After having quite a dip, I had a stern talking to myself, that went something a bit like this:
“I just want to be outside all of the time”
“Well, you can mope about being indoors all the time, or you can go outside”
It probably sounds harsh and I would never consciously talk to someone else that harshly, but it was what I needed. The engineer in me, needed a solution and the solution was getting outside.
I set myself the challenge to go outside for a walk or a run each day. It’s been just over a month of doing this and I feel so much better!
Each day, I’ve been getting my daily dose of wind in my hair and a little moment of freedom. The freedom that I was missing, was just 5 minutes from my house. Even 15 minutes outside makes such a difference! I’m really lucky to live on the edge of Buxton. 5 minutes from my house, I can be in fields or picking blackberries along the cycle path. The sunny weather has definitely helped my motivation to get outside, I’m really hoping that I can continue into autumn and winter.
I downloaded a habit tracker app; seeing a streak build, and a satisfying ding, each time I complete something, gives me a little hit of dopamine that is definitely helping!
Whilst I had been on my challenge, my mum had been training for her own challenge. At the beginning of the year, she set out a plan to complete the Edale Skyline route in July. I was very pleased to be her guide and join her for the day. The route is about 20 miles and goes along the tops of all of the hills that you can see from Edale. It was the first time that I’d walked that distance, since finishing my walk, but my legs held up well. For my mum, it was her longest ever walk, she smashed it, and I was really proud to see her achieve her own challenge! The weather mostly held up for us too, only giving us rain in the afternoon. It was lovely to spend a full day walking, and a nice reminder that I’ve still got it!
This year my parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary, so we had a lovely weekend away to celebrate. It was so nice to spend some time together. We spent the weekend in an airBnB, on a farm. It was really peaceful and I got to feed Bumble, the highland calf. Which was pure cuteness overload. On Saturday we went on a steam train, then a cruise along Windermere. It was lovely to look longingly out at the hills surrounding Ambleside.
In the afternoon, my dad and I went for a run together. For me it was a recent PB, for him, I think it was his slowest run in a while. I really enjoyed spending the time together and it was probably our first run together since I was 16!
Before setting off on my walk, I had planned a week off in August. I knew that after finishing, I’d want to get back out into the hills. That gets me to where I am now. It took me a while to decide where to go. Having walked so much of the country, the whole place is so beautiful and it made decision making even harder! My first thought was to finish the Cape Wrath Trail, but I would have to brave the midges. Option 2 was to go to the Lake District and bag some more Wainwrights, or there were Options 3 and 4 to go to Wales and either go hiking in Eryri or walk some of the Cambrian Way. It took me right up until 3 days ago for me to decide. I realised, that what I really wanted to do was finish the Cape Wrath Trail, I’d just put it off because of the midges. I’m lucky that midges don’t bother me too much, and I’ve survived the Scottish midge before. So, I’m on a train up to Inverness, so I can travel to Oykel Bridge and this evening I’ll continue where I’ve left off. I’m really looking forward to being back on the trail. Once I get to Cape Wrath, I’ll only have a 20 mile section from Loch Linnhe to Corry Hully bothy to fully complete the trail. That section can be completed, when I one day walk to Inverie.
So Danielle, Harvey, Sally and Ziggy are off on another whirlwind adventure!
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