Wonderful winter reading

Well, the evenings are drawing in and thoughts are turning to Christmas and what to get for those special people in your life. Over lockdown with more time on my hands, I’ve found several new books that I’ve really enjoyed and would make wonderful presents for those who love adventure, nature and the outdoors. I can thoroughly recommend them all.

Shackleton by Ranulph Fiennes

I love stories of the polar explorers and have read lots about Scott, Wilson and Oates, but I hadn't really turned to Shackleton. I was in a book shop when this caught my eye, especially as it was by Ranulph Fiennes who is a real hero of mine, and it was a signed copy. It was such an absorbing read. I've read most of Ranulph Fiennes' books and he writes in a wonderfully engaging and interesting way, so I really couldn't put it down. Shackleton emerged from the pages as a thoroughly likeable, genial, optimistic raconteur and a wonderful leader, loved by his men, but who was also a little disorganised and not terribly good with money. Most of his endeavours failed, but the story of the heroic, determined journey to rescue his stranded men must rate as one of the greatest of all. I ended up desperately wishing I could have heard him tell some of his stories. Ranulph Fiennes intersperses the story with comparisons and experiences of his own in the Antarctic, all of which enriched the story. A fantastic book about one heroic explorer by another. It inspired me to go on and read South by Shackleton himself, which details the expeditions first hand and is also a fascinating read.

Wild Isles compiled by Patrick Barkham

I've read a lot of nature writings recently, but this satisfyingly thick and heavy book is really beautiful. It's one that I dip in and out of as it's a compendium of lots of different authors; everyone from Dorothy Wordsworth to James Rebanks, There are just a few pages from each author from classic writings, both older and modern, which are divided under headings such as birds, urban nature, islands and coastlines, woodland and farming amongst many others, so you can pick and choose to read about a wide range of rural subjects and it’s a lovely way to experience a broad range of authors and their writings. It also has a wonderful cover by Angela Harding whose work I adore, so it looks tempting before you even open it!

A Year Unfolding: A printmaker's view by Angela Harding

Talking of Angela Harding, her newly published book is absolutely stunning. It's a compilation of all her prints divided seasonally with a little autobiographical paragraph every so often. It's a delightful journey through the year, accompanied by her wonderful depictions of land and seascapes, plants, birds and animals. Just lovely and if you're a fan of her work and a real treat to have all her prints together in one collection. 

Rewild Your Life: Reconnect to Nature over 52 Seasonal Projects by Sarah Stirling

There's a lot of talk and writing about rewilding at the moment, even more so after our long lockdowns and this little book is lovely. It's beautifully, graphically illustrated with lots of ideas, suggestions, projects and practical ideas to reconnect with nature; something I've been really into over the last 18 months and in fact wrote my own book about my nature observations whilst on furlough. Great for engaging kids, but adults are catered for as well.

A Spotter's Guide to Countryside Mysteries by John Wright

I've got a couple of John Wright's books; The Forager's Calendar and A Natural History of the Hedgerow and I really like the way he writes; very chatty and informative but funny too. This book is fascinating and explains all those oddities you might, but probably haven’t, noticed on your walks in all types of environments - woodland, moorland, heath and hill. What are those ridges and furrows in the fields, that clump of twigs in the trees, that odd plant that looks like a cooked prawn? Well, wonder no more. There is a lot of information about fungi as he is a real expert and, as someone who spends a lot of time looking for mushrooms, that was fascinating. It will certainly make me walk with my eyes open a little more in the future, or spout knowledgeably to friends and family.

The Barn by Sally Coulthard

This book has a lovely evocative cover which drew me to it initially, but I do like anything about the history of somewhere or something, and this time it’s a barn in North Yorkshire. Having moved to what is now a smallholding on what was once a larger working farm, she goes back over the history of the farm and its inhabitants whilst always keeping the barn as the focus; its uses, changes, neglect and re-purposing through the decades. She weaves in the history of the people of the area, in particular one family from the nineteenth century who were the farm’s tenants, but also picks out snippets of local news such as the death of a young girl who worked at the farm, goings on at the hiring fairs, changes in the landscape and farming practices, the care of livestock and crops and interestingly about the labourers of those lost or dying skills such as well digging, lime producing, bone crushing and threshing. She also goes into some of the bigger changes and issues of the day that affected everyone and farming irrevocably; the mechanisation of farming chores, the building of the railways, tourism, education and so much more. It’s a little microcosm of social history centred around an ancient barn in North Yorkshire and it’s fascinating.

oOo

It just remains to say that I hope everyone has a wonderful healthy and happy Christmas and let’s hope 2022 is a better one for all of us. Heaven knows we deserve it.

