Brewer's Loop

Brewer's Loop, the sequel to Gin, Cake & Rucksacks is finally here! 

After Karen & I toured Cumbria visiting all the gin distilleries and telling their stories, Steve & I decided it was only right to tour Cumbria once again, this time visiting the breweries; all while dragging a beer cask along the way (obviously!).

Raising funds for Mountain Rescue volunteers as we went (considering our plans, it felt prudent...), we visited everyone from full-size commercial breweries to family-run microbreweries. With our trusty travel companion, Casky, we climbed mountains, rowed lakes, braved swan invested lagoons and even tried our own homage to Danny MacAskill on the shores of Windermere, as we explored the brewing process and the history of beer in Cumbria. We had an absolute blast and quickly understood why seemingly sane individuals leave lucrative careers to become brewers. 

The result is 240 pages of bug bites and chaos, with lots of laughs and a couple of tears, so don your finest beer goggles and grab your copy today: Click Here For Beery Brilliance

Sit back, relax, with a beer in one hand and a beerly good read in the other.
(You see what I did there? Trust me, you'll love the book!) 

Mountain Rescue Donations

Dog walkers, runners and psychos...

Sunshine on Grange prom

I inherited my love for walking from my dad.  He never needed an excuse to walk and neither do I. Walking was his 'thing' and it's also mine. It never really occured to me that some people might find it odd to go out for a walk on your own when you don't have a dog, or aren't clad in lycra and cluitching a water bottle, but then last year I was asked to judge a podcast comeptition and one of the entrants focused on how they felt a little odd 'just going for a walk'.

The title of the blog comes from my friend Rachel, who used it in a Facebook post after she'd been on a morning walk. I know she was joking, but it got me thinking...

...And then I was invited to review the book 'Do Walk' by Libby DeLana - Libby goes for a meditative walk every morning at 5am; the book is a reflection on those walks, and it's made me reflect on my own morning walks.

I never used to go for a 'morning walk' until 'Lockdown 1' curtailed my work travel, and now I don't know what I'd do without it. In fact we recently went on hols to Scotland - we had an amazing time walking, cycling, swimming and kayaking but, after we got home I was feeling antsy and I didn't know why. We'd had fun, I didn't mind being home and I was quite happy to get back to work, but I just wasn't settled.

A lovely bike ride to Port Logan

Kayaking - so much easier without the water...

It wasn't until we headed for Coniston Water on Bank Holiday Monday that it all fell into place. After going for a lacklustre swim I left Steve to head off for a longer paddle in the kayak while I headed off up into the Blawith Fells, and then I realised - despite having loads of fun, I'd not had my morning walk and I really missed it. Suddenly I was alone with my thoughts again (despite the large crowds on the water, the fells were pretty quiet) and I began to feel so much better. Nothing against Steve at all - I love going for walks with him - I just needed some alone time.

Alone again...

In her book, Libby explores this, and it's a fascinating read although, being from New England, some of her winter walks are a lot more extreme than mine, plus I only ever walk for around 40 minutes whereas she heads off on some pretty hefty hikes. I love the part where she talks about really seeing things on your walk and quotes a friend as saying "you never see anyone running through an art gallery" - I'm pretty good at slowing down on my walks, so that made me smile.

She also talks a lot about the solitude of the walks and that has had me pondering too, especially since lockdown restrictions have eased. I find I am torn between the part of me that says it's selfish to want my beautiful morning walks through the woods all to myself, and the part that truly resents seeing other people on 'my' walk.

And here's another question - is 'Good Morning' compulsory? My working life requires me to talk to people all day, so I savour my solo morning walks and specifically take less popular routes. If I do meet someone else and they offer a 'good morning' I will smile and return the greeting - but there's one gentleman on my walk who, if I don't reply loudly enough, will stop in his tracks and shout 'GOOD MORNING!" at me until I reply in a manner that satisfies him.

It's mine...all mine!

