If you have a warm coat and wellies ready for the upcoming April showers than a walk around Jesmond Dene is always enjoyable. As well as boosting your vitamin D levels, being a perfect hangover cure and burning off the calories from last night’s cheesy chips, a gentle stroll around the Dene is the perfect opportunity to embrace the start of spring and watch as the trees begin to blossom and animals slowly come out of hibernation. In addition, regular events are hosted in the Dene, including markets, tours and craft activities, and a quick visit to the petting zoo may just about make up for you forgetting to Facetime your cat.
If your jumpers aren’t quite thick enough for you to enjoy a few hours out in the cold then the many independent cafes around Newcastle offer a tranquil release from the busy city life and cold weather. While it’s tempting to use your Costa loyalty card, the abundance of chic, rustic and altogether quaint independent coffeehouses dotting around the Quayside, Jesmond and the city centre can offer a pleasant change from your standard skinny cappuccino in an over-crowded and cramped chain café. On my most recent visit to Quilliam’s I made an incredible new discovery – Battenberg tea, where have you been all my life?! Similar teahouses including Tea Sutra offer an impressive range of floral and fruity teas that conjure up memories of picnics, lazy sunny days and having tea with your grandma, meaning you’ll soon be sipping your way to summertime.
A new host of recreational activities are also available as the weather begins to get better. As well as encouraging you to take part in outdoor social sport with your friends (think tennis, badminton and footie in the park) and finally being able to cycle to uni again instead of resorting to the metro every time, it’s also the perfect time of year to begin gardening, with many gardening opportunities supported by NUSU’s Go Volunteer programme. With a new range of seasonable produce flooding Grainger Market, it’s also the perfect time to get creative in the kitchen, with broccoli, cauliflower, leak, peppers and sweet potato all being in season in March; the BBC Good Food website is a brilliant source of inspiration.
Last but not least, it’s time for a good old spring clean. What better way to get yourself in a positive mind-set than by redecorating your room? A tidy, tranquil bedroom can make you just that little bit more motivated to get out of bed in the morning, and just generally serves as a positive source of motivation. Clear out your room of clutter you no longer need, and introduce new decorations such as fairy lights, candles and cushions (Primark and Wilko are great places to stock up). And above all, fill your room with happy memories: gig tickets, framed photos of loved ones and holiday souvenirs, so that whenever you enter your room you smile.
Image: @graceldean on Instagram
