My 2018 to-do list

I've done my look back at the year but in reality, I'm already looking forward to 2018, plotting and making plans. I'm not one for new year's resolutions - the way I see it, if you want to change something about yourself, why wait until 1 January? Why have your last cigarette, or piece of cake, or pint of beer on 31 December, if it's something you've wanted to give up since September? (Important note: I don't indulge in two out of these three things, and I'm certainly not planning to give up the third).

Instead, I prefer to have goals - a solid list of goals that can be ticked off one by one, because really, is there anything more motivating than a to-do list waiting to be ticked off? Here's my list as it looks at the start of 2018:

Find a new flat

I'm almost 27 years old and I currently live with my mum.  My mum is lovely and I enjoy living there, but I refer you back to my first point: I'm almost 27 years old. I shouldn't be living with family any more. It's a temporary situation, born out of having to get out of an unhappy living situation in London, but it's in danger of becoming permanent.

So, I'm hoping to find my own flat to rent in the area in the early part of this year. I'm past the stage of living with flatmates, and am really looking forward to having my own space. What's more, now that I feel a lot more settled, I'd like it to be a long-term home, not just another temporary space. I've viewed a couple of flats already, but they weren't quite suitable - come on 2018, do your thing.

Start running again

Ha. Cast your minds back to 2015 and you may remember that I signed up for a half marathon. I did a few solid months of training, staying more committed than I thought I would, and was building up my distance ready to take on the half marathon. And best of all, I was (whisper it)... enjoying it.

Then some personal stuff happened and I gave up running very suddenly - that half marathon never happened. Since then, I've only been running occasionally, on days when I've got excess energy I need to burn off, or I need to relieve some stress by pounding the pavements.

I'd like to be able to run a solid 10k by the end of 2018. I was almost up to that distance when I gave up last time, so I'd like to get there again. No time pressures or goals, just running that far without collapsing. If I can do that at least once this year, that's a big tick on the 2018 list.

Take a trip to Edinburgh

I've wanted to take a solo trip to Edinburgh for a few years now, an idea that came out of wanting to see the pandas at Edinburgh Zoo. I did some research, and there are plenty of other things I'd like to do in Edinburgh too, but for one reason and another (money, time, the decision between getting the train or flying) I've been putting it off.

Why solo? Because the me that flew to South Africa alone five years ago doesn't seem to exist anymore. I had an absolute ball on that trip, and was proud of myself for doing it alone, so I'm easing myself back into the idea of solo travel gently. If Edinburgh goes well, who knows what solo trips will be on my 2019 list?

Visit a new place each month

You know what baffles me? People who claim to love travelling, but have barely seen any of their own country. They've been to the Maldives, but not Manchester, Barbados, but not Bath. I don't want to be one of those people, so I'm making it my goal this year to visit a new town or city every month. Some will be daytrips, others may be weekend breaks. Hopefully Edinburgh will be one of them. They may not be the most glamorous or far-flung of places (budget and free time will be a huge factor), but they'll be towns I haven't visited before. I'll be documenting it all on here, and on Twitter and Instagram - and I'm open to suggestions too.

A trip to Hertford in 2016. More of the same in 2018 please.

Visit the Harry Potter Studios

This is another one that's been on my list for years. The plan is to read all of the Harry Potter books, then watch all the films, then go to the Studios. Hands up: this was also my plan last year, but I read about a quarter of the first book, then got distracted by other books, and never came back to it. #MustTryHarder.

So there you have it - my 2018 checklist:

* Find a flat
* Visit Edinburgh
* Run 10k
* Visit 12 new places (including Edinburgh)
* Visit the Harry Potter studios

 Follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to see how I'm getting on, and fire over any suggestions for places to visit in the UK.

The many beach huts of Walton on the Naze

I've always been an autumn girl; knitwear appearing in the shops, leaves turning their most beautiful shades, misty mornings. But this year, spring and summer have turned my head a little, with their blue skies and psychedelic blooms.

