This is the first time I will do this type of post. As a family we don't usually plan much ahead our annual travel in the summer. And as I explained in a previous post, it was a difficult 2018 health-wise so I guess we will approach 2019 with some caution. Photography-wise, I only got back to it as a hobby again, so as with travel I will approach this goal-setting plan with caution.
Travel
As a family, we do our travels around our children's school breaks especially the longer periods. That means on Easter (April) and Summer (late July to early September) breaks we travel outside of Peterborough.
Looking for some inspiration I came across the Mirror's travel article, 12 affordable British destinations perfect for a holiday in 2019. I picked two destinations that are close to home - Hunstanton & West Norfolk and Greater Yarmouth.
We have been to Hunstanton quite regularly as a family and during our sons' school study trips when they were in primary school. It has been a family favourite. We haven't been back for some time but it will be good to visit again. I have checked West Norfolk towns such as King's Lynn and they are interesting places to go to for day-outs.
In 2017, we originally plan to go to Greater Yarmouth for a day-out or two but our planning went crazy and ended up going to Cornwall and Devon instead. Now I would like to realise that plan this year together with visiting other nearby places in Norfolk.
I have made travel plans to visit some Cambridgeshire towns last year but it was not realised so maybe this year is a good time to finally go to places like Cambridge (again), Ely, Huntingdon, St. Ives, March, Wisbech, Ramsey and St. Neots.
Locally, there are still a lot of interesting places in Peterborough that we have not been to. I plan to go this year to the following places - John Clare Cottage, Flag Fen and Longthorpe Tower. I will do some research on interesting hidden gems in my city to add up to the already mentioned places. Ferry Meadows still have a lot to offer in terms of travel photography attractions so I will explore it further this year.
Other nearby places near Peterborough that are great for day-outs for the family are in Rutland, England's smallest county. We've been to Rutland Water a few times but never in the towns of Oakham and Uppingham. Another interesting town to visit is Crowland in nearby Lincolnshire.
Photography
I must admit I have ignored my photography hobby for quite some time now. Maybe doing photography projects this year will ignite the passion again. I have to say I am not good at completing projects, which I have done in the past, but maybe a little push for this blog will work this time. I will start small with just a few projects for the whole of 2019. If I completed them early then I will add a few more along the way.
For the whole year, I would like to do Project 12, where I will take photos by seasonal months. The inspiration will be the book of Tom Ang titled 'Digital Photo Month by Month'. I plan to do this project through monthly photowalks getting ideas from Ang's book who have recommended topics to photograph. Why Project 12? I tried a Project 52 (weekly photography) once and I failed big-time so I have to scale it down to a monthly project instead.
There are a couple of short-term projects I plan to do this year:
- Stick to one lens - street photography, country park, museum, period houses, cathedral, shooting mono and others
- Letter/number montage - A-Z, 0-9, our family's first names and place names
Summary
I only plan conservatively for this year. Instead of going to five-hour drives to places outside of Peterborough, the focus will be nearby places that offer very interesting attractions to my family. We are looking at 15-minute, 30-minute and 1.5-hour (maximum) drives for day-outs and maybe weekend-long holidays.
Same with photography, I will start with a few doable projects just to ignite the passion again. Then I can add a few more doable projects along the way. I do not want to challenge myself too much for now.
So, fingers crossed and watch this space!
