Author: jl.boreham

BOOM!!!!! I did it!!!!!!…………………………….by far the most technical and difficult race I’ve ever done…………..far, far harder than my marathon. I thought it might be my first ‘Did Not Finish’……………….but oh my goodness…………….I dug very deep and got the T-shirt and the medal, and I still can’t quite believe it!!!! I am the proud holder of a ‘Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc World Series Running Stone’…………..allowing me to enter the ballot for the legendary 110 mile UTMB Mont Blanc ………………… worry not, I’m not actually going to enter it! 😆

Did Mr F cheer me on………….only once, half way in, into and out of the aid station at the bottom of Mount Snowden, the only place where spectators were allowed. Other that that I was completely alone. He was not allowed to assist, or physically support me in any way. He was only allowed to offer ‘words of support’. However, Mr F does ‘tough love’…………….his idea of ‘support’ is entirely different to anyone else I know! 🤣. At the aid station half way around he did actually ask if I was OK. But on seeing I was crumbling a little mentally at the start, full of self-doubt…………….at the time, I did not appreciate him telling me off! “Remember…………….Form! Shoulders back! Slow your breathing! Relax! Stop crying, and get a move on and finish it off like I know you are capable of …………… or I’m leaving you in Wales!”🤣 (I don’t think he would have, but I’m not 100% sure. 😆)

My telling off was despite the fact that I have learnt how to poach eggs (more on that in a minute). 😆 However, I’m very self motivated and determined…………………..I run for no-one but myself and what I care about. I run to be at one with the world, to challenge myself, to compete with myself, for my boys to give them a good example of resilience and determination, and to be still! Now, that might seem like the strangest statement…………”I run to be still”……………by still I mean my mind is still. My legs are making up for the stillness in my mind, but whilst I’m running, I’m out in the open, my cares and worries are somewhere else, I’m breathing in the air, I’m taking in the views, and I just love it! Try it! And if you can’t run, walk instead, as that has exactly the same effect. Anyway, the ‘tough love’ must have worked…………………I did grow a backbone, and finished the job off!

I’ll give you a little race update and some pictures in a minute because prior to Wales it was such a busy few weeks and I have a few things to share.

First of all there has been the lighting of the ‘beacon’ in the village. I almost did not go to this because of my stance on war. I live in a small village in the countryside, and we are quite a tight knit community and uphold our little traditions. We have a ‘beacon’ on the top of the aptly named Beacon Hill. The beacon is at the highest point in the village at 300 metres. In days gone by it was filled with fuel and set on fire to warn of approaching enemies. It was first erected and used in 1588 as part of a network of nationwide beacons lit to warn of the approach of the Spanish Armada.

Now we just light it on special occasions. It was lit in June 2023 for the King’s Coronation and again in June 2024 for the 80th anniversary of D Day. This time we were lighting it to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe Day), on 8th May. I’m very anti war, for me there are no winners in a war where 51 million allied forces died. However, I thought about it for a while and I thought, “I will go, because at the end of the day we are not celebrating the fact that we were winners and another country lost, we are celebrating victory over hatred, dictatorship, territorial expansionism and crimes against humanity. We are celebrating common values, a shared vision and democracy”. And frankly, never in my lifetime have I felt that we are so close to losing those things as I do today so I did feel it quite important to go along and show my support, for those things if nothing else. It was quite moving watching the sun set as the beacon was lit and lovely to see the whole of our small village come together, so I was glad I went.

Then I’ve been in my garden most weekends because it’s just that gorgeous time of year. Everything is so green, the birds are singing, the chicks are hatching and there are so many little gardening jobs to do.

My wisteria has so many flowers on it this year…………………………… it is beautiful. ❤️

And I have made a new perennial border and planted lots on new plants, with pretty flowers in all different shades. I can’t wait for them to explode into a riot of colour.

I’ve also replanted my planters at the front door to make them more maintenance free. Because every summer I fill them with seasonal bedding plants …………………… and then I go abroad for my 6 week summer break and my offspring starve them of water and kill them, even though it is the only job I leave them to do. 😆

To make me feel like I am constantly in Spain, Greece or Italy, I have planted two lovely little olive trees from Sicily!😆 I know that olive trees and Yorkshire don’t really go together. My olives will probably grow into little hard peas, shrivel up in the cold and drop off. There’s going to be no Single Estate First Press Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Chateau Yorkshire Girl just yet. 😂 But they make me smile when I leave my house and when I return, and they look very happy in their pots so that’s all that matters.

I’ve also competed in the 10 mile Cake Race over Saddleworth Moor. I loved this one! Mainly because of the cake at the end………eat as much as you can! 😂 I was determined not to come last and there be no cake. I was a respectable 116th out of 152………….not bad now I’m in the golden oldie category. However………………I did have a little giggle at the segments on Strava. I never made a secret of the fact that I was doing this entirely for cake!

I’ was consistently at 9:30 to 10:00 minute a mile which is about right for me on a hilly moorland course. I did manage an 8:25 going downhill but the segment is only 0.1 of a mile. However, the final segment entitled ‘First dibs on the cake’ I managed a full 1.41 miles on a rock strewn path at 8:45 🤣 🤣 It just goes to show what my body is capable of when there is cake involved. 🤣

Another little discovery I made on that day was the intelligence of Google Analytics and AI. I know we moan about it a lot, and I really don’t like the idea of being spied on. Sometimes it freaks me out when I’ve been looking at something and then the ads start popping up almost instantly……………………….. and they are so tailored to your searches it’s frightening. Anyway, sometimes it can come in quite handy. The race set off from Diggle Hotel, but you had to park at Diggle Band Club. I wanted to know how far they were apart and how long it would take me to walk between the two so I entered it into Google Maps.

I found it quite amazing that of all the places it could have highlighted, in the middle of the screen, was Grandpa Greene’s Luxury Ice Cream Parlour! 😆 There are tens and tens of cafe’s and eateries in Diggle, isn’t it clever, thinking that I might possibly need to know where the ice cream parlour is and nowhere else! I can’t imagine why it thought this! 🤣 Anyway, it did indeed pique my interest and I thought I’d deserved a double scoop of Pistachio, so after the race I did check out Grandpa Greene’s which was in a lovely setting at the side of the canal lock. The ice cream was delicious and I recommend it.

Where else have I been? Oh yes……………I’ve been to ‘Gloria’s Wood’, because the bluebells are out in force. This is a lovely little place just over my garden hedge and down at the bottom of the field. It’s a little patch of woodland owned and tended by Gloria, the lady who lives next to it.

She allows you to enter and enjoy the wood, as it has a little path through it, provided you stick to the path and don’t disturb the wildlife or trample on the bluebells etc. It truly is a magical place, a carpet of blue bluebell flowers, trees, birds and quietness and we are lucky to have access to it. Gloria has erected a bench in there and sometimes it’s just lovely to go down there when the bluebells are out and sit and read. Which incidentally my boys think is ‘weird’……………..and anyone who sits and reads a book in a bluebell wood, according to them, is a ‘weirdo’……………..hence, I do have the occasional tendency to be a ‘weirdo’ as I like to disappear to quiet places and read. 🤣 Sometimes I feel so out of touch with their generation…………….I wonder if when they are older they will appreciate sitting quietly reading a book in a wood, whether it’s something you grow to like and need, or whether it’s something lost for ever and that generation will just sit there scrolling or with music blasting out?! Who knows!

And in other news…………………………….I’ve learnt to poach an egg!🤣🤣 Laugh not! I am being serious………………it’s only taken me 54 years! This is my major failing as a ‘wife’.😂 Mr F loves a poached egg or two…………………….most healthy fitness type people do because they are full of protein. But for 26 years I have been a disappointment as a wife due my complete inability to poach an egg!😂 I am of course overexaggerating as I can do an awful lot of things……………………..sew, bake, cook most things, organise, support, encourage, crew races, garden, sing, paint, run, play the piano, keep a tidy house, speak another language, touch my toes, have a University degree, give good hugs, am empathetic, can solve most problems……………………..on a score of suitable ‘wife’ material, even though I say it myself, I think I’d score quite highly. 😂 However, I’ve been a complete disappointment on the egg front. I think it’s mainly because I don’t like eggs………………….well I do and I don’t………………….let me explain. I just can’t stomach the fact that biologically it’s an egg for a start. I love omelettes, quiche, tortilla, cake and anything with eggs in but they have to be beaten. As soon as you give me one where the albumen and yolk are separate I could heave. YUK! And if it has any little red flecks in it where the foetus has started forming then I’m done completely. Now……………..nobody is perfect and there’s always that one thing that alludes you………………….I’ve tried numerous times to poach an egg and I’ve just ended up with tens of little pieces of egg white bobbing about in the pan with an overcooked yolk bobbing around separately. Then I bought some silicone ‘poaching pockets’ thinking they would be the answer………………but then you just get rubber-like discs of eggs that would bounce off the floor if you dropped them. Well, I am pleased to announce that last weekend, with an hour to spare, I thought, “I’m going to watch a ‘You Tube’ tutorial and see if I can learn to poach an egg and then I’ll be almost perfect!” 😆 Well, I’ve learned the error of my ways. Previously, I’ve had the water too deep, too hot and have not got my wrist action and swirling right. Two inches of simmering water (a bit of vinegar added), in a lidded pan, a little swirl of the water and flick of the wrist on entry, cover, cook with the heat off for four minutes and “Voilà”! Two perfectly poached eggs with soft yolks with smashed avocado on toasted sourdough just waiting for their twist of black pepper!

Right then, let me tell you about this race, the UTMB World Series Snowdonia 25k. It said on the entry form that it would be ‘Beautiful beyond belief, and savage beyond reason’…………..and it was both. It is part of a running festival that spans the whole weekend. There are 100mile, 100km, 50km and 25km race options over the weekend. The festival is part of a series of events which take place all over the world, at which successful competitors can collect UTMB ‘running stones’. These stones allow them to enter the ballot for the legendary 110 mile UTMB held in Chamonix every August. I guess all the smaller races through the year help them fund the main event and ensures that everyone who gets into it is up to a certain standard, as you have to work hard for a stone……………..they make the cut offs deliberately tight for that reason.

It’s held in Snowdonia National Park in Wales and sets off from the town of Llanberis. The route of the 25k race takes you right from the town, at just above sea level, to the summit of Mount Snowden at 1,085 metres, down the other side, and then 7 miles up and down around the bottom back to Llanberis. It is beautiful but it’s notoriously difficult and technical. The terrain is as you can see above……………….it’s rocky, slippery slate in some places, boggy in others, frequently pathless and just generally energy sapping! And the thing is I don’t always like running up hills…………..every Thursday night has been hill reps in the woods near home in preparation for this race……………………. 8 to 10 reps up the steepest hill I can find. I have found it absolutely soul destroying and boring!😆 And on more than one occasion I have got to rep 5 and burst into tears, exclaiming that I don’t want to do it anymore and I’m pulling out of the race…………..I have had a few tantrums!😂…………..I really do hate them that much sometimes.

But when you get to the top of Snowden, the views are absolutely stunning, and it makes it all worthwhile. This is a shot taken on the day by the official race photographers who were dotted all-over.