So here, in an attempt to revive the dying embers of the British summer, are some photos I took back in July. The beach promenade between Frinton-on-Sea and Walton on the Naze is lined with beach huts -- the whole 3.5km of it. We walked there and back, and must have passed 1000 beach huts in doing so, all different colours and styles. Lap up this photogenic slice of the British seaside...

The UK's best winter lights and lantern festivals 2016-2017

Lumiere London 2016. Photo: Laura Reynolds

In January 2016, London was lifted briefly out of its post-Christmas, freezing weather, no money slump by Lumiere London. Lumiere London was a light festival on a huge scale, taking over the city for a few days, closing streets to traffic and sending Instagram into a veritable frenzy. Everyone was talking about it. I can say without a doubt that it's my favourite event ever to come to London (and dealing in London events is my bread and butter), and I now get quite excited every time I hear about another light festival.

Sadly, it doesn't look like Lumiere is coming back to London this year, but there are plenty of other light and lantern festivals taking place in London and across the UK. Some are family-friendly, others lean more towards the romantic spectrum, so choose your companions carefully. Can't make it along to any of these? Follow the venues on Instagram to get the best of the pretty lights without battling the cold weather.

Magical Lantern Festival at Chiswick House

The previous Magical Lantern Festival at Chiswick House. Photo: Magical Lantern Festival

For its second outing at Chiswick House in south-west London, The Magical Lantern Festival takes on a Silk Road theme. Lanterns will represent themes from the route the Silk Road trade route took between Europe and China. The other entertainment on offer at the festival is rather eclectic, ranging from fun fair rides and a synthetic ice rink to virtual reality games to play.

Oddest of all, bearing in mind the festival takes place in January and February, is the Santa's Grotto. Makes sense that the guy in red would be less busy at this time of year, but surely that's just asking to have overexcited kids on your hands for 11 months?

The Magical Lantern Festival, Chiswick House. Adult tickets £16-50-£20. 19 January-26 February 2017.

The Festival of Light, Longleat Safari Park

Photo: Longleat

Beatrix Potter fans are in for a right treat as the author's animal characters are brought to life in light form, among more than 2,500 lanterns. There's also a Beatrix Potter exhibition in the Great Hall.

Longleat's famous pride of lions is also immortalised in light, as are some of its other residents, including elephants and gorillas. It's all part of the safari park's 50th anniversary celebrations.

The Festival of Light, Longleat Safari Park. Various ticket prices, 11 November 2016-2 January 2017.

Tunnel of Light, Norwich

Photo: Norwich BID

You only need to head as far north as Norwich to experience the Northern Lights this winter -- sort of.

A 45m long tunnel of light, made of more than 50,000 LEDs will be set on Hay Hill, as part of the City's Christmas celebrations, in what it's claiming is a UK first.

Tunnel of Light, Norwich, 17 November 2016-5 January 2017.

GLOW, Eastbury Manor

For two nights only, National Trust property Eastbury Manor House in Barking is taken over by local organisation Studio3arts. The house and grounds will be illuminated with events including a fire garden and fire sculptures, illuminations in patterns representing the building's Tudor heritage, sound installations and a model solar system. If ever there was a time to head for the end of the District line, this is it.

GLOW, Eastbury Manor, Barking. Adult tickets £5, 25-26 November 2016

Winter Lights Festival, Canary Wharf

Photo: Canary Wharf

Move over suits and briefcases, it's playtime in Canary Wharf. In what is probably the most interactive event on this list (and free -- yippee!), Winter Lights Festival is back.

30 light installations will be dotted among the east London skyscrapers, with work by artists from four continents. Visitors to last year's event could hook up their smartphones to control some of the lights in what appeared to be a 21st century form of witchcraft. Expect similar this year.

Winter Lights Festival, Canary Wharf. Free, 16-27 January 2017.

