day,” and was expecting moans of “Can we go now?” throughout our visit. But, honestly, I don’t know when I’ve ever had a more positive and child-friendly gallery experience.

As soon as we arrived at Tate St Ives the friendly and helpful staff gave the four children in our party an activity sheet with the promise of a wristband or badge on completion. A genius idea, it motivated the kids and really made all of us pay closer attention to everything we saw. It’s not a huge space, an hour is probably long enough to enjoy the exhibits, but it’s a rich, distinctive collection of art. Small but perfectly formed.

As you walk around the gallery each window provides perfectly framed vistas across Porthmeor Beach, but the best views are in the cafe on the top floor, with it’s gallery area and roof terrace. The food is local and excellent, and very family friendly indeed. We ended up staying a little longer than I’d promised the kids, but they didn’t mind, they had ice cream.

Images by Gillian Roe

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Everyone who’s heard of Saltaire has heard of Salt’s Mill (that huge old industrial building which now houses a beautiful retail and gallery space), but there’s an awful lot going on in the village itself which often goes unnoticed.

Steeped in Victorian history and as picture-perfect as a place gets, Saltaire is  now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Think row after row of pretty terraced houses built from local stone, narrow cobbled roads, and back alleys filled with geraniums in pots and lines of washing flapping in the breeze. But the village is not a museum, no, it’s alive and thriving, buzzing with residents, students and tourists alike.

A wander up the main street will reward you with some fantastic vintage shopping (although bear in mind that most shops are open Wednesday to Sunday) and a lot of opportunities for some leisurely browsing. Rad Studio is well worth a visit with its gorgeous selection of design-led homewares and gifts. There are bakeries, cafes, an ice cream parlour, bars and restaurants, with Don’t Tell Titus being a local favourite for lunches and drinks.

Victorian town planners loved their parks and Robert’s Park – and the ‘ice cream barge’ that is always moored there – doesn’t disappoint. It has wide open spaces by the water’s edge, a bandstand, manicured gardens and some of the prettiest park benches I ever saw, plus a huge playground for the little ones. It’s an ideal spot for a picnic on a sunny day.

You see, there is so much more to Saltaire than people realise. Next time you visit, walk up the hill into the heart of the village, towards the shops and houses, towards the hustle and bustle of a thriving community. You wont be sorry you did.

Images by Gillian Roe

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Now, I’m not a Londoner, so whenever I visit our capital city I let others lead the way so that we don’t all end up lost and bored. While recently staying with friends in the city during possibly the wettest week ever, I was quite surprised when someone suggested going to a National Trust garden at Morden Hall Park. In the rain, I thought? Really? But I’m so glad I did because otherwise I’d never have discovered it and I think this place is worth visiting in spring or summer, in rain or shine – not least for the spectacular roses.

It is an absolute gem of a garden. It’s one of those hidden spots just off a very busy South London main road that you could so easily drive past; one of those tucked away places, all greenness and silence, which make you forget you’re in the city and feel calm and serene.

Do what we did and go on a rainy day armed with wellies and raincoats; go for the puddle jumping, for the miles of buggy and toddler friendly pathways, free of traffic; go for baked potatoes, homemade cakes and a cup of tea in the cafe afterwards when you need to dry off; just go so that you can be in the fresh air rather than inside a shopping centre.

Or (and this is what I plan to do next time we’re in that neck of the woods) go on a sunny day; go armed with sun cream and sit on a bench and people watch; go with a blanket and a book and nowhere else to be for the next two hours; go with a picnic hamper and a  football and have a family day out. Just go, because if a place is this delightful on a wet Wednesday, then just imagine how delicious those roses will look and smell in the heat of high summer.

Images by Gillian Roe

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