We went down to Wales on the Friday as Mr F was running the 50k on the Saturday. That’s quite a short distance for him and he did really well. This is his playground, he’s down here training frequently, unlike me who can testify that this was only my third visit to the summit in all my years and the second was on the recce the other month! On Saturday I was on my own for the day in the little town of Llanberis and my instructions were to “keep calm, eat often (carbs if possible), drink lots and don’t use your legs too much”. I was excellent at following this instruction, but unfortunately there was no medal for carb loading😂………………..I found a little outdoor sofa in front of a gorgeous café, got my book out and had plenty to drink and eat. Wales is famous for Welsh lamb…………………..so it would have been remiss of me to come all the way to Wales and not eat a Welsh lamb and mint pasty. 😍

The weather was hot, well hot for the UK, in the mid 20’s, so the organisers had instigated the hot weather policy. This is all well and good, but it means you have to carry an awful lot of water as there is no aid station until the descent at the bottom of Snowden, 9 miles in…………….and water is heavy. The evening was spent packing my race pack, attending kit check and registering. I know you will be wondering……………….so I will confess, with Mr F safely up a mountain and out of sight undertaking his race, during pack preparation and kit check, room was made for a Nars Lipstick in shade ‘Coral’. It fitted perfectly into the zip pocket with my £5 note (ice cream money) ……………… because who wants to be stuck up a mountain without a lipstick and money for cake or ice cream?! Not me!!! I’m ‘mountain ready’ don’t forget! 😂

The rest of my evening was spent eating pasta and getting anxious. With Mr F safely back there was nothing to do other than spend the night tossing and turning in my bed unable to sleep. 😆

I got to the start line and was in a bit of a state but not as bad as I could have been. I purposely got there after Wave 1 had set off. I was in Wave 2 of 3 and I’m a lot worse if I have to stand around looking at everyone that appears to look so much faster than me. No sooner had I arrived, had my telling off, and I was on my way, which was a better approach, less time to get myself too worked up. After all what could possibly go wrong? I had money and a lipstick!

Did I cry? Of course I did! 🤣 Numerous times, at the start, during, and at the end ……………………. particularly when I had to confront the things I don’t like: being isolated, falling down, feeling lost, physically and mentally exhausted. But that’s fine, because in any race like this, anyone will tell you that there are ‘dark places’…………..and by that I mean in your mind…………………..and most runners who run long races in this exhausting terrain and heat terrain will have experienced it. For myself it normally happens when I’m not just physically exhausted but mentally too. Half way down the mountain my ‘dark place’ found me. I have to concentrate so hard on the descent, I’m not a natural. You lose concentration and upsetting things you don’t want to think about come creeping in…………………………it can be absolutely anything………………..a pet that died years ago, an ex-boyfriend from school, a long lost relative, nostalgia, someone you miss…………..and there is absolutely NOTHING you can do about it other than let it in and let the tears out. It passes…………………and you carry on. If you try to fight it it’s worse, it lasts longer, you just have to let it go.

Somehow, when you need to be tough, you can be tough…………….even if you are a touch emotional like me and cry a lot!😂 When I need to ‘man up’ I can. Do I have a strategy for races like this? Not really. I would just say do ‘you’. It’s a little bit like the hare and the tortoise. I know how fast I can run, at what gradient and for how long. I’m not racing anyone. If I push too hard I know I won’t finish and it will be an awful experience. I set off right at the back of my Wave deliberately and just chip away, one step at a time, in the little personal battle with myself. You get to the second half of the race and you will catch everyone up who has set off too fast, underestimated the challenge and ‘blown up’. Races like this are more about mental resilience, coping with the unexpected and pacing yourself, it’s not a race of speed like a road race, and that’s why I prefer this sort of running. I’m not fast, but I am determined, resilient and tough when I need to be despite my extremely soft exterior! One of my poles broke at the top of Snowden with 11 miles still to go and two questionable knees……..but I thought “there’s not a thing I can do about it, manage as best as you can with one, and just get on with it”………once you’ve set off you are not allowed to swap any equipment, and there is absolutely no point worrying about something you can’t control.

I eventually crossed the line, picked up my medal and swiftly searched for the ice cream van……………….only to find I’d have to settle for a soft drink because it had sold out, packed up and departed. Worry not, I’ll be making up for the lack of post race ice cream soon. I managed to finish 1 hour and 10 minutes before cut off, was 11th placed V50 female, 108th lady out of 225, and 378th out of the 590 total participants both male and female. Not too bad for the cake eating, ice cream lover from Yorkshire who likes to trot around the fields on a Sunday morning. I’ve been a little sore this week but it’s nothing that a week on a sun lounger in Greece drowning in ice cream, gin and Campari won’t sort out! 😂

So my words of wisdom this week would be from the ‘Hare and the Tortoise’………………………..patience, perseverance, consistent, persistent, steady, slow effort is better than a fast, over confident approach. Just one step in front of the other and keep going……………………..oh…….and don’t worry about the things you can’t control, which is most things!

So that’s all for now. One busy half term coming up after a little break to Greece tomorrow. I’m as giddy as a kipper and very excited! I will share Greece with you at some point before I take my long summer six week break in July /August, where I disappear abroad to relax, rest and retreat from the world for a bit, and I will be unusually quiet as I take a little break from writing and everything else, as I usually do in Summer.

Successful little outing tonight! Not one, not two………..but three little trophies at the annual presentation evening!

Orienteering………..1st place V50 female and 2nd overall female.

Club Championship Female V50 Cross Country Champion 1st place.

Club Championship Female V50 Fell Running Champion 1st place.

Club Championship Female V50 Road Running runner up 2nd place.

And finally………………. Overall Club Championship……………Fell Running Club Champion!

🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏆🏆🏆💪 A little confidence boost for next weekend’s big one!

Pleased with myself because it’s been a tough little year. There will be no fuss, fanfare or Facebook posts………………….just quietly celebrating, and I might treat myself to a little ice cream or some chocolate tomorrow. But don’t worry I’ll not get too big for my boots……………child number one has just declared….”But how have you won the orienteering trophy Mum? You can’t read a map!” …………………. Talk about keeping you grounded! 🤣🤣🤣

Just one foot in front of the other and keep going ………………….. those words of wisdom apply to life as well as running by the way!

Wow, oh wow, oh wow! I have just had the most amazing week! Well, a few weeks ago at Easter but it’s taken me a while to put this little post together and sort all my photographs out as there’s just so much to say about this place. 😍

Where have I been? I’ve been to La Isla Bonita……………………otherwise known as La Palma.

La Palma is one of the Spanish Canary Islands………………it gets the name ‘La Isla Bonita’ from the people of this group of islands who will tell you hands down that La Palma is the beautiful one of the Canary Islands, and they are not wrong! I walked through Gran Canaria last year, it was gorgeous; Tenerife I’m not bothered about, too many British; and all the others like Lanzarote and Fuerteventura just look a bit brown and dessert like to me, and I like green. However, La Palma’s beauty just blew me away, it’s breath-taking.

So where is it? It’s off the north west coast of Africa and is the most north westerly of the group of islands. It is the one with the most tropical climate………..it rains a lot compared to the other islands and therefore is unbelievably green. It is also small compared to the other islands, ranking 5th out of the 8 islands in terms of size.

It’s quite difficult to get there from the UK, and not as well known, which means that for a whole week, other than on the flight out there, I did not encounter anyone from the UK or further west, which was great, because not only does it allow that disconnect from everyday life, it also made me practice my Spanish. Particularly in the places I visited, which were well away from any of the few hotels on the island. English is not as widely spoken on La Palma as the other islands, but you will get by.

You can fly there directly from the UK but there are just two flights a week, both on a Thursday, one from London and one from Manchester, and they are expensive to book on a ‘flight only’ basis, as they are with one of the major tour operators. I had limited time…………..working in a school and with the flights being midweek, I could only go for one week, during a two week school holiday, unless I went in Summer, which I suspect would be too hot for me to enjoy what I wanted to do. So to make the most of my time, and because I’ve been wanting to visit for such a long time, I did fly direct for one week during this last Easter break. If you can take your holidays whenever you want and aren’t constrained for time, cheaper options would be to fly via Spain, or fly into Tenerife and take the 2 hour ferry across to La Palma, as there are numerous cheap flights to Tenerife.

So why would you come here? It won’t be to everyone’s taste. You’d come here if you like nature, adventure, disconnect, walking, gorgeous beaches, dense forests, stunning volcanic landscapes, stargazing, beautiful little towns, slow pace of life, natural volcanic swimming pools, birdlife, flora and fauna, millions of butterflies, good food, nice wine and lovely welcoming islanders. Don’t come here if you want to lie on a golden sand beach……………….the beaches are gorgeous fine sand but they are black sand…………………..the island is a volcanic island. There are two major areas of volcanoes and around 10 volcanoes in total, making up most of the surface area of the island. And just like on Tenerife these volcanoes are active volcanoes. Many of them have not erupted for a number of years, however there was a huge eruption in 2021 which I’ll tell you about in a moment.

Don’t come here if you want to party, I’m talking adventures of a different kind. There are a couple of ‘resorts’ but they are very small, quiet and quite upmarket, usually just containing a few upscale resort style hotels. You are not going to find the equivalent of ‘Veronica’s’ and ‘The Strip’ here, stick to Tenerife if you want that. La Palma is for those who want an away from it all, disconnect in nature, to explore an incredible island. The only place I can liken it to which I’ve been to before is Madeira………………if you like it there you will love it here, it’s like Madeira but twice as beautiful and much safer and easier to drive around. Although the roads are steep and mountainous, they are maintained very well and the standard of driving here is very high.

I’d recommend you hire a car. There is a good bus service on the island but to see all the best parts of the island you really do need your own wheels to make the most of it. Car hire is cheap and the island is easy and safe to navigate.

If you come here to walk the only thing to be mindful of is that it is not flat…………………..it is ‘the steepest island in the world’.🥵 You are not going to find a walk here that will not leave you huffing and puffing a little. To say it’s such a small island it goes from sea level to it’s highest point, just below 2,500 metres above sea level very quickly. You don’t have to go to the top though, there are plenty of walks with manageable height gain, but it’s definitely somewhere to pack the poles if you have any sore joints or don’t want to have any by the end of the holiday.

Where did I stay? I wanted the freedom to come and go as I please and not be constrained by meal times. I also wanted to get away from it all so I rented an apartment, in a block of four, in the lovely little traditional town of El Paso, a couple of miles from the West Coast of the island. It was around 30 minutes drive from Santa Cruz de la Palma, the capital, and the airport, which are both on the East coast of the island. It was a relatively new apartment, built in 2021, with a gorgeous roof terrace for chilling, and a small pool for if you wanted to take a dip. It was owned by a local gentleman who lived in the town and the communication was really good. It was spotlessly clean, with a nice little welcome pack on arrival and had everything you could need and more. I’d rented one of the apartments on the upper floor as it had an amazing view over the sea and the west coast, to allow me to watch the most glorious sunset with a glass of wine on most evenings.

The flight and journey there was quite straightforward, and I have to tell you that my favourite flight sweet, the Marks and Spencer ‘Percy Pig’ now come in a ‘Percy Pig Goes Globetrotting’ edition! How cool is that……………..perfect for all your travelling needs and helping to make your ears pop on the flight when you too are going globetrotting!😍😂

This was a holiday with Mr Fitness. The important thing to do before you go anywhere with him, not just on holiday, is to manage his expectations, otherwise it just turns into an extreme physical challenge and competition ……………especially when you are heading off to somewhere that is just like an adventure playground for him. 😦

I had had an extremely stressful half term. It’s the term I get the school budget allocation and have to somehow miraculously make the funds cover the projected expenditure, which it never does, and I spend an awful lot of time being creative with numbers and spending hours in meetings trying to match the figures to the school strategic plan…………………………we got there in the end but I was mentally tired and needed to build in a little rest time too.

I did want to explore and adventure, that’s what life’s about, but rather than spend the entire holiday in my playing out clothes, which is what normally happens with a Mr Fitness itinerary, I had said to him that I wanted to plan my time wisely so that the exploring was done by afternoon so I could dress up in my nice clothes, go out for dinner and enjoy a glass of wine, read my book and watch the sunset. I needed an element of relaxation. Sometimes I get fed up of being all dirty in my playing out clothes……….in reality at home I am 50% Dora the Explorer and 50% Disney Princess but mostly you only get to hear about Dora on here, as this blog tends to be all about my adventures! He looked a little crestfallen as I pulled out my own little pre-prepared itinerary and I’d got visions of going out to dinner on my own, but once I’d explained the concept of ‘compromise’ he looked like he’d understood and he thought he may just be able to manage it!😂 So here’s what we got up to.

