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I have literally been from #seatosky this weekend! Yesterday I was #paddleboarding in #oakbay & today I am #skiing @mountwashington One of the many benefits of living on #vancouverisland #islandlife #westcoastbestcoast #outdoors #getupgetoutjustbreathe #mountains #snow #fitfifties #mountwashington @ Mount Washington Alpine Resort
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First #paddle of the season! #paddleboarding #sup #standuppaddle #outdoors #getupgetoutjustbreathe #oakbay #victoriabc #springisintheair
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#Repost @tgomagazine with @get_repost ・・・ On #internationalwomensday, a new piece of research has been released revealing the huge positive impact of adventurous activity outdoors on the lives of women in the UK and around the world.
To read more, head to https://www.tgomagazine.co.uk/news/international-womens-day-research-confirms-that-time-outdoors-improves-womens-mental-wellbeing/ .
Initiated and managed by adventurer and endurance athlete Hetty Key, the Women in Adventure Mental Wellbeing Survey was launched to investigate the association between the outdoors and mental wellbeing in women. A total of 2718 people responded, from 44 countries, but the majority (72.6%) were from the UK.
The survey investigated how respondents spend their time outdoors, the effect it has on mental wellbeing and which outdoor activities have the most significant benefit.
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I've just spent almost two months back home where I was born in Cumbria. It's a farming county in the top northwest corner of England in the Eden Valley, I lived there for the first 30 years of my life and I love going back because it's home. Many important people and aspects of my life still remain there.
I was born in the house my Dad built in a tiny village called Winton, (population around 350) in the Eden Valley. There's a village green, village hall and a fantastic pub, The Bay Horse Inn where the locals hang out.
One and a half miles south is the busy market town of Kirkby Stephen (population around 2000), where we have owned a small house since 1993. It's a relatively small town but it boasts five pubs and three fish & chip shops!! St. Stephen's church is beautifully situated in the centre of the town, I got married there almost twenty-six years ago and my eldest son was Christened there.
Even though I've been gone for over 20 years, every time I return it's like I've never been away. My parents and ancestors for generations back were all born in or around the Eden Valley so there's a deep-rooted sense of belonging that I feel every time I return. I am always surrounded by close and extended family and people I have known most of my life. When my son goes to the pubs in Kirkby Stephen, he is frequently asked who he is, when he tells them he is my son they say "Oh so your Steph's son, I know Steph!"
There's a strong sense of community within Kirkby Stephen and the surrounding villages, locals look out for each other but not in an obtrusive way, they are strong characters with a great sense of humour. They are hard working and fun loving 'salt of the earth' people.Cumbria has one of the wettest places in England, Seathwaite, which receives between two and three metres of rainfall a year, so inevitably there are some wet days!"There's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes!"
A favorite hike of mine which is popular with the locals & tourists is the 'Nine Standards' They are nine standing stones 2172 feet above sea level (662m) which are part of the famous Coast to Coast walk. They are thought to have been built by the Roman army to resemble soldiers. The area marks a watershed divide across England where rivers flow to the Irish Sea towards the West and North Sea to the East.
There's a fell run to the top every New Years Day when a group of us, usually a bit worse for wear, hike up to watch the runners, it's a rugged race that goes ahead rain, hail or snow!I looked up at the Nine Standards from the family home I grew up in and I still look up at them from our own house today.
When I tell people I live in England they often ask if I live in London! Cumbria is a long way from London in UK terms but to a North American, it's a relatively short drive!!Cumbria is part of who I am and I am proud of that!"You can take the lass out of Cumbria, but you can't take Cumbria out of the lass!"
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Bagging the Ben Lawers Range in Perthshire, Scotland.
It was my husbands birthday on January 8th so we planned a couple of days hiking in Scotland with my sister Dawn and her husband Coco. I lived in Scotland from 1997-2006 and our youngest son was born in Aberdeen, Scotland owns a piece of our hearts and we love going back. We stayed at Crieff Hydro a beautiful spa hotel in Perthshire, where our self catering accommodation was second to none, it was spacious, warm and fully equipped.
Bagging Munros was on our agenda! For those of you who are not familiar with Munros, they are mountains in Scotland over 3,000ft (914m), relatively not too big but conditions can be challenging due to weather and terrain. The Ben Lawers group are seven Munros linked by a 12 km (7.5mile) ridge which at only one place drops below 800m (2624ft). The plan was to 'bag' them in one day which, according to the guide book, "most hillwalkers may find a bit too strenuous".
The start of our hike was an hours drive from the hotel, we arrived ready to go at 9am after dropping one car off at the end of the hike. At higher elevations the wind chill was -20 degrees so clothing was key to an enjoyable day in the Scottish mountains. I donned merino wool leggings under hiking pants/trousers, two merino wool long sleeve tee shirts, a fleece, a puffy jacket, hat gloves and buff!
The first ascent was to the top of Meall a' Choire Leith (926m 3038ft),which took us 90 minutes, it was a fairly steep climb to the summit of the rounded peak but not too challenging as the day had only begun....Next peak was Meall Corranaich (1069m 3507ft) , the traverse across to it is a broad easy angled ridge. There was snow & ice on the summit due to higher elevation and the views from the top were fantastic!
Next two peaks were Beinn Ghlas (1103m 3618ft) and Ben Lawers (1214m 3983ft), these two are the central and highest peaks of the range. There are remains of a huge cairn on the top of Ben Lawers that was built to mark it as one of Scotland's 4000ft mountains.
Between An Stuc (1118m 3668ft) and Meall Garbh (1118m 3668ft) there’s a ‘problem area’. We avoided the path due to it being frozen and very slippery, so walked on the grassy areas. The gradient was very steep on this particular part and involved some scrambling to descend any lower, it was also frozen in places. Fortunately Andrew had packed two ice axes which proved essential to our manoeuvring this section and therefore continuing. We each scrambled down individually and passed the axes back up to the next person. It was rather challenging but we survived! “Do something that scares you everyday”, that was ticked off for the day!!
Meall Greigh (1001m 3284ft), the seventh and final Munro! We approached the summit a little weary all four of us in a row and touched the cairn on the top at the same time! We were elated! Out came Cocos hip flask, we sang Happy Birthday to Andrew and celebrated with a wee dram of Scottish whiskey!
The final descent took longer than we anticipated at 4.5 km (almost 3 miles) which took over 2 hours. After over 30km (18.5 miles) and 9 hours of hiking we eventually arrived back at the car in the dark wearing head torches! Knees were aching & energy levels were low but spirits were high!Such a memorable day!Cheers!
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Had a super hike up #helvellyn today #helvellynsummit #englishlakes #uk #hike #hiking #mountains #outdoors #outdoorphotography #photooftheday #fitfifties #getupgetoutjustbreathe #lovinglife @ Helvellyn
