It couldn't be done...

I learned something important this week - just how easy it is to look at other people and think that they're doing just fine and that it's only you who has dark moments of feeling overwhelmed by everything.  To be fair, I did know this already, but this week was an excellent reminder! 

As you'll know if you follow us on social media, this week we had THE book launch party for Gin, Cakes and Rucksacks, and I have to say it was far easier, and a lot less stressful to organise our wedding than it was to organise this! Firstly, there were no press releases for our wedding, secondly people were a LOT better behaved about RSVPs for our wedding and, thirdly, call us mean, but there were no goody bags at our wedding.

With co-author Karen

When it comes to the RSVPs I was a bit surprised by the number of folks who just never bothered getting back to me one way or another - I didn't send out blanket invites, each one was specially addressed and personalised - a simple "no" would have been a huge help with the catering!  There were also a number of folks who despite saying "yes" said "no" within the final 24 hours or simply didn't show up - a few of them had excellent reasons which I completely understand, but others were less convincing...  Again, I'm not being precious here, but we were paying for catering on a tight budget so numbers were very important.

Anyway, despite our party poopers the event was a HUGE success with everyone there having a fab time - so much so that they're planning to organise another get together in the spring!

As I looked around at the fantastic bunch of people in the room I got to wondering what made these folks different?  Why did they come along and not let me down at the last minute?  Why were they all so lovely, friendly and supportive, chatting to each other and forging new friendships?  Then it came to me, pretty much everyone in that room had taken the huge risk of self employment - small gin producers, communications specialists, chefs, restaurateurs, cake makers, holiday home empire builders - they all absolutely knew how scary this life is and how much the support of your friends truly matters.

I was so moved that I dug out a favourite poem of mine to read at the end of my short speech as I thought it would strike a chord with everyone - and I was right, it did.  It got a huge roar of a cheer when I finished and several people asked me for it afterwards.

With our local MP Tim Farron

It's not my poem but it is absolutely perfect for anyone thinking of "going for it" in any field - motivational posters and short quotes make it sound so easy but there are many, many, long dark moments when you find yourself sobbing over a laptop or into a bottle of wine, convinced that you can't do this.  I was gob smacked at how many people came up to me after I read the poem out to share their dark moment stories and it was truly comforting to know I wasn't alone.

So, here's the poem - by American poet Edgar Alan Guest - and I hope it helps you as much as it helps me.

It Couldn't Be Done

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done

      But he with a chuckle replied

That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one

      Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin

      On his face. If he worried he hid it.

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

      That couldn’t be done, and he did it!

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;

      At least no one ever has done it;”

But he took off his coat and he took off his hat

      And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,

      Without any doubting or quiddit,

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

      That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,

      There are thousands to prophesy failure,

There are thousands to point out to you one by one,

      The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,

      Just take off your coat and go to it;

Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing

      That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

With eternal thanks to everyone who came along and supported us!

Gin, Cakes and Rucksacks is available NOW!  You can buy it directly from us by clicking HERE and I'll even sign if for you if you want!  OR, you can buy it directly from the publisher here.  It's also on the database for folks like Waterstones, Hatchards, Daunt Books, WH Smith etc. so if it's not on the shelves of your local one do pester them and ask for it.  If you have a small independent bookshop then ask them too - it should be available via their local wholesaler.  Thank you!  😀

PS If you want a peek behind the scenes, check out my blog for Julia Bradbury's The Outdoor Guide website HERE.

Top 5 Hiking Snacks

They say that soldiers march on their stomachs, well it's much the same for hikers.  I don't only hike so I can eat piles of cake and other gooey goodies, but it's as good a reason as any.  There are plenty of excellent websites which will guide you through the essential items needed for a hike, but what are the best snacks to pack?  I realise I'm about to open a big can of worms with this blog (definitely NOT on my list of essential food items!) but here are our top 5...