Wide views and Wetlands

After the excitement of completing the Wainwrights, we came back to reality. I came off furlough partially and went back to work at the beginning of August, albeit on reduced hours, and we arranged for my elderly aunt to come and stay as she and my Mum hadn’t seen each other in ages due to Covid.

After four days, Bro and I took her back to Worcestershire. As I had some holiday to use up, we decided to make something of the return journey and booked a night’s stay just outside Great Malvern with a view to climbing the Malvern Hills. We know the area pretty well as our grandparents lived there, and it’s only about 15 miles from my Aunt’s house. We climbed most of the Malvern Hills as kids and teenagers, but have no really clear memories of doing them, so this would be a chance to rectify that. After dropping her off and settling her in, we set off, skirting Worcester and winding up through Great Malvern, arriving at a disused quarry car park in Upper Wyche by about 4pm.

We took a very steep but short path up through the woods and came out on the Three Choir’s Way, just before Summer Hill which we climbed easily and stood admiring the magnificent views. We must have been able to see at least 30 miles in every direction; to the Cotswolds in the east and the Welsh hills to the west. It was one of the most stunning 360 degree panorama I think we’ve ever seen in this country. In the Lakes you don’t usually have such far reaching views as there’s usually a mountain the way, so this was stunning. It was warm and as we climbed down and then up to Worcestershire Beacon, the highest point, it became very windy, but it was very exhilarating. We spent some time sitting enjoying the scenery, then came back down and found a shady spot to brew a hot chocolate.

Time was getting on, so we nipped back down to the car then drove to, and down, Wyche Cutting with its hairpins beds, to our lovely hotel in Colwall where we enjoyed dinner and a comfortable night’s sleep.

Beautiful views to the east from the Beacon

..and to the west

The next morning we set off in good time for a timed entry ticket to Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre, which was about 40 miles away, but the journey was easy and pretty traffic free. After queueing for about twenty minutes (it was school holidays), we decided to get a cup of coffee first before everyone started thinking about lunch, and drank it sitting watching some salmon pink Caribbean Flamingos. We then followed a sign that said ‘Summer walking route’ which was lovely because it took us all round the perimeter, away from the crowds. We popped into every bird hide along the route and had wonderful views across the Severn Estuary where there were hundreds of birds.

At the furthermost point, we were almost at the waters edge, walking through the salt marshes and reed beds. A very helpful local gentleman pointed out birds of interest on the marshes and mudflats; Barnacle Geese, a rare Ross's Goose, Shelducks, Herons, Egrets and four huge Crested Storks. It was all so beautiful and quiet.

We retraced our steps, went to the top of the highest hide (about 30 feet high), and walked the rest of the perimeter. Coming back into the middle of the Centre again, families were enjoying picnics surrounded by hundreds of geese, swans and ducks on two huge ponds next to the Visitors Centre, so we took ourselves off to the quieter south lake where we saw Godwits, Shovelers and lots of different geese and ducks. In a brand new covered area, we saw lovely little Avocets, Oystercatchers, Teals and Egrets, marvelled at about four different species of Flamingos, saw otters, harvest mice, dragonflies on their own little pond and spent some time waiting for Kingfishers which sadly didn’t appear.

We wandered literally everywhere in amongst the beautiful grounds bursting with flowers and it really was a fantastic day. We were home after only an hour and a half’s drive, having had a wonderful time in two very different but utterly and equally beautiful places.

The River Severn Estuary mudflats and reed beds

South Lake through the hide window

Pretty Avocets

A Great End on Great End!!

WE DID IT!!!!!

We finished climbing all 214 Wainwright Lakeland mountains on a beautiful still, warm summer’s day on the morning of Monday 26 July 2021, 14 years after we climbed our very first fell, Latrigg, but really in earnest after 9 years as we only climbed four fells between 2007-2012. If you pushed it all into one continuous timeline, it’s taken just under four and a half months! We left Great End until last as it seemed an appropriate place to finish and it really was; we had the summit to ourselves, it was a fantastically perfect morning, and we thought it had some of the best views of any we’ve seen in the whole of the Lake District.

