A Birthday Treat - Bowes Museum - Vivienne Westwood - Rebel - Storyteller - Visionary

It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago, and I think I've officially reached the point where I don't actually want anything anymore. My mam pressed and pressed for weeks but all I could think was a lego set, so she got me that and she's going to treat me to a new piercing and a shopping trip which I'm going to try and do this week or next.

My friends were in a similar position I guess, one sent me a surprise parcel of cute and fun stuff that I was super happy with, and the other asked me if I would like something a little bit different, a visit to one of my favourite museums, the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, Co Durham to see their latest fashion exhibition 'Vivienne Westwood - Rebel Storyteller - Visionary', of course I jumped at the chance, it's a little awkward to get there with public transport and spending time with one of my bestest friends is a gift in itself.

I've been to quite a few of their fashion exhibits over the years including their YSL showcase, an exhibition from milliner Stephen Jones, and an exhibition of Vivienne Westwood's shoe designs (I'm not sure why the pics aren't showing in this post just give them a click to see them), and I always love how they display often such contemporary items alongside art and antiques from their own extensive collections.

From plaid, to punk, to mini crinolines and pirate boots, this exhibition really did cover her entire fashion career and influences, showing some of her most famous pieces in the museums Fashion And Textile Gallery and in the grand setting of their specialist Exhibition Gallery.

I was going to carefully edit some of these pics but to be honest they really do speak for themselves so I'm posting them unedited and there is a lot of them so enjoy and if you’re interested you can also watch a little video I made on both TikTok and Instagram Reels x 

Some of the bits are a bit out there as you would expect from the godmother of punk, figleaf leggings anyone? and what's with the weird faux fur hat, and toy dog / fox accessory? but some of the tailoring is absolutely exquisite such clean lines and cuts especially on some of the tartan pieces.

Again the Bowes Museum have outdone themselves from the set up, to the pieces chosen and the staging, everything was perfect even the benches in the Fashion and Textile Gallery had been specially dressed for the occasion.

Throw in all of the treasures that the museum has including furniture, ceramics, sculpture, and paintings there really is so much to see especially this summer. We ended our trip with a performance of the iconic Bowes Museum Silver Swan and coffee and a scone in Cafe Bowes before heading home through the Co Durham countryside.

The Bowes Museum is a really good day out with lots to see and do, there are plenty of interactives including some children's dress up and drawing and art stations, and even a piece of interactive embroidery, they also hold regular themed workshops and even baby sessions! The museum is also set in lovely parkland and gardens great for a nature walk or a picnic, and if you're lucky you might even spot some squirrels.

The Vivienne Westwood Rebel - Storyteller - Visionary exhibit runs from the 28th March to 6th September 2026

A Genius In His Field - YSL Style Is Eternal At The Bowes Museum

Have you ever had one of those days where you could just kick yourself for being such an idiot? Well Wednesday was one of those days for me! A couple of months ago now advanced tickets went on sale for a fashion exhibition at one of my favourite places, The Bowes Museum, in the historic Co Durham, market town of Barnard Castle.

I've been to quite a few fashion and design exhibitions at the museum over the years but this one was something just a little bit out of the ordinary. The museum was to be the first venue, ever, in the UK to host a retrospective of one of the greatest, and most iconic fashion designers in history, Yves Saint Laurent.

Thanks to the Durham County Council, and a host of private investors including Fenwick of Newcastle, The Bowes Museum is able to host an exhibition of Yves Saint Laurent's design work, couture, costumes, and ready to wear fashion pieces, ranging from 1958 - 2000, entitled YSL Style Is Eternal.

To avoid major foot stamping and disappointment, we worked out the best dates and I booked tickets online on the day of release for me and Mummy Lou. After seeing both the press pictures and pics snapped by some of my fellow bloggers, my excitement grew, and grew and eventually the day came, and last Wednesday, we got in the car and headed south.

