Landrover

A Mother’s Day Weekend in The Lakes with Land Rover

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We love, love, love Land Rover (I literally can’t remember life before my red Range Rover Evoque), and as a brand, Land Rover has been a firm favourite within my extended family, for years.

We’re currently considering a second family car so a collaboration with Land Rover testing their brand new luxurious 7 seater SUV Discovery on a weekend away over Mother’s Day, came at exactly the right time for us.

Particularly as we’re considering expanding our family in the future and the Discovery easily fits three children in the back. Now let’s take a moment to admire this beautiful car:

Land Rover Discovery-stunning car

Land Rover Discovery seven seater

First off, apologies for the spoiler so early on in the post but I have to kick things off by saying we all fell completely head over heels for the Discovery, so much so, it was hard to hand her back after our weekend away. Weep.

Have you seen a dreamier car, though?

Land Rover Discovery parked with lights on and the most incredible sunset behind with pink skies

It’s now firmly top of the wishlist as the ideal new car for us. We’d quite like to move to the Lake District too if we can, ideally in a house opposite Lake Windermere so we can admire this perfect sunset every night. #Lifegoals or what?

Discovery overlooks Lake Windermere with a beautiful sunset in the distance

Much larger than the Evoque, the Discovery felt like the Mama car to my baby; it was spacious, super smooth to drive with state-of-the-art tech and interiors within, taking all of the stress out of family travel for the most relaxed and comfortable ride ev-er.

kids sit in the back of the Land Rover Discovery

..Before our trip, we took some time to allow the kids to plan me a special Mother’s Day weekend away and with a little help from my husband Peter, and I, they printed photos and maps and even drew pictures of what an ideal trip looks like for them.

children plan a weekend break, drawing their ideal trip

4 year old boy, smiling

boy draws

Loving the concentration!

child draws with a purple felt tip

drawing

child ponders what to draw

child thinks about his dream weekend away and how to draw it

boy on the computer

 

Credits for photos and the map we printed and used in our activities: (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ravenglass_and_Eskdale_Railway_River_Irt.png,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ullswater_Steamer._-_geograph.org.uk_-_182541.jpghttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Muncaster_Castle1.jpg,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A591_road,_Lake_District_-_June_2009_Edit_1.jpghttp://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright).

My kids adore travelling and luckily, thanks to my blogging career, they’ve seen a fair bit of the world, yet this was the first time they’ve had the opportunity to plan a trip themselves. They loved having a say in what we’d be getting up to on a weekend away and we’ll definitely be getting them involved more, in the future.

Xander was incredibly excited for our holiday and kept telling me over and over, that he’d like to move into a hotel! You and me, both, son!

Oliver announced that he wanted to visit a castle on our trip so he could play ‘Knights’ with Xander in the grounds.

Xander plumped for his happy place in the planning stage: the seaside, saying he wanted to collect pebbles and shells whilst we were away.

Like me, he loves nothing more than to be by the sea, both here and abroad.

Having not visited the Lake District for years, (it was actually where Peter and I went for our second honeymoon after we got married in South Africa) this sentimental place for us would mean even more, returning with our children in tow and gorgeous new wheels of course!

We opted for Lancaster, Windermere and Kendal as key areas to visit and stay in, which would tick all of the boys’ boxes, above.

Setting off from Leeds to The Lakes, the outward journey was the longest I’ve personally driven in years. Thankfully, the Discovery drives like a complete dream, making the two hours go by in a flash, making every minute behind the wheel a real pleasure.

steering wheel-Discovery

The in control infotainment system in the Discovery also meant that the kids watched a movie on the way there and could listen to their favourite music when it ended, before they fell asleep.

There was tons of space in the back for our luggage (this family never travels light, however hard we try) and other stand-out features included the Park Assist mode which made parking easy as pie, and the air con and heating in the seats, along with a heated steering wheel making for the the most comfortable and luxurious ride imaginable.

So much of a trip’s success is down to the mode of transport and this one made it a complete joy.

Here are the key features of this babe of a car in greater detail:

  • Electronic Boot Lid – Perfect for we juggling parents. When you have children, bags and everything else in your hands, wave your foot under the sensor of the boot and it automatically opens.
  • Park Assist (reverse parking which is actually my favourite) will never cause issues again.
  • 360 Park Distance Control (smart technology analyses potential parking spaces and manoeuvres the vehicle into place for you).
  • Leisure key & app
  • Electric Deployable Tow Bar (in case you go sailing or horse riding).
  • Sunroof (two sunroofs make you feel super cool when the rays are out).
  • 1.5 litre bottle holder in the armrest (so useful for long drives and there’s lots of storage for snacks too).
  • Intelligent Seat Fold – you can fold down the seats for ease of packing using the app on your phone. It’s also a 7-seater if you don’t use the boot making it ideal for bigger families or when you give others a lift.
  • Activity Key – You can wear the activity key around your wrist and use it to lock or unlock the car if you don’t want to carry the keys and the band is fully waterproof.
  • In Control Infotainment (Sat Nav and DVD player to keep the kids entertained).

inside the Land Rover Discovery

infotainment system in the Land Rover

Land Rover Discovery

Discovery

chairs in the seven seater Land Rover Discovery
Meridian Surround Sound in the Discovery

boot of the Discovery

The Discovery

TV Land Rover

Here’s a little tour video I made of the car too so you can check it out in moving image.

