Fresh intentions

Did anybody else see the awesome full moon on Tuesday night? Where I live I have to drive down country lanes where it's pretty damn dark and it was really beautiful to see the moon, brightening up the sky, on my way home from yoga class. I'm still learning a lot about the spiritual side of yoga and in Tuesday's class we actually used the moon to set new intentions for what we'd like to achieve in the next month or so. Clearly on a one track mind, my intention was to try and improve my home yoga practice. I used to do yoga all the time in my third year at Uni and actually got pretty good at it!

To kickstart my intention I signed myself up for 30 Days of Yoga as I'd heard a few people saying how good it was for building up a home practice. You get sent an email each day with a link to the next video but I tend to head straight to the Yoga with Adriene Youtube channel and get started when I'm ready to. Adriene is great, she's funny and totally down to earth - so far I've been really excited to get back on the mat each day and I'm already thinking about what I'll do when the 30 days are over.

Adriene also uses the #30daysofyoga hashtag so that everyone can post progress pictures or take a sneak peak at others on the journey. As a lover of instagram, of course I wanted to get involved! Apologies to any instagram followers I have but it's about to get all yoga'd up in there. Proud moment when Adriene herself (@adrienelouise) liked my day three boat pose!!

I guess my intention was about more than just improving my home yoga practice, it was actually about getting more into the things I already like, rather than putting in half the effort. On my days off I can often be found outdoors or exploring some new villages in Cornwall. Ryan has been saying for ages that he wants to go on longer walks that actually involve a bit more effort than a stroll along the beach. This weekend was perfect to get started on this as the weather was gorgeous. I suggested doing a coastal walk from Polperro to Looe (which is 5 1/2 miles one way), having a look around the shops and then catching the bus back. Full details of this part of the Southwest Coast path can be found here.

On Saturday we did go back to taking it a little easy - a 5 mile walk and four days straight of yoga isn't easy you know! We visited a local favourite, The Lost Gardens of Heligan and had plenty of fun playing on the swing, bouncing accross the rope bridge and watching the new baby Tamworth piggies. I've enjoyed setting myself these little goals in life and I feel good about achieving new things and focusing on the things that make me happy.

Magical Tour of London

This week Ryan had a meeting in Portsmouth and some marketing training in London with all his travel expenses paid. Obviously this was the perfect excuse for me to tag along and have fun for a few days. We visited Ryan's friend in Winchester, explored a few National Trust places in Surrey and even squeezed in a few hours at Kew Gardens (I get in for free, job perks!) Unfortunately Ryan left me all on my own once we got into the centre of London. I've never done a solo tour of London before so I decided to hunt for some Harry Potter locations while nobody was there to complain! There is a lot of stuff available on the internet, which I used along with google maps and my pretty savvy underground knowledge to find these beauties...

Charing Cross Road
Nearest Underground: Leicester Square
In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Hagrid collects Harry and takes him to Diagon Alley to buy his school supplies. The entrance to Diagon Alley is hidden behind the Leaky Cauldron pub which is supposedly on Charing Cross Road. You can wander along the busy road and imagine just slipping away into the magical world unnoticed by all the muggles! On Charing Cross Road you can also find Hardy's Sweet Shop which is supposedly the inspiration behind Honeydukes sweet shop. You can find a small assortment of Harry Potter themed sweets but they are quite expensive.

Leadenhall Market
Nearest Underground: Monument
Now here is where the Leaky Cauldron was actually filmed. The entrance to the Leaky Cauldron can be found down one of the narrower streets and in real life it's an opticians. At a first glance it's quite unrecogniseable but still strangely familiar. Even for those who aren't Harry Potter fans, Leadenhall Market is a lovely place with lots of shops and bars.

Cecil Court
Nearest Underground: Leicester Square/Covent Garden
Again, this is not an actual film location but it was one of the best places to visit. Covent Garden is one of my favourite parts of London and I had already walked down here before I even started looking for Harry Potter locations, oops! Cecil Court is said to be one of the inspirations behind Diagon Alley and there is certainly something magical about it, especially for book lovers. I found a bookshop called Peter Ellis that had signed copies of Harry Potter!! I was far too scared to ask how much they were but I did enjoy seeing all the old copies of Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland while I was there.

Millenium Bridge
Nearest Underground: St Pauls/Mansion House
In Deathly Hallows part one you can watch the Death Eaters causing Havoc in London and in particular to the poor Muggles on Millenium Bridge. It's a loose link to Harry Potter but it's worth going so you can also see Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and St Paul's Cathedral while you are there.

Platform 9 3/4
Nearest Underground: London Kings Cross/St Pancras
I had already been here once before with Ryan when we went to London just before New Year. The queue was absolutely massive and it all felt a little bit cheesy with the photographers so I decided against it. However, I was meeting Ryan at Kings Cross after his training and I just couldn't help myself! It's not the exact location (as there actually isn't a barrier between platforms 9 and 10) but it was still good fun. The Platform 9 3/4 shop is also worth a visit for a range of different Potter related goodies.

Whilst in London...

You could also visit the Warner Brothers Studio Tour but you'll need to put at least half a day aside for it. Check out the wb studio tour website to read about their new Hogwarts Express display and to book tickets. I've already been to the tour twice but I think it will never fail to disappoint, there is just so much to see.

Further Afield...
There are plenty of places around the UK that were used as film locations so if you are going away anywhere, it's always a good idea to check if there are any you could visit. I went to Goathland train station in North Yorkshire when I was a kid but didn't realise it was Hogsmeade Station until we got there - a great unexpected surprise! Goathland is also the location for the series Heartbeat.

The only other place I've been to is Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, which was used for exterior shots of Hogwarts and the flying lesson scene. If anyone has played the Harry Potter computer games, you might find the layout oddly familiar. It is well worth a day out at Alnwick Castle even if you aren't a massive Potter fan, there is a lot to see and do.