Are they available online?

I got told off on FB - someone said they thought this was rude...

My in-laws probably think I'm somewhat odd.  OK, they *know* I'm odd, but they probably think I'm somewhat odder than usual this week, and can't understand why I'm so bent out of shape about Costa opening in Grange-over-Sands.

As long time readers of this blog will know, I am a passionate supporter of local businesses. I live in Grange and do 80% of my shopping at Higginsons, Fletchers or the Co-Op.  I'll be honest, I rarely, if ever, buy coffee or meals out in Grange, but that's mainly because we can't afford to - although I do look forward to my chippy tea from Fish over Chips every Friday - so why does Costa bother me so much?

Because the very lovely At Home Bistro opposite is bound to suffer as a consequence.  And, if they suffer, other local businesses suffer too.  The Bistro gets their bread from Grange Bakery, their milk from the local supplier, their coffee from Farrers (Cumbrian) and their meat from Plumgarths (Kendal) so, if the Bistro suffers, all of those other business will suffer too.  (Costa bus all of their provisions in from a regional distribution centre miles away).

Fletchers - for fruit, veg & everything else!

People keep banging on about the high street and losing shops, but retail is very much a "use it or lose it" situation.  Visitors love Grange because of its unique collection of shops and cafes but, if everyone starts shopping at Tesco (opened last year) and Costa, then our high street will turn into just another of those idenikit high streets we see all over the UK.

In a different context we see it whenever we have a stall on a market to try and sell our books; I have genuinely lost count of the number of times I've had this conversation:

Customer:  Where can I buy the books?
Me (standing behind a table full of our books): Well, we're selling them here all day today.
Customer:  I mean, where else can I buy them?
Me:  Most of the local bookshops stock them.
Customer:  Are they available online?
Me:  Yes, but they're also available here, today.
Customer:  I'll just take a book mark to remind me. (Wanders off)

I *know* they're asking if Amazon sell them.  (Yes, they do).  Amazon is to me what Costa is to the At Home Bistro - which is maybe why I want to do all I can to help the little guy.

Pizza at The Estuary

One of the reasons we don't eat out in Grange (and I would LOVE to go spend an evening at The Estuary munching pizza and sipping wine) is because we simply can't afford to and one of the reasons we can't afford to is because people prefer to buy off Amazon rather than us.  We were at a market again all day today and failed to break even, again.  I chat to customers, I'm helpful, polite and friendly, I offer directions to other places they ask about or might be interested in, but still the "is it available online" folks far outnumber the wonderful "could I buy this one please" folks.

Bread and cakes in The Hazelmere

We're not alone either - our very good friends at Keswick Boot Company recently had a customer who spent 30 minutes being fitted for boots and trying on a variety of different brands before telling the owner, "Thanks, but I'll do what my wife did last year, I'll buy them cheaper online" - and people wonder why the High Street is dying!

If this sounds ranty then I apologise; I'm as wound up about the treatment of At Home Bistro and Keswick Boot Company as I am about folks buying our books on Amazon.  Maybe it's just me - I did get told off on FaceBook by someone who took offence to the image at the top of the blog and told me I was being rude.  I'm sure the multi-billionaire owner of Costa has barely slept a wink since they saw it... Other folks have said that I'm over sensitive or pessimistic and that perhaps Costa won't adversley affect the trade of the little coffee shop directly opposite, but their track record does not bear that out and their owners, Whitbread, proudly talk about their "aggressive expansion plans".

My lovely in-laws visited Costa during their stay, but it cost them more than they bargained for.  My brother-in-law had mentioned how much he'd love a jar of damson jam, so I'd bought him one as a gift, planning to hand it over later in the hols.  After their visit to Costa I revoked all damson jam priviledges.  To be fair they did also visit the At Home Bistro, S Cafe and The Hazelmere during their stay but the damage was done; the jar of damson jam remains in our cupboard and I remain unrepentant. Odd and oversensitive or justifiably principled?  I'll let you decide.


If you want to help me achieve our modest dream of enjoying a pizza and glass of wine at The Estuary, then click here for our bookstore.  If you want to buy them off Amazon then go ahead, it's a free country, but don't expect damson jam off me anytime soon... 😀

If Mother Nature relied on Northern Rail, we'd all be screwed

I live in Grange-over-Sands on the northern shores of Morecambe Bay.  Every year thousands of birds migrate to the bay to spend their winters paddling around the rich, shallow waters.  Collectively they travel millions of miles from all around the globe to get here.  All I had to do was travel 82 miles to Manchester in time for a 10 O’clock meeting.

