Sponsored Post (Please note, this post, the images included and videos may contain some features that are optional and available at an extra price).
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:
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?
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?
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.
..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.
Loving the concentration!
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.jpg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Muncaster_Castle1.jpg,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A591_road,_Lake_District_-_June_2009_Edit_1.jpg, http://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.
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).
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.
Told you!
Room…I mean car, with a view.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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’.
The following day, Mother’s Day, saw the boys taking their Queen Bee (me) to 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!
What fun!
..After a little ‘cool car’ posing #standard 😉 Xander reminded us it was beach-time, so Morecambe beach, it was.
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.
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.
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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