A Day of Happiness in Millport

A few weeks ago, Terry and I caught the ferry from Largs to the island of Great Cumbrae*, which is one of our favourite places in Scotland.

Our destination was the pretty little seaside town of Millport, which is exactly the kind of place you can imagine the Famous Five having some kind of absolutely ripping adventure in. And I don’t know about you, but, “Would the Famous Five like it?” is one of my main considerations when it comes to choosing a location for a day out. This wasn’t just a day out, though – it was a Day of Happiness, which we embarked upon as part of fashion brand FatFace’s #washedinhappiness campaign. They say they wash their clothes in happiness before sending them out, and I can honestly believe it, because, remember The Best Chinos in All the Land? You don’t? Well, let me elaborate…

A few years ago, I found myself the perfect pair of chinos. God, I loved those pants. We went everywhere together, the chinos and me. We went to Disneyland. We went to Hollywood. We went to… a random wall near my old house. And then, the chinos, well, they went to the bin, because they were the unfortunate victims of The White Mark of Death, and I’ve basically never gotten over it. Ever since their sad demise, I’ve been on the lookout for a replacement pair, but nothing I’ve found has ever quite measured up. Or not until Fat Face came along, and very generously sent me some clothes to wear on my day of happiness, all beautifully presented in a Famous Five-esque picnic basket. I opened the lid, and I swear to God, a choir of angels started singing in delight, because what do you think was inside the basket, people?

ONLY THE BEST CHINOS IN ALL THE LAND, THAT’S WHAT.

Seriously, these chinos are almost identical to the pair I ruined, the main difference being that these ones are softer (washed in happiness, right?), and with a slightly narrower leg – which is actually the main selling point for me, because every other pair I’d tried until then had been super-baggy. These, however are pretty much perfect, and for our day at Millport, I decided to pair them with the Petal Vines top, which is a lovely, pretty-but-casual piece, which I can see getting a lot of wear this summer. I also have the ‘Kirstie’ dress, which uses the same print, and the denim capris, which I can also recommend – they’re SO soft and stretchy, which makes them a joy to wear.

Now that I had a great pair of chinos in my life again, I was already feeling pretty happy, to be honest, so when I realised the sun was going to shine for our adventure, I was downright ecstatic. After a wander around the town, we found a quiet spot to have our picnic:

 

(Fun fact: that picnic blanket is older than I am, and is still going strong. It’s basically a family heirloom…)

In The Famous Five books, there’s a running joke whereby Anne always makes the observation that food tastes “so much nicer!” when its eaten outdoors, and everyone else makes fun of her for saying it YET AGAIN. I think good ol’ Anne was right, though – there’s just something about sitting looking out over the sea, feeling the warm sun on your skin, and enjoying a picnic that just makes me happy to be alive, basically. I just wish I could do it more often – ideally after a hard day’s adventuring, during which I outwit some dastardly smugglers and find the buried treasure. Look, a girl can dream, OK?

WEARING:

FatFace Chartwell Chinos (c/o) ; FatFace Cara Petal Vines top (c/o) ; H&M jacket; Dorothy Perkins sandals

This is a sponsored post. Thanks to FatFace for providing the clothing for my day of happiness, and my parents for assisting with photography duties!