A rainy January afternoon is the perfect time to finally sit down and put the previous year’s memories into words. Secretly, I write these yearly reviews as much for myself, a window into a previous time, a previous self. But if you are a little bit nosey and a little bit curious like me, I […]
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Last December, dreaming up goals for the New Year (many of which often go unfinished) and inspired by past happy memories of Lake District dips during my 3 and a bit years living here, I decided to set myself a challenge for 2022. To take a least one monthly dip in a lake, tarn or […]
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I stepped off the last bus from Penrith to Keswick in 2019 with a backpack full of belongings and zero expectations, unaware of the beautiful, incredible adventure about to unfold. As idyllic as it sounds, I wasn’t in the happiest of places at the time. I was recently back from a 3-month backpacking trip in […]
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This week I’m giving you the longer, unedited version of my recent Q&A with fell runner and orienteerer Nathan Lawson, taken from my monthly newsletter, Letters from the Lake District. Each month I interview a different person with a strong connection to the Lake District – from artists to runners, writers to photographers. We dive […]
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I love spending a little time towards the end of December to recall memories from the past year, reflecting on the good and the times when life has felt a little harder but more often than not taught me valuable lessons. I remember making goals just before New Year’s Eve in 2020, dreams of 40 […]
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A few days before Christmas 2019, sitting in Mathelidies cafe overlooking Helm Crag in Grasmere, I set out a vast series of exciting goals for the coming year ahead, goals which now seem whimsical such as visiting one new country, hiking the Cumbria Way, running a half marathon, dipping my toe into freelancing in social […]
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And then suddenly, it was autumn. The fells have faded from the rich green to coopers and golds, the swathes of bracken on the hillsides now reduced to crisp skeletons. Misty mornings spent kicking through the invariably wet autumn leaves, the trails I run now thick with mud. Last Friday, after abandoning plans to tackle […]
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Standing in the middle of Booths supermarket in Keswick, I wasn’t quite sure what to do next. Where to go, how to fill the time. Tears of panic trickling down my face. Outside, the rain continued to pour down in the early March gloom. I had two hours before my interview at the youth hostel. […]
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Standing in Crow Park, a short walk from Keswick, I can trace the outline of the fells and recall a vivid memory from many of the mountains which line the shores of Derwentwater and beyond. There’s the towering, imposing figure of Skiddaw, which I summited in an unexpected flurry of sleet the day after my […]
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