So, we set off from home at the start of a heatwave in the middle of July that didn’t really start to cool down until we’d been away for five days. It was really hot and very humid and we really don’t like hot weather, so we broke the journey to Eskdale with a night just outside Lancaster and a walk beside the River Lune that evening. We then had two nights at the Woolpack Inn in Boot. From the Woolpack, we did a simple two mile walk beside the beautifully clear little RIver Irt that afternoon, then cooled off with a swim in its crystal clear waters.

The next day saw us setting off at 6am for the climb up to Hard Knott via the Roman Fort and sitting on the stunning summit well before 8am. A gentle walk down, crossing the Hard Knott Pass and across a pretty flower strewn common brought us to the base of the very steep climb up Harter Fell which was draining in the rapidly building heat. The strong, cool breeze at the top and all the way back down was wonderfully refreshing.

The next stop was Nether Wasdale for four nights based at the Screes Inn which was comfortable, if warm, with excellent, plentiful food. Setting off at 3.30am the next morning to avoid the worst of the day’s heat and to get a parking space in a very busy Wasdale, we tackled Red Pike and Yewbarrow, watching the sun rise over the Over Beck Valley and having Red Pike to ourselves at 6am. Yewbarrow’s flanking path was a little tricky in places, but once on the summit, the views of the Wasdale giants were magnificent, as was the view over Pillar and down Wast Water. We were back at the car cooling our feet in the beck by 10.30am just as the heat of the day was building.

After a day off, we set off again at 3.30am (we really enjoyed walking at this time and it was warm enough for just a Tshirt and so lovely to see the sunrise), this time up the Nether Beck Valley from Wasdale. It was a much longer walk to the head of the valley but the pink sunrise ahead of us was stunning. A stiff climb saw us at the top of Scoat Fell, watching the sunrise turn peachy gold over Kirk Fell, which was so beautiful. We carried on to Steeple with its beautiful views down Ennerdale, then took the easy path down and back up to Haycock, which, in the beautiful weather, was so lovely and quiet with fabulously clear views. Our final point was Caw in the distance, although it was an easy walk and the summit was flat, warm and quiet. We then took a flanking path all the way back to the rim of the Nether Beck Valley, pushing down through the bracken to the valley bottom and walked back to the car. This had been a long walk, about 10 miles, but the weather had finally broken so it was warm without the humidity, which was perfect walking weather and such a relief. We hadn’t seen another person all day.

We then left Wasdale and headed round to Keswick and Borrowdale, to the Glaramara Hotel in Seatoller for our final walk and final summit. We’d had some Tshirts made with a a graphic Bro had designed, and we had a half bottle of Champagne to take with us for the summit. We filmed our preparations leading up to leaving our hotel room, then the journey to Seathwaite Farm and shots of each of us climbing little sections all the way up. Again, it was a lovely day with clear skies, sunshine and no cloud. The pull up the valley beside Ruddy Gill was warm as it began to get a little hotter, but at Esk Hause there was a lovely cool breeze. There were lots of people toiling past on their way to Scafell Pike, so we were pleased to be branching off to Great End, which we had to ourselves.

We filmed ourselves walking towards the summit and touching it at the same time. It was an overwhelming moment and we were both a little emotional - perhaps tiredness, relief, delight, sadness or a mixture of all of them, but it felt strange to think this was officially our last mountain. We spent a long time on the summit, soaking in the views, toasting Alfred Wainwright, remembering our dogs, taking photos and video and finishing the Champagne! After about an hour and a half, some sandwiches and water, we set off on the long descent back to the hotel where were enjoyed a cool shower, celebratory drinks, a delicious meal and hearty congratulations from the staff and some of the other guests we’d got talking to.

We are immensely pleased and chuffed and delighted to have completed this amazing challenge together. It’s been a joy from start to finish and something we’re incredibly proud to say we’ve done. I’m not sure what we’re going to do with ourselves now as it’s been such a big part of our lives for so long, but our next holiday will definitely be something completely different (and a little more relaxing!), then we might start exploring the Yorkshire Dales, Wales, Scotland and Northumberland. We will always make return visits to our beloved Lakes and we might even climb something, just for old times sake!

Letting the train take the strain

As we clicked over into June, we had 8 Wainwright fells to climb in order to complete the 214 challenge. We had moved our two pub and one hotel stays three times over a 16 month period and they were now fixed for going in mid July all being well, so being still on furlough, Bro and I thought we could squeeze in a few days away and we decided to go to the Lakes for three nights using the train for the first time.

