What makes us love somewhere?

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?

 

Watendlath

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?

Love of the mountains?

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?

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!)

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!

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

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

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

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?

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?

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.

A Very British Hike

Perfect spot for a brew!

"If something is worth doing, it's worth overdoing" that's my motto. We needed to come up with an idea for a blog about tea - of course we could have gone no further than our kitchen, or perhaps a pleasant picnic in a local park, but oh no, not me, far too tame,  My plan involved packing our rucksacks so we could enjoy Afternoon Tea on top of a 778m fell - obvious really...

It all started with an invite from the lovely folks at Birchall's tea - no they're not Cumbrian but they are a 5th generation owned by the same family company, which is the sort of thing I really rather like. (* See note at the end)

First up we needed to pack the rucksacks - not your average hike, so not your average packing - alongside our smoked salmon sandwiches we were planning to have a cream tea, so decanted some home made jam into a suitable tub and dusted off my posh picnic rucksack.

We thought long and hard about where to head and settled on Harter Fell for its magnificent views of Haweswater.  We also needed to wait for the right weather because a) I can't fit a full set of waterproofs and ice spikes in my posh picnic rucksack and b) a cream tea on top of a fell is no fun in torrential rain.

When we arrived Haweswater was looking as lovely as ever with Harter Fell looming large ahead of us.

Haweswater

Harter Fell

Those of you that have followed our blog will know that we never go far without our flasks of tea but it seemed wrong to put such lovely tea into flasks so we took up hot water and a tea pot and proper china mugs.  (Having chatted to the nice folks at Birchall's they inform me that Breakfast Tea is the best tea for flasks because the flavours are stronger which overcome the "flaskiness" - I may have just made that last word up.)

To be fair we soon whipped up Gatescarth Pass and up onto the top of the crags - so now it was time for tea,  As well as all the proper gear I also insisted on laying out the picnic cloth - though I think referring to Steve as Carruthers and chiding him for not bringing the family silver may have been a step too far...

I was gasping for a brew!

Smoked salmon sandwiches safely dispatched, it was now time for pudding - a fabulous cream tea with a HUGE tub of clotted cream on account of the fact it was on special at Booth's.

Really, all hikes should be this way.

Even though it was a lovely day, by now we were getting a bit chilly so headed down - our route took us over the top of the fell then down along Nan Bield Pass and the views were pretty impressive the whole way along.

On our way down Steve spotted a good spot to pause and enjoy the view - I suggested it would be a great spot for our post lunch digestif of half a bottle of Wainwright and a Kitkat - I am SO classy!

The rucksacks were now considerably lighter than when we started out and we'd been lucky enough to enjoy fantastic weather the whole way around.

Done and dusted!

If, like us, you enjoy your tea then do pay a visit to the Birchall's website where you can order the tea directly.  They have a huge variety on offer and, having sampled the entire range, I can vouch for them all (even the fruit teas which I normally hate as they smell divine but taste like dishwater).  They're also an incredibly ethical business which these days is hard to find.



Note: As you'll notice we don't host any paid advertising on the blog (Google ads pay naff all and "click bait" ads are generally demeaning to the poor folks involved or telling downright lies to convince you you can loose 2 stone in a week) - we host ads from Leighton Moss and Cumbria Wildlife Trust for free because they're fab and we like them.

We only ever say yes to products we can genuinely say nice things about and also stuff we can have some fun with.  (If filling your rucksack with tea pots, china mugs and enough clotted cream to sink a battleship before hiking up a fell can be counted as fun).so hopefully you'll forgive us for accepting the odd freebie in exchange for a few kind words and some nice photos.

#LakeDistrictBid Advent Calendar Day 14 - Because of the roads...

Cumbrian roads have been in the news a lot since the floods – images of tarmac submerged, damaged or, as in the case of the A591 between Grasmere and Keswick, washed away completely have been splashed across the news pages, websites and social media.  We’re not the first people to try building roads through the Lake District and we’re not the first to have those roads washed away – there was a flood many moons ago which swept through what is now Thirlmere, and sent the locals fleeing to the trees for safety as it swept away everything in its path.

There are old Neolithic trading routes, Roman roads, coffin trails and industrial routes created to ship materials from quarries in the hills to the main routes south (there's some great old pics in the Frances Frith books which are well worth a look).  The county’s history can be mapped by studying these wonderful old roads and trading routes and this history is something that will be recognised and better protected and understood when (not "if" - I'm an optimist!) we achieve World Heritage Site Status.

High Street - Old Roman Road

Kirkstone "not quite as passable as usual"

The A6 and site of the Old North Road

The Roman route up onto High Street

Coffin route near Haweswater

Gatescarth Pass

Gatescarth Pass

Approach to Hardknott Pass...

Damage on A591

Fixing the A591

To learn more about the bid and to register your support with just one click (honestly, just one click, no email address needed or anything) please visit the World Heritage Bid site here.

To go back to day 1 of the advent calendar please click here.

#LakeDistrictBid Advent Calendar Day 3 - Because of the Lakes

It's not called the Lake District for nothing - oh no - we've got lakes, plenty of 'em, and right now the glorious Cumbrian weather is keeping them well topped up.  A few folks have been asking why we need World Heritage Site Status - well here are the answers direct from the Lake District National Park Authority.

As we researched our book we understood more and more how often this landscape has been, and continues to be, under threat and how spectacularly difficult it is to balance the needs of the farmers, the ecologists, the tourist industry and the local population.

And why do we want to protect it?  Well, here are 15 wonderfully watery reasons.

Wast Water (with hiker!)

Bassenthwaite lake

Buttermere

Coniston Water

Elterwater

Ennerdale Water

Grasmere

Haweswater

Thirlmere

Ullswater

Windermere

Derwentwater

Crummock Water

Loweswater 

Rydal Water

Please click HERE to register your support for the bid.
Click HERE to go back to Day 1.