I've seen some really sharp comments on social media recently with folks getting angry when others share pictures of their favourite quiet spot, thus 'ruining it'. Wordsworth thought that only the 'right sort of people' should come to visit the Lake District - but who gets to determine what the 'right sort of people' are? (I don't have a complete answer to that, but I'll kick off with people who know how to park properly, close a gate and take their litter home, for starters.) 

The 'right sort of people' on my morning walk would be those who slip past quietly, in their own little world, and definitley not the ones who shout at me but, for them, the 'right sort of people' could be the person that stops to chat a while. Who's to say which is right?

My favourite view from my morning walk

As well as meaningful insights and reflections the book also has lots of practical tips too - very handy for those new to walking or needing a bit of inspiration. I can also vouch for the fact that, as with most things, it goes splendidly with a spot of sunshine and a big mug of tea.

You can find the book at thedobook.co and it really is a rather lovely read, full of great quotes and interesting photos.

You can find me in Eggerslack Woods most mornings. I'm also full of great quotes, but best left alone at that time of day. And please don't shout 'good morning' at me either. Thank you. 😀

Don't blame The Townies

As lockdown restrictions finally begin to properly ease - hopefully for good this time - there will be some people dreading the thunder of a million feet heading towards the Lake District.  This is understandable, last year there were some dreadful scenes of people disrespecting the landscape, leaving litter, wrecking trees, parking inconsiderately and, sadly, leaving gates open that resulted in the deaths of livestock.  Hopefully things will be better this year but, if they're not, please don't collectively blame 'the townie'.

I was raised a townie.  I had no control over where I was born and raised and, as soon as I was able to, I escaped to greener pastures, but it was drilled into me at a very early age to respect the countryside.  (For anyone who knows the West Mids, Walsall Arboretum was our nearest decent sized area of greenery, trips to Sutton Park were a *massive* treat and Cannock Chase was like taking a trip abroad!)  

Closer to home we'd play in the rough strip of ground behind the house, making dens and swings and eating enough blackberries to make us sick.  Although we promised that we would never to go further than the end of the road, clandestine trips to Reedswood were the highlight of many a summer - untethered by phone calls demanding to know our whereabouts, or trackers to show where we were at all times, we explored and adventured far beyond where we were supposed to. 

We may have wandered beyond our boundaries, but we never left litter or caused any permanent damage - although there were no mobile phones, or CCTV, we all knew that our mums had eyes everywhere and would somehow know if we'd left an empty crisp packet in one of our dens.

Me, somewhere in Wales, circa 1977

I was lucky enough to holiday in Wales regularly, and that always included a daily walk somewhere.  I was taught how to dress properly and wear the right shoes and I was expected to observe 'The Countryside Code' at all times (as well as being sure to 'Keep Britain Tidy')

Because I grew up far away from the countryside, to me it is still a rare and beautiful thing and I still get excited every time I see lambs, or calfs, or birds, or the sea, or a million other things that I never saw regularly as a kid.  I am keen to protect it, plant the right flowers and bushes to encourage bees and butterflies and try to keep my 'footprint' as small as possible.

Grange Prom

Being controversial, in my experience, sometimes it's the people who grew up with all of that around them that take it for granted.  We live in a conservation zone and have neighbours who have lived in the area all their life, but they have ripped up every flowering plant and concreted over their entire garden, turning it into a natural desert.  Every leaf is swept the moment it touches the floor and jet washing of the paved backyard is a monthly event. A very few, select, green things are allowed, but they are strictly confined to colour co-ordinated tubs.  On the brightside it's inspired me to go a little bit 'wild flower crazy' to try and compensate for their concrete wasteland.

The point is that it's never as straight forward as blaming one type of person or another, that simply causes division where there doesn't need to be any.  We need to focus on doing more to educate everyone about what, I absoultely agree, should be basic common sense, such as taking your litter home, closing gates behind you and not parking like a wazzock.  

I don't have all the answers to the big questions, but I do know that there are amazing groups like the Lakes Plastic Collective who are doing fantastic work to keep the region looking beautiful - check out their Facebook page here and support them if you can - we can achieve a lot more by working together than we can by creating more division.  (You can also find them on Twitter here and Instagram here)

We don't cover the blog in adverts and rely on a steady sale of our books to fund the site.  You can find them all here - please feel free to have a browse. Thank you.