My options were the 7:20 arriving at 9:11 or the 6:39 arriving at 8:11. This is Northern Rail we're dealing with. The meeting was important so I opted for the 6:39 and envisioned enjoying a nice warm bowl of porridge in Pret once I got there.

I arrived at Grange station in the dark at 6:33; plenty of time to buy a ticket.  Unfortunately the new ticket guy is lovely but Spanish and has a Spanish approach to timekeeping, meaning the ticket office usually opens at 6:30am give or take 10 minutes. Usually take.

I sat on the platform and checked the timetable display. 6:36 - train on time, good. I glance down at my phone then glance back up.  6:37 and the train is now 15 minutes late. Then 16. Then 17. I check my app; the train left Barrow 1 min late but arrived Ulverston 19 mins late with no stops in-between - how is that even possible? I have time to kill so I dig out my knitting and cast on.  The ticket office opens - yay!

The train arrives 19 minutes late sounding very unwell. I board and continue knitting.  We’re a bit broke so our families are getting home made cowls for Christmas this year.  In fact they’re getting an entire bag filled with homemade goodies – jams, sloe gin etc. – things all made with love and care so they’d better darned well appreciate them, or else there’ll be trouble!

South of Carnforth I glance up to see a stag in the reed beds near Leighton Moss; it’s rutting season so they’re often easier to spot.   I look around the carriage, everyone else has their faces firmly planted in their phones and I’m the only one to see him.  I want to shout out but realise this may not be considered appropriate early morning commuter behaviour.  I return to my knitting.

We arrive at Carnforth. We remain at Carnforth. Luckily I find knitting very calming. They need to reboot the system so they switch everything off, including the lights, but it's OK, we've been there so long the sun has come up.

I decide that if Northern Rail trains had a Performance Behaviour Framework, this train's behaviours would be "Undesirable". I reckon the scale would be:

Behaviour: Moving

Highly Desirable - Moving forwards quickly
Desirable - Moving forwards
Undesirable - Stationary
Highly Undesirable – Reversing

 Then the inevitable "everyone off" announcement and a race across the station to the train I would have got if I'd stayed in bed 30 minutes more and caught the 7:20.

We arrive at Preston. My knitting is coming along nicely; 6 rows completed (it’s 90 stitches a row and I’m a slow knitter, don’t judge me!). I check my app, the 8:24 is cancelled. Damn! I check again.  The 8:24 is not cancelled. Yay! I look along the platform.  The 8:24 is actually there but no-one's confirming anything and there are no station staff to be seen.  People jab at their phones and look around in puzzlement, searching for clues.  I’ve often noticed how the clearly labelled and sequentially numbered platforms at Preston seem to cause confusion. Geese don’t have this problem. Nominate a leader, form a V then set off.  Next stop Norway.

The platform sign says the 8:24 is going but by now we all have trust issues. We board. We hope. We depart!  Apparently (I later learn) we leave behind a collection of folks who still thought it was cancelled.

By Bolton the “tss-tss-tss” from the (clearly cheap and shoddy) noise cancelling headphones clamped to the ears of my seat-mate, cause me to pause and consider a range of alternative uses for my knitting needles...

I finally arrive at Manchester Oxford Road at 9:15, 2 ¾ hours after I left home.  Interesting fact: the Arctic Tern averages around 25mph, only slightly slower than I managed on Northern Rail, but they do migrate over 50,000 miles each year and arrive on time.  Still, I’m pretty sure they can’t knit and fly.

On my journey home the 15:26 Trans Pennine Express train is delayed into Manchester Piccadilly by 2 late running Northern Rail trains ahead of it, the guard announces this indignantly after we've boarded.  On arrival the driver only pulled halfway down the platform meaning all those of us who had listened to the endless "please move down the platform" announcements had to race back to the train and are wedged into the front carriage sardine style. Knitting standing up, I discover, is not easy. The guard helpfully announces that there are plenty of seats in the rear carriages (the ones we couldn’t get to). No shit Sherlock...

The train arrives at Preston. The train remains Preston (Definitely another "undesirable"). The relief conductor has apparently gone AWOL. Can't say I blame him. (Or her). Do geese have this problem?  “This migration is delayed because the relief leader is still paddling around that nice pond we stayed at last night.”

