A passion for the great outdoors
In 2012 my Mum was diagnosed as having Dementia with Lewy Bodies. I’m not going to get into the disease itself as that isn’t what this story is about, only to say having to grieve the loss of my Mum whilst she was still living, to then have to grieve all over again when she passed, was truly devastating.
I decided at some point, I think 2014, that I was going to do a memory walk to raise money for the Alzheimers Society. It was a 6k walk around a local park. Being a heavy smoker, heavy drinker and significantly overweight, I started training for the event. To think now that I had to train for a 6k walk seems ludicrous.
However it ignited a passion within me. A passion for being in the great outdoors, out in the wilderness, miles away from anywhere, with only the sheep for company.
There is something so primitive about planning a walk. The smell of a map as you open it out and lay it flat on the ground and visualise the lay of the land popping out of the paper.
Planning what food and snacky snacks you are going to take to keep you fuelled up and sustained throughout the day. Deciding on your route, your escape routes, where you are going to park, what kit you will take, where you will source your water. So much planning.
And then the day arrives. The day of adventure. The day for being outdorrs, away from lifes hustle and bustle. Everything you could possibly need for the day carried on your back.
That smell of the fresh air, the moorland heather, the peats and brackens on the mountain slopes, the pine forests. Feeling the cold air filling your lungs. The crisp cool breeze on your face. Or the warmth of the early morning sun against your skin.
Sitting for a while. In the quiet still of the morning. Watching the sun rise above the horizon. Listening to nature. The stirrings of the wildlife around you, as they too awaken to begin a new day. Watching the owls heading home with their night time catch.
Just sitting and being a part of that moment. Being a part of natures ritual. Even if only for a short while. That to me is the best feeling in the world.
That is my epic.
I decided to create this website to write about my walks, write about the comings and goings of the wildlife, the changing of the seasons and to share the photographs that I take as I’m out and about walking.
The Pennine Way winding its way through Bronte Country up to Top Withens.