The best benches in Cumbria

Yes, I'm back blogging!  It's been a while I know but, to be brutally honest, like many folks, 2020/21 pretty much kicked the stuffing out of me and it was hard to find things to write about that were chirpy and positive when we were stuck indoors all winter, but now we are out and about and things are looking up (at least for now!)

What better way to bounce back than with a quick blog about benches?  I flipping love a good bench - who doesn't?  Actually, I'll tell you who, because benches are more controversial than you'd think.  One of the most important things we can do to help the older population is to help them keep walking - it's great exercise, plus it's a social activity, giving them a chance to meet and talk to other people, thus staving off loneliness. But, in order to encourage them out more, we need to give them more benches to sit on, where they can pause and catch their breath, and the problem with that is that in many urban areas they are actively removing benches as they are a natural gathering point for ne'er do wells and rowdy youths.

Tis true, I found out about it a few years ago when I was working just outside Preston.  As per usual I'd packed my sarnies and headed out at lunchtime to a nearby park, planning to sit and eat my lunch in the sunshine, but this lovely park didn't have one single bench - so I asked why and that's when I found out about the conundrum.  Scary isn't it?  I wish I had an answer, but maybe highlighting it so more folks are aware and talking about it is the best first thing I can do.

And now - onto my favourite benches in Cumbria... (Yeah, I know you'll disagree, but that's part of the fun.  Plus I am not including *that* bench on Friar's Crag as it's already too popular by far! 😀 )

1. The one with the view of Blencathra

A friend recently stumbled upon this bench and reminded me of this fabulous walk - it's pretty out of the way but the view is utterly spectacular.  Don't be fooled by the idyllic image though, after we left this bench we got a little bit lost in a very big bog, and I had a proper dodgy old pair of walking boots on and had to wring my socks out at the end.  Still a great bench though!

2. The one on Scout Scar

I love Scout Scar - it's utterly perfect for a family walk with free parking nearby and an easily accesible walk along the ridge.  You can just do a tiny toddle to a bench for lunch, or wander around the scar for the entire afternoon, admiring the far reaching 360 degree views.  There are loads a juniper bushes up there too, in case you fancy brewing your own gin.

3. The surprise bench

If there's one thing better than a bench, then it's a surprise bench - a beautiful bench that pops up when you least expect it.  I pretty much literally stumbled across this one on an 'off the beaten track' kind of yomp around the hills near Millom.  The town often gets a bad rap, but I have a huge soft spot for it, and who wouldn't with benches like this?

4. The one that requires a bit of effort

How's this for a bench with a view?  You can find this beauty half way up The Band, and it was absolutely flipping perishing the day we took that pic.  We'd been testing out a small stove that was supposed to brew up water in super quick time, but took so long that I half froze to death and vowed to only travel with flasks of hot tea in the future.

5. The Royal Bench

This bench was so good that we took William and Kate to see it, and they loved it too!  You can find it above the shores of Ullswater, although it is a little off the main path.  You get amazing views of Helvellyn and the boats tootling too and fro along Ullswater.  I can't promise that you'll always bump into a member of the royal family up there, but you never know.

Buy our books!

If you're planning your perfect post lockdown escape to the Lake District then what better than one of our books to guide you around?  We're always happy to sign them and promise to pack them with love and skip to the post office to send them off - now you won't get that offer from anywhere else!  CLICK HERE to check our bookshelves and place your order.  Thank you!

10 Great Gift Ideas for lovers of Cumbria

It's that time of year again!  And this year this blog is more important than ever - so many of our wonderful small business are facing massive challenges due to the continuing COVID restrictions - even if they're allowed to open, so many regions near here are in Tier 3 that few people will be able to travel.

BUT we can still support them by shopping online. Trust me, Jeff Bezos won't be worrying about where his Christmas lunch is coming from, or whether he'll still be in business next year, but plenty of small business right across the country will.

