Today was our scheduled rest day and we were both very glad of it - all we had to do was toddle over to Ambleside on the one sunny day wedged between two dismal downpours. There's a lot to be said for dawdling and spotting things you'd otherwise miss - today we found a lovely new footpath, a historic farmhouse and a Roman camp.
In fact the hike was almost too perfect...
Distance: 4.44 miles, mostly downhill & lots of rests.
Weather: Practically perfect in every way.
Terrain: Mile after mile of glorious footpath.
Food: Frankly disappointing breakfast (call me picky but when a hotel hikes its prices from £60 per night to £144 per night for the *exact same room* simply because it's a bank holiday, and still has the nerve to tell you that a hot breakfast is another £5 extra, I'm going to stick to the free toast & cereal. And never, EVER, return.)
State of mind: Two stiles short of a full hike...
Upside of the adventure: I suppose I should say the stunning views, the history and spending time with Steve but honestly it's snarfing a whole tub of guacamole and a huge bag of crisps knowing I'll burn it all off tomorrow.
Downside of the adventure: A full day or persistent torrential rain forecast for tomorrow. I even treated myself to some new waterproof trousers in readiness seeing as my old ones had patches on the patches...
On August 16th we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary and, as I scrolled back through my "on this day in history" photos, I realised how much of our life we've spent outdoors. Ours is a tiny milestone (I've warned Steve that he's got at least another 40 or so years with me!) but inevitably, when folks reach magnificent marriage milestones they are asked what the secrets to a long and happy marriage are. As I pondered this I realised just how much of the advice given for life in the great outdoors applies equally well to relationships. Things like...
1. Be properly prepared
Make sure you are prepared for all eventualities. Conditions in life can change just as rapidly as the weather on the fells tops. Just because you start out in the sunshine don't expect it to be sunny for the entire journey; make sure you're ready to face the tricky stuff as well as the easy stuff.
2. Beware of baggage
While it's important to ensure you have everything you need, don't over-encumber yourself. We've all got baggage but, like a long hike with a large backpack, that baggage will wear you down if you insist on carrying it everywhere with you. Only keep with you what you really need and leave the rest behind.
3. Remember to get back to where you started
Burnham Beeches - one of our first dates
All good circular walks require you to get back to where your started. You may start out bright-eyed and bushy tailed but, by the end of a long hike, you're probably grubby, exhausted, hungry and very glad to get back to where it all began. It's the same with relationships; when you're worn out and questioning your sanity go back to where it all started and remember why you embarked on this journey in the first place.
On the fells you need to have plenty of food with you to give you the energy you need throughout the day so load up on chocolate, nuts and bananas. We also need to eat together properly the rest of the time too so swap the occasional TV dinner for dinner at the table or head out for a meal. We enjoyed a gloriously sumptuous meal at the Burlington Restaurant in the Beech Hill hotel for our wedding anniversary and were thoroughly spoiled - the blueberry souffle was utterly perfect - and the time spent together was just as wonderful as the food. When you work together it can be doubly difficult spending "non-working" time together talking about other stuff but a stroll around the hotel grounds and a good old natter over dinner did us the world of good.
5. Make sure you're properly dressed
Layers are the key to life on the fells, lots of layers. Add them as you get cold and remove them as you warm up again. Hats are also important - nice warm woolly ones for the winter and baseball caps or something with a peak for the summer. When it comes to your beloved, don't forget to make the effort occasionally - remember the time and trouble you went to making sure you looked perfect for your first dates? You don't need to do that every day but now and again is nice. And as for other clothing you may choose to wear to spice things up - just remember that it's unlikely to be suitable for hill walking...
6. Stick close together in bad weather
If you're on top of a hill when the weather closes in, keep close together to make sure you don't lose each other. Sometimes it can only take a moment and someone who is just 10 feet away from you can disappear completely, so keep close. And when life throws crap at you and things get stormy keep sight of each other, hang on to each other if necessary, but remember you'll have more chance getting through it together than alone.