5. Mini Cheddars

I adore crisps but they are really not practical on a hike - they are far too fragile and end up as a disappointing pile of smashed up crispy dust, impossible to eat on a windy hillside.  Cheddars, on the other hand, come in smaller packs, are more robustly constructed and aren't so easily blown out of your hand in a force nine gale.

4. Malt Loaf

I have extolled the virtues of the humble malt loaf many times in the past.  For me it is a near perfect hiking food.  It's solid, doesn't melt, can be shoved in a corner of the rucksack and is crammed full of calories for that much needed boost when you're flagging at the end of the day.  At home we may slice it and serve it in a civilised fashion, on the hillside we simply rip chunks off it and argue over who has the biggest chunk.

3.  Peanut M&Ms

If you're on a health kick you could always swap these for a nice bag of dried fruit and nuts but we found that the bags of fruit and nut returned unharmed from far more hikes than the peanut M&Ms did and often got dangerously near to their expiry date before we ate them.  M&Ms do have their downsides - being chocolate they're not great in the summer but, let's face it, there aren't going to be many days when you're hiking in Cumbria in 30C temperatures.  Nutritionally you get a double benefit from peanut M&Ms - a quick sugar boost from the chocolate and a slower boost from the nuts.  It's tenuous, but it's what I keep telling myself.

Equal first - Tea and Cake

I thought long and hard about this, I even put off writing the blog while I thought about it some more, but these two simply cannot be separated.  There should be no cake without tea and no tea without cake - so joint first was the only option.  We're terribly civilised and find that mid way through the afternoon is the perfect time to pause for tea and cake.  I'll be the first to admit that I drink pretty revolting tea - very weak and milky Redbush - but the cakes are always divine (life is too short for cheap and nasty cakes!)

My absolute favourite cake is a slab of Ginger Bakers Beetroot & Berry Brownie (it's even gluten free for those who require such things) which, if you follow me on social media, you'll have seen be gush about many times in the past, but last time I visited them (they're near to Plumgarths roundabout in Kendal so if you're driving form the M6 to Windermere you'll probably go right past their door) they pointed out that they make lots of other cakes too and gave me a few to sample to prove it - each and every one of them was utterly divine, but the beetroot & berry brownie is still my favourite.  Look - you can even be civilised and eat it at home with a lump of white Stilton on top:

White Stilton on Beetroot & Berry Brownie - don't knock it till you've tried it!

(The blurry cake in the background is their new Westmorland Pepper Fruitcake which is perfect when sliced thickly and spread with butter). 

The best part is that you don't even need to come to Kendal to buy them - they have an online shop right here so you can enjoy them wherever your hike may take you.

So, that's our top 5 - I know there will be others you want to add - but please don't tell me to pack Kendal Mintcake, I know I live in Cumbria but I honestly can't stand it.  Sorry.

If you're putting your feet up with a slice of cake then you'll need a good book to go with it - our 3 fit the bill perfectly and, if you order directly from us, I promise to wipe all the cake crumbs off the cover before I send them. Click the pic to find out more & order yours.  😀

Click here to find out more

It's not big, but it is clever.

Having been confined to low level hikes for a while now I've had time to "compare and contrast" them to high level hikes and there are a number of interesting differences between the two - some things are better and some are decidedly more annoying...

1.  Gates

There are a lot more gates on low level hikes and, in my experience, pretty much every single large farmers gate is an absolute nightmare.  I'm not blaming the farmers, nope, I want to understand how we can put a man on the moon but farm gate manufacturers can't create a farm gate that works properly.

The most common fault is dropping down 3 - 6 inches as soon as you unbolt them, meaning you have to hoik them back up by the same amount whilst simultaneously trying to thread the bolt back through the alarmingly tiny bolt hole.  Then there are the wooden ones where the bottom drops off as soon as you open it.  Or the ones who've given up on bolts and have an intricately knotted rope instead, or a big loop of rope that fits over the gatepost but which can only be returned back over said gatepost with the combined strength of 6 men and a large tub of KY Jelly.  