Here's my pick of some of the finest gifts and ideas from around Cumbria:

1. Grassmere Gingerbread

How about an absolutely unique taste of the Lake District delivered right to your door?  Grassmere Gingerbread is legendary and as well as tasting great it always arrives perfectly packed too!

Click here to visit Grasmere Gingerbread

2. Go Your Own Way

The guys at GYOW offer a wonderful range of quirky and interesting hand made gifts - everything is made with love and imagination and each gift will be guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of whoever is lucky enough to receive it.

Click here to visit the GYOW shop.

3. Witchmountain Cards & Gifts

Honestly, how pretty are these?  Kim at Witchmountain has a wonderful array of cards, gifts, prints and soft furnishings availbable.  She also offers gift kits and workshops so you can learn to make your own - the perfect gift for your crafty friends!

Click here to visit the Witchmountain shop

4. Shed 1 Gin

Zoe and Andy at Shed 1 gin are great friends of ours, which could make you think I'm biased, but it's not just me that loves their gin.  This year they have won another armful of awards, launched their new gin experiences AND found time to support the local community.  Their shop is brimming over with great gift ideas!

Click here to visit the Shed 1 shop

5.  Jo's Little People

At Jo's Little People you can find the perfect little person for anyone in your life - paramedic, bride and groom and a whole host of others, as well as lots of cute little animals to choose from too.  All personally handmade with oodles of love!

Click here to visit Jo's Little People

6.  Unsworths Brewery

So many of us have missed visiting the pub this year, so how about bringing the pub to you?  Unsworth's Brewery were a HUGE support to us when we were writing the Brewers Loop book (out spring 2021) - a bottle of Last Wolf was definitely a big treat for me at the end of a long day!  They have plenty of beers to choose from and they are all made in the heart of Cartmel village.

Click here to visit Unsworth's Brewery

7.  Sam Read Books

Yes, we all know that there's another big website where you can buy books, but how about supporting a local bookseller, selling local books?  Sam Read is in Grasmere village and has been selling books since 1887 - so they know a thing or two about it and would be delighted to give you some expert advice if you're unsure just what to buy.

Click here to visit Sam Read online shop

8.  The Twig Pen People

The lovely folks at The Twig Pen People are also great friends of ours, but I wanted to tell you how they've 'branched out' (you see what I did there?) and now offer lots more gifts!  Take a look at their shop where you'll find a range of gifts, cards, notebooks and, of course, their infamous twigpens!

Click here to visit The Twigpen People

9.  Top Trumps Birds of the World

You know how hard I try to learn my birds, and you know how I fail...  In my defence, swans and egrets are both white!  These are the prefect way for me to learn more about my birds and have a laugh at the same time, and who doesn't love a good game of Top Trumps?  There are loads of British birds in there too so there will be no excuses for not knowing your house sparrow from your blue tit AND quoting their wingspan to me next time we meet!

Click here to buy Top Trumps from the RSPB online shop

10.  Our books

Yes, we still have all our books for sale, and yes, we'd still be delighted to sign them as a Christmas gift.  We offer free postage on orders over £20 and I can personally guarantee that I'll do a happy dance and skip to the post office with each order.  (Video available upon request!)

Click here to visit our online bookstore

Please help Mountain Rescue

If you follow this blog you will know that I very rarely host a guest piece or include news items, but this is crucial.  Mountain Rescue are buckling under the strain of dealing with calls from ill prepared hikers.  Ranting and raging does nothing to help but education does.

Please have a read of the press release below and share it far and wide - to help Mountain Rescue we need to help people understand the risks they take in the fells and how to be better prepared for them.  

Thank you.

Rescuers Plea for Help 

Cumbria Police and the Lake District’s Mountain Rescue Team’s have seen a tidal wave of avoidable rescues that is putting a real strain on our volunteer team members and is unsustainable. Since last Friday evening we have had 19 callouts in the Lake District with a focus on the Wasdale team with 9 of these incidents. Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team cover Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England and a magnet for walkers and climbers. Many of our walkers and climbers are very experienced and know exactly what they are doing. However, 11 of the callouts were truly avoidable with inexperienced and ill prepared walkers finding themselves in serious, life threatening trouble being either missing or lost. 