We planned to climb Pike o'Stickle and Loft Crag in Langdale and Baystones from Ambleside. In the early stages of starting climbing the 214, we had a very large, strong dog with us and back when we did the Langdale Pikes and Pavey Ark in 2014, we felt it was a little too much for him and us, to get him up the very last rocky sections of Loft Pike and Pike o’Stickle, so Bro and I were going back to re-climb them fully as we have now sadly lost both our dogs. We booked into the New Dungeon Ghyll for two nights and the newly refurbished Ambleside Inn for one night and planned to get around by bus.​

All the arrangements worked incredibly smoothly. We changed once in Manchester and caught the bus from Windermere within 20 minutes of getting off the train and that bus dropped us right outside the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel.

The next morning we set off from the Stickle Ghyll path behind the hotel. Reaching the Cumbria Way, we decided not to cross Dungeon Ghyll, but to carry on and follow a path that wound under, round and up to Pike How. This put us on the 'wrong' side of Dungeon Ghyll, but we gained height quickly and it seemed to be marginally less steep. As we walked the ridge with the huge bulk of Harrison Stickle in front us, the cloud came down and there was a light drizzle, although it was still warm. The path climbed steeply beside the huge, deep ravine of Dungeon Ghyll to a small col and at the col, the path became much narrower with big drops into the ravine to our left. The cloud came right down, we could only see about 10 feet ahead and the rock became very wet and slippery. Not really being comfortable with drops at the side of slippery paths, we decided to re-trace our steps back down to the col, then branched across the flank at the top of the ravine and climbed up and onto the ridge below the start of the climb to Loft Crag.

Although it had entailed a bit more climbing, it really only took us about 20 minutes. A very steep path up to the col between Thorn Crag and Loft Crag brought us out onto Harrison Combe where we took a path up to the summit of Loft Crag. The views were amazing. We took some photos, lingered a while then headed off towards Pike o'Stickle. There was no discernible path up its rocky top and it entailed a bit of a hands on scramble, but it was good fun and the views at the top were stunning; down into Mickelden, across to Glaramara with Skiddaw to the north and Windermere to the south. It was warm, sunny and quite busy.

pike o’stickle’s rocky top from loft crag, the figures on the top give a sense of scale

Coming back down again, we had lunch watching people tackling the very steep path up to Harrison Stickle, then made our way back to the col and began picking our way down again. We took the same route on the way back; crossing the trickling Dungeon Ghyll and re-joining our ascent path up from Pike How. As the sun was shining and it was very warm, we made a slight detour to Pike How's summit and sat enjoying the gorgeous valley views for half an hour before going back down to the hotel.

The next day we took the bus into Ambleside, dropped our surplus bag off at the hotel and set off straight away for Wansfell as we were already in our walking kit and boots. The climb began immediately and I'd forgotten just how steep it was. We'd last been up in 2012 and Bro had also been up again on his own in 2018 when our second dog was very poorly and that time, he’d had also gone on along the ridge to Baystones, which is the Wainwright summit and not something I think we’d realised back in 2012 when we were just starting out in earnest, so I hadn’t done it. He wasn't overjoyed at tackling the climb for a third time, but that's brotherly love for you I guess!

It was very humid and the climb seemed to go on and on but it was much cooler once we reached Wansfell’s summit and the views north over Ambleside and south over Windermere were just stunning. After pausing for a drink, some photos and enjoying the views in the cool breeze, we set off along the very undulating ridge towards Baystones, which looked a fair way on, but was very straightforward. No one else followed us even though there were quite a few people about.

It was a fairly uneventful walk with some gentle ups and downs, but nothing strenuous. The cloud came down as we were on the summit, but we did have wonderful views of the Troutbeck valley, the Kirkstone Pass and Red Screes before the mist and light rain saw us donning waterproofs and heading back. It was much quicker on the way back as we found a path that ran more along the ridge tops and even after a sandwich stop, took us no time at all. The weather improved as we began the descent and we emerged back into the sun and humidity of the valley bottom again, where a cool drink at the Ambleside Inn was very welcome.

It had been a very enjoyable and interesting few days and left us with just four more walks to finish the challenge!

Beautiful langdale from pike how

ambleside from the climb to wansfell

A Lakeland Spring

We’ve been lucky, very lucky and it was so good to be back in the Lakes again after 7 months away.

We had a week’s self catering booked from last year which we moved to last week, and which was able to go ahead under the covid easing regulations. We stayed in a small three bedroom semi detached house in Portinscale that was beautifully comfortable, in the perfect location, and we ate there every evening. We had one coffee out in the whole week.

