Rother Valley Country Park

Sorry for the long delay in posting. I haven't fallen off the edge of the earth! The weekend after my last blog post was Fathers Day so I went home to visit my dear ol dad and spend some time with the family. The weekend after this I had planned to go to Bradford to explore the Curry Festival that was on, but on the Friday I became unwell and have spent the last week ill in bed with gastroenteritis. Not fun.

I'm still not back to full cooking/baking exuberance - jacket potatoes and rice currently feature a lot in my diet - so instead I thought I would share with you a few photos of a walk I enjoyed a few weeks ago around Rother Valley Country Park.

The park is located in Sheffield, in Rother Valley (bet you'd never have guessed) and comprises of 750 acres of parkland including a large lake with a variety of walks around the perimeter with a few meandering paths further afield. You can also go cycling along the paths or canoeing, sailing or even jet-skiing on the lake itself.

It's a little hard to find and we nearly missed the entrance as you need to follow the road signs rather than use the sites postcode, as apparently, according to their official website, this takes you to a random industrial estate, no where near the entrance to the park. So no Satnav allowed!

When A and I arrived it was an unusually bright and sunny day and being out amongst the greenery, trees and sparkling lake it made for a lovely morning stroll.

I loved the sunny bright yellow field of buttercups.

We ended up back at the start and found a little cafe for a drink. They were serving food too, but it was mostly sausages rolls and sandwiches, so not really gluten friendly, so we settled on a drink and ice cream instead. I don't normally drink fizzy drinks, but I became ridiculously excited about spotting a can of Rio in the chiller cabinet. It's a drink I remember being allowed as a treat in my childhood. I haven't seen it for years and didn't know you could even get it any more. I had to have it!

Rio is a tropical (Orange, Guava, Apricot, Mango & Passion Fruit) exotic fruit juice drink made with lightly sparkling spring water. It's slightly sweet, fruity, a little exotic in flavour thanks to the slightly unusual fruits and it makes for one very refreshing drink. Ah it tasted just as I remember. The perfect end to a lovely walk.

If you are in the area, I'd recommend a visit. You do have to pay for parking, but its £3.50 for the whole day. Next time I think we'll take a book and a picnic and make a day of it.

Next weekend it's the Allergy and Free From Show in London. It's on from 4th - 6th July and is the foodie event I most look forward to each year. For a coeliac, there is something so amazing at being able to walk into a room, a room full of food stands, people giving cookery demos and tasters, and knowing you can eat ALL of it. I get very over excited each year and can't wait to attend this one.

I love discovering new companies and products not available in supermarkets. Freshly cooked pizzas, cheesecakes, brownies, breads and desserts. Go hungry and indulge in the delights! Most things are gluten free and some are also dairy, nut or soy free too. It not only caters to people with food allergies, there is also a health section for people with skin sensitivity or hay fever etc. Click here for some free tickets! Anyone else going?