The Cumbria weather which was accurately forecasted this weekend has caught out many but Cumbria Police have also commented that many are dialling in ‘999’ calls with as little as 1% battery remaining on their mobile phones. This means that after the initial call their battery dies and the mountain rescue team cannot get back to them which makes finding them a bigger challenge requiring more numbers of the volunteers. Many are relying on smart phone mapping apps which drain batteries and no back up. 

The rescue on Scafell Pike late on Saturday night in forecasted atrocious conditions for a family group of three lasted 12 hours and involved five rescue teams. 

Stay vacation holidays are introducing a new type of visitor to the National Parks and the current quarantine rules has the potential to make the matter worse. North Wales is experiencing a similar problem and we are sure that the same is being felt across many of the UK’s outdoor holiday destinations, great for the economy but a real issue for the volunteer rescue teams. 

What can you personally do as a new or even regular visitor to help our volunteer teams? 

Exercise within your limits and avoid taking risks. Know your level of skill, competence and experience and those of your group. Make sure you have the right equipment for your trip to the hills and valleys noting that many of our callouts are low down in the valley bottoms. Learn how to navigate, take a water proof map and a compass, don’t rely on smart phone technology it can let you down. Take a torch, even on the longest days, you never know when your activity will catch you out or you go to the help of a fallen, cragfast or lost walker. Take a power bank battery charger it will save you a lot of grief plus allow you to take even more of the memory photos. 

Be kind to our volunteers and respectful to our emergency service, our rural communities and to our farmers. 

There is good and essential advice on the website Adventure Smart UK 

So Stay Safe: #BeAdventureSmart make your good day better.

Visit Adventuresmart.UK

Sink or swim

Ever since I was tiny, I've had a fondness for hurling myself in at the deep end.  Literally.  When I was born my mum was a swimming pool attendant which meant that my formative years were spent around the local pool (or 'baths' as they were then known!).  Not that I remember much about that now, obviously, but I could apparently float before I could walk and had little fear of water. 

One story that is often told is about a trip to the pool when I was aged about 4 - we had been merrily splashing away in the water and I was floating around in my armbands.  We got out onto the poolside and my mum made the fatal error of turning her back on me for a couple of seconds.  Within those seconds I had hared along the side of the pool and, when my mum turned back around, she saw me (still thankfully in armbands) stood on the top diving board.  I can only imagine what was going through her mind as I proceeded to hurl myself off the top board into the deep water below, and emerge, thankfully, unscathed from my adventure.

Although I remember nothing of that incident, it's absolutely typical of how I generally approach life.  If you've followed this blog from the start you'll know that we launched into our life in Cumbria full pelt, living in a campervan for 3 months because we didn't have a house.  You get my drift.

Calming pictue of Ullswater

All of which brings me to the current situation, where we are pretty much all in at the deepend together.  I'm not going to lie, even for someone like me, who has a fondness for deepends, this is scary.  I am a small business and, as things stand at the moment, I have fallen through all the cracks in government support - our only options are a loan (which I'm avoiding becuase I don't want to place any future strain on my business if I can possibly help it) and a mortgage holiday, which isn't a holiday so much as a deferrment.

Rather than sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I've pulled on my armbands and raced to the top diving board again.  My work away from here is delivering face to face training courses, which are clearly all cancelled for the foreseeable future so, within the space of 10 days, we have completely reinvented our business and moved absolutely everying online (when I say 'we', I deliver all the coures, but I couldn't do it without Steve setting up all the IT behind the scenes for me - if you've ever seen the IT Crowd he's Noel Fielding in the basement...!)  You can find full details of what we're up to at the end of this blog, and your support would be deeply appreciated.

To give you an idea of the sorts of things I do, and to hopefully be of some practical use, I thought I'd share with you some tips that help me navigate the deep waters I so regularly find myself in.

