I was recently reminiscing about my summer holiday in Austria earlier this year, scrolling through the photos of some of the wonderful places I visited in and around the Zell am See area. I realised I hadn't shared photos of two of the most beautiful places I was lucky enough to visit with my partner back in June. 

First up is the impressive Sigmund Thun Klamm Wasserfall.

Around 14,000 years ago, during the late ice age, a glacier completely covered the valley of Kaprun. When the glacier melted, it left behind a gorge where the river Ache now runs. Visitors can walk along the gorge on a series of bridges and wooden stairways. The Kapruner Ache river has managed to cut 32 meters deep into the rock through the Sigmund-Thun-Klamm, creating strikingly smooth stretches of rock, basins and whirlpools. 

I was worried it would be a little slippery and a struggle to climb up all the steps but I would say this attraction is suitable for people of all ages and the stairs aren't steep at all. I do recommend a good pair of boots and a waterproof coat because as you can imagine, this place gets a little wet. It was a truly breathtaking place to visit and reminded me of the nearby Krimml Waterfalls. 

This place was free for me to visit as it is included on the list of attractions on the Salzburgerland Card. It's a pretty handy card to have because you get free admission to 190 sights and attractions throughout SalzburgerLand for one flat fee. It's perfect if you are in the area for around a week. 

Another natural wonder is the Schmittenhöhe mountain, it comes in at 1,965 metres high on the eastern edge of the Kitzbühel Alps. It is situated above the town of Zell am See, from where a cable runs to the summit. The cable car system has been renovated several times since and now has fancy cable cars designed by the Porsche company who have links with the area (I visited their family castle by lake Zell). From the summit of the Schmittenhöhe you can find an impressive view of over 30 three-thousanders as well as the lake and Saalach valley. 

Martyn and I always tend to be a bit unlucky with the weather when we want to go up in a cable car, we rarely get clear views. We hadn't planned to visit the Schmittenhöhe at this particular time but we saw that the clouds were clearing and headed straight to the base so we could make our ascent. As the clouds parted we were treated to some glorious views at the top, perfect timing! Unless you fancy a full day of hiking I recommend visiting after 2.30pm in the summer as you can save around €7 on your cable car trip by going up a little later in the day.

You can read all my other posts about my trip to Austria including excursions to Salzburg and Innsbruck here and i've got a few posts coming up  on the blog shortly about my three day trip to Berlin.

Martyn and I both have a week off and a few days to just chill out before heading to Berlin on Wednesday so we decided to take a stroll around Tredegar House grounds and gardens. Tredegar House is one of the most significant late 17th century buildings in the UK. The earliest documented owner of a house at Tredegar is Llewelyn ap Morgan, who was alive in 1402. Charles I and his retinue visited the house in 1645, which goes to show how important the house is.  

Tredegar House was predominately built in the 17th Century between 1664-1672 when it was remodelled and large state rooms were added. The estate once comprised of 1,000 acres but around 90 acres remain today.   

The last Lord of Tredegar passed away in 1962 and the house was sold and turned into a school.  Taking over Tredegar House in 1974, Newport Borough Council began restoring and refurbishing the property when the took it over in 1974 and Tredegar House is now open for public and maintained by The National Trust. It has been used as a filming location for many TV shows including Doctor Who and Sherlock.

This Yumi dress is my new favourite dress. I've worn it to work, for interviews, whilst meeting up for some drinks with friends and for my stroll around the park. I think it would make a pretty good party dress too if you paired it with some heels and red lipstick. I've got about a dozen polka dot items of clothing but it's a classic print so you can never have too many polka dots, right? I love how these spots are a little randomly spaced and I the print reminds me of a night sky. The best thing about this dress is that you don't need to iron it, a real winner for someone who is iron-phobic like me. You can pick this dress up in the sale for £30 at the moment. 

Dress: Yumi c/o House of Fraser 

Shoes: Topshop

Bag: TK Maxx

This cute bag was an impulse buy in TK Maxx and it's main selling point was the pom pom. I had to have it.  It's is the perfect size for every day use and I can even fit my DSLR camera inside. They have a few in stock in the Cardiff store and you can get them online here.

I highly recommend a visit to Tredegar House, it's only 15-20 minutes away from Cardiff and easy to reach from Bristol too. 

Each city, town and village in the UK has its own unique and individual attractions, but there are a few places that you should definitely visit if you are in the UK for the first time or even if have lived here all your life. I adore places like Manchester, London and the Cotswolds but the choices below really stand out of me. Narrowing  it down to just 5 destination was very tricky...

My hometown grew during the industrial revolution and has its fair share of historic buildings but it really can't compare to York with is snickleways (alleys), overhanging timber-framed houses and medieval town walls. The traditional shopfronts of The Shambles makes it one of the UK’s most historic (and gorgeous) streets. You can’t visit York without paying a visit to York Minster, one of the largest cathedrals in Northern Europe and also one of the most beautiful Gothic churches in the world. York also has Viking heritage too. You can and experience the sights, sounds and smells of the viking period at the Jorvik Viking Centre. A personal highlight of my visit to York was learning about 300 years of railway history, climbing aboard giant locomotives and browsing some of the 1 million train-related artefacts at the truly amazing National Railway Museum. You can read more about my trip to York and get some tips about what so see and do here. 

Known all over the world for it’s Roman Baths (hence the name) Bath is one city everyone needs to visit in the UK at least once! The city has such an amazing history – along with some of the UK’s more exclusive postcodes outside of London. Visitors all over the world flock to Bath each year to get a real sense of what life was like in Regency UK and as a pilgrimage to the beloved author Jane Austen. I recommend a stay at the Francis Hotel for a modern take on Regency/Georgian style and a burger at  Schwartz Bros.

West Wales has many excellent beaches that are suitable for surfing, sailing and relaxing. Tresaith beach is particularly lovely with its unusual waterfall cascading over the cliff into the sea. Tenby has pretty pastel buildings, restaurants with locally caught seafood and is the perfect base to explore the nearby Caldey Island which is home to Cistercian monks and interesting wildlife. 

There are also many historic attractions to visit, such as Cilgerran Castle and the grand St David's Cathedral. St Davids is the smallest city in Britain with a population of just over 1,600. The Pembrokeshire Coastline is so outstandingly beautiful and important it was established as a National Park in 1952. No blog post would be long enough for me to convey how magical and breathtaking West Wales it, you'll just have to visit yourself and make up your own mind. 

About 90% of my wardrobe is navy blue or black and you'll normally find my legs covered in 100 denier tights or leggings so this is a pretty wild look for me. Coral and bare legs! I wore this dress to a friends wedding a couple of weeks ago and felt suitable dressy and ladylike (the skirt is perfect for dance floor swishing) but I think this would be equally as good as a work dress with smart jacket. On a side note, I think 'Operation Grow Hair for Wedding' is going pretty well.

I'm currently feeling a little sorry for myself on the sofa with the sniffles and not feeling remotely glamorous at all like I did in the dress above.  I've got all my guide books out and a cup of tea and I'm planning my trip to Berlin with Martyn in a couple of weeks time. If you have any Berlin tips please leave some in the comments section below.