Our reserved slot didn't start till 1pm so we had a little look around the town (note all the YSL banners), and then we had a spot of lunch in Costa, before heading to the museum for 12.45. I have to say I've never seen the car parks so busy, and once we got inside the queue for tickets was huge, so I was really grateful that we booked and printed off our tickets in advance.

We took the lift to the second floor, and the fashion and textile gallery and then my stomach sank! As I reached into my huge bag for my camera, I realised that the ancient compact camera that I'd brought with me had broken on route :( I'd already left my SLR at home over weight concerns so it was my own fault really but I still didn't stop me being annoyed!  I was left with no other option than to take photographs with my ancient iPhone 4S. I'm therefore going to apologise for the quality of some of the pictures in this post not being up to my usual standard but I hope you enjoy anyways. I took about 100 photos but these are just some of my favourites x

The exhibition not only features glamorous and intricate, and hand beaded pieces but it also featured something that Yves Saint Laurent was so famous for, tailoring and his masculine / feminine designs. From sharp pinstripe suits, to a beautifully tailored tuxedo dress, and a jumpsuit, he really was a master when it came to pattern cutting, and creating sharp lines and structure

As well as all the pretty dresses, and examples of his couture work, the exhibit  also featured hand drawn designs, videos of catwalk shows and the great man at work, sample pieces, trimmings, and original photographs.

One of the most striking photographs in the exhibition was this one of 1960's supermodel Veruschka wearing this safari ensemble from 1968.

Source

Not only could you see the original photographs but you could also see the clothing pieces themselves. Some of the more expensive and fragile pieces, and obviously the art and design pieces were displaced in glass cases, but unusually a lot of the pieces were just displayed on mannequins so you could get right up close and have a really good look at everything  from the buttons and beads to the tiny, tiny stitches.

I have to say we both left completely in awe with the design and the workmanship that had gone into every single piece. Some of the beaded pieces especially, were true works of art and not only show Yves Saint Laurent's talent as an artist but they also show how he was inspired by artists such as Mondrian, Picasso and Van Gough.

I've filmed a little vlog on my iPhone, which will hopefully allow you to see some better shots of some of the more intricate and eye catching pieces. If you're on a mobile you can find it here x



Whether you're into fashion or art, or you just want to see something will make you go wow, this exhibition is well worth a visit, whether you're a north east native or you fancy taking a trip north or south to the beautiful Co Durham countryside.

We booked our tickets via Ticketmaster but you can pay on the day, if you're prepared to wait and queue. As well as Style Is Eternal admission tickets also grant you access to the rest of the museum, which includes numerous temporary and permanent exhibitions including paintings from Canaletto and Goya, porcelain from Sevres and Meissen, antique furniture and of course the famous, musical automaton Silver Swan. If you're interested YSL Style Is Eternal runs until 25th October 2015, so you've got plenty of time to plan your trip, and we'll already planning a return visit but this time with my Godmother in tow x If you want to find out more about the exhibition and the museum, you can find their website here x  Thanks for reading x

Foodie Friday - A Review Of The South Causey Inn, Stanley, Co Durham

Your probably already sick of hearing this, but last week I celebrated my birthday :) Over the course of the week I had a number of different celebrations with friends and different members of my family. Last Tuesday though I went out for a meal with one of my besties Dawn. She is one of the most considerate people ever when it comes to finding somewhere for us to eat, she always checks out menus, to make sure that there is something that little old veggie and gluten free me can eat.

Thankfully it's getting easier and restaurants both independent and chain seem to be more aware and more willing to cater for people with differing dietary requirements. We've found some decent places in the past but for my birthday meal this year, we decided to return to the place we went to last year - The South Causey Inn, which isn't too far away from me.

Purchased by the current owners in 1976 South Causey Farm as it was then known, was purchased as exactly that a farm but over the years it's expanded into an equestrian centre, an outdoor activity centre, a riding school, bars, a hotel, restaurant,and function rooms all set on 100 acres of land in the County Durham countryside. The inn won the Great British Pub Award Best Family Pub Award in 2013.

