Not all walks are uphill

I know that I'm lucky to live in Cumbria and I'm sure that many folks imagine that means that I am out up the fells every chance I get, but the reality is that I have to earn a crust and writing sadly doesn't pay all the bills yet.  This means that I often spend a lot of time travelling the country, staying in strange hotels and waking up in the mornings not entirely sure where I am - so how do I fit walking into a life like that and, more to the point for some folks, why should I?

You don't need me to tell you that walking is good for you but I think that too many people see it as a separate thing - something which needs to be dressed properly for with a water bottle in hand - but it doesn't have to be that way.  I was utterly horrified (strong words but true) to read this report from Public Health England which identified that 41% of adults in England aged between 40-60 fail to walk briskly for 10 minutes each MONTH.  Not week or day but MONTH.

Walking can be something we all slot in to our daily activities, however busy we are.  To give you an idea of what my last two weeks have been like, here are the places I've visited...

My days are crammed with travelling, working and trying to find my hotel so how do I fit in walking?

• I never take a cab - that's a lie - I think I did, once, about 4 years ago when I left my phone in a training room and had to get back there before they closed.
• Google Maps is my best friend - it always gets me from A to B.
• If I do take a tube/ bus/ train or tram, where I can I get off one stop early and walk the rest of the way.
• If I'm waiting on a train station (this happens a LOT usually thanks to Northern Rail) I walk around the station rather than sit in the waiting room jabbing at my phone.

View along Grange station

View from platform 14 at Manchester Piccadilly

• I take the stairs where there's an option or walk up and down escalators at stations.
• At hotels or client sites I avoid lifts and take the stairs - sometimes, at hotels, the stairs can be very well hidden and I enjoy the challenge of figuring out where they are...
• I pack everything into my trusty little rucksack so walking and taking the stairs is easier.

And here's a big confession - I don't always feel like doing it.  I deliver training courses and I am on my feet all day so when I get to the station only to find there's yet another 20 minute delay because yet another member of the train crew has gone missing (seriously Northern Rail, what are you doing with them all?) I have to fight the urge to slump disconsolately into a seat in the waiting room and crack on with another level of Candy Crush.  So why do I do it?  I could list below all the health benefits of walking but here are the very personal and specific reasons that I do it:

• It helps me to unwind
• It takes me away from crowds of people - I've never been good in crowds
• I see things I wouldn't normally spot
• I enjoy a little peace and quiet
• I get some fresh(ish!) air - definitely fresh on Grange station but notsomuch in central London
• It gives me ideas and inspiration
• It takes my mind off the delay
• It's a little spot of "me time" after a day spent talking to people

I feel so passionately that everyone who can should walk more that I started a campaign called #WalkOneStop - you can find out more about it HERE.  All I want to do is encourage everyone to walk a little bit more whenever and wherever they can.  

Each week there is a new story in the news about obesity, cancer risks and the general non-movement of huge chunks of the population - and yet just a few short walks could really help to turn things around - did you know for example that an 11 coach Virgin Pendolino Train is roughly 250m long?  All you'd need to do is walk the entire length 6 times (avoiding picking up a bag of crisps at the onboard shop as you pass) and that's a mile sorted.  

I know I keep banging on about walking but honestly, #WalkOneStop - it could save your life.  😀

PS HUGE thanks to Hotter Shoes for supporting and sponsoring my #WalkOneStop project

PPS.  Here are some of the fab things I spotted while walking around just in the past 2 weeks...

Manchester

Manchester

Manchester

Wigan

Farnham

Farnham

Farnham

London

Wigan

Birmingham

Wolverhampton

Manchester - KIDDING - Leeds. 😁

Leeds

Leeds

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!

Click on the pic to learn more!

30 Days Wild: Day 30 - look at the map!

I think if there was a motto for my #30DaysWild experience it would be "look at the map" - June has been one of my most hectic months ever workwise but I've still manged to squeeze in something wild each day, well with 1 exception.

Today I was back in Wigan wondering where I'd wander when I spotted on the map a whole new section of canal leading to Scotsman's Flash and Pearson's Flash.  A beautiful 20 minute walk in baking sunshine was just what was needed to get me through the afternoon.

I'll write a round up post later this week picking out my highlights, but for me the whole thing has been a voyage of discovery,  finding wonderful pockets of nature in some of the least expected places and all I ever needed was a map and a small sense of adventure.   Here's to more fabulous discoveries in the future.  #StayWild

30 Days Wild:Day 29 - Fir Tree Flash

OK I admit it, I finally gave in yesterday & stayed in bed all day despite the gorgeous sunshine.  I'd like to say I feel better for it but after a day delivering another course I can still do a pretty convincing rendition of Total Eclipse of the Heart.

I managed to drag myself into the fresh air at lunchtime and discovered Fir Tree Flash (Pennington Flash was a bit far).  This looks to be on an old industrial site and though I'm sure many locals would prefer the industry and the jobs to still be here, Mother Nature is putting the site to good use.

I spotted a few butterflies but none stayed still long enough for me to get a pic. I think I saw a Cinnabar Moth - though I could be wrong, whatever it was it was very pretty. 

This challenge has pushed me to find pockets of wild in some unexpected places, in future I'll definitely take a closer look at the maps for where I'm working to see what else I can find.

Not wild but interesting.  Spotted on my walk back to Leigh. 

30 Days Wild: Day 26 - peering at Wigan Pier.

There aren't many wildlife experiences that begin with "I was working in the middle of Wigan & took a walk to Asda", but this one does.  Before I ever visited Wigan I expected it to be a bit of a hole - no idea why, blame the TV and northern stereotyping - but over the past couple of years I've been very pleasantly surprised by the place.  I'm sure it's got its grim areas but then so has everywhere but the parts of Wigan I get to visit are really rather lovely.

Today I was working at a venue alongside the canal and realised mid morning that I'd forgotten my cough syrup and was in danger of expiring.  At lunchtime I nipped along the canal to Asda to restock and took some time to explore along the way.

I'll be honest, there were plenty  of overgrown areas and an abundance of weeds, but that sort of untouched wilderness is great for wildlife. Canals are fantastic corridors for water related creatures and although they're usually considered the poor relation of rivers, I really rather like them.

This particular jaunt also took me past Wigan Pier - rather smaller than I'd imagined it would be, but choc full of interesting history, though the nearby statue didn't seem to be impressed.

Once back at the office there was just the small matter of battling the ducks for my lunch before taking a hearty swig of cough syrup and tackling the afternoon.

Wigan Pier - all of it.

She's not impressed...