Secrets and lies

Should we keep our favourite fells secret?

I'm not good with secrets and right now I'm sitting on two whoppers - both good (fantastic actually) and, over the next few weeks everything will become apparent but, right now, I have to keep my mouth shut.  This is not natural for me (as anyone who knows me will attest - seriously, if you want to win money, play me at poker, my poker-face is non-existent!)

Anyway, it got me thinking about secrets in general and, more specifically, secrets in the outdoors.  Hikers, cyclists, swimmers, campers, we all have our secrets - our favourite spots that we sneak away to and hope no-one else is there but, as someone who writes books about the outdoors this leaves me with a conundrum.  If all we do is write books about the places everyone already knows about, no-one will buy our books (same old, same old) BUT if we write about new 'secret' places we run the risk of upsetting people who prefer to keep such places under the radar.

It's something that's been in the news a couple of times recently.  Access to a famous beauty spot lake in Snowdonia has been blocked by the farmer that owned it after some visitors left piles of litter - as I understand it the lake was on his private land (rather than a public right of way) but he was happy to let folks enjoy it responsibly - sadly too much of an ask for some people.

Stunning views on NC500

The North Coast 500 has also been in the news again for all the wrong reasons.  On the face of it

promoting this stunning drive along some of the most spectacular roads in the UK should be nothing but good news for the local economy - lots of new people visiting, spending money on campsites and in shops, cafes and bars.  The problem is that it has been a victim of its own success with some folks lacking respect and consideration for the environment.  We visited in 2015 and took six weeks to complete the route; during that time we never left one scrap of litter, we pulled in and let faster vehicles past at every opportunity and we always camped somewhere away from everyone else.

We also see it in Cumbria, people get upset when we talk about 'secret hideaways' but surely nowhere is secret if you have an OS Map?  I've read that Wainwright was miffed when his books proved a huge hit, leading to his previously favoured quiet routes becoming clogged with people following his guides.  I also once interviewed Julia Bradbury and asked if there were some places that she kept to herself and didn't share on TV and she said that there were.

We all have secret places we like to escape to, but it's not the many that are the problem, it's the few and it's not the fact that we talk about the places that's the issue, it's the fact that we have somehow stopped educating people about how to behave outdoors and how to treat the landscape with respect.  I'm not talking about becoming well-versed on conservation matters, I'm talking about the basics of taking your litter home with you, not damaging property and having consideration for everyone else using the route - if everyone understood those things then there would be no issues.

Hidden woodland walk

When I was researching one of our books I read about how remote paths used to be kept clear of brambles by farmers leaving shears or clippers on a hook at one end of the route.  A passing hiker would collect these, clip any wayward branches along the way, then leave the clippers on another hook at the other end of the track for the next hiker.  Can you imagine that happening today?  I would say that Health and Safety would have a fit but we all know that the clippers would be nicked long before anyone got hurt clipping branches.

There's really not a simple answer to this.  Or rather there is: treat the countryside with respect, but embedding and enforcing it is the problem.  If people are happy to risk their lives heading up Helvellyn in flip-flops, then they're really not going to worry about picking up the wrapper from their Mars bar.  At the crux of the issue is where does the responsibility lie for educating people?  I've seen rants against local councils for not clearing grass verges and fly tipping spots but the anger needs to be directed at the people throwing the litter and dumping the rubbish in the first place.

I'm genuinely interested in hearing everyone else's thoughts on this as I know it's a subject close to a lot of our hearts - maybe between us we can find a solution?

In the meantime, as for my secrets, well you'll just have to hang around and see what happens over the next few weeks.  While you're waiting you could always take a look through our books and see where our favourite hideaways are - click HERE for more info.

Out June 15th - available to pre-order here

The Lost Book of Adventure

This is a book review with a difference; instead of analysing it and giving you a blow by blow account of what to expect from it, I'm going to show you how much fun we had with it and let you make up your own minds.