It was a late flight getting us there just before 11pm so I’d planned an easy first day with just a steady afternoon walk. I got up and the sun was shining. I pulled on my equally sunny dress and headed of to the supermarket to buy breakfast and picnic making provisions for the next few days.

One of the first things I noticed about La Palma was its absolutely fantastic traffic roundabouts. Every roundabout is maintained gorgeously and will have some elaborate statue on it, a theme, or something akin to a whole botanical garden on top of it. This one was the first one that greeted me in El Paso………it is a Graja, or Calder Crow which is endemic to La Palma and North West Africa. It has a red beak and legs and is more similar to a raven than a crow. This one is made entirely out of sticks in the middle of the roundabout and I risked my life taking its photo. 😂 There are some really elaborate constructions to see.

I found the bakery and had a lovely cinnamon and nut swirl and my first café con leche! That first Spanish café con leche and pastry always gives me an “Ahhhhh” feeling…….like I’ve arrived home.

El Paso has a lovely little square and park in the centre…………………..

…………………and some lovely street art representing the main economy of the island……………………agriculture.

After buying my provisions, I made my little Iberico Chiorizo, Spanish sheep’s cheese and cucumber bocadillo picnic sandwich (yummy) and off we went for the little short adventure that I had planned for that afternoon.

This was a short walk of 4 miles around the rim of the Caldera de Taburiente. This area is a National Park with limited parking so you have to book a car parking space online in advance, but they are free of charge, you just show your booking pass at the park gate. This was a lovely walk around a very small section of the caldera rim. The caldera is like a huge hole covering a large part of the north of the island, it is 10km across. It’s an erosion caldera, formed by landslides and erosion and not a caldera formed by volcanic eruption. It is really deep and the rim in places is 2000 metres above the caldera floor.

The cloud was down slightly but the views across the caldera from the look out points were spectacular nevertheless.

The steep walls of volcanic rock towered all around you and as you walked into the caldera you got a sense of just how lush and green the island is. Huge pines with amazing bark and a distinctive aroma reached out their branches above you, and with the low lying cloud it had a really mystical feel, with the occasional shaft of bright sunlight penetrating the cloud and making the green of the forest even greener. It was a lovely little walk and the perfect introduction to the island.

On the way back to the apartment we went to look at something quite spectacular geographically, but a bit horrific at the same time. If you ever go to La Palma you must go and take a look as it is difficult to describe the scale of it. From the apartment window looking inland I could see a towering, steaming mass of grey and orange rock around half a mile away. Jose, our host, advised me that this looming mass was the Volcano Tajogaite, which forms part of the Cumbre Vieja ridge, it is in the municipality of El Paso where we were staying. He finished building his apartment in summer 2021 and on the 11th September of that year Tajogaite erupted, the first eruption on the island since Vulcan Teneguia in 1971.

It erupted from 5 main vents for a total of 85 days and caused 863 million euros of damage. It destroyed the two neighbouring villages next to El Paso, destroyed around 3,000 homes, resulted in the evacuation of over 10,000 people, closed schools, impacted hospitals and flights and miraculously only resulted in the death of 1 person who inhaled toxic gases. Jose had recommended we drive right up to the edge of the lava flow to understand the scale of the natural disaster…………….so we did.

The lava flow is 6.2km long at 3.5km wide and stretches right down to the sea.

You can view it from the edge but you cannot walk on it without specialist equipment or a trained vulcanologist as it is still extremely hot in places and emits toxic gases. You can understand when you see it how it was impossible for anything in its path to have survived. There is nothing of the villages left to be seen, they are completely buried under a cooling lava flow metres high. The entire area is desolate. They have now built one road which cuts through the lava flow close to the coast to reconnect the south west of the island with the north west but other than that there is nothing. You can just see mother nature starting to do her work with shoots of new green plants miraculously sprouting from the lava flow where nothing else survives.

Despite this, El Paso is a safe place to visit and the volcano sleeps silently for now. The volcanoes on the island are active, but they are monitored constantly. The eruption was expected, hence the low number of casualties, with 22,000 small earthquakes of up to 3.5 magnitude being measured in just one week before the eruption. So it does have it’s own in built early warning system.

It had been a long first day so I changed out of my playing out clothes and went out to dinner at the lovely Tasca Barbanera in El Paso………..beef tenderloin, Roquefort sauce, Padron peppers and roast potato wedges………………oh and a lovely glass of wine to round off the day.

Day 2, I was up early and much better rested after travelling. The plan today was to do a circular walk around an area on the north east of the island called Cubo de Galga. This is an ancient laurel forest on the edge of a ravine and gorge. It’s around 6 miles long. It was drizzling slightly but warm and humid. This added to the atmosphere as I can only describe this area as ‘magical’. It’s like its own little enchanted eco-system. You don’t get wet due to the tree cover but it’s really humid, a bit like being in a rainforest in the Amazon I guess. There is bird song everywhere, water tinkling over mossy rocks and flowers and fauna all around.

All the walks we went on are in a book I took with me called ‘Walk La Palma’ its a ‘Discovery Walking Guides’ book by Charles Davis. It was an invaluable resource as it gives you a narrative and secret little d-tours. It is a must if you want to walk on the island. While other people carried on the main path it directs you to take a 50 metre d-tour off the path through a little wooded area. You emerge at the most spectacular waterfall. There isn’t a lot of water, but it is coming from a great height and forms a refreshing shower if you are brave enough. It’s the perfect place to enjoy your bocadillo in peace and quiet before continuing.

You pass under little ancient aqueducts, through overhanging trees, across little streams with huge round mossy boulders until you emerge from the top of the gorge at a spectacular mirador over the sea.

It’s an easy downhill walk then, through agricultural land, passing through people’s smallholdings featuring an array of crops and animals, back to the car park.

For any nature lover, bird watcher or anyone who likes the idea of being in an enchanted forest a million miles from what’s going on in the rest of the world, I can’t recommend this walk highly enough.

We just had time to stop in the capital Santa Cruz de la Palma for refreshment on the way back and I might just have been tempted by a little glass of sunshine. 😂

First impressions of Santa Cruz were good. Bright colourful buildings, pretty flower filled squares in preparation for Easter, bustling cafes, statues, flower filled wooden balconies, old colourful doors and spotlessly clean. I vowed to come back and explore more later in the week.

The compromise was going well, back in time to get my girlie clothes on and out to the neighbouring town of Los Llanos de Aridane for pizza………………..

…………….after I’d also had time for a little afternoon nana nap………………at 54, I sometimes need one of those too now after a day of adventure!😂

There was the usual Easter procession taking place in the town and I love to watch a procession. 😍

Day 3 started with a little relax on the roof terrace………………

and a little bit of plant spotting around the garden………………………very pretty.

Today the plan was to do a walk from the town of Tijarafe where we would leave the car. We would then walk the circular PRLP12.2 path to the Cueva de Poris de la Candelaria then down the Barranco Del Jorado and then back up to the town. Whilst only 9 miles long this is a steep one with 1,000 metres of down and the same back up! For anyone with bad joints the good news is that there is also a road that gets you closer to the cove of Candelaria if you aren’t able to walk to it as it’s definitely worth seeing.

En route to Tijarafe you are likely to drive past the Mirador El Time. It’s a spectacular viewpoint looking over the west of the island. You get an idea of how high you have just ascended in the car………………………….and a plus point is that there is a café here which sells the most delicious home baked banana cake! So as you can imagine a stop was made for cake, coffee and to admire the view over the town of Tazacorte.

The walk to Candelaria was beautiful…………………………..different to the previous days as this is a coastal walk. Poppies and flowers were in bloom everywhere.

You get incredible views of the bright blue sea all around you.

But it is an incredibly steep downhill walk to start.

You eventually come to the parking lot and there is a nice path down to the Cueva de Poris de la Candelaria. This really is a magical spot. No pirates today. It’s a little fishing village built inside a natural cave. All the houses are white and blue. Whist fishing has moved on and out to the nearby port of Tazacorte the little houses still remain and are maintained by local families who use them as second homes, beach houses and just a respite form the world. There is no internet, phone signal, rubbish bin or anything. They have managed to bring electricity cables down from the town and water pipes but other than that there is nothing.

It’s really pretty.

While we were there, there were a few families, repairing and painting their homes for summer and a handful of walkers who like us, had gone to marvel at the pretty little cave village.

We had our picnic on the rocks, being careful to remove all traces of rubbish, and had a little sunbathe and then began our trek up and then down again into the Barranco del Jorado. This was a steep in and out, much steeper than the path to Candelaria. There is a lovely little beach at the bottom and a few little beach houses that have been erected by the locals as a respite from the heat of the town and somewhere to disconnect at the weekend. This gorge is also well know for its birdlife. We saw plenty of kestrels and choughs nesting in the rocks and lots of lizards running between our feet. It was a tough slog back up to the town though.

Knowing it would be quite a long walk I’d taken my dressing up clothes with me as I thought it would make more sense while we were out that way to stop for dinner on the way back and explore the lovely little town of Tazacorte. It’s a nice little town surrounded by banana plantations, but then again the whole island is full of banana plantations.

The town is split into two. There is the main town a mile or two inland and then the port area which has a few hotels and a lovely beach. We went to explore the town first. It’s very colourful and we found a lovely restaurant called Los Lavaderos which was situated in some former wash houses. It was a lovely meal. I had a lovely Campari Spritz whilst deciding what to choose and had a little rest. We started with a very traditional Canarian dish…………Volcanic Papas Arrugadas with Mojo Rojo. These are wrinkled baked Canarian potatoes, baked in a fire so they are black and have a bit of a charcoaly taste on the exterior. The potato inside is really sweet and the red mojo sauce has a little kick to it, containing red peppers and paprika. Really tasty!

Then one of my favourites……………………….fried fresh squid………………..I ❤️ squid! And there is nothing like some fresh fried squid by the sea.

I didn’t have dessert because I wanted to go down to the port to sit on the harbour wall and watch the sun set as it looked like it was going to be a lovely sunset……………….and I’d also read there was a fantastic Heladeria (Ice Cream shop) down there.

It’s a pretty little port town, quite busy and you can climb up onto the harbour wall and walk all the way along to the little lighthouse at the end.

Then pick your perch on the wall and get ready for the most gorgeous sunset.

And what better way to finish off the evening than a visit to the Heladaria……………….which I can confirm is amazing! This is Amarena Cherry flavour…………………YUMMY! It tasted just as good as the Fabbri Amarena Cherries in the blue and white jar………………I get a jar of these at Christmas as a treat and have to try so hard not to just eat them with a spoon out of the jar. 🤭 Another lovely day.

Day 4………………I needed a rest day, much to Mr F’s absolute dismay! 😂 So there’s not a lot to tell you about Day 4. I was saving myself for the big one on day 5. I felt like a beach day! So after a lazy morning it was a trip to the fine black sand beach of Charco Verde. It was lovely. I chose this one because it does not have any towns nearby so it’s nice and peaceful. You can only get here by car but there are toilets and a fantastic little chiringuito at the back of the beach . It serves great fresh seafood, croquettes, tapas, cakes and has a bar. I was very comfy on this beach reading my book for the afternoon. There were a few people around but not too many.

The chiringuito was good. I made two visits……………once for banana cake and coffee and once for beer. There’s nothing like a Dorada in the sunshine listening to the waves crashing in! Perfect little spot if you are all adventured out and need a rest.