Everyone is turfed off the train in time to experience Preston station as twighlight falls. Bewitching...

The Virgin train arrives & we all jostle for the best standing position.  I nab a nice corner spot and resume knitting but each time I crouch down to adjust the wool in my bag the gent next to me moves meaning I collide with his elbow every time I bob back up again.  Every, single, time.  Starlings can swoop and turn in murmurations of over 100,000 without once colliding and I can’t make it from Preston to Lancaster without getting cracked on the head from the guy stood next to me.

The train finally makes it to Lancaster in time for us to race across to platform 5 for the irritatingly (and surprisingly) punctual Carlisle train.  I eventually make it back to Grange at 5:33pm. My knitting is half complete and on the basis of my journey today I’m considering making everyone a set of matching jumpers next year, and possibly socks too.

As I head along the track back to my house I hear the train hoot as it continues its Odysseyan journey towards Kents Bank.  An owl from the nearby woods answers it.  One of those hoots put a smile on my face; I’ll let you figure out which one.

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! 😀

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The Five Coolest Walks in Cumbria

As the record temperatures continue I have a confession to make:  I really do NOT get on well with hot weather.  Sunny is fine, but I don't fare well in the heat which makes getting out for a hike in this weather problematic.  I'm fair skinned and burn easily, which also doesn't help, so I have two choices:  stay indoors in a darkened room with all the windows open or find a decent walk which won't fry me to a crisp.  As I get very easily bored the first option doesn't really work for more than a day or so, so plan B it is - and here are my five favourite "keep cool" walks in Cumbria.

PLEASE NOTE:  You know the routine - even on a cool walk ensure you have a decent hat, high SPF cream smothered all over you, long sleeves and plenty of fluids.

Derwent Water

Although it's a good long hike (around 9 miles) to complete a full lap of the lake, it's mostly flat and huge sections of it are in woodland so there are plenty of places to avoid the heat of the sun.  The last time I did it I loaded the rucksack with drinks and snacks and took most of the day over it (hot weather is not the time for speedy hikes!) and I enjoyed plenty of stops along the way.  The other perk to a hike around Derwent Water is that if you decide you've had enough half way around you can jump on the gondola to get back into Keswick.  Perfect!

Armathwaite - River Eden

River Eden

The Eden Valley is one of the most beautiful corners of Cumbria and a stroll along the banks of the Eden is a joy at any time of the year, however during very hot spells it also has the added benefit of being largely shady and that, together with the ever present river, results in a very cool and pleasing hike with plenty of gorgeous views along the way.  (You may recall we recently went headhunting along the River Eden and, if you missed that, it's right here.)

Hampsfell - Grange-over-Sands

Hampsfell Hospice

It may be a hill but the beauty of Hampsfell is that for most of the climb upwards you're walking through the cool woods of Eggerslack.  True, the last section is exposed but by then you've got a cooling breeze and, at the summit, there's the Hospice where you can sit in the shade and catch your breath.  After that there are the dramatic limestone pavements to explore and a long cool descent through either Eggerslack or Charney woods - either way you end up back in the village where there are a plethora of excellent cafes, pubs and pie shops to choose from.

St Bees Cliffs

St Bees Cliffs

What this walk lacks in shade it makes up for with sea breezes, plus it's a great one way walk and those can be hard to come by.  There are regular busses and trains between St Bees and Whitehaven so, whichever one you start from you know there's an easy way back.  One of my favourite walks is to enjoy a nice pub lunch in St Bees before setting off and then arrive into Whitehaven in time for a chippy tea.  Be sure to leave plenty of time for exploring though as there is loads of fascinating history around Whitehaven and a number of excellent museums (including the superb, and much underrated Rum Story)

Duddon Valley

Pretty much every time I write about the Duddon Valley, someone tells me off for "giving away the secret", but it is a spectacular valley and it would be a shame if all of those breathtaking views went to waste!  There are plenty of paths around the valley, most are not too hilly and plenty of them are in the shade.  If you fancy exploring then do the unthinkable - turn left at Torver (where everyone else turns right to get to Coniston), then take the first road on your right (narrow and steep) and follow it until you find the two small car parks.  From the car parks there are paths down through the woods to Appletree Worth and on over to the River Lickle and a beautiful woodland path.


BEFORE YOU GO!  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! 😀

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10 Happy Things

Is it just me or is the news more depressing than usual at the moment?  Whenever I turn on the TV or check the BBC app on my phone all I see is misery.  Most of the internet isn't much better - provocative articles and editorial pieces designed to provoke debate and argument, followed by rude and abusive posts as people ditch their manners and lay into one another.

