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  • About me
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Hi! I’m Claire Hall, a copywriter and digital content creator ready to help boost your profile online

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My recent travels

tinboxtraveller

Mid-life mum sharing adventures big ✈️ & small 🌱, places I 💚 & unpolished moments
I’m also @omanwanderlustcom @devonwithkids @travinfluence More👇

Who ruled the pumpkin patch better? Me or the 10-y Who ruled the pumpkin patch better? Me or the 10-year-old?

We’re a bit rusty after three years away and, to be honest, this half term has been less about making memories and more about going through the motions for the kids. There’s going to be a dog shaped hole in our lives for quite a while.

Thank you again for all the messages and love for our Misty 🐾🌈 

In the background I’ve been keeping busy writing new blog posts about my happy place Oman, so I’ll share more about those here if that’s all fine with you 🥰

#pumpkinpatch #octoberhalfterm
Yesterday we said goodbye to a bit of a legend. Yo Yesterday we said goodbye to a bit of a legend. You may have known her as Tin Box Dog. We knew her as Misty. Or one of a multitude of pet names…

Moo, Dog, Puppy, Puppet, Strumpet, Bishbee as the girls called her when they were tiny or, if you want to be formal, Oyster Cove Sea Mist - the Kennel Club name given to her when she was born.

She was even serialised as dog no. 268 while in Oman and wore her Ministry of Agriculture registration tag as a badge of honour until the end.

Our hearts are breaking. But they will mend and always be fuller for having her in our lives.

#TinBoxDog #bemoredog #dogswhotravel
Dogs are allowed back on Devon beaches. Our glob Dogs are allowed back on Devon beaches. 

Our globetrotting Lab Retriever spent most of her middle age enjoying winter walks at Blackpool Sands; rolling in the shingle, paddling in the sea, and dashing up and down the shoreline like a loon.

This weekend was our first chance to revisit it with her since we all got back from Oman (dogs aren’t allowed at this Blue Flag beach between April and October). 

We think she remembered it - there was a glimmer of enthusiasm when Mr Tin Box lifted her out of the car. 

Our 14-year-old has been struggling more with her arthritis this past month so wasn’t up for joining us for a swim but she was happy to watch and sniff the sea air.

We’re very conscious that every mini-adventure with her now is one to be cherished. 

Do you have a beach you love visiting all year round?

#devonbeach #tinboxdevon #blackpoolsands #familytravel #dogswhotravel #labradorretriever
It’s been a bit of a week. Long story short, I s It’s been a bit of a week. Long story short, I sparked a big debate about HMRC rules for content creators and whether they should declare going on press trips as cash income. It’s on LinkedIn if you can bare to look.

It got me thinking about the press trips we have been on and how they aren’t all as glam as you might imagine.

The very first time a tourist board invited us a press trip I didn’t get the details of our accommodation until the day we left home. The kids were tiny and it was a five hour drive to our destination. If I hadn’t been so keen, because it was my first proper press trip as a blogger, I think I would have pulled out well before.

Then there was the time we turned up at a holiday park to find our ‘luxury lodge’ was far from it. The master bed was broken, there were stains on the sheets, the bathroom was dirty and there was mould on all the walls. We arrived late so stayed the night and left first thing in the morning. The PR team agreed with me that it was best if I didn’t write a review. 

And then there was the cruise when I found out when we were onboard that the PR people wanted to pre-approve all my Instagram posts and see daily screenshots of my engagement stats. I was burning the candle at both ends for a full seven days to keep up with the packed itinerary, capture the content, get it approved, post it, engage with  the comments and report on it. And all with intermittent WiFi. 

Not all trips are like this. Most are a pleasure to cover, which makes the job worthwhile. But you don’t know until you go. 

So, the thought of having to pay tax to go on what is definitely not a holiday? No thanks! 

This story continues as it’s been taken up by various industry bodies and media…

📸 trying to look chilled during a group trip where 50 influencers and their families had been bused to a restaurant for dinner. At this point we’d sat there for an hour without being shown a menu because we were meant to be ‘capturing golden hour moments’. It was well past kiddie dinner time and we were on the edge.

Blogging and content creator friends; can you relate?

#travelblogging #instavsreality #uktravelblogger #travelmum #notallthatglittersisgold
📍White Horse Hill, Oxfordshire It’s seen a b 📍White Horse Hill, Oxfordshire

It’s seen a bit in its time.

