April – Two weeks in Daventry
This blog post was originally published on the 18th July 2018.
Our next housesit took us to the midlands and the town of Daventry. We spent two weeks in a beautiful house close to the town, looking after a cat named Costa and a teeny German Spitz / Chihuahua cross called Jessie. We also had to take care of the outdoor hot tub! It required a daily routine to balance the chemicals – some days it was more work than the pets – but it was a task we happily completed because we could spend our evenings soaking in the hot bubbly water! We had some lovely April sun over our stay – the first ‘heatwave’ of the year in the U.K. – and as a result we spent many days simply relaxing at the house with Jessie and Costa by our sides.
We had a lot of fun playing with Jessie and going through her extensive toy box! Her favourite toys were a tiny ball to chase or a cuddly Snoopy toy she loved to fetch for us. She would sit on command and responded very excitedly to the word ‘treat’! Costa, meanwhile, was more than satisfied with lounging in the den, watching all the shenanigans from the comfort of the sofa!
Daventry Country Park
On days when it wasn’t too hot for a good walk we took Jessie to Daventry Country Park, a lovely area of woodland around a large reservoir, just around the corner from the house. As we strolled around the reservoir Jessie caught the attention of plenty of admirers who stopped us to say how cute she was! The woodlands surrounding the reservoir were gorgeous and provided much needed shade on the route around. Even though Jessie only had little legs she was more than happy to walk for hours, but when we got home she happily flopped on the stairs and didn’t move!
On one particularly drizzly day she got so muddy after walking through the woodlands around the reservoir that we had to give her a bath, which she didn’t seem to mind at all, and we got lots of photos of her looking particularly adorable!
Grand Union Canal
Another lovely walk right on our doorstep was along Grand Union Canal. The canal starts in London and ends in Birmingham, so we knew we’d never be short of a good walk along there! A line of trees and woodland edges along the canal, which made for gorgeous dappled sunlight through the leaves, and an enjoyable stroll along either way. One day we turned right from our house, passing bridges and many canal boats along the way, before sitting by a cute house on the canal and watching a few of the boats pass through the locks. Another day we turned left and walked even further, past bright yellow fields of rapeseed until we eventually reached the Admiral Nelson pub where we stopped for a drink, and Jessie enjoyed looking out the window at sheep in the fields!
Costa was a little shy with us at first, but after she’d warmed up to her new house guests she would walk up to us on the sofa and nudge us for a stroke of her velvety soft fur. It was impossible to take a bad picture of her gorgeous face! Though we liked cuddling with Costa over our stay, it’s safe to say Jessie absolutely stole our hearts! She was always by our side and would spend the evenings snuggling up on the sofa with us, though she’d sometimes get a little bit jealous if we were too close, and would then jump in between us to get the affection all for herself! Daventry itself was a sweet town, with a market along the high street and all the usual shops to get everything we needed. We loved spending time there, though our house was so lovely and comfortable it made it hard to leave home! We spent lazy mornings practising yoga together on the landing (with Jessie close by trying to lick our faces when we were in downward dog pose!) and loved our snuggly evenings in the den watching films, playing games or, on warmer evenings, unwinding in the amazing hot tub! We’re sure we’re not done exploring this part of the country and we’d love to return – especially if we get to see Jessie again!