"If it bleeds, it leads" as they say in journalism - bad news is good business so, assuming that's true, this blog should absolutely bomb as I've decided I'm going to buck the trend and tell you about 10 things that made me happy this week.  Some big, most small, but all a blissful respite from the misery of the news cycle.

1.  The view from the train as I come home

I know that I am incredibly lucky to live where I do and I appreciate it every single day.  These were taken on Thursday as I came home from work and were the perfect antidote to a busy day.

2. A proper record player!

On Monday were lucky enough to enjoy a night away at The Plough in Lupton, an absolutely beautiful hotel not too far from Kirkby Lonsdale.  It's an utterly gorgeous place to stay, the rooms are superb and the food divine, but what was the thing that made me happiest?  The enormous roll top bath?  No.  The supersized shower?  No.  The thing which made me squeal with delight was finding a proper old record player in our room complete with a box of classic albums.  I could have happily have stayed in our room all evening listening to them and reliving my youth.

3.  Liverpool

I travel around the UK a lot for work - seriously, if "RailMiles" were a thing I'd have enough to go to the moon and back (though there'd probably be a rail replacement bus service on somewhere along the way). Wherever I go I always try and make time for a spot of sightseeing and I was blessed with beautiful weather as I explored Liverpool on Wednesday evening.  I wandered through the city and took a ferry across the Mersey but this was my favourite view of the day - perfect light and a perfect reflection - just wish I'd had a better camera with me to do it justice.

4. A new plaque!

Last Saturday the weather wasn't great but we were out and about anyway around one of my favourite places - Thirlmere. I love the views but I also love the history of the valley (we wrote a whole chapter about it in our first book)  but in all the times I'd visited I'd not spotted this particular plaque, probably because it's situated along the western road at a place where you wouldn't normally stop, but as the road across the dam is closed there's a lot less traffic so a lot more time to pause and spot little gems like this.

5. The Jacobean Moon Man of Wigan Parish Church

On Wednesday morning I was working in Wigan and had a bit of time to kill before my train to Liverpool so I took a wander around the Parish Church.  There I chatted to a very lovely man who filled me in on a little of the history. I was particularly interested to learn about one of their former Rectors, a man named John Wilkins.  In 1638 he wrote a book called "The Discovery of a World in the Moone" where he put forward the idea of building "mechanical chariots" to fly to the moon.  Seriously, click on this link. it's well worth a read.

6. Eleanor Rigby statue, Liverpool

Back in Liverpool for this one.  The city is full of statues and memorials to the very many famous people who are connected with the place - Billy Fury, Cilla Black and, of course, The Beatles, but my favourite statue was this, for 2 main reasons.  Firstly because Eleanor Rigby is my favourite Beatles tune and I think this statue captures the essence of the song perfectly.  The second reason I love it is because it was designed and created by Tommy Steele - a man not usually associated with sculpture - and I love little nuggets of history like that.

7.  Perfect chips in Giggleswick

After our lovely evening in Lupton, we headed for Settle - a beautiful little town which I'm terribly fond of and don't visit nearly enough.  You can pick up some interesting historic trails around the town from the tourist info and if you fancy something more adventurous there's a fabulous caves walk taking in the hills around the town.  What made me happy here were the perfect pile of chips with my burger. Considering it's one half of our national dish it's amazing how many places manage to cock it up; but not at the Harts Head - perfectly crispy on the outside, light and fluffy in the middle and with a pot of garlic mayo which will ward off vampires for the next week or so!

8.  My favourite view (well, one of them anyway)

Back at Thirlmere again but this time on Sunday and with better weather.  This is definitely one of my favourite views in Cumbria and it's so easy to get to.  As you drive over Dunmail Raise towards Keswick, park up at the top of the hill on the grass verge on the left then follow the tarmac track running parallel to the road for a couple of hundred yards until you see this.  If that doesn't absolutely blow you away then there's no hope for you.

9.  People paid to hear us talk!

Admittedly it was only 10 people, but even so, we were utterly delighted!  We were giving a talk at Waterstone's in Lancaster on Friday evening about what happened behind the scenes on our Trails with Tails book and 10 people came along - how cool is that?  They didn't even know about the cake before they arrived either! I've always dreamed of writing books so to have a book out which people are interested enough in to give up an hour of their Friday night to learn more about just blew me away!