So Day 5………………..the BIG ONE!!! This was epic and if you are fit enough to do this one walk on La Palma then this is the one you must do……………the highlight! It’s called Ruta de los Volcanes or Route of the Volcanoes. It goes from a recreation area called El Pilar in the middle of the island all the way southwards along the ridge, which forms the backbone of the island, to its southernmost tip at the Faro de Fuencaliente (lighthouse). In its entirety it is 17 miles with 800 metres of ascent. And if you miss the bus back to town, as we did, it’s an additional 4 miles and another 680m of ascent to the next nearest bus stop in town to get back to your start point. 🥵

It runs all along the ridge of Cumbre Vieja passing a large number of volcanic cones, craters and lava flows created by these active volcanoes. It is truly spectacular.

We’d waited for the perfect weather window………………..a blue sky day but with some cloud, with the base of the cloud at around 500m.

It’s good to have cloud because if you take the ‘over the top’ route, over the peak of Volcan de la Deseada at 1945 metres high, you get the most spectacular cloud inversions below. The cloud literally tumbles and crashes over the rims of the volcanoes………….it is amazing to see.

One minute you are running through dense pine forest, the next you are on a barren ridge surrounded by nothing but volcanic ash.

It’s not a particularly difficult walk navigationally …………………….it’s well signed. But it’s quite steep and long and once you’ve committed to it, whilst there are some escape routes off the ridge, they are long ones. So it’s important to go prepared. You need lots of layers, waterproofs, food, lots and lots of water, a head for heights (mine is getting better) and a sense of adventure!

I took absolutely hundreds of pictures and although this was meant to be a slow and long training run, I stopped so many times it was anything but a run.

It’s a bit of a tricky day trip logistically because it is point to point, not circular, from the middle of the island to the southern tip, so at one end you will need transport.

We left the hire car in Santa Cruz. I had arranged a taxi via Whatsapp to take us up to El Pilar up in the mountains (40 Euros and half an hour drive) and then after the walk there is an hourly bus back from Los Canarios (the town above the Faro de Fuencaliente) to Santa Cruz (really cheap at 2 Euros 60). The bus takes around 50 minutes.

Our taxi driver Ignacio, was so informative. All the way up to El Pilar he was explaining, very slowly in Spanish for me as he spoke no English, about the topography and agriculture of the island. I understood that as far as you can see, whichever way you look you can see banana plantations. However, Ignacio advised that the island has an abundance of avocados and mangoes too. The push at the moment is to plant avocados as the price of bananas has slumped. He advised that bananas fetch 1 Euro a Kg, mangoes around 3 Euros but avocados fetch 5 Euros and for that reason a lot of farmers are replanting some banana plantations with avocados.

When you get to El Pilar there is a visitor centre and I highly recommend you take a look before heading off. It will tell you all about the volcanoes you will pass, when they erupted and give you lots of tips as to what to look out for on the route.

Another aside is that you can finish the walk in the town of Los Canarios and make it a walk of just over 13 miles if you want. You don’t have to walk the last 4 miles to the lighthouse at Fuencaliente. If you don’t stop in Los Canarios and carry on like I did, I would still recommend stopping in Cafe ‘Mi Gusto’ on the main street. According to Mr F this serves the best home made lemon pie he has ever had. Yes, you heard that correctly…………….he had lemon pie…………..a huge piece!! 😂 I have committed it to my memory bank to remind him of the fact next time I get told off for cake eating!

We made it to the lighthouse (very windy) to find that we had just missed the bus which runs every two hours back to Los Canarios to get the onward bus back to Santa Cruz. Two choices – sleep in the bus stop for the night as we could not get a phone signal of any sort, or attempt to walk back to Los Canarios, 4 uphill miles in an hour and a half to get the last bus back. We chose the latter and made it with 10 minutes to spare. I needed half a bag of Bassetts Jelly Babies and we fell out a little because I may just have moaned like a baby intermittently on the way back!🤭 However, it did not spoil an utterly breath-taking day.

Day 6 was most definitely a rest day……………well, car tour day. I was not really up for using my legs! Nevertheless it was a very interesting day.

We drove up to the north of the island to the highest point…………the Roque de Los Muchachos at 2,426m……………..crossing the island from West to East in the car. I wanted to go up here to take some photographs for my eldest. It’s one hell of a drive up here and only for the confident drivers, which Mr F is, while I hovered somewhere between the gearstick and the footwell, jumping frequently.

The Roque de Los Muchachos is the location of the Observatory of the same name. It is the location of the largest optical infrared telescope in the world and the centre for astrophysics in the northern hemisphere of the world. There are another 20 more huge telescopes here. You can have a good wander around them and you can actually apply for a visit if you have a particular interest, but the visits are very detailed and designed for astrophysicists so it would have been a waste of someone’s time showing me around, I would not have understood a word of what they were talking about, but I know it’s on my eldest’s bucket list.

It is still worth visiting though. You feel like you have stepped onto the set of a Star Wars movie and I had a special motive to be here. My eldest is an astrophysicist, and for his placement year he applied to come here for one whole year, in this barren landscape, doing astrophysical research. He got through to the final interviews and missed out, he was absolutely gutted. But I’d promised him I would get some photographs for him and some information.

I have to be honest with you, there is no way I could spend a year here! I would feel so isolated stuck up here with a bunch of scientists. But I guess we are all different and if that’s what floats your boat then so be it, but you are miles away from ice cream, cake and vino up here so it’s not for me. 😂

We arrived back on the east coast and decided to ease our achy legs (well mine anyway, because the bionic man does not appear to get achy legs) in the natural swimming pools at Charco Azul. These are lovely and are a safe way to swim in quite rough sea. They are pools formed with volcanic rock, creating a barrier from the sea. It was just the perfect amount of ‘rough’. The sound was gorgeous and the waves crashed over the top, creating an effect like a wave pool and a jacuzzi.

I can swim but I’m not the strongest so I thought I’d send Mr F in first, see if he survived without drowning, and then I’d maybe take a dip.😆

It looked gorgeous and I decided my little legs would thank me for it so in I got. I had a little splash around, listed to the roar of the sea and got thrown around a bit in the waves. It all ended when a rather large wave came over the top. That wasn’t a problem in itself, but it brought with it the hugest red crab with the most massive claws which decided it was going to swim alongside me and brush itself against my leg! So that was it for me……………I’m Ok swimming in the sea until I see a sea creature or feel something brush along my leg or foot, then it’s game over for me! But it was nice while it lasted.

Day 7 and unfortunately my final day on this beautiful island. The flight was not until 9:30pm that evening so we did have a full day.

I didn’t want to get too hot and sweaty so found a nice short walk exploring the area on the hillside just outside the capital of Santa Cruz. It was called the Ruta de Los Molinos………………..or the water mill route.

It’s sets off from the Plaza de Espana, which was gloriously bedecked in fresh red and white flowers for Easter.

It winds up the hillside through the agricultural back gardens and pretty squares until you reach the Mirador de la Concepcion where you have the most spectacular view of Santa Cruz and the port below.

You can take a little d-tour to the Real Santuario de Nuestra Señora de las Nieves. It’s a nice little church with a square and café. The church was the most beautiful I’d seen on the island from the inside……………….the smell of Easter flowers was beautiful and everything was gleaming.

On the way back down the hillside is when you pass the 5 water mills that the route is named after. It is here where they first experimented with producing energy using natural resources on the island by using the water tumbling down the barranco to power the mills.

It’s a really interesting little walk which allows you to see a bit of the agricultural life just outside the city as you walk past and through the land and gardens of the residents of the hillside.

Just enough time left for little wander around the capital, admire the street art, have some tapas and wine to round off a perfect little week of adventure.

So the verdict……………………………………..La Palma………………………………..if you like the sound of it then you must go! It’s gorgeous. I’ll definitely be back, I’ve only done 5 walks out of my 38 walk walking book! Lots more to explore! And if you discount the flight cost and have the flexibility to come via a cheaper method this one can really be done on a budget.

The book read of the holiday, if you are a book reader, was “The Lost Bookshop” by Evie Woods. I love a bit of far fetched fiction, I love books and I love a little love story. This one takes you on a journey through your imagination……………it’s for all the dreamers out there. I loved it……………..a nice easy read which I did not want to put down.

I’m back at work now, slaving away and working really hard. But that’s not a bad thing, I really do enjoy my work and my colleagues. And it’s my job and working hard that enables me to go on my little adventures. “Work hard……….play hard”, as they say. One week in Mr F’s company was enough……………..I’m not fit enough for any longer! 😂

I have a couple of big runs planned over the next few weeks but am struggling a bit with a niggly knee at the moment so we’ll see. Old age! 😂

The next trip away is at the end of May when I shall be having my relaxing week on a Greek island……………….this time the cosmopolitan little island of Skiathos with its lush pine forests, crystal clear azure blue waters and 68 sandy beaches to choose from……………………………..and no exercise other than a spot of yoga and swimming…………and no trying to keep up with Mr F. I like a bit of variety on my trips, I’m not all adventure believe it or not. There’s usually not much to report on this annual holiday as it is my one week where I go to a nice hotel, get looked after, read lots, move very little and RELAX, but I shall share a few details nevertheless on my return.

Then there will be one very busy half term until my usual month and a half summer in Spain where I have a bit of all sorts planned and you don’t hear from me for a couple of months as I take a long break from school.

So, enjoy the tales of La Palma and I’ll be back soon with a few tales of adventures closer to home and possibly a Greek adventure if I have time to write about it before summer. Otherwise I’ll update you on Greece in September after my usual summer hiatus! I’m thinking that maybe I’m in the wrong job………….I maybe should hire myself out as a holiday planner and guide! Bookings and suggestions being taken for 2026! 😂

Happy, Happy Easter from gloriously sunny Yorkshire! Time to get the bright clothes out and have some fun!

I know Easter is nearly over……………..I’m a bit late with my best wishes……………..but better late than never. Just like the Pope I have some words of wisdom for you………………….you can always rely on me for these!😂 My Easter message is:

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”” – Hunter S. Thompson

So that’s what I’ve been trying to uphold. I’m fresh back from an amazing week long adventure abroad on a very delayed flight which saw me get home at 5am on Friday morning so I’m a little bit tired. I’ll tell you all about that when I’ve had chance to sort all my photographs and tales over the next few weeks.

But this morning I’ve been on a little Yorkshire adventure because I’ve done something a little bit silly so I thought I’d share some lovely photos from home and tell you what I’ve done.

I got home from holiday to a house full of men. Both boys home, along with friends from their University days who have come to stay for 4 days. Of course they did not announce this before arriving (why would they!?🤣) Now don’t get me wrong, I love a a house full of their friends, but it’s been a bit of a hectic house full of testosterone. Far too many male hormones, so today I’ve escaped them for a few hours and they’ve had to look after themselves!

It just so happens that while I was on holiday I got a notification from a friend about a local race in two weeks time called the ‘Cake Race’. Well, as you can imagine my eyes lit up because I have eyes bigger than my belly don’t I? Especially where cake is involved.

It is a fantastic concept! The advert said £10 entry, reduced to £5 if you bring a home baked cake, and EAT AS MUCH CAKE AS YOU CAN AT THE END!!!!!!!! I didn’t even get to the end of the advert……………..I entered and pledged a cake! Now I’m not going to lie to you…………the clue is in the race name, and I have entered this race entirely for the eat as much as you can cake…………….no other reason whatsoever.🤣I’ve just got to get to the end and finish.

After clicking the payment button I thought…………………………hmmm…………………….maybe I ought to look at some details as to how far it is. Well, panic not……………it’s a 10 mile / 16.1km fell race with 500 metres of ascent………………..it’s just about doable with my dodgy knee. So today I thought I’d escape the men and go on a route recce on the moors on my own.

It was bliss. This is a gorgeous route. Enjoy the pictures of glorious Yorkshire on a sunny day. However, there is a lot of up and an awful lot of steps……………………too many steps for my liking up and down the many reservoir dam heads and paved flagged stairs onto the moor. It took me a long time…………………2 hours and 10 minutes. Not ideal.

