The year in photos | September to December

It’s the last installment of our look back on 2014. Another photographic extravaganza featuring some of my favourite photographs of the year.

POD ventured out on her first bike ride in the forest and discovered it was actually a lot of fun. She’s not mastered steering or pedaling yet but hopefully we’ll get there over time!

We wrote about the wonderful Whipsnade Zoo and how much we loved it. We also spent a lot of our weekends outdoors enjoying the Autumn sunshine. Winkworth Arboretum is always a National Trust favourite (at least twice!) and it was impossible not to capture London’s blue skies on occasions during the working week.

We visit National Trust sites whenever we can – usually in Surrey and the surrounding areas. At times we venture further afield. Ickworth House is located near POD’s grandparents and we had much fun there in the latter part of the year. POD especially enjoyed hiding behind a post and pretending she’s invisible! We also went pumpkin picking for the first time which was brilliant. Secretts Farm laid on tractors which took us to the pumpkin field where we picked three of our own. As you’d expect, POD was donning her headband round her forehead! The walk from Farringdon to Waterloo saw a huge increase in the volume of London photos including some wonderful sights from the Southbank.

We love the tranquility of Painshill Park and even got to have a ride on the Great Cockcroft Miniature Railway which POD loved. The firework display at Stoke Park was a must as it has been the past two years.

As always there were lots of opportunities to photograph blooms, especially wet ones! We ventured over to Squires Garden Centre to see Father Christmas. POD asked him for a reindeer, a change from the usual unicorn. I suspect that wasn’t quite what he had in mind when he asked her what she wanted. We really were on top of the World when we went to Newlands Corner. The well-renowned beauty spot has the most incredible views and smells divine just after the rain. We also escaped for a weekend to see my dad in Budleigh Salterton, enjoying some long-overdue time by the sea.

The lead up to the festive period and Christmas itself is always a busy time. With POD’s birthday on Christmas Day itself, it’s always a special time for us. Hard to believe we now own a four-year-old. We even managed to venture out on New Year’s Eve for the first time in a while to a forties style party!

If you missed the previous posts, you will find January to April here and May to August here.

Linking up with #whatsthestory here on PODcast.