The book in question is "The Lost Book of Adventure".  It's written by an "Unknown Adventurer", edited by Teddy Keen, published by Quarto Publishing and is absolutely perfect for adventurers of all ages.

The notes were discovered buried deep in the Amazon jungle and they provide all the guidance you need for living a life of adventure.  Things like...

How to make an emergency sling for an injured arm using your fleece:

I'm preparing my Oscars acceptance speech.

 The best position to adopt if you need an outdoors poo:

(They perhaps had something a little less public in mind!)

How to make a rucksack from a pair of trousers:

How to make an emergency toothbrush from a nearby twig:

As well as being choc-full of brilliant ideas and advice the book is superbly illustrated and is a joy to hold and flick through.  (I am a book nerd and I squealed with excitement when I first saw it.)  When we were out taking the photos for this blog we got chatting to a couple who, quite rightly, wondered what the hell we were doing and they went away with the title noted down so they could buy it for their grandkids. It's that sort of book - it just delights you from the moment you first see it.

I also think it's incredibly well priced at £20 and has the look and feel of a much more expensive book.  You can find more information about it here - and make sure you're following me on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) over the next week or so as I'll be giving one away in a competition.  Happy adventuring!

The terrible shame of getting lost.

Just taking photos of the view...

Recently I was enjoying a rather long low level solo hike around Millom - trust me, it's a lovely spot with some cracking views - when I arrived at a stile which was about 50 metres down the road from where it should have been.  I double checked my map and surveyed the area.  It looked as if the path used to run between some farm buildings but had since been diverted to go around them instead.  I was 99% sure of this fact until I spotted the farmer walking across the field looking in my direction, at which point I became massively self conscious and took a number of fake photos of the view until he was safely out of sight.

Is it a British thing?  Or perhaps it's just me.  If I'm out with Steve and we're having a difference of opinion about the route we hush right up if someone else comes along - especially if they're striding confidently in a "I come this way every day" kind of way.  We also tend to duck and scurry around farmhouses where we fear our confusion over the route may leave us open to ridicule, even though we know the path passes directly through the farm and they just haven't bothered to label it.  This usually results in us hiding behind a wall while we squint at our map ever more closely to figure out whether the path goes behind the second or third building from the right.

Sheep. Watching and silently judging...

I'm not averse to asking directions if I'm properly lost, but if I'm just a bit unsure there's a nagging worry at the back of my head that the other person will mock my woeful map reading abilities - I've seen folks on social media and they can be harsh.  What if they knew me?  The shame of a "I met that Cumbrian Rambler woman the other day and she didn't have a flipping clue where she was" comment.  We all make mistakes and we all get lost sometimes, that's just life, but why do we feel embarrassed about it?  (Or maybe it is just me?)

For the same reason I always get irked at "No Turning" signs on driveways - and I say this as someone who's driveway is a very popular turning spot.  I wonder if the owners of such places have never been lost and needed to turn around?  I can understand that they don't want their driveway blocked or damaged, but why not allow people to turn around and get back on the right route? Seems a bit rude to me.

Found by mistake

Sometimes there's a joy in getting lost - not in an irresponsible "help I'm stuck on a mountain and I've no idea what it's called as I haven't even brought a map with me" kind of a way - but in a "ooohhh - I thought we were on that path but we're not we're on this one and isn't that a lovely view?" kind of a way.  I've found some lovely places when I've got a little bit lost - hidden gardens behind churches in London, interesting sculptures climbing the walls in Manchester and, on this walk, a rather lovely bench with fantastic views down over Millom and out towards Barrow.

Excellent surprise bench!

I'm sure I'm not the only person who has discovered something new by getting a little bit lost so post your stories below and tell me all about it.  And if you happen to see me out and about looking a little bit bemused just give me a wide berth - I'm sure I'll get there in the end, I usually do.  😀

One place you can always get lost safely is in a good book!  (You see what I did there?)  Click the pic to find out more about our books & order yours.  😀

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