Please note, this video may contain some features that are optional and available at an extra price.

During the weekend away, Peter and I took it in turns to drive as we toured the area, often picking up food for picnics, two in fact we actually enjoyed in the car. As you can tell, if we could have moved in, we would have done.

boys have a picnic in the back of the Land Rover Discovery

Told you!

relaxing in the Land Rover Discovery

Room…I mean car, with a view.

the boys enjoy the view of the Lakes from the Land Rover Discovery

Having arrived in Lancaster on the Friday night, we had a restful night’s sleep in a hotel that Xander wanted to call his new home, heading to Windermere and Kendal the following morning for a day basking in the most welcome of sunshine. We were so lucky with the weather, it was short sleeves and bare legs all-round making for one happy family on vacay!

Stopping off for lunch at the prime looking point over Lake Windermere (above and below), the boys enjoyed salads, sandwiches and slices of melon in the boot, their legs stretched out, and the most epic of views in their midst spanning the deep blue lake, forest and snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Lake Windermere from the boot of the Discovery

We drove to Kendal soon after, spotting the perfect playground for the boys to play in by the river, eventually, taking refuge under a blossom tree when the sun got too hot. Now, there’s a sentence I’d never thought I’d write in March!

river

river

under the blossom tree

So much of our holiday was the actual drive, where we took in achingly beautiful views of sunlit acres of fields punctuated with fluffy sleep and baby lambs, rabbits scarpering for hedges beneath, and the most dramatic of russet sunsets at the end of the day. It was picture postcard perfect.

driving through the Lake District

steering wheel

sunset at Windermere

red sunset, Land Rover Discovery parked

Land Rover Discovery-sunset

This part of the world really has it all: countryside, lakes, the sea side and picturesque towns and villages full of character and cobbled streets.

stunning Discovery

vlogging the Lake District from the Land Rover Discovery

Lake Windermere

Kendal

Kendal

But back to the chronological events of the day. After lunch, we drove to the centre of Windermere which was unsurprisingly heaving with tourists out to catch the sun, as we were.

Windermere

The boys headed straight for the hungry looking ducks and elegant swans before scoffing salty chips by the water’s edge declaring our break, ‘the best holiday ever’.

eating chips

fish and chips

ducks

The following day, Mother’s Day, saw the boys taking their Queen Bee (me) to Lancaster Castle!

Discovery parked outside Lancaster Castle

As sat between the bluebells the boys jumped out from behind a tree and handed me a beautiful Mothers’ Day bundle of gifts including handmade cards, daffodils, chocolate tulips, a teddy and lots of kisses which brought tears to my eyes.

Aw!

Then it was time to play in the grounds!

Lancaster Castle

child walks under an archway at Lancaster Castle

children play aeroplanes at Lancaster Castle

children play at Lancaster Castle

a door at Lancaster Castle

Lancaster Castle

Lancaster Castle

inside the grounds of Lancaster Castle

What fun!

..After a little ‘cool car’ posing #standard 😉 Xander reminded us it was beach-time, so Morecambe beach, it was.

Vicki of Honest Mum by the Land Rover Discovery

Vicki of Honest Mum posing by the car

Discovery parked by the beach

Collecting sea shells on the shore and walking for literally miles, despite the wind, the sun still beating down on our cheeks, our wellies squelching beneath, I’m not sure I’ve ever felt happier than that moment, with my loved ones losing all sense of time, free and content. This is my happy place. The one I’ll think of when life feels stressful.

Alexander runs on the beach

Xander plays on the beach in the sand

child walks across the beach

cousins on the beach

Alexander running on the beach

child in wellies on the beach

sand on the beach

glistening sand

To top off the epic weekend away, we stopped by to see some friends on our way home: blogger, author and GP, Juliet McGrattan, and her family who live near Lancaster, for some amazing cake (which her daughter Molly, 9, had made) and bubbles of course, to toast the special day.

bloggers and their families

It only took an hour and a half to get home from there, with the boys soon falling fast asleep in our oh-so-comfortable car. The Discovery feels more like a plane than car to be honest, and we flipping well miss it already!

What an incredibly fun and relaxing weekend for us all celebrating motherhood, the Great British seaside and wheels I never wanted to say goodbye to.

Thank you Land Rover, and the Lakes for all the memories.

 

 

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A Mother's Day Weekend in The Lakes with Land Rover

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