The weather was amazing, as the week before ours had seen quite a heavy snowfall, but we had no rain (other than one evening), the snow had gone, it was warm enough for a fleece without a coat and there was virtually no wind. We did have one walk with very strong gusts of wind that made us stagger sideways but other than that, it was mild and warm with one or two overcast days, making the perfect walking weather.

At the start of the week, we had 12 Wainwright summits left to climb to finish the challenge. The plan was to tackle 3 of them from Borrowdale and 1 from Ullswater, leaving the last 8 in Wasdale for later in the year hopefully.

The first walk was The Nab from Patterdale and Boredale Hause on a blustery day, but it was a good walk to get ourselves hill fit again and we managed 9 miles and nearly 3000 feet of overall climbing, but the wind picked up on the return and was incredibly strong around Angle Tarn, but exhilarating.

The second walk was Kirk Fell and we took the Hoister Rambler bus from just outside our house up to Honister Slate Mine and climbed up the mine path heading across the flanks of Grey Knotts and Brandreth to Moses Trod. The sun was out, it was warm and still and we only saw 5 people all day. The views down Buttermere and Ennerdale were spectacular. Once at Beck Head, with Great Gable for company, we climbed the steepish, scrambly rock path up the side of Kirk Fell onto the summit plateau where there was still a fair way to go to the summit, but it was easy walking and the views of the Scafells and Wasdale were magnificent.

Walk three was Rosthwaite Fell, one Bro had done before on his own when we had a sick dog to look after, but he generously came back up with me. The views down Borrowdale to Skiddaw were beautiful, but it was a steep climb, although not that lengthy, and much cooler on the top where we realised we were almost at the central point of the Lake District. It was amazing to be able to spin round 360 degrees and realise we’d climbed everything in sight, as well as most of the ridges and valleys.

The last walk was Esk Pike from Seathwaite. We arrived early and parked easily and courteously at the side of the farmer’s road and took the path straight up to the head of the Grains Valley to Esk Hause, following first Grains Gill, then Ruddy Gill. As we gained height, we walked into the low lying cloud which, unfortunately, didn’t lift at all, but it made a wonderfully atmospheric walk up past the enormous ravine of Ruddy Gill, which was very dramatic. The pitched path was very easy to walk on and you didn’t really notice the steepness of the route. At Esk Hause, it was such a shame we couldn’t see the views, but the final pull up to Esk PIke’s summit was very straightforward and we arrived on the top at mid morning. It was very warm and still with not a breath of wind (we’ve read that the wind can be fearsomely strong up there), so we had a drink, took some photos of each other, then made our way back down again. The cloud began to lift as we got lower and we had lovely views of the valley ahead.

All in all, it was a fantastic week and a real privilege to be back. Everywhere was incredibly quiet as the hotels hadn’t opened, people were friendly and the weather had been kind to us. Just the tonic we needed.

Hygge

I’ve been reading a lovely uplifting book called the Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking. Apparently, the Danish are the happiest people on earth and a great proportion of that happiness is due to Hygge.

Hygge is one of those words that is hard to translate; a single word that seems to encompass lots of things; a sentence in a word. I think the Chinese and Japanese have similar sentiments in some of their characters. We don’t seem to have it in English so much; the closest I can think is cosiness.

Hygge is the feeling of comfort and warmth and contentment you get from wrapping up in a blanket in front of an open fire with a few friends, a warm drink, a thick jumper, cake, a book and a sense of peace. It seems to help if the weather is cold, wet, stormy or wintery, but hygge can be experienced in the summer months too.

Hygge can apply to anything warm and cosy. Lighting, candles, firesides, food, drink, clothing, good books, board games, small groups of friends. The Danes, according to Meik Wiking, use hygge as both a verb and a noun, so something like a wool jumper can be a hygge-jumper or you could ask someone to come round for some hygge time. It seems to be more a way of life that’s simple, clean, casual, rustic and non technological, but in a really lovely way. Taking your time, slowing things down, watching, listening, sitting.

No bragging, not materialistic, no one trying to outdo anyone else, not having the latest gizmo or gadget, just simple, old fashioned warmth and companionship. It is also about nature and bringing that into the home; greenery, pine cones, conkers and the like; grounding us I suppose. In summer, it would be the act of gathering friends and family at the end of a day’s activities for a simple supper, barbecue or picnic. Christmas by its very nature is the ultimate hygge time with gift giving, family, traditions and decorations playing starring roles.