I’ve had a look at last year’s results and I’m a little perplexed…………………….this is a very serious race……………….it looks like people may not have entered for the cake like me………………….it’s a very young and fast competitive field of athletes! The organisers have no idea how much cake I can eat after 10 miles. However, today’s performance last year would have put me in 170th place out of 200. So I’m starting to worry that there might not be that much cake left by the time I get back! 🤣 What a disaster that would be!

I have a plan though! I may have just talked a fast friend from running club into entering the race too. They will be at least 40 minutes in front of me. How wrong would it be to give them my cake shopping list prior to the start gun and getting them to save my cake wishlist for my return? 🤭 I’m sort of thinking that that would be quite acceptable.

I’m sure on the day I’ll be a little quicker as knowing there is cake at the end I’m sure I’ll find a little spurt in my step. When the going gets tough and my knee hurts I find that chanting something over and over again can help take my mind off things. Try it, it can be anything! If my knee hurts a lot sometimes it’s a swear word so I have to chant it sliently in my head. 😂 Today it wasn’t too bad and I have made the discovery that chanting “Victoria Sponge” worked perfectly. I don’t know whether it’s the number of syllables at 5 or what………….my cadence was maintained at a nice smooth 175 per minute. “Chocolate Cake” and “Lemon Drizzle” did not work quite as well.

So if you spot someone running up and down for 10 miles over Wessenden and Marsden Moors two weeks today chanting “Victoria Sponge” it will be me!

I’m having a pretty restful Easter Monday after today’s escapade……………………..I’ve had a little trip to the garden centre yesterday. Always a mistake as I can’t resist plants. I don’t have room for any more but I bought them anyway so tomorrow I have to dig a small amount of my lawn up to make my perennial border wider so I can fit the plants in! 😂 Where there’s a will there’s a way.

But this evening I am eating Easter Cornflake and Chocolate Nests with Cadbury Mini Eggs that I’ve rustled up for the guests. I’m eating as many as I like because if you are going to do a race recce properly you have to do it ‘exactly’ as it will be on the day. The deal was…………………run 10 miles and eat as much cake as you want. I’ve run 10 miles so here goes!🤣😍😍

Happy Easter!

I’ve been a little quiet……………I know! And usually when I’m quiet that means I’m up to something, or I’m getting into trouble! Or BOTH! 😆

All is well, I’ve just been a very busy little bee! I’ve been working hard, and when I’ve not been working I’ve been having little mini adventures and spending time with friends and gardening. It’s that lovely time of year when those little bulbs you forgot you planted in October make an appearance to remind you of a gardening afternoon well spent in Autumn and the marvels of mother nature.

I’ve been getting out in the Spring sunshine as we’ve had quite a lot of it……………….and I’ve had a birthday……………one more year makes me 54! One year older and one year wiser! 😂

I’ve broken up for the 2 week Easter holidays this last weekend, and of course I have a little adventure planned for just one week…………get me out of here!! I have a good feeling about this one, so sit tight…………more adventure tales from abroad coming your way in a few weeks.

But mainly over the last few weeks I’ve been ‘Hyggeing’ my life and my space, because I needed to, much to everyone else’s annoyance! I’ve had lots of time to think and reflect, both on my little trip to Copenhagen and afterwards, and we all know I like to think. And I’ve been thinking about happiness and happy spaces and adding some Hygge to my life. Because the world is a funny old place at the moment and it could make you quite sad. But whilst the news makes me feel a twinge of sadness, and probably anxious too………………..I’m generally quite happy and positive, but so many people aren’t. So here’s a couple of tips about my thoughts on happiness which you can take or leave.

About this Hygge then! I’ve been uncluttering my home, and got myself into a heap of trouble. I’ve done this partly because clutter drives me nuts and partly because I’m planning on retiring and spending less time here in the UK and I just needed a good old sort out! I like minimal, calm, uncluttered spaces……………….the trouble is that everyone else is a bit of a hoarder. I’m also a bit of a doer, not a procrastinator, so I’ve uncluttered everyone else’s space for them too! 🤣

I’d been reading a book about Hygge after my Copenhagen trip, and came across another book about the ‘Art of Swedish Death Cleaning’. Panic not, I’m not planning on going anywhere just yet, but you never know do you! It was quite an interesting read about cleansing your life of all that crap you hold onto and decluttering……………and the nice happy feeling you have when you’ve done it. I can only liken it to that feeling I get when I’ve cleaned the bathrooms! 😍 Or is that just me! 🤭

I was going to Hygge the bedroom first, followed by the office/study and then move onto my big boy’s room now he’s moved out………………….and I wasn’t doing it in one month, two months, or three…………….I was doing it immediately! Which is very like me…………..idea, followed very quickly by action, and plan as you go! And this is where it can go a bit wrong. I saw a perfect window of opportunity! The youngest and Dad off skiing for a week, followed by the eldest and Dad on a mountaineering and ice climbing course for a week…………………that equates to two perfect weeks to get creative, busy and de-clutter……………..hence only the time for mini adventures, because I also had t fit in a full time job!

I’d already bought some gorgeous fabric………………….all hand embroidered, neutral oatmeal coloured, with pretty ferns to bring a soft, calm and natural feeling to the bedroom………………all ‘hygge’. So out came my sewing machine and I got to work on two pairs of curtains and a roman blind for the bedroom.

I really enjoyed making these as I love creating and interior design. I’m a bit of a perfectionist though and the blind drove me crazy. I like the gap around the edge of the blind to be even all the way around the edge (the perfectionist in me)……………….and it’s only when you are making a roman blind that you realise your windows are not quite as square as you thought they were! 😂

There was a bit of swearing, readjusting and getting up and down stepladders but I got there eventually…………………but it did take quite a lot of after work and weekend stitching, as I like all my hems and seams to be hand stitched on the reverse, not machine stitched, as I don’t like to see machine stitching on the right side of the fabric. Anyway they are finished now and I’m quite pleased with them!

I framed my linocut print which I made the other month and put it up on the wall!

And I re-potted some of my orchids and purchased a couple more plants. I love, love, love plants. In fact I had a little giggle to myself when Copenhagen Mette wrote a review of me on Airbnb as this reviewing thing works both ways now. I love a plant, and while staying at Mette’s I thought I’d take care of the plants too! Which did not go un-noticed!🤣

I took the old curtains and bedding to the charity shop and purchased some lovely pink linen bedding and a lovely green velvet bedspread. Final touch was a sheepskin cushion and a little sheepskin rug for the side of the bed. These wooden floors are ok but I do like to step out of bed onto something warm, soft and fluffy in a morning so this little rug does the trick perfectly on the ‘hygge’ front.

Lighting is important too………………so I added some nice bedside lighting, and a gorgeous hand woven rattan light shade hand made in Bali. This makes a really nice pattern on the ceiling when it’s lit.

The only problem is that at this point no-one else has any idea what I’m doing. I’d saved up my pennies over a few months to make my purchases but because I’d exhausted my little home improvement budget it did not stretch to an electrician. “No problem”, I thought! I’ll just watch a video on You Tube, I know where the fuse box is………….I’m sure I can change and rewire a couple of light fittings myself!😦Now this is where my able assistant comes in………………………..Brian Bucket!

Now Brian Bucket is my amazing 85 year old Dad! Who, on learning that his only child is going to tamper with the household electrics was not too happy! The fortunate thing is Brian Bucket is very handy…………………he was a maintenance engineer for the National Health Service (NHS) for many years. Everyone in the NHS knows him as ‘Brian Bucket’, they gave him that title………………..and that is because wherever Brian went………….the bucket went too! Brian has no time for modern fancy tool bags from the big brands which weigh too much and mean you have to carry all your tools everywhere! In Brian’s opinion, they are completely unnecessary, you just take the tools you need for the job in your trusty bucket!😆

So he said, “Stop right there! Don’t touch anything! I’m coming to supervise!” Now I adore my Dad! He retired 20 years ago but he still misses work, his colleagues and just the feeling of being useful and helping. So there he was, one hour later, dressed for the occasion in his NHS uniform 😂😍 which he still dons at any available opportunity, even though it’s now a bit threadbare, with his trusty bucket in hand! ❤️

The deal was he was going to sit, drink tea, eat biscuits and impart his wisdom and I was going to do the climbing up the ladders and do the doing. I only had to shout at him a couple of times when I caught him half way up the ladder (he can’t help himself), but all in all we were a super team and I am very pleased with my decluttered, hygged bedroom and new light fittings!

Whist looking for bedroom lighting, I spotted a big orange and beige drum shade to add a pop of colour to the sitting room………..a bargain…………………..”Oh that will look perfect with my Moroccan rug”, I thought. So that found a new home too and that was the next little bit of lighting DIY done.

Next room ……………………. the big boy’s room. He’s been gone 5 years now and it was still a shrine to all things Alex, hot chicks and gaming. The curtains had gone with him and it was looking tired and untidy. He has no plans to come back so with his permission that’s had a little spruce up too. It’s now a guest room, but also his room when he comes home to visit……………………….so I could not go too pink and floral in here.

I found some fabulous fabric for curtains and it was so cheap! So another pair of curtains were made, another plant purchased, a nice rug, some lights, cushions, the bedding I managed to get in my rucksack from Copenhagen and I am all hygged in here too…………….even retaining space for his precious guitars!

Last but not least the office/study! Which is where I came unstuck! 😂 We all have that one room where the hoarders of the house cram those things that might come in useful at some future, undetermined date! And this is the room! It had some old pine furniture in there, an old book case, rickety computer desk and loads of what I would term ‘crap’! I decided the best thing was to empty the entire room into the family bathroom that no-one really uses, as they use the en-suite. From there I could sort it out. It’s not until you start emptying a room like this that you realise just how much ‘crap’ it’s been possible to get in one room and what a big job it’s going to be. A few trips to the British Heart Foundation Charity shop and I did not seem to have made much headway.

I’d sort of run out of time and the main house bathroom looked like this on their return!🤣🤣 To say I was in trouble was understatement of the year! I promised It would be sorted by the weekend.

So I had a little trip to IKEA, which we all know is my favourite shop…………………I’m being sarcastic……………….I get lost and can’t find all the ‘bits’ I need. Anyway…….floor to ceiling storage units were purchased…………….the less said about the self assembly the better!😂🤭

Piles and piles of ‘crap’ have gone to the charity shop, to friends or in the bin! Everything is all nice and tidy and ‘hidden’ in my new white, glossy units and I have much, much less than I had before. The computer is on a nice little desk, I’ve welcomed another fluffy sheepskin rug, and into my life I brought ‘Roger’, the rubber plant, who looks very happy in his pink pot in the office.

So that’s why I’ve been quiet! I’ve been busy! I’ve got this Hygge and Swedish death cleaning down to a fine art. I’m all decluttered upstairs and it does make you feel so much calmer, happier and with a smug sense of achievement! But I’ve been banned from starting the downstairs just yet! But watch this space………………………I just need a small window of opportunity to open up and a few more months to squirrel away some savings and secret bargain purchases!🤭

So about this ‘happiness’ then! I’ve been thinking a little bit about this. Why are so many people in the Western world so unhappy? And what makes you happy! I find it quite sad and alarming that a lot of the younger generation are so sad and not happy. One of my own has his ups and downs and I’m always ready to catch him when he falls, so I’ve been thinking about it. I’m not saying you have to be happy all the time, I’m not happy all the time, I don’t think anyone is, and sometimes it’s medical, like in his case, and I get that and understand it. I’m just talking here about general every day happiness for everyone.

There’s that age old saying isn’t there that “Less is More”…………………..and in a way that’s so true. After decluttering I have so much less than I had before…………but I’m happier. Life is a lot less cluttered.

I sort of decided that it might be because we live in a world where everything can be bought, or at least people think it can, and the focus is on ‘more’ not ‘less’. In a world of social media everyone is comparing themselves to the ‘ideal’ ………………… whatever that is…………………….and often these ‘ideals’ are unrealistic, unattainable ideals, and then people feel sad when they can’t achieve them.

