Virtually Cumbria

Wow.  It's hard to find the right words just now, but wow seems to cover most things.  It feels odd to be writing this as my blog has always been dedicated to shouting about Cumbria and encouraging folks to visit and discover tucked away corners, but not now.  At this particular moment we need everyone to stay home and stay safe.  The local hospitals and Mountain Rescue do not need to be dealing with Bank Holiday levels of visitors having slips and accidents as well as passing on the virus.

I'm not about to start ranting - I'm not a ranter (well, apart from when Steve stacks the dishwasher all wrong *again*!) - instead I want to spread a little joy if I can and help everyone enjoy Cumbria virtually. I'm going to start by sharing some of my favourite views and telling you how long they've existed, to reassure you that they will till be there when you're chomping at the bit to return.  And, if nothing else, I always find that a geological timescale helps put 12 weeks of social distancing/ isolation into perspective.

I've also selected 5 locations with webcams so you can enjoy them from home - no need to visit.  Keep us, and everyone else, safe and please stay home.  Thank you.

Skiddaw

Amongst the oldest rocks in the county the Skiddaw Group is around 480 million years old, although obviously they didn't look like this when they were laid down, but they have looked roughly like this since the last ice sheets vanished around 11,000 years ago.

You can find Skiddaw Webcam right here.  Now tell me that's not a magnificent view!

Blencathra

Yeah, I know it's right next to Skiddaw but c'mon, it's awesome!  Easily one of my favourite fells to look at, and Halls Fell Ridge is one of the finest routes in the county, in my very humble opinion.  Rocks wise, it's much the same age as Skiddaw but twice as sexy.  Rarrr!

You can see the Blencathra webcam here.  (Please note - not a lot to see when it's dark...)

Coniston Water

There is SOOOOO much history attached to Coniston Water from Donald Campbell to Ruskin.  Or should that be the other way around?  Either way it's a magnificent lake.  No launches or boats on there at the moment, but you can watch the webcam here and get your Coniston fix whenever you need it!

Ullswater

What a chuffing gorgeous lake!  Fabulous dogleg in the middle and stunning fells all around.  Often gets voted as the best looking lake and the others are properly jealous.  Ullswater Steamers aren't running, but you can still watch their webcam and dream of your next visit.

Osprey Cam

OK, this one isn't quite live yet - but it will be, and when it is you will be hooked, I promise!  Cumbria Wildlife Trust have a live camera on their osprey nest which will kick in as soon as the osprey return from their winter hols in Africa - no pesky border controls for them!  Once Osprey Cam is up and running you can watch them as they lay eggs, hatch, and rear their young.  Entertainment from late March until the end of the summer.  perfect!


No click bait adverts

Like many folks we've seen our income wiped by the lockdown and, unfortunatley, we slip through the cracks of the government support on offer.  We have also chosen not to run 'click bait' advertising on the blog as we don't agree with the content and the damage it does to fellow human beings.  If you would like to support us then you can either buy our books or leave us a tip in our virtual tip jar below.  Thank you.  😊

My Life in Quotes (and the start of Part 2)

I'm the one with the 1980's bouffant hair. Jim's the cool
one in the sunglasses.  The photo was taken in a basement.

Jim, a good friend of mine, has a dislike of inspirational quotes which has inspired me to write this blog.  When I say good friend I mean one of those people you were great mates with at Uni, swore you'd never lose contact with, lost contact with, regained contact with and then lost it again before Facebook meant there was no longer any excuse (or escape) from remaining in contact.  Either way we've sort of known each other for around 25 years now, and that makes me feel very old indeed.  And anyway, he doesn't dislike them all, just most of them.  The only one you'll catch him quoting is Samuel Beckett: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No Matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."  Not bad, but I need more choice.

"Don't Worry, Be Happy" (Bob Marley)

So help me if I hear one more person complain about the weather.  I've never really been one to whinge and complain about things I can't change. I try to stick to a simple philosophy; if I can't do anything about it then  worrying about it is pointless and if I can do something about it then it's time I got off my backside.  That's how we ended up up here living this amazing, if everso slightly crazy, life.  I think Mr Marley oversimplified it somewhat with the implication that if you're worrying then you can't be happy.  Or maybe I'm over thinking things.  My love of words makes me do that sometimes.  Either way you can still have worries and be happy.  And I'm betting you're going to have that tune stuck in your head all day now.  Sorry.

"Whether your believe you can or you can't, you'll probably be right."  Henry Ford

Wintery caravan site from the top
of Arnside Knott

In the past week I've had 3 different (and entirely unrelated people) say they wish they were me, or had my life.  Well, we didn't get here by wishing for it.  We convinced ourselves we could do it and we did it.  Last night me & Steve were recalling some of the conversations we had with people before we headed up here in Delores and many of them went like this:

"So, you're moving north.  Do you have a house up there then?"
"No."
"Oh.  Have you sold your house down here?"
"No."
"Oh.  So what will you be living in?"
"Delores"
"Delores?"
"Yes"
"You do know it's January don't you?"
"Yes"
"How long do you plan on living in her?"
"Well we get kicked off the campsite in 3 months."
"So you'll have a house sorted by then?"
"Hope so."

Looking back it's no wonder they thought we were slightly mad, but we believed we could do it, so we did it. (Note for R Kelly fans: Not all quotes about beliefs should be taken literally.)

"Life is a Journey, Not a destination." Ralph Waldo Emerson

There's always time for daisies.

Some quotes are so overused they're in danger of becoming cheesy, and this is one of them.  But it's a great quote.  It's important to chase dreams so long as you're also happy with the here and now and not one of the "I'll be happy when..." brigade.  We've come a long way and it's not all been fun but we've tried to see the bright side of everything and I like to think we've succeeded. Mostly.

It's also a useful quote to remember next time you're racing from A to B.  I was working in Burnley again this week and mentioned to someone that I preferred to take the pretty way home and stop off for a picnic along the way.  They were amazed that I didn't just steam back along the motorway.  The whole world is in such a hurry.  Take the pretty route sometimes - it gives you more time to think.  Although Steve might argue that's a dangerous thing in my case.

"Feel the fear & do it anyway." Susan Jeffers

My favourite campsite from our
Great North Adventure

I'll be honest, I've never read her book, but the title is enough for me.  In my professional life I run assertiveness workshops and often hear people say that confident people don't feel nervous.  WRONG.  Remember End of Part One?  Well part two has just begun and I'm more than a little nervous.

On 16th November I will be leaving my perfectly good job to become completely self employed.  Our plan goes something like this:  I'll work a few days a month as a freelance Learning & Development Consultant (website here) and I'll also try and make some extra cash from writing.  When I'm not doing either of those things me & Steve will be working on some business ideas we have related to photography and the outdoors, giving us a legitimate business need to head off in Delores at every available opportunity and have more adventures.  Will it work?  Who knows but as Wayne Gretzky said "Statistically speaking, 100% of the shots you don't take, won't go in." So we have to at least try.

Most people write about what they've done after they've done it but I think it's more fun to write about it was we go along.  That way I'm less inclined to edit out the lows and give a false impression of how fabulous life is.  I'm sure it won't all be plain sailing, but we'll work something out and get there in the end and if we don't well, we'll end up somewhere else won't we?  Either way we plan on having fun.  I like to live my life as Bill & Ted suggested: "Be most excellent to each other, and party on."  And you can quote me on that.