Dulwich Winterlights, Dulwich Picture Gallery

Photo: Dulwich Picture Gallery

The world's first purpose-built picture gallery steps elegantly into the 21st century with a pre-Christmas illumiation festival. The 19th century building and impressive grounds will be lit up and decked with lanterns by the same people behind Christmas at Kew (see below). As you follow the trail, enjoy the accompanying music, which include live roaming choirs.

Dulwich Winterlights at Dulwich Picture Gallery. Adult tickets £12, 6-18 December 2016.

Enchanted Woodland at Syon Park

Photo: Steve Newton/Enchanted Woodland

South-west London's Syon House is a sleepy place most of the year, but it comes alive for a few weekends before Christmas when it transforms into the family-friendly Enchanted Woodland.

A colourful, illuminated mile-long trail through the trees and around the lake is enough to enchant adults and kids alike -- and it's worth keeping your eyes open for little touches like fairy doors in the trees. Booking in advance is a must, but even then be prepared to queue to get in.

Enchanted Woodland at Syon House. Adult tickets £9, 18 November-4 December 2016.

Christmas at Kew, Kew Gardens

Christmas at Kew 2014. Photo: Laura Reynolds

Inevitably, gardens lose their appeal in winter, but those clever people at Kew have found a way to keep the visitor numbers up; Christmas at Kew.

The light trail winds around a corner of the sizeable garden, taking in the dancing fountains in the lake, a Five Gold Rings themed fire garden, a light tunnel and much more. There's also a Victorian funfair, food and drinks stalls and more.  In short, it's an Instagram addict's heaven.

Christmas at Kew, Kew Gardens. Adult ticket £16-£20, 23 November 2016-2 January 2017.

 Magical Lantern Festival, Leeds and Birmingham

The people behind the Magical Lantern Festival at Chiswick House (above) are also lighting up Leeds -- Roundhay Park to be precise -- and Birmingham's Botanical Garden.

Tip: while you're in Leeds, it's also worth checking out the Leeds Christmas Market.

Magical Lantern Festival Leeds. Adult ticket £12.50-£14. 25 November 2016-2 January 2017.
Magical Lantern Festival Birmingham. Adult ticket £12.50-£14. 25 November 2016-2 January 2017.

Lumiere Durham 2017

While they may not be gracing London with their much-missed presence this year, there's a rumour that Artichoke  Arts are bringing Lumiere Durham back in 2017. At time of writing, the link on the website isn't working, but it's something for light fans in the north of England to keep an eye on.

What have I missed? Add any other events to the comments below or tweet me @scribbling_lau and I'll add them to the list.

Is this the best crazy golf course in the UK?

You know it's getting serious when you entrust your handbag to a panda while you tee off.

I love a crazy golf course. There's something intrinsically childlike about them, the way they can reduce full-grown adults to over-excited, golf club-wielding maniacs.

Given the recent influx of crazy golf courses in London (crazy golf underground, crazy golf on a roof, crazy golf that's literally rubbish), it seems I'm not the only one. But sometimes it's nice to step away from the hipster haunts of Shoreditch and go back to good, old-fashioned crazy golf -- fibreglass animals and all.

Talk about putting me off my swing

The course at Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire is just that. A wildlife park may not seem the obvious place for a crazy golf course, but Paradise caters for a young family audience, and it does it very well. Fortunately for us, visiting on a rainy Sunday (a Sunday which also offered the Wimbledon and Euro 2016 finals, the British Grand Prix and some golf or other on the TV), all children were out of the way and we had the course practically to ourselves.

It's an 18 hole course, and a sizable one at that. Thanks to the abundance of greenery, you never know what's around the next corner (expect fibreglass animals - there are always fibreglass animals).

The first hole

The course takes in hills, peaks,  troughs and even a little stream. The stream was a cause for concern - teeny tiny frogs, no bigger than a 1p coin were living in it, oblivious to the dangers of being trampled by human feet or doinked over the head by a golf ball.