However, happiness comes from within, it can’t be bought………………….and I think it’s only when you get older and wiser that you realise this.

And there are so many women in particular………………..partly due to social media, TV, and advertising, who are not happy with how they look and don’t think they are enough as they are. I’m fortunate to have been brought up to always believe I’m enough. If someone doesn’t think you are enough, then how they act towards you is more likely to be a reflection of themselves and not of you. Remember that! Mum was laughing the other day. There was a feature on the radio and people were phoning in to reveal the best piece of advice their mother ever gave to them. Mum said to me, “What is the best piece of advice I’ve ever given you?” She thought it was hilariously funny when I said “Don’t ever pluck your eyebrows!” 😂 But I was being serious.

I was always terrified of plucking them as she told me they would grow big and bushy if I did!🤣 But now I’m so glad I didn’t. They are a sort of natural colour which matches my hair, neither fat nor thin, natural shaped and I made friends with my eyebrows many years ago.

So many people now feel the need to do things cosmetically, either eyebrows, inject things into their face, or other parts of their body, for wrinkles, etc. etc. the list is endless. And that’s fine if you are doing it for you! It’s also fine if it makes you you happy! But not if you are doing it to try and achieve an unachievable, unsustainable ideal, to please someone else, or if it does not make you happy………………………because surprise, surprise……………….beauty comes from within and you are enough as you are.

Take for instance this picture of me below which I have no issues posting! It’s not my greatest! 😆How many times have you looked at a photograph of yourself and pulled it apart. Well don’t!! You know that gorgeous sunrise or sunset you took a photograph of that just didn’t look the same as it did in real life……………….well that’s because things are always so much more beautiful in real life, including you! Because beauty is not about how you look, it comes from inside, it’s about your smile, your wrinkles, your bushy eyebrows, your personality………………..not just what you see on the photograph…………that’s just an image.

So this a photograph of the working me, at work after a reasonably stressful day. You can see my 54 year old, unplucked eyebrows. 😆 When you get to 54 you are more bothered about the hairs growing out of your chin than your eyebrows, believe me! Which by the way, I will allow you to pluck! The body at 54 is an amazing thing and each week I look forward with eager anticipation to see what I am going to grow and sprout next and from where!😂

I have white bits all over my black jacket…………….that’s because I have just had a tussle and altercation with an overfull shredding machine in the server room. My hair is curly, unruly and all over the place. It has a life of its own and is different every day, there’s not a lot I can do about it! I’ve not got much make-up on because unless I’m out on the razzle dazzle I can take it or leave it, you get me as I am! Yes, I like lipstick and a bit of mascara, but a bit of mascara is all you will see on this photograph. When I do put my makeup on, it takes me all of 5 minutes to apply it, I’m definitely in the less is more camp on this front! But deep down I am a bit of a girlie girl, absolutely! I love to get dressed up, I do own lovely dresses, but I like playing out in my playing out clothes equally as much.

If you zoom in I have wrinkles! Particularly around my eyes……………………but I’m quite happy with them. I have no intention of injecting Botox or fillers into my face as every line tells a story of my life and a different adventure ………………….. and my face also allows me to smile my smile, scowl, wrinkle my forehead in disapproval, show my excitement or otherwise. I have one of those very expressive faces…………………..you know exactly what I’m thinking……………I feel everything and my face says it all! Anyone who has ever met me will tell you that, you get it exactly as it is, you’ll never have to second guess my thoughts!😂

So that’s me…………….barefaced, no filter, wrinkles, eyebrows, covered in shredding paper and happy that I’m enough.

So my little tip to you is less is more…………………..declutter……………….and remember that you are enough and real beauty and happiness comes from within………………it can’t be bought.

Just a couple of days now until I leave on my little adventure, so that has given me just enough time to have a good old catch up with my boys over the last couple of days. My little mini-me works shifts, so despite the fact he lives at home, I don’t see him that often. Yesterday he had a day off and the sun was shining so I dragged him up a local mountain, Kinder Scout, for some fresh air! It was hard work getting him up! 😂 But we put the world to rights and I proved to him that cheese and pickle sandwiches on sourdough taste much better at the top of a mountain.

Then on Sunday I went to see my big boy. He’s a three hour drive away……….but sometimes you just need to invite yourself and make that drive. He’s been working so very, very hard over the last few months and I’ve not seen him really. He’s not the greatest communicator. They tell you they are ok but as a Mum sometimes you can tell they are bit tired and under the weather, and those one word affirmations are not enough. You feel the need to visit, see them in the flesh, give them a big hug, feed them, take them a little food parcel and make sure they are definitely ok.

So 6 hours was spent driving there and back in the car to see him for 3 hours………………but it was worth it…………..he got fed, we had a good catch up, and I got to give lots of hugs and give him that once over inspection that only a Mum can give! 😆

There is just one more exciting discovery I need to tell you about before I go! Whilst shopping for the aforementioned little food parcel I discovered this!

OMG!!!!! I cannot tell you how good this is. Britain’s favourite posh food store has brought out a new chocolate bar. Dark chocolate is my favourite chocolate and I love nuts! So imagine chunky, melt in the mouth, dark chocolate with no shortage of hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios all through the chocolate. It is divine.😍 Now, ignore the 3 red warnings on the front for fat, saturated fat and sugar……………….it’s green for salt which I’m taking as a positive! And it’s almost Easter when you can eat as much chocolate as you want and it does not count!

So that’s been the last few weeks………………….normal adventures will resume shortly and be reported on in due course!😂

But for now I’ve worn myself out decluttering so this weekend I’m just doing a triathlon!🤣🤣

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.

Poem by George Byron (Lord Byron)

And there was pleasure in the pathless woods……………………..and a whole load of pain too! 🤣🤣🤣

So this poem…………………one of my favourites by the British poet George Byron (1788 – 1824). I like it because for me it rings true, I can relate to it. At the moment while all the world is in turmoil, things challenge us, we lose loved ones, have a nightmare day at work, fall out with our other half……………no matter what card life deals us, on any particular day, there will always be pleasure in the pathless woods. And it’s important to remember that and remember all those people that love us who are always sending a virtual squeeze.

The poem can mean anything you want it to. It’s an ode to solitude. It’s an ode to nature. It’s not saying you don’t love people…………I love people………but I perhaps love nature equally…….and animals too! But to me it’s saying that you don’t have to be a follower and do what everyone else is doing. There is pleasure in the ‘pathless’ woods, meaning those where you wander, plough your own path, do your own thing, travel the path that no-one else or very few do. Do what makes you happy!

So this weekend I’ve been playing out, in nature, off the path, because goodness did I need it after reading the news every day………..which I’m trying not to do because it upsets me! And I’ve found great pleasure……………………and also a huge amount of pain. 😆 But I am so very, very proud of me and I’ll explain why!

You may remember that for Christmas I got the very unwelcome present of a Eryri 25km race entry. 🤣 Well I hadn’t, and still haven’t, decided if I’m running it as I have a bit of imposter syndrome………………I think it’s way out of my league. So Mr Fitness has been going on and on for weeks and weeks, trying to find out if I’m doing it or whether he’s wasted his money!😆 We sort of reached an agreement when we saw yesterday’s weather forecast that we would drive to Wales and have a little recce.

Now this race is 16.5 miles (26 and a bit km) long. It does not sound a lot, but it goes to the summit of the highest mountain in Wales and England…………………Snowdon (or Yr Wddfa in Welsh). Snowdon is in Snowdonia (Eryri in Welsh) which translates roughly as ‘land of the eagles’. If you like your mountains it’s a stunningly beautiful area, but there’s no easy way up, even the easy way is not easy! The summit is miles and miles from the closest road. As a UK citizen, Wales also happens to be one of the very few places I can get into without having to wait for hours in an immigration queue post Brexit. 😂 But don’t get me started on that one!

So the challenge of this race is to run all the way to the summit of mount Snowdon from the bottom, up the easy path that’s not easy! It’s well over 1,000 metres high. You then have to run all the way down the Rhyd Ddu path, which is nothing short of a rocky ridge without much of a path. You end up on the opposite side of the mountain to which you began and then have to run up and down all around the bottom of the mountain, through bogs and disused slate mines, through a mountain pass, all the way back to Llanberis where you started.

I didn’t really want to go……………….but I was persuaded that it would be an excellent idea. Mr F said it would give me chance to check my pack, poles, clothing, equipment, nutrition……………………it was a much longer list than that but I switched off half way through the list. 😆

I’ll tell you a little bit about how it went but this post is really just to share some photographs of beautiful Snowdon (Yr Wddfa), in case you’ve never walked up it…………………just to prove there is pleasure in the pathless woods in this world of doom and gloom.

It’s only 2.5 hours from home, but wanting to make an early start and be on the mountain for 9 am we went down the night before and stayed in an annexe of a Welsh stone cottage. It was cheap and cheerful. It was a bit like a Youth Hostel but a lot nicer………….three rooms (two of which were occupied) sharing a bathroom, kitchen and living space with an help yourself breakfast. We were only there to sleep and have breakfast so it was fine, I’d use it again.

Mr F had already pre-warned me that he would be doing lots of ‘coaching’! ………….And we all know how I love being coached. 😂I promised to listen, not have a tantrum, but we agreed that he had to listen to me too! Now, I know I moan about him and his coaching, but I would not be the runner I am without his coaching! He has lots and lots of experience and knows an awful lot, so as much as I can be a madam……….I am also very grateful, once my tantrum has passed!😂

So after the first argument, which was about whether I needed to carry a lipstick for 16.5 miles in my pack (I lost the argument)………….we set off minus the lipstick. We also had a little argument about what we were doing. Mr F said half the route was enough for me, and then he’d run on, get the car and come and collect me. However, I naively declared I was running the full 25k route! 😆 My argument was this would possibly be my only recce so I wanted to see it all, in order to decide whether it was doable. He reluctantly agreed but told me I must say if I changed my mind as he did not think it was doable for me at this stage in my training.

It was a glorious route. The so called ‘easy’ Llanberis path up the mountain was made not so easy by the presence of a cap of snow and ice on the mountain, not so bad that the crampons had to come out, but bad enough to make me a little uneasy, and over cautious, on the edges.

It was a bright blue sky day and the navigation, which he was leaving up to me as I’ll be unassisted in May, was relatively easy. I power walked the steep bits and ran the sections that I could run extremely slowly. He did keep interjecting on my posture, reminding me when to eat, telling me to slow down, reminding me when I might need my windproof jacket……………………..but all in all I think I was a really well behaved student! 😆 We reached the top in just short of 2 hours which I felt really pleased with.

We crested the summit and started our descent which is when the fun began a little bit for me. There is no clear path as such in some places on the Rhyd Ddu descent. There is lots of loose slate, quite a bit of rocky scrambling, a ridge with a steep drop off and lots of things that really I’m not too keen on. I tried to just focus on putting one foot in front of the other, not look down and tried my best not to trip, fall down or stumble. There were lots of shouts of encouragement from walkers, and although my quads were starting to burn I was still feeling positive.

The bottom of the Rhyd Ddu path was reached after a total of just less than 3.5 hours of running.

The next bit was really tricky from a motivation point of view. There are still 7 miles to go at this point but you are very, very tired after having run up and down the highest mountain in England and Wales. The final section of the race is very up and down with another 400m of climb to the end. In order to get to the mountain pass where the descent into Llanberis starts you have pathless fields of bog and disused slate mines………………….it is really energy sapping and is really hard to keep going. Mr F can sense when I’m loosing my motivation and he was trying to say all the right things but I was starting to get tetchy.