7. Close the gate
Probably one of the first things I learned when walking in the outdoors was to always close the gate behind me - it was that and "never drop litter". Keeping the gate closed keeps the livestock where it needs to be and stops the sheep getting at the crops and scoffing the lot. In relationships we need to close the gate on past arguments and disagreements - if you leave the gate open stuff is likely to escape and other things will get ruined. Close the gate and move on.
8. Work together when overcoming obstacles
It's honestly a bit rich for me to be writing this part as I am the worst person for this and need to be reminded of it regularly - we're in this together so we need to work as a team. In the same way that climbers rope themselves together and work as a team to reach the highest peaks, so I need to remember that I don't have to fix everything on my own. Maybe when you're out hiking one of you is better at map-reading and the other is better at making the packed lunches. Play to your strengths, work together, and everything will be a lot easier. 9. Know who to call in an emergency
If we get lost on the mountains, or things go wrong, we can always call Mountain Rescue and they'll either come out and get us or talk us down to a place of safety. Sometimes even the best of relationships go through bad days, weeks and occasionally months when things just don't seem to click in the same way they used to. Hang in there, talk to people who can help you get a fresh perspective and hopefully you'll be back on the right path again soon.
10. Enjoy the adventure
Hiking shouldn't just be about ticking off the miles walked or the summits claimed, it should also be about having fun and enjoying the outdoors. A life long relationship is a huge (and occasionally scary!) adventure, so enjoy it. It's not all about paying bills and making sure the car gets MOTd in time (I'm looking at you Steve! 😉💝) it's also about enjoying the journey and seeing new stuff along the way. You're on this crazy roller-coaster together, you may as well enjoy the ride!
PRETTY PLEASE - BEFORE YOU GO! Did you notice that this blog isn't swamped with adverts or pop-ups pestering you to sign up for a newsletter? That's because we hate that sort of thing BUT we still need to earn a living! We are lucky enough to make part of our living from writing books - the fun part is writing them and the hard part is selling them. Yes, you can get them all on Amazon too, but we make next to nothing that way - plus if you buy from us we'll be happy to sign them for you. Just click the pictures below to find out more. Cheers! 😀
journey so far is how few bars and off licences sell local gins and vodkas. Obviously there are noteable exceptions like Windermere Wines who stock a good range, but they're the exception rather than the rule.
As I understand it, it's to do with the lack of independents - those tied to big breweries or chains can only stock what they're told they can and, sadly, that seems to be at the expense of the small local producers. Perhaps if when we go in we could all ask for a local drink things may change.
Anyway, back to the hike! Today's journey took us out of Ambleside, up and over Loughrigg and down into Grasmere. We basically left the excellent Brathay Hall and headed uphill for a couple of hours.
I adore the views along Windermere from that side of the fell and we were both pretty excited that it was sunny for a change.
I promise we didnt drink them up there!
Today we chatted about things we'd learned on the hike & I think one thing that Karen learned today was not to trust me with the route planning. Karen's more of a "main routes are main routes for a reason" kind of person whereas I'm definitely from the "ooohh look, no-one's walked along here for ages, let's have an adventure" school. We basically paddled off the top of Loughrigg and Karen was very pleased when we found the hard track again at Rydal Cave.
Spot Karen racing to the hard track. 😀
We soon raced down into Grasmere with the sun on our backs where I got to introduce Karen to the adorable Herdy. I have loved Herdy for many years and there is nothing finer than a beautiful Herdy mug full of hot tea at the end of a long hike. (Plus Herdy are HUGE supporters of all things local - click the link below the photo to visit their webpage &, when you've finished ooohing & aaahhing over all their lovely goodies, have a read about their Herdy Fund activities.)
Tonight we're cosy in Grasmere YHA preparing for a long hike to Keswick tomorrow. By preparing I mean eating loads, sampling gin and falling asleep by 10pm. Yes, we are THAT rock & roll! 😀
As the theme of today's blog is supporting local businesses PLEASE spare a moment to "like" and "follow" our supporters. Sorry I can't but fancy links in here but I will do a full list at the end of our journey. Thank you.
So, just about 1 week into our first ever multi-day hike and we were discussing what we'd
learned so far. The over-riding lesson for both of us was that we didn't need as much underwear as we thought we'd need and I really begrudge carrying around grubby undies. When you have to carry everything around on your back the word "essential" becomes much more clearly defined.
