Feeling alive in 2025

 

Well, these last couple of months have been a little different for us. Have completed our Wainwright challenge and after 15 years or so of winter evenings spent planning routes, plotting which fells or mountains to climb, working out the best places to stay, booking accommodation, upgrading, updating, cleaning and repairing kit and gear, we have suddenly found ourselves with a little more spare time on our hands.

It's a slightly strange and mildly unsettling feeling. After so many years of knowing where we would be holidaying and what we would be doing on those holidays, we wondered how we going to fill that Wainwright shaped hole in our lives and keep fit, active, interested and motivated in 2025, so to that end, we’ve made some decisions and thought about some simple alternatives.

Decision One : We’re not going to start a second round of the Wainwrights.

The Reason : We know a lot of people do and we really can see the attraction, but anything we do climb in the Lakes will be specifically selected to get the views we missed the first time round, or simply because we want to revisit it. I can’t imagine visiting and not climbing something!

But then…. Setting yourself a challenge can be a good way of motivating yourself throughout the year to keep fit and active and keep getting you outdoors.

Decision Two: We're not going to tackle another long term challenge.

The Reason : People ask us what’s next and whether we’re going to start on the Munros, but we feel we had the perfect challenge for us which we thoroughly enjoyed. I admire those who climb the Munros tremendously, but I don’t think it is something we’ll undertake. Instead, we will try a few things in a much looser way. We have signed up to Country Walking's Walk 1000 miles this year which will give us purpose and impetus on our daily walks from home. We have done this several times before, and to be honest we walk over 1000 miles most years anyway, but it will still be fun to do in a slightly more official way.

But then…. A challenge doesn’t have to be anything huge or long term, it could simply be aiming to walk 10 miles by the end of the year, swim 50 lengths without stopping, or seeing if you can go for a short walk every single Sunday of the year. We’ve done lots of the Conqueror Virtual Challenges which are fun, or you could sign up to a Park Run or charity event.

Decision Three: We would like to start visiting the Peak District a little more often.

The Reason : We have a slightly half formed plan to climb some of the 95 Ethel tops of which we've already done 10. It would be lovely to see some different parts of this beautiful area, just as the Outlying fells afforded us differing views of Lakeland.

But then…. Getting out and about wherever you live is the important thing, not necessarily always visiting a National Park. We only spend our annual leave in those beautiful places; the rest of the year is spent walking within a 10-15 mile radius of home, and that’s Berkshire with no national parks!

Decision Four: We would like to visit other areas.

The Reason : As much as we adore the Lake District, there’s still a lot of the beautiful UK to explore. Scotland, Northumberland, Wales and more of the Yorkshire Dales are top of our list and, whilst we have been to all these areas before, it would be lovely to know them in more depth. Other ports of call such as the Isles of Scilly, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides are on our list, as are one or two foreign destinations.

But then…. The New Forest is our nearest national park at just an hour and a half’s distance, yet we visit perhaps once a decade, so it would be lovely to get to know it a little better. Exploring your local area can be just as interesting and exciting. We made it our mission to visit all the National Trust properties, gardens and parks within about a 20 mile radius of home which has been lovely, and we’ll extend that range this year.

Decision Five: Inject some culture.

The Reason : I feel it can’t (or perhaps shouldn’t) be lakes and mountains all the time, and we need some mental stimulation and interest as well, so we plan to visit London more often. It’s a mere 40 minutes away by train away and we used to go more regularly, but rarely go these days. Museums, exhibitions and galleries are always of interest. It’s good to have a range and balance of interests I think.

But then…. London doesn’t have the monopoly on culture, interest and history, so we will also try and visit some of our other fascinating towns and cities.

Decision Six: Increase our cross training.

The Reason : We have started running again, but this is in addition to our daily walks and there's no real target to aim for, other than to increase our distance gradually and comfortably. I do regular yoga and Bro cycles using Zwift, both just to try and keep supple and build strength. We plan on getting out on our mountain bikes more and are hoping to get another dog towards the end of the year. 

But then…. Any form of gentle, differing exercise has to be a good thing on a regular basis. Even if you can’t get out, there are lots of exercises that can be done in the comfort of your own home, or sitting at your desk.

In Summary: I think and hope this year will be just as invigorating despite us not having a long term challenge or a specific set of targets and goals to aim for. By balancing out our physical activity with some mental stimulation, we hope to have an equally interesting, active and enjoyable 2025, and hope you do too!

 
 
 

A short break in Oslo

 

In May we decided to take a short break to Oslo. I'd been to Norway before to the Fjords, but Bro had never been. 

We stayed near the National Theatre which turned out to be a slightly quieter area than the more centrally located hotels, although there was a fair bit of revelry on Friday and Saturday nights as people enjoyed themselves. On our first day, we visited Bygdoy - an area of the city reached by water taxi and where there are a number of museums clustered quite closely together, so, you can visit as many as you wish without travelling too far between each one. We went first to the open air Norsk Folkemuseum with its 160 traditional buildings including a beautiful stave church which was the highlight for us. A quick bus ride (all included in our Oslo Pass) took us to the Fram Museum about 10 minutes away which we found absolutely fascinating and has been voted the Best Museum in Norway; certainly one of the best we’ve been to. Telling the history of polar exploration, The Fram was the ship in which Nansen explored the Arctic and Roald Amundsen took to the South Pole in the race to beat Captain Scott. We then crossed the road to the Kon-Tiki Museum which has Thor Heyerdahl's bamboo raft and details of his Ra and Kon-Tiki expeditions which was also fascinating. Finally, we explored the National Maritime Museum and saw wonderful Viking longships.

The next day we decided to have a walk in a proper Norwegian pine forest, as it's something we've always wanted to do and love them in this country. We took a metro train up to Nordmarka, the vast forest of the northern wilderness, where we found ourselves in thick snow! It wasn't cold, so we followed a path through the pine trees on compacted snow, surrounded by local cross country skiiers. It was stunning, with views down over the city and out across the Fjord. The afternoon was spent by the busy harbour and exploring the Akershus Fortress and grounds.

Our third day saw us up and out early to take a wonderfully smooth, quiet and relaxing two hour cruise round Oslofjord on an amazing electric boat. On calm, blue-green water we saw hundreds of tiny coloured summer houses dotting the shoreline, with lovely views back to the city. It was so peaceful and soothing that we almost fell asleep!  On our return we walked all the way round to the Oslo Opera House and went up and onto its amazing (and quite steep) roof for wonderful views. After an hour or so, we followed the water line all the way round to the harbour again, visiting the Civic Hall with its Norse mythology carvings, then up to Royal Palace and wandering round the pretty parkland. 

Our final morning was spent in the Vigeland Sculpture Park, home to the largest collection of sculptures in the world by a single artist (Gustav Vigeland). It was lovely and warm and quiet, with hardly anyone around that early, apart from a few commuters speeding along on their bikes.

Oslo is a beautiful fresh, light, bright, clean and ecofriendly city. Most of the cars, buses and boats are electric, scooters and bikes are the preferred mode of transport and everyone speaks flawless English. It is expensive, especially to eat and drink out, but you can find places away from the main drags where prices are more reasonable. 

STAVE CHURCH

THE FRAM

WALKING IN NORWEGIAN PINE FORESTS

CRUISING OSLOFJORD