5 Ways to explore the Lake District

Back in the day, when this blog first began, it was very much focused on exploring the different fells on foot but we decided to make 2017 the year we did something different.  It's not that we got bored with hiking, far from it, it's just that different modes of transport offer different views and different experiences and we love them all.  We've also met up with some utterly fab people who are proving that exploring the fells isn't just a passtime for those with 2 healthy legs.

1. Bikes and electric bikes

I am a fair weather, unashamed, not too hilly cyclist.  I love my bike but I'm never going to be one of those Lycra clad lovelies you see pounding their way up Hard Knott Pass, so we stick to relatively flat places like Thirlmere and Grizedale.  If your legs are really feeling the train, or you don't have your own bike, then fear not for there is an entire network of cycle hire places around Morecambe Bay (also blissfully non hilly) or there's Velo Bikes in Grizedale where we borrowed a couple of ebikes from last week. (And there's tons of other fab ideas for exploring Morecambe Bay here and here)

For a few blissful hours I understood a little of what it felt like to be Laura Trott - not that I'd ever catch her even with electric assistance, but it was wonderful to zoom up hills with hardly any effort and polish off a 21 mile bike ride in under two hours and still be able to talk at the end of it.

Ebikes from Velo bikes in Grizedale

2.  On foot

To be fair, I end up exploring on foot even when I'm riding a bike as I push it up so many hills.  Nothing will ever replace my love of hiking but it's always fun escaping the crowds and exploring some of the less visited spots.  One of my favourite walks this year was the day we spent around Ennerdale Water - it was a glorious day, the heather was in full bloom and we hardly saw another soul once we left the car park.  Perfect.

3.  On the water

2017 was the year we cracked out the kayaks - and the canoes!  Fed up of walking and cycling around the lakes we thought it was about time we got out onto the lakes, so we booked a day's kayaking with Distant Horizons on Ullswater.  They gave us all the tuition we needed and kept a close eye on us all day, which was perhaps as well...  We had so much fun that we went back for a go on their canoes a few weeks later.  I wanted to love the kayaks more but I found the canoes a lot more comfortable - plus there was more room for a picnic in there...

(I bought the adventures as a Christmas gift for Steve - if you fancy it you can find the vouchers here.)

4.  IN the water

I turned 50 this year and my middle aged crisis took the form of wetsuits.  I figured it was about time to return to my swimming roots and start splashing around.  Steve was rather less gung-ho about this than I was but we ended up having several wonderful adventures hiking to a lake or tarn, going for a swim and then enjoying a BBQ on the shores.  Admittedly the photo below is in Consiton Water which didn't require much of a hike, but it was a lot of fun!  I have always been a proper water baby but if you're less confident then give Suzanna Swims a call - she offers guided swims for everyone from complete beginners to full on experts and is utterly lovely.  Here's what happened when I took a dip with her.

Strange aquatic mammal spotted in Consiton Water

5.  In a Terrain Hopper

It's easy to see the fells as just something for those on two legs but, as my awesome friend Debs proves, there's ways of exploring the hills even if you're not a gnarly hairy hiker.  (Like Deb's husband Andy...) 😀

My name is Debbie and I live in Cumbria. In 2011 I was diagnosed with spinal degeneration and have since used a wheelchair. 

Before this, I had always been a keen hill walker. My husband Andy and I enjoyed long-distance treks,we’d completed a few together, including Coast to Coast, Dales Way and Cumbria Way. 

Dabs out and about on her Terrain Hopper

Following the diagnosis, I began investigating all terrain wheelchairs which could get me back out into the hills. I found one called a TerrainHopper, a 4x4 all terrain wheelchair and it was with this that Andy and I completed the Coast to Coast walk, from St Bees to Robin Hoods Bay in 2015.  Last year we published our first book, 'In the Spirit of Wainwright', which is a guide to the route we took across the county. 

In 2016, we devised a new long-distance route from Semerwater, North Yorkshire to 

Bassenwaite in Cumbria. This is a trek of 81 miles, and is entirely all terrain wheelchair accessible. 

At present time we are developing a new long distance through the Lakeland passes. We

don’t know as yet if it is possible to do – but that’s part of the fun! We enjoy trying new,

different routes, hoping to make the inaccessible accessible.