One thing which is absolutely essential is the requirement to carry the very kind gifts which many of the folks we've met have generously given us. (I know the English in that sentence is shocking but it's late & I'm tired). Take this morning for example - we just popped in to see Anthony in Windermere Wines and he handed over 2 small bottles of Mint Cake liqueur sent over by "Minty Mike" - that's definitely worth dumping your grubby undies for.
As we made our way down the hill to Bowness we passed another off-licence & this one stocked a local liqueur we'd missed on our original list - Gingerbread Vodka. It was utterly delicious and required me to buy a small bottle for "research purposes".
Today some of you may say we cheated but it has always been our intention on this project to offer this as a route you can hike if you want or, if you prefer you can use other modes of transport (apart from driving if you're planning to try any samples!), so from Bowness we hopped onto the steamer to Ambleside. There is honestly no better way to explore the lake and today we were treated to the most spectacular sight - a rainbow mist. I've never seen anything quite like it, utterly breathtaking, and something we just wouldn't have seen from the shore.
Our accommodation for the night is Brathay Hall & we are both mightly impressed at the value for money here. Unbeatable location at the head of the lake and simple but perfectly proportioned rooms containing everything you need.
As you know, I spend a lot of time on Twitter and one place I've exchanged many tweets with over the past year or so is Dodd's restaurant in Ambleside - their daily specials look so divine that I've occasionally come close to licking the screen of my phone... When they heard about our hike they invited us over and I was powerless to resist!
The food is glorious - all freshly cooked in a proper kitchen by chefs I can see. No nasty microwave re-heats and plenty of variety and flavour. The place was understandably packed with folks waiting patiently for a seat - always the sign of a great restaurant.
I was properly full by the end but, as we're back hiking again tomorrow, I prefer to see it as essential carbo-loading rather than gratuitous stuffing of our faces. Huge credit to Lazlo & his team for creating something truly special.
Tomorrow we're heading up & over Loughrigg and learning more about illicit spirit production in the region so if you spot me in a homebrew shop in the next month or so, you'll know why.
BEFORE YOU GO please take a moment to like & follow all of our supporters - they are all wonderful folks without whom this trip would have been really boring. Please click on the photos above to visit the folks we met today. Thank you. 😀
What do clean boots and office Christmas trees have in common? Neither of them are fulfilling the purpose for which they were intended. In the case of the office Christmas tree it sits alone and forlorn on Christmas Day with no excited children or pressies anywhere to be seen - how sad is that?
Clean boots, paraded around Ambleside on a sunny bank holiday, remind me of caged animals in the zoo - they can see the fells all around but they're just not allowed onto them. A dirty boot is a happy boot in my book so I was delighted when Bogs asked me to get a pair good and mucky for them.
Not that everyone agreed mind - look what happened when I posted a photo of them on Instagram when they arrived:
Too nice to get dirty? Never! Chlorinekid & DistantHorizonsUK had better look away now... Bogs promised these boots were 100% waterproof and I wasn't going to let a claim like that go untested.
First was some gentle puddling...
Then came the snow... (awesome footprint!)
Then there was a small bog...
Then they were dirty! Yay!
So they needed to be cleaned - bring on the puddles!
Only one way to clean a good pair of boots. (It's possible the care instructions didn't recommend this as the preferred method of cleaning...)
Remember when you were a kid and had your boots on and your mum still told you off for jumping in all the puddles? Well, the best thing about being an adult is that I get to wear boots and jump in all the puddles I want!
At this point I realised that perhaps my mum had had a point all along. My jeans were soaked, we were at Leighton Moss and I still had a good 2 hours birdwatching/ cake munching ahead of me. Steve gave me one of those looks but I remained unrepentant - boots should be dirty and puddles should be jumped in.
The boots were superb, my feet were comfy dry and warm and, in my humble opinion, the mud only added to the already awesome design. Too nice to get dirty? Pah! It would be a sin not to!
The boots in the blog are the Sidney Lace Plaid boots - you can find themhere. They also have LOADS of other designs so do have a nose through their website.