We started our visit with a little walk in the landscaped grounds. It's great for kids as there are loads of animals to meet and greet including, sheep, geese, donkeys, alpacas and obviously horses - notice Dawn's artistic photo of a goose :)

The grounds are just made for summer and there loads of gazebos and picnic tables outside, perfect for summer drinks.

The weather wasn't that great though so we headed inside - last year we were seated in the Restaurant area which is bright and airy but alas this year it was full so despite booking we ended up in an area known as the snug. Alas it was just too dark to take a picture but it was quite different to the main restaurant. It was very rustic with equestrian and farming equipment and memorabilia on the walls. It was furnished with several rustic wooden tables and chairs, as well as comfy chairs and sofas, and the traditional stools at the bar. The room was dominated by a huge roaring log fire. This room would be perfect for a hot toddy or mulled wine on a cold winters night but for me it wasn't the best setting for a meal between too friends on a spring evening. It was a little bit too dark and it felt almost squashed, plus I stunk of bonfire - open fire look great but they don't half make your clothes stink.

So onto the food, the South Causey menu is pretty substantial and throughout the day you can order breakfasts, lunches and afternoon tea, as ours was an evening visit we ordered from the main menu, which includes a separate vegetarian and coeliac menu. The choice is first class, and they have a real emphasis on local produce. Since the meals were so large last year we skipped starters and went straight for mains - Dawn isn't a vegetarian but she went for the Chefs Homemade Roasted Vegetable Lasagne with roasted vegetables and topped with a white béchamel sauce, slow baked in the oven and topped with goats cheese & feta cheese, which came with a side salad a choice and chips, or potatoes. Whilst nothing can beat last years meal in her eyes, she described this as one of the nicest vegetable lasagne she'd ever had.

Me bad ! I didn't take a picture of he main and I didn't think to take a picture of mine till I'd eaten some of it eek! I went for the Roasted Goats Cheese & Braised Fig Salad. It was huge! I got a massive plate, filled with salad and topped with a mound of goats cheese and a few braised figs, as well as small dishes of coleslaw, olives and something which I think was roasted pepper mayonnaise. It was also served with a huge slice of toasted rustic bread, and a huge pat of butter. I didn't ask for it to be coeliac but they do usually provide gluten free bread on request.

The meals themselves were first class, you got plenty and the quality was really good. We struggled towards the end a bit but we still fancied a pudding. Again their dessert menu is really substantial and everything sounded amazing so it was hard to choose - In the end I went for the Lemon Curd Creme Brulee which came with a chocolate dipped strawberry and a brandy snap basket filled with chocolate cream. It was soooo good x I only wish that the Creme Brulee had been a little bit bigger.

Dawn had the Duo Chocolate Slab Filled Parfait - One with Malteser and One with Tia Maria and Raspberry, which was served with raspberry, mint, vanilla cream and a raspberry coulis. We weren't quite sure what to expect but she got two huge, solid chocolatey slabs that tasted like a combination of maltesers and raspberries. It was amazing but it was so rich and huge that she couldn't finish it, and despite having a few amazing spoonfuls neither could I, so the waitress wrapped it up for her to take home.

The bill came to around £37 for both of us which included 3 glasses of Diet Coke, I personally think that it was pretty good value for money, the portion sizes were excellent and the food quality was first class.

That said our experience this time probably wasn't as positive as last years, the room wasn't really what we wanted and because they seemed to be busy with a full restaurant and a private party, the service did seem to be a bit slower and a bit more lax than we would have liked.

That said I will be back and it's somewhere I would definitely recommend if your in the area or visiting any of the local attractions such as the Tanfield Railway or Beamish Museum. If you are booking though make sure you ask for a table in the restaurant unless you fancy a more, intimate cosy setting. You can find out more about The South Causey Inn here x