We reached the mountain pass and started the descent which is a 3.5 mile slate track, off the mountain, and into the town. The final 300 metres of descent before the main road is so steep, and my legs, hips and back were screaming at me. About half a mile from the end I could feel the tears welling up inside me, I just wanted it to be over. I held it all together and just kept trotting it out until we reached the start point when surprise, surprise..I cried like a baby. Mr F, full of surprise, could not quite work out what was wrong with me and I don’t really know myself. I think it was relief I’d done it, pain, adrenaline…………….the whole lot………it just hit me like a wall. So I sat on a wall and had a good cry and then I heard him utter the word ice cream.

Now just like a small child, bawling it’s eyes out………..somehow, at 54 years old the word ‘ice-cream’ can still solve most of my upsets!😂 So I had my ice cream and off we went to the café for my de-brief. This is the bit I hate …………………… he’s obsessed with stats! I sit there not taking it seriously and he is peering at his phone reeling off all my data and what I need to work on.

Anyway, the summary is I need to work on my descending, particularly my posture. Apparently my ascending is fine but I lose time on over cautious descents. He did actually point out that on the way up, which was very busy with runners and walkers, not one person passed me.

I”ve got a bit of imposter syndrome because this is a UTMB race with a cut off at the bottom of Snowdon, and again at the race finish. It’s 3.5 hours to the bottom of Snowdon and 5.5 hours to the end. It does not matter whether you are 18 or 54, male or female, world famous or the girl from Yorkshire who plays at running…………..the cut off is the same. All I wanted to know is how far out I was and how much work I need to do if I decide to go for it.

Beaming widely, for the first time ever, Mr F said “You did amazing……………be proud of yourself!” Now he might just be saying that so as not to waste his £100 race entry fee and use it as a psychological lever to get me to press on and turn up on the day. The conditions were perfect, and there is always the possibility they may not be in May………………poor visibility or a wet surface would make it a lot harder. However, I managed to finish, still running, 5 hours and 20 minutes later and was just 10 minutes inside what would have been the cut off at the bottom of Snowdon. I was consistently slow. 😂But I was consistent and just inside the cut off with 2 months of training to go.

So I’m feeling quite proud of me and wondering whether I should just go for it. I won’t do another road marathon again………….I don’t like road running, I don’t like racing, and I know I can do one………..so there’s not really a challenge. But there is something quite motivational for me in entering something that I know I might not be able to finish within a tight cutoff………….my first DNF! How far do you know you can go if you don’t push yourself to the limit?!

So there you are…………….Mount Snowdon…………………and a few pictures of me trotting around it courtesy of Mr F. The downside was everyone had to get their own dinner ready! I got home, had a shower and just thought I’d have a little lie down and a ‘Nana nap’, on a towel, with my wet hair, on my bed. My ‘Nana nap’ lasted 14 hours until 9am this morning and after discovering me one hour into it they very kindly let me be! And today Snowdon would not be an option……….the house stairs are enough of a challenge!😆

So, do I, don’t I? That’s the question! I think quite possibly I do……. I’m 60% yes, 40% no. Who knows! Anyway, enjoy the Snowdon pictures and just remember there is pleasure in the pathless woods even when the world is falling apart.

What an absolutely amazing city!

This was an amazing little trip away from home with my new bobble hat! Yes, Copenhagen in winter is so cold I thought I could quite possibly need a new bobble hat. 😆 So I welcomed the ‘Hat Mandu’ into my bobble hat family. This little beauty has been hand knitted in Nepal with 100% of the profits going back to the community there…………..that, I thought, gave me enough of an excuse and justification for its purchase!

I had a lovely little few days at home before I departed, and these had adventures too! Most unusually, I’ve been to the cinema a few times recently, and I have some good films to recommend……………..all different, but all good. I don’t really like going to the big commercial cinemas. I find it hard to sit still through a film as it is. In the UK we have small, locally owned, picture houses too, and I like to support those. They are really cute, art deco, historic buildings, usually with one of those big old fashioned red velvet curtains framing the screen. At my local one, ‘The Paramount’, we usually have a mid film interval where the curtain comes across, the film pauses for 20 minutes and the bar opens! 😍 So what did I see?

First up was ‘A Complete Unknown’ – the Bob Dylan story. I loved it! Possibly because I love music and I like Bob Dylan. I actually saw him live around 25 years ago with Van Morrison. It was great to see them live and Bob Dylan’s voice was unmistakable.

Next up ‘Vermiglio’ an Italian film nominated for best Oscar in the Best International Feature category. I went with a friend as a bit of homework for my Italian class, but don’t be put off by the fact it’s in Italian, there are English subtitles and the Ladin and Sicilian dialect is so strong even I had to have the odd look at them. The cinematography in this one is fantastic as it is set in the Italian Alps, in a small village during the war. It’s a film about the culture, the ripple effects of war, a love story, resilience and the struggle for a woman to find her place in such a patriarchal society. I saw this one at the lovely ‘Hyde Park Picture House’ in Leeds.

My final visit was to the Wetherby Cinema to see ‘Maria’. I almost did not go to this one as I had to go on my own but I was so glad I did. It was a midweek film in the school holidays and it was the story of Maria Callas, the opera singer. I’ve always sung since being small but none of my closest friends do and aren’t really into opera. Wetherby Cinema only seats 24 people on double seat sofas or armchairs. It was almost sold out, but they had one armchair on the front row, so I had to take that. There was a seat on a double seat sofa on the back row but I didn’t feel like snuggling up on a two seat sofa on the back row of the cinema with some random person I’d never met before. 😂 Now this film you will either love or hate, the reviews are split and there’s no in-between, it depends whether you like opera and a true love story. It is however a long time since I have sobbed uncontrollably through a film for the entire second half and still been upset when I got home. I think the last time was ‘Watership Down’ when the rabbits got run over on the railway line it’s that long ago.😆 I found it tragic and heart wrenching, but I loved it all the same. I’d read Maria’s story before, so knew of her love affair with Aristotle Onassis but Angelina Jolie’s portrayal of her was excellent and the finite details of their relationship, throughout his marriage to Jackie Kennedy Onasis (who he said he married just because ‘he had a free day’), until his death was so sad.

I’ve also had a couple of races. The most important one being Hoppits Hill race, a fell race. I loved this one, there’s nothing I like better than running through mud and cow shit on a Sunday morning.😂 I was all smiles at the start as I did not know what was to come, but the clue was sort of in the title. However, it was not quite true……………I thought that there was one hill as per the singular ‘Hill’ in the title, that’s why I’m still smiling at the top of it………..however, by the end of the third hill I was not smiling! I have suggested they amend the title to Hoppits Hills next year to avoid false advertising.🤭However, my efforts were rewarded with a bottle of wine for an age group placing and the race secured my spot as the running club Female Fell Running Champion for the second year running.

I’m bowing out now of the multi-discipline running though. The fast road running takes its toll on the joints and I don’t really enjoy it. I’m going to turn my attention to slower, longer, fell and trail running only this year…………………lots of mountains and maybe my first ultra, we’ll see. I want to be in the open, in the mountains, go slower and enjoy it.

So, onto Copenhagen, silver boots, orange rucksack……………..Copenhagen here I come! I wanted to choose a city off my bucket list which probably would not appeal to the rest of the family as I was going on my own……………and Copenhagen won. The boys and their Dad went to Italy skiing for a week while I was working. They did offer to go in my holidays and wanted me to go but the thing is, I am the Bridget Jones of skiing (if you’ve watched ‘Bridget Jones – The Edge of Reason’ you’ll know what I mean). 🤣 I’m full of enthusiasm and bravado and in my mind I’m world downhill and slalom champion all rolled into one! The reality is I’m a danger to everyone else and a liability to myself. I told them they’d have much more fun without having to wait for and rescue me all the time. I last went 6 years ago, and I only made it three days into the trip when I sprained my MCL and had to sit the remaining 4 days out in a cafe (which I obviously did not find difficult 😆), and I walked with a limp for 10 whole weeks. I am definitely safer at home, although they were lacking in the entertainment department with my absence apparently!

I almost did not make it to Copenhagen after having to rush my mini me to hospital, 10 hours before my flight, with tonsilitis (AGAIN!!!!!). This happens often when he burns the candle at both ends, parties like there is no tomorrow, no doubt kisses half the girls in the nightclub and does the things that we did when we were 21! Peter Pan is showing no signs of growing up…………he just never seems to learn and the pattern keeps repeating itself. Anyway, 4 IV drips and 6 hours later we were back home, he looked so much better, and he convinced me I should still go, so the care was handed over to Dad, and mini me promised he was going to behave for 4 whole days (which I’m sure was a challenge for him).

I made my train to the airport but I was so tired after my lost night’s sleep I actually tried to check in and get through security in the wrong terminal at Manchester! 😂Anyway I eventually made it to Copenhagen late in the afternoon and promptly went to bed. I thought, “Exploring can start tomorrow, I just need to rest and catch up on sleep!”

So why Copenhagen? Well……………Denmark is consistently voted ‘Happiest Country in Europe’, and Copenhagen the happiest city. I wanted to go somewhere ‘happy’ and see what it was all about. I thought, “How can one of the coldest and most expensive places in Europe be so happy, I hate being cold?” Well, it’s all down to ‘Hygge’. I’ve often heard the word ‘Hygge’ and thought “What is that?” Well, basically you wrap yourself up warm, in a blanket, grab a cosy hot drink, a book, your knitting or whatever, be present in the moment, and EAT CAKE! That’s it…………………that’s Hygge! That’s why they are so happy. It’s a mindset. They eat cake all day and sit around all snuggled up and read books. So I tried it………..and it works…………especially the cake part………….it makes you really happy and I was very good at it 😂. I am definitely going to continue to practice it now I am back at home.

No, seriously, Copenhagen has so much to offer in addition to Hygge. It has a great culture, amazing museums, pretty buildings, gorgeous parks, fabulous restaurants, bustling bars, fantastic shopping and a beautiful waterfront. The whole culture is based on: life in the slow lane; being at one with oneself and nature; the environment and being in harmony with it; sustainability; the community and belonging. And the art and design scene is just amazing here. I felt so safe here too………………..it’s the nature loving, art loving, cake loving, introverts paradise! So here goes………

If you are in the UK it’s a quick 1 hour 40 minute flight away, and another 30 minutes by train sees you right in the centre of the city. I bought a ‘Discover’ card for 4 days. It included entrance to as many museums as I wanted, all my transport including airport transfers, and a boat trip. I more than broke even but work out what you want to do first and see if it works for you.

It’s so easy to get around the city by metro, which is included in the pass, and the M3 line which circles the city, being opened only in 2019, means it is one of the cleanest, newest and most efficient metro systems in the world. It operates 24 hours a day and is a driverless system. You can even sit at the front and pretend to drive yourself with the little steering wheel sticker panel they’ve stuck there for children (I did not have a go 🤭). I didn’t use the metro an awful lot as I prefer to walk, and it’s a very walkable city with minimal traffic as 60% of the population commute by bike.

I stayed in an Airbnb apartment in a really cool urban area just outside the city called Vesterbro. It is one of the 10 areas of Copenhagen. At one time it was the red light district where the meat processing factories were located. It’s now been redeveloped and is a popular place for younger people and young families to live. It’s full of good independent shops, nice cafes, buzzing bars and some great restaurants, in addition to it’s fair share of green space and cool street art. All the housing is located in gorgeous old style apartment blocks. It’s a good area to stay if you want to sample the culture of the place as there aren’t many hotels or tourists, they tend to be in the area in the centre. Vesterbro is a 15 minute walk out of the centre, or 5 minutes on the metro.

The apartment was gorgeous…………….it was Hygge with a capital ‘H’. Probably because it was owned by Mette, a lovely lady a similar age to me who is from Copenhagen. She might just have had a midlife crisis like me as she has upped sticks and gone travelling and working in South America for a while, so she is letting her home out while she is away. I’ve never met the lady in person but staying in her home I think we would have got on great as it looks like we have a huge number of things in common. She’d left a little note to say make yourself at home and feel free to use anything you come across.

