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Someone, somewhere, will hate this view
Patterdale |
Think of your most favourite place on earth. Got it? Now
think of your least favourite place. Got that too? Doesn't it freak
you out that for someone, somewhere, those two places will be the other way
around? I spend a lot of my life surrounded by people and am continually
surprised by how different we are and how there are plenty of very lovely,
reasonable, kind, considerate people who hate the things, and places, that I
love (and vice versa). So what is it
that affects our love of a place?
Over the past few weeks I’ve been using
the Times Britain's Best Walks book to revisit some favourite spots in Cumbria and
uncover a few new corners. There are 100
walks in total and all of the locations mentioned/ photographed in this blog are on, or around, one of the 11 routes
in Cumbria.
Childhood memories?
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| Watendlath |
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Many folks will suggest that we feel comfortable with what we know from
childhood; fair point - my love for the
outdoors probably comes from family holidays in Wales and school trips to the
Long Mynd. But I only ever had one, very fleeting (less than a day), trip
to Cumbria in my youth so it's always puzzled me why I instantly felt at home
here when I first visited properly in 2010. I know other folks who love
the outdoors but just haven't felt comfortable or been able to settle here -
why does one person connect with a place but another, with similar tastes,
doesn't?
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Love of the mountains?
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| Nr Eskdale |
Maybe it's just the mountains I love? Good argument, but I get
passionately excited about all the corners of Cumbria and the huge variety of
landscapes I can explore - the coast, the bluebell walks and the beautiful
woodlands. I have some friends who only like the mountains and shun low
level walks; I know "we can't all like the same thing" - but why is
that?
As seen on screen?
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| Derwent Water or Takodana? |
Does being seen on the big screen affect how we feel about a
place? Beatrix Potter, Wordsworth and the Victorian painters have
certainly influenced people to visit the area over the past couple of hundred
years - and perhaps Star Wars, Withnail and I or Snow White and the Huntsman
are influencing a new generation.
Whenever I watch one of my favourite films, Stardust, I’m always
overcome with a desire to head to Skye where big chunks of it were filmed. Who needs a tourist board when you have
movies?
Because of how it sounds (or doesn’t
sound!)
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| Crummock Water - Peace & Quiet... |
Here’s an interesting and little known fact about me – I find the sound
of washing machines oddly comforting. It
could be the “white noise” rhythmic element or it could be that when I was very
young my mum worked in a laundrette and I can remember being taken to meet her
at the end of her shift. I have a “noisy
head” – my brain is always on the go and, when I’m surrounded by sound in a
city it can all get a bit much for me so, for that reason I am drawn to
peaceful, quiet places. Some sounds are
allowed of course – the crunch of gravel underfoot, the song of a skylark high
above you and the sound of the flask lid unscrewing...
Because it’s not somewhere else!
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| Near Dufton but not near anywhere else |
My work travels take me to lots of different cities and to London a
couple of times each month – I am not a fan of cities and sometimes I’m just
happy to be anywhere that isn’t a city.
A couple of cities are allowed on my “nice places to be” list – Glasgow and
Lancaster – the first because it has awesome, free, museums (including
Kelvingrove – possibly my favourite museum ever) and the second because it’s
rammed with fascinating history and is usually my first breath of fresh air
when I get off the train from London.
Because it’s interesting
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| Hutton Roof Crags - more than just fine look fells... |
I didn’t just marry my lovely husband because he’s damned fine looking,
I married him because he’s damned fine looking AND interesting to be with. For me it’s not enough that the scenery looks
pretty it also needs to be interesting.
Like Hutton Roof Crags – stunning to look at and fascinating geological
history too. What’s not to love?
How it smells
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| Barbondale - mmmmm - can I have my sarnies yet? |
When spring sprungs and the garlic hits the woods I spend entire walks
with a rumbling stomach. I love the
smell of garlic and I’m sure consumption of garlic bread rises while they’re in
flower. I also love the salty smell of
the sea, the smell of the fresh earth after the rain and the smell of the
freshly cut grass after the farmers have been bringing in the hay – someone
should really make air fresheners that smell like that, I’d definitely pack one
for my city travels.
Familiarity – love at second sight
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| Duddon - worth a second look |
Sometimes I think we need to visit somewhere a few times before we fall
for it properly. The Duddon Valley is a
firm favourite with us now but the first time we visited I wasn’t completely
sold. Of course that could have been
because we got lost in an old woodland,wandered around arguing for an hour or
so and didn’t get back to the car until after dark...
Previous life?
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| Kentmere Valley |
Are there supernatural forces at work?
I am a largely a woman of science, but I don’t think science has yet
explained everything – especially some of the odd touchy feely stuff; like
those times when you visit somewhere and know you’ve been there before. Or like my first ever proper visit to Cumbria
when I just knew I’d come home. I still
can’t explain that feeling to anyone - I may not have been born in the county
(hardly my fault!) but I know that I belong here.
All of the above?
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| Haweswater - my happy place |
I’m guessing the truth is that it’s a bit of everything. A whole bunch
of subtle messages collide in our brains which come together and produce a warm
and cost “Ready Brek” glow when we connect with somewhere. Either that or they’re putting something in
the water in Cumbria and we’re all under the spell of an evil overlord. Or maybe I shouldn’t write blogs when I’m
drinking wine..?
All of the photos in this blog were taken on or around walks featured in The Times Britain's Best Walks.
All the walks were described clearly and concisely with interesting
notes from the author. It was great to
see some routes away from the usual hotspots and it’s definitely a book we’ll
keep on Delores for our trips around the UK.
Much as I love colossal hikes and epic long days on the fells, there is also much joy to be had in a short (under 2 miles) walk. As you may know I've founded a project called #WalkOneStop aimed at encouraging folks to walk just a short distance - as Tesco would say "Every little helps" - and even a short walk can make a big difference.