Need to know:

🐴 Open: every day

🐴 Get there: use SN7 &QJ to find the car park

🐴 Parking: £2 for two hours, £4 all day or free for National Trust members

🐴Dogs: allowed on leads (there is livestock about)

🐴 Difficulty: the paths are cut through grass, so uneven but too bad. You might get a sweat on climbing up to the hill fort on a hot day 😅

Have you been to see the White Horse?

#oxfordshire #westoxfordshire #uffingtonwhitehorse #uffingtoncastle #outdoorfamily #familywalks #uktravel #uktravelblogger #freshairandfreedom #whitehorse #whitehorsehill #walksthroughtime #tinboxoxfordshire
Our weekend adventures aren’t what they used to Our weekend adventures aren’t what they used to be 😂

Last September we were visiting Oman’s turtles, wild camping and celebrating friends’ birthdays in boutique  mountain guest houses.

This month we’ve been deep cleaning, painting walls and stripping out garden overgrowth at our house in Devon.

We rented it out while we were in Oman and made the decision to base ourselves in Oxfordshire when we returned to the UK because it’s where Mr Tin Box’s new job is.

Then our tenants moved out and we suddenly had decisions to make: re-rent, sell or dig deep and use it as much as we could ourselves.

After popping back to tidy the place over the past month we’ve decided to give the last option a go. We’ve fallen in love with our house and the community around it all over again. 

And - who knows with military life - the next job could be in Devon. We’ll hopefully find out before the end of 2026 🤞

So, between now and then, West Country weekends and holidays it is! Once we’ve finished the painting! 

#tinboxdevon #littlestoriesofmylife❤️ #militarylife #devonlife #travelmum #militaryfamily #diyweekend
What’s the in box? Our final shipping delivery h What’s the in box? Our final shipping delivery has arrived from Oman! 

The majority of our belongings left the Middle East at the beginning of June and arrived in Oxfordshire in August. 

The eight boxes delivered yesterday contained everything we used in the final six weeks, aside from clothes which we crammed into our suitcases.

There were some proper gems that I am very happy to be reunited with:

🤩 a box of @omanchips_official #IYKYK

🤩 one of my favourite cook books by my friend @the_slimming_foodie 

🤩 photos with friends taken in our final few weeks

🤩 my perfume

🤩 my mug collection

🤩 nicknacks from the girls’ rooms 

🤩 and our coffee machine - phew! 

And, unlike our storage boxes that we regained in July, there were very few ‘why did we pack that’ moments.

Although I’m not too sure what to do with the 20 gazillion coat hangers that we have already replaced. And I feel like it was a problem we had this time three years ago 😆

Hypothetical question: if you were doing an international move, what could you not live without for three months?

#packingboxes #movinghouse #omanchips #militaryfamily #internationalmove #uktravelblogger #tinboxoman #travelmum #stuffandthings #souveniersfromoman #omanlife
📍STEAM Museum is Swindon’s top attraction. 📍STEAM Museum is Swindon’s top attraction. 

Some might argue the competition is rather limited but that shouldn’t detract from the fact this is a brilliant place to visit whether you are big time train fan or you just appreciate a ride.

It tells the story of the Great Western Railway, Swindon’s pivotal role in making engines and rolling stock, and the lives of the people who made it happen. 

There’s loads of interactive displays, real locos and historic scenes to walk through. 

I was surprised by quite how much there was to do. You definitely don’t need to be a train spotter to enjoy it. 

Keep an eye out for kids offers in the school holidays. 

I’ll be sharing more of our days out in and around our new West Oxfordshire base over the autumn and winter.

#steammuseum #swindon #familydaysout #uktravelblogger #familytravel #explorewithme #daysoutwithkids #gwr #greatwesternrailway #museumsforkids #wiltshire #visitwiltshire
Something stuck from our travels 😆 What I love Something stuck from our travels 😆

What I love is that our 10-year-old wasn’t just fascinated enough to want a snake. She’s now added ‘reptile researcher’ to the list of jobs she wants to do when she grows up (astronaut, vet and ‘famous’ YouTuber are also in the mix 😆).

Have your children picked up an idea on their holidays and followed it through?

#uktravelblogger #travelfamily #lemonheadthesnake #adventurefamily #travelmum #explorewithme #familytravel #snakesofinstagram #thingswedo #royalphthon #ballpython
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