1. Don't focus on the big picture - big pictures are scary.  I find it helps to have a rough idea of the big picture and then focus on what I can do today.  As a kid it's highly unlikely that I thought through the whole 'diving board' thing, I just ran up the steps, one at a time.
2. Beware of information overload.  In the current situation it is so easy to become overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information out there.  We absolutely need information, but hone down where you get it from and how often you look. I find the BBC has good updates, but I don't need to keep refreshing the page every 5 minutes.
3. Seek out support.  Even on my diving board adventure I still needed armbands. You may be in isolation, but you don't need to be alone. There are, literally, dozens of apps that will help you connect to people and, once you've connected, don't feel the urge to put on a brave face the entire time.  We're all struggling.  We all understand.  We're all happy to help.
4. Celebrate the small stuff.  Yes, there will be a big celebration when all of this is over, but celebrate small things along the way too.  We were setting up a laptop yesterday and every time something worked we high fived.  It was silly, but we need silly right now.
5. Go easy on yourself.  I may look like I have this all under control, but I don't.  I'm terrified and have broken down in tears many times. If this new business fails we have no money, it's as simple as that, so yes, I am scared - and that's OK.  There have been a couple of days when I've not got much done at all.  That is also OK.  Just keeping taking one step at a time, even if those steps are sometimes wobbly and a bit soggy.

Hopefully some of that has helped in a small way - and I am always here if anyone wants a natter - just leave me a comment, or find me on social media for a chat because, let's face it, we could all use more friends right now.  Stay safe and keep smiling.

For those who are interested in supporting our new business, it's called OnLive Learning and we currently offer over 30 interactive, online, learning events.  The Personal Development modules are just £10 for 30 minutes and the Management Skills modules are £20 for 1 hour.  Discounted season tickets are available - full details right here.

Does size really matter?

If you Google '10 Things about Cumbria' you'll find a host of websites clammouring to tell you that we have the highest mountain, the longest (and deepest) lakes and the steepest road in England (I'm not convinced that last one is even accurate!)  

It's true that our towering fells and shimmering lakes are utterly spectacular, and it's also true that you can have some pretty big adventures here, from zipwires to mountain biking, but what often gets missed is that Cumbria is full of small wonders too, things that folks can (and do!) walk right past without noticing.  

This year we have decided to explore nooks, crannies, and paths less travelled - and certainly paths we've never wandered along before.  To kick off our 'Small Year', here are my 10 favourite small things that we've spotted on our walks so far.

1. An enclosed footpath

I love wandering along old enclosed footpaths - you know that 'back in the day' they were probably bustling routes between farms and villages, but today they're just for hikers and wildlife.

 2. The Old Concrete Road

While cyclists and drivers in their thousands stream over the high passes, I'll settle for the old concrete road near Shap.  It's not the biggest, steepest or most dramatic, but I absolutely love a toddle along it.

3.  Frozen bubbles

To be fair, I've shared this picture before - but we only spotted these because we were dawdling (as usual!) and paused to look more closely at a tarn.  I've never seen frozen bubbles before or since and absolutely love this photo.

4.  Bluebell Woods

Rannerdale Bluebells are the stars of the show every year, but there are dozens of stunning bluebell woods all over Cumbria, and none more spectacular than Dorothy Farrer's Spring Woods near Stavely.

5.  Packhorse bridges

Yes, Ashness Bridge is super stunning, but it's alo super busy.  We discovered this absolute gem by complete accident during our Brewers Loop hike last year.  It's not far from Ravenglass, but for full location details you'll have to wait for the book.

6.  The flowers on Grange Prom

We live in Grange-over-Sands and there are flowers in bloom pretty much all year round.  I usually take a detour along the prom on my way to the shops, and I'm never disappointed.

7.  Skylarks

Well, birds in general to be honest, but is there anything lovelier than the background music of a skylark during a gentle summer walk?  And we were SO excited to see one this close!

8.  Moss on a wall

I know you'll think I've lost my marbles with this one, but I love moss on walls - especially when the sun catches it like this.  We were meant to be eating lunch but I just kept staring at the wall...