Being able to get back out into the hills has given me my life back. I can now enjoy being 

back outside with my family and friends. I work with The Outdoor Guide with Julia Bradbury to promote wheel friendly walks (click HERE for more information.) Our aim is to encourage other people with disabilities to  get outdoors.

For more information about the TerrainHopper, please visit http://www.terrainhopper.com/

I blame my mum...

Me & mum on a Welsh mountain circa 1977

I blame my mum for a lot of things - my mile wide stubborn streak, my incessant need to know how and why things work and my extreme lack of patience.  I can also blame her for my sense of adventure - she used to take us surfing in the pouring rain (the rain wasn't a pre-requisite but neither was it ever to be seen as a deterrent), she dragged us up countless Welsh mountains and onto pretty much every roller coaster in Blackpool and beyond.  (You can't blame her for my writing though, for that the finger points firmly at my maternal granddad and my godawful sense of humour comes from my dad.)

As I've mentioned in previous blogs, these days she's not great on her legs and really struggles to get around which is frustrating for 2 main reasons.  Firstly because when she comes to visit us there's not a lot of stuff around here that she's able to do and secondly because her sense of adventure is still firmly in tact and she's frustrated that she can't get to see waterfalls or big sweeping views from the felltops.

In the past I've glibly blogged about the challenges of finding stuff to do when she visits when what I could perhaps have been doing was shouting a bit more about how providers of services dictate what should and should not be accessible to those with mobility issues.  This all became wholly apparent to me yesterday when we were invited to the pre-launch day of a new all terrain wheelchair known as the Terrain Hopper GTR.

The invite came from Debbie North who was a keen hiker and hill walker before she became a wheelchair user.  Debbie now dedicates her time to promoting true accessibility for all by way of the Terrain Hopper.  After spotting the vehicle by chance on an edition of Look North in 2014, Debbie quickly made contact with the inventors Sam and Deborah Dantzie, put the vehicle through its paces and promptly vowed to complete the  Coast to Coast route from St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay during 2015 (Honestly, if you click on no other links in this blog, click on that one)

The launch event was held at the beautiful Irton House Farm in the shadow of Skiddaw with breathtaking views along Bassenthwaite Lake - all of the accommodation is immaculate and wheelchair friendly.  (Plus after the event they pointed us to the The Craggs cafe in Bothel for fab food at really reasonable prices and plenty of wheelchair access.)

Mum kept insisting that she was nervous about the whole thing, but that didn't stop her immediately getting into one and taking off around a nearby field laid out as an obstacle course.  For someone who has never even driven a car she was soon whizzing around over mock bridges, zig-zagging through slalom poles and even taking flight over a giant see-saw.

All those years spent watching Dukes of Hazard finally pays off!

The vehicles are intuitive to use, robust, well balanced, tremendous fun and, for those whose bodies can't keep up with their adventurous spirits, absolutely life changing.  Most people who read this blog enjoy tearing up and down the fells but what if, god forbid, all that suddenly ended tomorrow due to illness or injury, what then?  Until the Terrain Hopper came along it would have been tough luck.

Made for mud.

"What about Trampers?" I hear you cry?  Well they're OK for what they're intended for - gentle woodlands and parks - but there's no chance of getting one up a fell.  As I type this a group of Terrain Hoppers is on their way to the top of Skiddaw again - they really do open up the fells for everyone.  What's frustrating is that the National Trust, Forestry Commission etc. think that Trampers are enough and won't consider investing in Terrain Hoppers to hire out to those who want something rather more adventurous.

Like mother, like daughter

Think of it like shoes - you have shoes you go to work in, shoes for gentle toddles and shoes for proper big hikes.  Mobility Scooters are your "shoes" for work and shopping, Trampers are your "shoes" for gentle outdoor toddles and Terrain Hoppers are your "shoes" for going up the fells in.  One isn't necessarily better than the other, they are all perfect for their environment.  Wouldn't it be great if all the "shoes" were available to those who wanted them rather than having an organisation tell us that the only "shoes" we can have access to don't suit what we want to do with them?

Terrain Hoopers aren't expensive executive toys, they are a fantastic opportunity to open up the fells to everyone with an adventurous spirit and a true life changer for those who need them.  Of course my biggest challenge now is keeping mum away from the Coast to Coast route...

Last seen heading for Robin Hood's Bay...