You lookin' at me?

Adventurous little chaps, we found ourselves dodging mini frogs - and sadly, a couple of squashed frogs - for the next few hole, as we weaved over bridges and in and out of caves.

It really is a Tardis of a course - how they manage to fit so much into such as small space, I really don't know.

On Safari Golf, Paradise Wildlife Park, Hertfordshire. Crazy golf is £2 per person (+ park admission fee).

Beaulieu: the capital of the New Forest

Mention that you're going on holiday to the New Forest and the two things that people are most likely to mention are wild horses and Beaulieu.

Having made friends with the wild horses (and donkeys. Oh, the donkeys!) during the first three days of our camping trip, we decided to spend our last day visiting Beaulieu, one of the biggest villages/towns in the New Forest, most famous for its Motor Museum.

Getting into the "when in Rome" spirit of things, we left the car at the campsite and walked through the forest to Beaulieu, as we had done to Brockenhurst two days before, although this trip was a couple of miles further. Our choice to walk was also partly due to the car, which we needed to make the 150 mile trip home, hanging onto life by the skin of its teeth by this point. The twelve mile round trip to the New Forest's most famous village may have been the proverbial straw that broke the coil spring.

We hit our first hiccup just a couple of hundred metres from the campsite, strolling along a concrete path, chatting about our dinner plans. A twig a couple of feet in front of us moved. That twig turned out to be a snake. As anyone who knows me know, snakes are my worst fear, to the extent that I was reduced to tears in the reptile house in Barcelona Zoo - and they're behind glass there.

"Your running's coming along well" said The Boy, when he caught me up half a mile down the road, bawling my eyes out. Needless to say I was on high alert for the rest of the walk, giving anything vaguely twiglike a wide berth.

And what a walk it turned out to be. Across a heath (more donkeys!), past a model airfield, through a village green, down a lane, through a wood, up a hill, down a hill, across a road, through another field, and finally, two hours (and six miles) later, we found ourselves in the village of Beaulieu. At this point I would like to point out that while The Boy's compass was of great help in getting us to Brockenhurst two days previously, Google Maps saved our skins while wandering on the heath today. Tradition 1-Technology 1.

It's a stunning little place, situated next to a lake with swans a-swanning and ducks a-ducking. Neither of us have a vested interest in the Motor Museum or the Abbey ruins (and the sign post suggested these to be a long walk away) , so we headed for the centre of the village where we hoped to find seating, refreshment and amusement.

The village itself was small -disappointingly so after a six mile trek to get there. A 10 minute stroll saw us visit all of the half dozen shops and the garden centre, so we made our way to the tea rooms for some much needed sustenance. A jacket potato, some cake, and a couple of drinks later, we'd explored all that Beaulieu had to offer and set off on the six mile trek back to the campsite.

The Boy contemplates having come face to face with a fearsome predator.

 When we got to the technological refuge of the Happy Cheese pub that night (well worth a visit if you're in the area - yummy burgers), we took advantage of our first WiFi in four days and looked up the snake species.

 I say we, I can't even look at a still image of a snake on a phone screen without wanting to vomit. The Boy looked at photos of snakes to try to identify which one we'd seen (I had absolutely no idea - I didn't stay around long enough to take a close look) and concluded that we'd come across an adder, the UK's only native species of poisonous snake. Although horrified by the thought, and dreading spending one final night in the tent knowing that such a monstrosity was on the loose nearby (did I mention that I don't like snakes?), I couldn't help but feel like a hero knowing that I'd come within a couple of feet of an adder and lived to tell the tale.

Unless we missed anything, this was the extent of the main street

So, Beaulieu - a very picturesque village, and worth stopping if you're in the area, but certainly not worth a 12 mile round walking trip.

See also:

• A trip to New Forest Wildlife Park
• The Mad Hatter's Tea Rooms, Lyndhurst
• The five best things about camping
• The five worst things about camping