9.  Wells and water troughs

As well as moss, I also love stumbling on old wells and water troughs, for me they are a great reminder to appreciate the taps in our house.  Imagine having to head off with your bucket every time you wanted a drink, or to do the washing, or anything really.  So many of them are incredibly ornate too, and often have fascinating snippets of history and folklore behind them.

10.  Sharing the experience

Yeah, I know this one is cheesy, but surely one of the finest pleasures is sharing wonderful new discoveries with someone else?  I love that we get to work and play outside together so often - it just makes it so much more fun!

Want more info on Cumbria's tucked away treasures?  Then may I recommend one of our books?   They are crammed full of wonderful nuggets of history as well as Steve's fabulous photos, and I promise I do a happy dance whenever we sell one!  Click the pic to browse our bookshelf!

Click here to browse

Happy New 527040 Minutes!

Sandscaale & Black Combe

I drive my boss nuts.  But in a good way I think.  At least that's what I keep telling myself.  (To be fair I've been driving Steve nuts for a lot longer than that!).  One of the many reasons I drive the people around me nuts is my odd obsession with time.  I can set the timer in the kitchen when I'm cooking dinner and just *know* when it's about to go off.  Steve thinks that's wierd.

My new boss is starting to get the measure of me too.  Having been full time freelance since November 2012, last October I was in need of more stable employment and was incredibly lucky to land a lovely 3-day-a-week fixed term contract - this was after failing the personality and literacy tests for both Boots and Debenhams...  So what is it in particular that drives my new boss a bit nuts?  Each day I remind him how many days I have left; not in a "I'm counting down the days to freedom" kind of a way, but in a "I'm only here for XX more days, let's not waste any!" way.

Silverdale

I try to live my whole life like that, but it doesn't alway work out the way I'd like.  My dad died fairly suddenly when I was just 18 and it instilled in me a deep appreciation that our time on this earth is finite.  Many people act as if they have an infinite amount of time at their disposal, but the truth is time is the rarest and most valuable thing we have, and this past year I really don't feel as if I've spent my time as wisely as I should have.

True, I have to work to pay the bills (that's the really annoying part!) but I usually get the balance a bit better than I've managed recently.  To be honest, I feel as if I've been running to stand still.  Not even that.  In some ways I've gone backwards and that's really frustrating,

By Royal Appointment

It's also true that we've done some fantastic things this year; we guided William and Kate on a walk around Ullswater, man-handled a beer cask on a 138 mile hike around the county and launched two new books, but there have been so many things this year that we haven't done.  We haven't been away on Delores (our trusty campervan), we haven't been out swimming and kayaking nearly as often as we should and we've hardly managed any hikes for pleasure (as opposed to those required for research for a book).

I've been working away from home far too often meaning lots of long lonely nights in hotels, and then my weekends have been spent playing catch up with my writing - meeting book deadlines etc., all of which have been my poor excuses for not spending enough time with Steve and the rest of our families.

Helvellyn

Ironically I deliver Time Management training courses and one of the points I make at the end is that we spend so much of our life worrying about how to manage our work time, and fit in all our work tasks, but how often do we make enough time for the people and activities that are truly the most important to us?

What's most important to me is Steve, and the time we spend together in the fells, and on other adventures, but we just haven't done that this year, and I've really missed it. I have a whole week off work this week (my boss is no doubt delighted!) and, apart from writing this blog, I promised I wouldn't do any work at all; instead we're spending the week together exploring Cumbria (our rule is that we can't walk anywhere we've walked before!).

2020 is a leap year, so we get a whole extra day to play with.  That means we have 366 days/ 8784 hours/ 527,040 minutes starting at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve.  My only resolution this year is to spend my time more wisely so that this time next year I can write an action packed blog full of adventures, instead of one about regret.

I sincerely hope everyone reading this has a wonderful, adventurous 2020, filled with fun, family and happiness!  (And here are a few other pics of things from this year, just to make me feel a bit better about things.)  😀

Scout Scar

Patterdale

Ulverston Canal

Blencathra

Humphrey Head

Langdale Valley