10.  Mucking around with my bloke and a Kodaiq

I don't always get to spend days working with Steve, but I love it when I do!  This must be the blog with the least number of adverts on it - mainly because there's nothing I hate more than following an interesting sounding link only to be bombarded with adverts in every size shape and form which make it pretty much impossible to read whatever it was that lured me there in the first place, so I just don't do it. One of the perks of the blog though is that we get to work with people like Vantage Motors in Morecambe who occasionally loan us a car to play with for the weekend.  Last weekend it was a Skoda Kodiaq and we had a LOT of fun - we piled the bikes into the back and spent 2 days mucking around in Thirlmere creating our very own cycling video, which we plan to upload just as soon as Steve has finished editing out my swearing... 

DON'T LET THE NEWS GET YOU DOWN - our books are packed with fun facts and fab photos - perfect as a pressie or just to treat yourself!  Click HERE to learn more!

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10 Fascinating Facts about Cumbria

Writing a book with the word "History" in the title is bound to put some people off.  We don't all love history.  Hell, *I* didn't even love history when I was at school - I'd be nodding off before you could say 1066.  Our mission is to unearth facts that have the "oooohh" factor - as in "oooohh, I never knew that" - so here are 10 of my favourite fab facts about Cumbria; some are in the book and some aren't, but I guarantee all of them are more fun than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

1.  There used to be a bridge from Bowness-on-Solway to Scotland, but it was demolished due to drunken Scots.

The bridge was over 1 mile long and was used by iron ore carrying trains to avoid the busy junction at Carlisle.  It was badly damaged by icebergs in 1881 after the rivers Esk & Eden froze - as they thawed ice broke off and demolished a third of the bridge.  It was rebuilt but eventually closed in 1921.  At that time you couldn't buy alcohol in Scotland on a Sunday so, each Sunday a number of our Scottish friends crossed the bridge to enjoy a "relaxing sweet sherry" after dinner.  Unfortunately they were prone to having one too many and, after a few folks sadly fell from the bridge and drown as they staggered home, the bridge was demolished in 1933.

2.  George Washington's Granny is buried in Whitehaven

Honestly, there are SO many fascinating things to say about Whitehaven that it's hard to pick just one - but this was the one that surprised me the most.  Mildred Gale - George Washington's paternal grandmother is buried there.  She was born in Virginia but married a shipping merchant who traded on ships between Virginia and Whitehaven (which was a very busy and important port at that time).  She's buried in St Nicholas' churchyard, though the exact location of the grave isn't known.

3.  There's a road which runs parallel to the A6 between Kendal and Shap which used to be one of the most important roads in the country.

OK, it doesn't parallel the whole way - it does criss cross a few times, but the Old North Road is still there and very easy to spot.  Most of it remains accessible and it makes for a lovely walk well away from the crowds.  There's a fabulous road map from 1675 which records all of the main coach roads in Britain - there were only 4 roads noted in the whole of Cumbria and this is one of them. And if a dusty old book from the seventeenth century doesn't impress you then maybe the fact that AW himself loved the old road and was fascinated by its history might persuade you to take a second look.

4.  Grange-over-Sands got its name from an annoyed vicar

You may have noticed that there are two Granges in Cumbria - the one up near Keswick and Grange-over-Sands in the south - but until 1858 they were both just called Grange (a name usually indicating a nearby granary).  When the Reverend Wilson Rigg arrived in the southern Grange, after an eventful coach journey across Morecambe Bay sands, he quickly got fed up of his mail getting misdirected to Keswick Grange, so he changed the name of the town to Grange-over-Sands to distinguish between the two.

5.  There's a rock up above Launchy Gill that was the site of illegal trading

Anyone who's ever trekked from Ullscarf to High Tove will tell you what a bogfest it is - unless they did it when it was all frozen solid (a top tip for those attempting all the Wainwrights).  There are only a few rocks up there and one of them has an interesting history. When the plague hit in 1665 public markets were stopped to try and prevent the spread of the disease, but people still needed money, so the folks of Thirlmere Valley had a plan...  Far away from the eyes of the law they snuck up onto the top of the fell to a place called Web Rock to trade their "web" (woven fabric) and earn money to buy food.  No-one has quite pinpointed exactly which rock it is but there are a few likely contenders.