2.  Mud

Where there's gates there's mud.  Lots of mud.  Cows in particular congregate around gates plotting their escape. You could attempt jumping across, but that never really works.  Or there's the ballet/ ninja approach where you try desperately to creep along the 3 millimetres of solid ground around the edge.  Then there's the "I'll just wade straight through, how deep can it be?" approach...

3.  Navigation

All things being equal, there's a lot more navigation required for a low level walk.  High level navigation goes something like this:  "See that big hill over there with the sodding great path up the side?  Go up it."

Low level navigation on the other hand requires instructions such as "Bear right after the second kissing gate to follow the route half left across the next field." or "Keep left at the fork then turn right at the third oak tree after the second yew." or "Run quickly over the bridge or the trolls will get you."  (I may have made the last one up).

4.  Bracken

Of course there's bracken on high level hikes, but there's a sort of a "bracken line" and you soon push through it, not so on low level hikes, where you can be wandering around in bracken for hours at a time.  If you're tall and gazelle like, like Steve for instance, you can peer regally over the top of it.  If, on the other hand, you're more earth like in your dimensions, you begin to understand what life must have been like for the Borrowers as you crash around getting slapped in the face by large fern like fronds.  Particular fun after heavy rain.

5.  Hills

 

Just because it's low level doesn't mean it's flat.  There are still hills and 3 "small" 150m hills = half a Scafell Pike.  It's like eating Haribo - the first couple of handfuls are fine but once you've eaten the entire bag you need a bit of a lie down.

6.  Views

Kent Estuary from Arnside Knott

Choose your low level hike wisely and you will be rewarded with amazing views.

View from Warton Crag

7.  Animals

I've said "animals" but basically I mean cows.  You get sheep on the high fells, but they generally take flight as soon as they see you, not so a herd of cows.  The phrase "nosy cow" was coined for a reason because they *always*want to know what you're up to.

Most of the time you can shoo them away but, joking apart, they can be dangerous and I do my best to avoid a field of cows if they have their young with them.  If you need to cross a field of cows: make sure you know your route and exit point, check for other escape routes along the way, if they approach walk confidently and if they're in your path, walk around if it's safe to do so - and always be sure never to get between a heifer and her calf..  

There are often horses too, but they're usually a lot less trouble.

8.  Overgrown paths

The high fells in the Lake District are so well walked that overgrowth isn't an issue, in fact they usually have the opposite problem with too many feet eroding the hillsides.  If you want to escape the crowds find yourself a nice low level walk, and pack a machete.  We encountered the above stile on a walk earlier this week - it had been fine when we crossed in back in April but clearly no-one else had been near it since.  It's definitely more of a challenge, but it's also more of an adventure and I really love finding paths that no-one else seems to walk - just so long as I can send Steve on a ahead to clear me a route.

9.  Flowers & Forests

Bee Orchid

Buttercups, daisies and rare orchids - the lowland meadows are filled with them - and each time you visit there's something different to see, just don't pick them!  We found a spot where there were rare Lady Slipper Orchids growing and the second time we went back to take a look someone had picked a bunch of them.  Really?  REALLY?  You care enough to go and find them, then yank them out of the ground?  Don't start me.

And what about forests and woodlands?  You can't beat a woodland full of bluebells and garlic in the spring and in the summer you can keep cool and you wander along their shady paths (or, more accurately, shelter in them when it pees down.)

10.  Pubs and cafes

One of the very best things about low level hikes is that you can pause along the way for a bit of this...

 ...this...

 ...and one of these

Don't get me wrong, I do miss the high fells and can't wait to get back up there, but there are no pubs and cafe's on top of Skiddaw as these two TripAdvisor reviewers found out to their dismay.

Not that we haven't tried recreating the experience - I just don't think beer and high fells are a great combination.  Mind you, it's not advisable to try walking anywhere after more than a pint of Old Peculiar...