The 2014 round-up: the best of 2014

It might just be another date in the calendar, but there’s something about the end of one year and the beginning of a new which still inspires me to look back and plan ahead.

So while I’m not particularly good at making resolutions (or not at keeping the ones I make in January), here’s how the last 12 months have looked for me.

From Suffolk to St Lucia, via trains, planes and a cruise ship (even if it was docked). The Take 12 Trips challenge completed, and parrots, monkeys, bears, otters and an elephant spotted along the way.

January

I was busy planning our trip to Paris with Eurostar this month, booked in the depths of ‘I need something to cheer myself up’ fever in December 2013 – a rather familiar feeling…

Between discovering what the City of Light has for toddlers, I managed to fit in a quick day out to the London Wetland Centre in Barnes, spotting otters and avoiding frostbite.

February

Ah, Paris. My umpteenth visit, my first with a child in tow. I learned some lessons, I walked for miles plotting two buggy-friendly routes on the way and discovered that the French capital is more child-friendly than you might think.

Evidently inspired by stylish living, we also played at being princesses at Leeds Castle.

March

A travel milestone – my first baby-free trip as a mum. This time to Granada, a city I’ve longed to visit for years.

The Alhambra was as fabulous as I’d always dreamed – here are my tips on getting the most from your visit – but I loved discovering the mix of cultures: Moorish, Catholic, Jewish and Roma.

Then another weekend stepping back in time: to Goodwood, Sussex rather than Spain, with a vintage break at the hotel, complete with afternoon tea, an irreplaceable outfit and a toddler…

April

Staying closer to home this month, I had a wander among the bluebells and discovered which spot links royalty, the Rothschilds and Ealing comedies.

May

The year’s biggest trip, to St Lucia. After surviving a long-haul flight, I packed in zip wiring, a volcano, a walk to heaven and discovering how to make chocolate. Actually maybe that one was the walk to heaven…

June

With Glasgow poised to host the Commonwealth Games and Scotland poised to vote on whether it wanted to stay in the Union, we hopped on a train to discover an unexpectedly toddler-friendly city. Thankfully you still don’t need a passport to visit (for now) so make a date with Sir Roger and discover toddler heaven.

Sticking with Great Britain, we also found the quickest way to cheer up a poorly toddler in Kent and discovered that mammoths are not actually furry elephants…

July

Celebrating two years of travelling with my lovely girl, I was too busy planning parties and making birthday cakes to venture further than south west London – Barnes again, and to Kew Gardens to catch the end of the Plantasia exhibition.

August

More voyages around the UK – a family festival in London and a trip to a spa in St Albans, visiting the Suffolk seaside and meeting super furry animals.

We also met Mr Toad, joined a teddy bear’s picnic and spotted a troupe of monkeys on the way north to discover Eureka: The National Children’s Museum.

September

Having ticked off more than 12 trips in the last 12 months, I made it absolutely nowhere this month! So I consoled myself with a Thursday Travel Treat, my pick of photos from trips gone by on Instagram, and plotted how to use my Eurostar refund – Brussels or Lille?

Which reminds me, I really should book somewhere…

October

Time for a cruise – well, a cruise ship. Oasis of the Seas may have been docked in Southampton during our visit, but with so much to do and see, not to mention a huge lemur to meet, we had a fantastic day.

Then as Paddington fever started, I discovered somewhere to indulge in all things bear without limiting yourself to marmalade sandwiches.

November

Back to lovely Lanzarote at the end of November and into December. I ate, I drank (one of our few days out was to La Geria) and I relaxed a bit.

Well, on our third visit to the island together, we’d managed to fit in more than a few child-friendly days out already.

December

A manic end to the year, but I squeezed in one Christmassy trip… all the way to the South Bank.

Which can only mean those itchy feet are ready for me to get booking for 2015 now.

The best of 2014

And while I’ve been looking back over the year, as well as fitting in a fair bit of travel, I’ve learned a few lessons along the way. So I thought I’d pick some of my top posts of 2014 – some because I love them for one reason or another, some because you all loved them (or clicked on them, at least).

What I know now…

Motherhood teaches you much. Patience. Improvisational skills. How to change a nappy in a confined space.

Routines are made to be broken. Occasionally. And at my own peril…

Pull-ups get the thumbs up for the potty trained on a plane – you all said so, and you were right.

How to get a toddler to sleep. (Warning: this advice not guaranteed)

And how to capture the moment on camera

How to travel

The flight might not make or break a holiday in the same way as a good or bad resort, but it can get travel off to a great (or terrible) start. So here’s where to wear them out in airport soft play before boarding.

Then how to beat jetlag once you arrive!

Whether to travel

A perennial favourite, this post on travelling with newborns before their baby vaccinations is actually from 2012 but is still one of the most popular on the blog.

While this post on whether to use DEET on your child got people talking too.

What to pack

Check out my checklists of essentials – packing for babies, toys for toddlers and first aid kits

And why sticky tape is an unexpected must...

All images copyright MummyTravels

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