6.  Kentmere had such rowdy drunks they changed the law of the land

Back in the nineteenth century there were plenty of mines, quarries and mills along the Kentmere valley and, on payday, things could get a bit rowdy.  In 1887 the pub in the village had its licence revoked thanks to the lively goings on.  The owners pursued the decision all the way to the House of Lords and ultimately lost but their case Sharp -v- Wakefield set a precedent still cited today.

7.  The Cumbrian Dialect is a foreign language

Many folks are familiar with the "Yan, tan, tethera" sheep counting language used in Cumbria, but the Cumbrian dialect (now sadly in decline) is pretty much a language in its own right.  During World War Two a local gent who joined the Royal Navy was stationed in Iceland - he spoke with a strong Cumbrian dialect and apparently had little trouble conversing with the locals.

8.  The monks of Furness Abbey engaged in both smuggling and bribery

Furness Abbey is a beautiful place to visit, sadly now a ruin but back in the day it was one of the most powerful Abbies in the country.  The monks built the castle on Piel Island to support their import and export trade which, as they didn't pay any taxes on it, was basically a smuggling operation.  The Abbot is also said to have paid a "ransom" to Robert the Bruce to protect the Abbey.  Some call it a "ransom" others may call it a "bribe".  I bet their confessions were interesting...

9.  George Stevenson planned an enormous bridge from Morecambe to Ulverston

When they were originally planning the expansion of the railways in the region, George Stevenson proposed the idea of running a railway line directly out across Morecambe Bay.  The enormous structure would have connected Morecambe to Ulverston, but the backers of the time understandably got the jitters and backed out of the idea, leading to the current railway and viaduct we see today.

10.  There was once a plan to heat Cumbria using geothermal energy

Shap Granite with its big pink crystals is easily recognisable and was much used in architecture across the country (including the bollards around St Paul's Cathedral in London).  As recently as the 1980s the British Geological Survey carried out test drilling to see if there was enough residual heat deep down in the rocks to provide heat to the county - sadly there wasn't, but then the rock is over 400 million years old.


Our books are PACKED with hundreds of fascinating nuggets just like these so please don't think it's just another boring old history book.  Click here to find out more and buy your copy.

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We also offer a number of guided walks, visitng places with lots of interesting history.  You can find out more about those right here.

Carry on Sledging

As you know, sometimes manufacturers send us nice things in return for a review on the blog.  This is not one of those occasions.  Today we had snow in Grange-over-Sands and Steve came up with the genius idea of sledging but as we don't have a sledge we needed to improvise.  We raided the cupboards for plastic bags and, having come up with a good selection, decided to review them Gadget Show style in case you find yourself in the same situation.

The contenders are:

Windermere & Ambleside Wines

Asda bin bag

Keith Singleton Compost

CoOp Bag for life

Debenhams clothing bag

M&S coated canvas bag

5p Nisa carrier

First up Debenhams...

This had its merits but was, on the whole, disappointing.  The handles were on the wrong edge and the bag wasn't shiny enough to give sufficient glide.

Next the Co-Op bag for life...

I'll be honest, this was an early leader - a good size and nice and shiny.  Good effort from the Co-op and definitely a top 3 placing.

Steve showing his delight with the performance of the CoOp bag

Then came Nisa - and the least said the better.

Too thin, too flimsy and too slow.

Windermere and Ambleside Wines were next - we had high hopes for this one, a good substantial bag from a shop which stocks our favourite wine - and we weren't disappointed.  Good and shiny it flew over the snow setting a high bar for the others to clear.

I thought the plastic coated canvas bag from M & S would take the lead - the handles were good and substantial and definitely in the right place - but ultimately it failed the shininess test.  Too much friction and not enough glide.

It's almost like I set the entire blog up for the next line, but I swear I didn't.  The binbag was rubbish.  :-)

Which leaves us with only 1 - the winner by a good margin - Keith Singleton's 80 Litre compost bag.

It had everything except, perhaps, handles.  It was big and it was shiny.  Big was a key factor here - as you can see from the videos we had to lean back a lot and this provide excellent all round coverage.  A worthy winner and, if this really were the Gadget Show, this bag would definitely get 5Gs.

With the sensible and serious business of reviewing the sledges done, it was now time to have a little fun.

First there were races.

Then there were GoPro action shots without the GoPros.

His view...

My view...

And of course it wasn't without incident...

And just in case you thought we were only out there messing around in the snow, here are a few shots of the lovely views too.

Having provided this valuable public service we're both now covered in bruises and enjoying a well earned afternoon in front of the fire.