The acts of baking together, playing a simple game, sitting by the fire, watching the stars, all in the name of relaxation and restoration. A time for adults to perhaps do things just for fun, rather than have an outcome or end result from doing or completing a task. Just a simple way to live well and happily. We could all learn a lot from them.

The Danish also have the concept of Lykke which is simply happiness and the way to try and live a happier life. The Danes are a very sociable nation and it is this feeling of togetherness and community that will promote greater happiness.

“Scandi” style is very on trend at the moment and they have given us clean lines, wonderful design, superb quality, minimalism and functionality with beauty, lightness and simplicity in furniture, furnishings, textiles and clothing, but I think their concepts of hygge and lykke and finding happiness are far more valuable to us all than anything else.

A Feast for the Senses

Connecting, or reconnecting for some, with nature is such a boon to our health and wellbeing. In these altered times when mental and physical heath are at the forefront of our minds, nature’s role in playing a major role cannot be underestimated.

I have found, as many I have spoken to have, that this lockdown has been harder; perhaps because of the winter weather, the frustration of not knowing how long it would go on for, or perhaps just a year of negative news, who knows, but walking locally every day has really helped clear my head when it felt fuzzy and woolly from being indoors too much and has in turn helped with my physical fitness too.

I have always loved being outside and in nature, but perhaps because I’ve had more time to walk; dawdle even, walking the same few local routes over and over again whilst trying to make them all a little different and really take notice of what’s around me, has meant a real appreciation of nature, its benefits, the memories it evokes and the comfort you can derive from those memories. A feast for the senses if you like.

SIGHT

The spring flowers are now everywhere in full force. Delicate pink and white blossom, lovely cheery daffodils, sweet little grape hyacinths, tiny wood violets, celandines and a few early tulips. Buds, shoots, berries and new green leaves are appearing everywhere. We have a west facing garden and have had some stunning sunsets this year and I spend a lot of time looking at the clouds which are really beautiful. We’ve found a field that has a proper old hedgerow running along the length of it, and it’s full of goldfinches, and I mean clouds of them. It’s lovely to sit and watch them flitting about like little embers on the breeze. Watching the birds on the feeders in the garden has been lovely and a flock of Redwings one Sunday was a real treat. We also have four resident Red Kites that glide overhead most of the time and they really are such beautiful birds.

SMELL

There’s a path we walk daily, across which the most gorgeous soft flowery scent wafts and I can never tell where it’s coming from but I love it. We stop and say hello to horses in the local fields and their comforting smell takes me back to my pony mad teens, working at the local riding stables. I love the smell of woodsmoke, pine woods (I have a pine scented candle on my desk that takes me straight to Christmas Day), the smell of a bluebell wood and the pungent and mouth watering wild garlic.

SOUND

I have really, genuinely found pleasure in birdsong this last year, perhaps because I’ve really listened, or maybe there’s less traffic so I can hear more clearly. To wake up to the sound of a robin in the tree outside my bedroom window instead of the shrillness of an alarm has been wonderful. We have seagulls overhead (even though we’re an hour from the coast) but the sound is so reminiscent of childhood summer holidays. The soft call of the wood pigeon instantly transports me back to my Granny’s house, my favourite skylarks (a wonderful discovery in a local field) takes me back to summer days on the high hills in my beloved and much missed Lake District. Geese honking to each other as they fly always reminds me of the end of summer and crows cawing, of midwinter.

TASTE

I remember sucking on a dead nettle flower as a kid to get that tiny hit of sweetness on my tongue and chewing the end of sweet, new grass. I’ve made nettle tea, used wild garlic in cooking, made crabapple jelly and damson jam from the garden trees and grow any number of herbs that I use in meals and drinks. We collected bags of juicy blackberries and fallen apples from the woods in the autumn and had lots of lovely hot winter puddings.

TOUCH

I’m always poking and prodding things on walks and picking things up; gnarled bark, soft moss, new leaves, sheep’s wool caught on a wire fence, smooth stones, twigs, pine cones, acorns, conkers, sweet chestnuts - all manner of things that are so tactile I can’t leave them alone. In the same way, I can’t resist stroking every dog or horse I meet or every cat arching its back to me on a wall.

The next time you’re out, it’s really worth looking around you with all your senses and taking pleasure and comfort in those smaller things that get us through the bigger things.