I felt immediately at home. It had a separate yoga space all equipped for my morning yoga and a lovely large kitchen with some fabulous cooking and baking books. The living room was gorgeous with comfy sofas, calming colours, lots of plants and lots of soft lighting and sheepskin rugs. There was a gorgeous box of blankets to wrap yourself up in and get cosy and I noticed she had a wool and craft bag at the side of the sofa. There was an amazing collection of art and travel books and she had left all her vintage dresses and shoes on display. It was like a museum to all things ‘Hygge’. She had such amazing taste in all things design related and it was a little space I could not wait to get back to and snuggle up in at night. The kitchen was so good I actually really enjoyed shopping in the market and cooking for myself on a couple of the evenings. I was so glad I’d chosen it over a hotel. I met a few of the other neighbours on the stairs and it felt like such a lovely community. They also had a lovely little roof space and a shared garden with children’s toys and BBQs and I would imagine in summer it’s buzzing with life and conviviality.

I had a lovely sleep in my very comfy bed and woke up on day one ready to explore. Light flooded into the apartment and I did my bit of yoga, had my morning coffee and wrapped myself in around 10 layers (including the ‘Hat Mandu’) to head off to the waterfront. It was very atmospheric. There was a faded pink light as the sun started to rise and light up the snow on the ground in the parks. I could not help but notice there were bikes everywhere and no-one locked their bike up. The streets were clean and uncluttered and it felt so calm and quiet compared to other capital cities I have visited. I was however, extremely cold, around minus 5, which I think immediately justified my bobble hat purchase!😆

I passed some fancy waterfront sculptures, old reclaimed warehouses turned into fancy restaurants, large boats, and eventually reached Nyhavn, which is probably the most photographed place in Copenhagen. Copenhagen is crisscrossed by canals and Nyhavn sits on the side of one of these. It has rows of 17th century, brightly coloured houses, bars, cafes and restaurants (which apparently are very expensive and of questionable quality) so I did not stop here for a drink. But you have to come for a look and a photograph as it’s really pretty. I met two lovely girls from Chicago here who were studying for a year in Florence Italy and were on their semester break travelling to Copenhagen and Amsterdam, so we did the usual taking of each other’s photos. They said that when they are 53 they hope they are still brave enough to explore on their own, and I said I wish I’d studied in Florence for a year when I was 20…………..so both inspirational to each other in different ways. They shared some stories of their travels and it sounded like they were having a fantastic time.

I headed along the waterfront, passing through an interesting sculpture which was also a walkway. Called ‘The Wave’ it was an immersive experience with laser lights moving around like waves and underwater sounds coming at you from all directions. It was really quite good. Then you pass a large replica of Michelangelo’s ‘David’ and some old mechanical cranes which looked quite atmospheric in the mist. Past At Albans Anglican church and the statue of Marie, Princess of Denmark, until I came to the statue which I was looking for which attracts quite an audience.

The statue is that of the Little Mermaid. It is based on the story of the same name which was written by Denmark’s most famous literary fairy-tale author Hans Christian Andersen. I was brought up with a compendium of Hans Christian Andersen fairy-tales and it is one of the earliest birthday presents I remember being given………………….the Little Mermaid, the Princess and the Pea, Thumbelina, The Snow Queen, The Emperor’s New Clothes……………they were all in there, so I was eager to see this statue. Lots of people state being underwhelmed by the statue because of its size……………..but I loved it. Yes, it’s not large but it’s to scale. It is of human size and proportion and with the mist on the water and the sun rising behind it I thought it was perfect.

So, what else is Denmark and Copenhagen famous for?………………………CAKE!!! Danish pastries to be precise and I’d already made it a priority in my pre-trip research to find the top 3 bakeries …………….. and guess what…………..one was close by, I’d walked a long way, and it was cake o’clock. The bakery in question was ‘Juno the Bakery’, supposedly Copenhagen’s finest, so I thought I’d better find out if that was true. It’s so well known it does not display a name on the outside, it does not need one, you’ll spot the queue. However in February the queue is not too long and it moves quite quickly.

The cakes looked amazing and there are so many to chose from. I could not decide between two so I bought both. 😂 I thought I’ll have one now and save one for later! I bought a Cardamom Bun, which Copenhagen is renowned for so you have to try one, and then I also bought a Blackcurrant Cream pastry, for no other reason than it looked nice and I have eyes bigger than my belly. 😆 The blackcurrant bun was devoured straight away (it was AMAZING!!!) and the Cardamom bun was taken away……………..well it lasted around 5 minutes in my bag before I could not resist the temptation and ate it as I walked. 🤭 A top tip though is that Juno don’t do coffee so if you want a coffee with your bun, nip to Prolog Coffee just around the corner, where they serve the most excellent take away coffee and take it with you to Juno as they have tables outside for you to enjoy your coffee and cake.

I then decided it was Palace time. Denmark have a Royal Family like we do in the UK, and there are various castles and palaces around the city. I chose to go to Amaliansborg Castle first of all. This is where handsome King Frederik X lives. He has only been King for a year, taking over from his mother Margrethe II who abdicated last year, after being Queen of Denmark for 52 years. So this is like the Buckingham Palace of Denmark as it is the official residence of the King.

I decided to walk there and on the way I got distracted by rows and rows of uniform, very old ochre coloured houses. These are apparently part of the Nyboder housing scheme, completed in 1758. Copenhagen was the main port of Denmark in the 16th and 17th century and also home of the Danish Navy. There are 600 houses in total dating back to this time They are still lived in now, and they were built by the state to house Navy personnel during the 18th century.

Just before Amaliansborg Castle you also stumble across Frederiks Church (also know as the Marble Church). It has a fancy green copper dome and despite its name it is not marble. It was inspired by, and its design based on St Peters Basilica in Rome. It’s very nice inside and worth a detour if you have time.

The Palace did not disappoint. I was expecting bling and I got it! First of all there’s a man on a horse outside and we all know how I love a man on a horse statue! 😆 It transpires that he is Frederik V.

Although the Palace itself is huge, the rooms that are open to the public only take around an hour to get around. You get to go in the State rooms, the very glitzy gala hall, and you see some fine pieces of jewellery, like the ‘Order of the Elephant’ which is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark’s highest-ranked honour. Like at Buckingham Palace there are the usual guards in little red pill boxes. I missed the changing of the guard, apparently it happens at midday but I guess if you are travelling with little ones this would be good to see.

The next place I visited I think was the highlight of my trip! The Danish Design Museum. OMG!! Go here!!! If you like design you will absolutely love it here as the Danish are the masters of design, particularly interior design. You thought a cup was just a cup didn’t you!? Well it’s not!! Someone has thought about the shape, the material, the texture, the feel, the look, the environmental impact and the function in order to design the perfect cup to enable your brew to infuse and taste the very best it can. Everything you touch and use has been designed and this colourful museum takes you through oodles of design history of simple everyday objects like the chair, cup, and the kitchen (the first kitchen was based on a scientific laboratory!).

Then there is a section on all things related to textile design and fashion design. This part of the museum is a fascinating exploration of design showcased in an explosion of colour and vibrancy……………AMAZING! Being into my interior textiles, sewing and making things I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED IT IN HERE!

I was only in my first day but I’d already fallen in love with the city. It’s a city that does not feel like a city. It’s not overwhelming, there is little traffic, clean air, smiley kind people and loads of green space. I’m not a fan of Paris or London, far too busy for me, but I could have lived in this City. Although 60% of the people commute by bike, no-one locks their bike! If you left your bike unlocked at home it would not be there for long!😆I walked past numerous schools in the City and they had no fences or gates, they were completely open to the public and when the break bell went all the children filed out and played in the park which was also open to the general public. At home a school is like a prison, we’ve gone mad on ‘Safeguarding’………….high metal fences, key codes and barriers to get in. If you want to take the kids out of school you have to do a risk assessment, a risk assessment of the risk assessment and another one after that to be on the safe side, if you get what I mean. The risk has been completely blown out of all proportion and the resulting actions are completely over the top…………………in my humble opinion all they do is project anxiety and fear onto children, resulting in half of them needing support with their mental health by the time they leave! It was so refreshing just to see children being allowed to be free and act and behave like children. They were half way up the trees in the park and all sorts, no risk assessment in sight! 🤭🤭

I’d then decided it was time to cross the river and go and have a look at Christianhavn which is its own little island. But on the way I got distracted by a chocolate shop! No surprises there then!😂 But not just any old chocolate shop………….that of Alida Marstrand. They’ve been handmaking chocolates here in this tiny basement since 1930. And they are so good at it they are the chocolate makers to King Frederik X. So I thought if they are good enough for him they will be good enough for my other half, so I bought a gorgeous little box of handmade chocolates for the one I’d left at home. It took me ages to choose which ones to put in the box……………………..and then of course I had 3 days left to go so I had to hide the prettily wrapped box in the apartment and try and forget I’d bought them……………….we all know what happened to the milkman’s Christmas chocolates!🤭They did in fact make it home and were confirmed as the best chocolates he’d ever had!

Anyway, I carried on over the river to Christianhavn and it’s here where I discovered ‘Freetown Christiana’, and I’d encourage you to take a look and not be put off by the descriptions or any preconceived ideas. It began as a newspaper prank in the 1970’s when a group of hippie revolutionists took over a piece of land that was an abandoned military camp over on Christianhavn. The Government allowed the squatters to stay as a social experiment…………….and they are still there! It is a self-contained commune which is self-governed and focused on tolerance, ecology and self sustainment. They do not have police or any intervention from the outside world. There are 700 adults and 150 children living in the commune. They live in all sorts of buildings, from falling down shacks, to shipping containers, and shelters that they’ve cobbled together from corrugated metal and wood. If you like graffiti and street art there is loads of it in here. Drugs are freely available here, it smells of cannabis everywhere and there seemed to be lots of men huddled around fires blazing in metal drums on the afternoon I had a wander around.

You are allowed to take photographs, but they ask you to try and not get people on them and you are advised not to take photographs on the main street where the drugs change hands, for obvious reasons they can get quite tetchy if you get your camera out here. You are also advised not to buy drugs here as although the police are not able to enter the area, they quite routinely search on the exit as drugs are illegal in the rest of Denmark. The residents earn a living through making and selling things in a multitude of craft shops and there are plenty of outlets in there selling street food, coffee and drinks. If you are a single female traveller it does feel a little intimidating and I made sure to stick close to other people so I did not look as though I was on my own and I got out just as it started to get dark. But no-one bothered or approached me and they really do welcome people to take a look at the social experiment which is their home. I am really glad I went inside for a little look.

On the way back over the river you pass ‘Our Saviours Church’. This one is really interesting as it has a 95 metre spiral tower, but the 398 head spinning steps are on the outside of the tower and you can go up them. They get so narrow at the top they virtually disappear. Did I go up…………………..NO!😂 But I read about it in the guidebook and took a photo from the ground.

Exhausted and having walked too far on my first day, I went to look for well needed dinner. I walked through the main town centre up Stroget street with all it’s posh shops………..Louis Vuitton, Prada, Illums Bolighus…………….past the high end shopping mall with all it’s colourful lanterns…………..looking for highly recommended Kristinedal Burgers, where a Bacon Cheeseburger was just what I needed!

By now it was cold, dark and I needed my bed, my hot chocolate, my book, thermal PJ’s and my fluffy Norwegian bedsocks I’d taken with me.😂 It was while I was reading that night and making plans for the next day that I discovered an article on the Danish birth rate and the worrying conclusion that the Government might have to intervene because at 1.5 children it is way lower than the European average of 2.3 children. Well, I’d been there one day and as an outsider looking in, I’d worked out a solution already……………turn the heating up! It is so cold here in winter…………….far too cold to take your clothes off! Daniel Craig could not have enticed me out of my thermal PJ’s and bedsocks without turning the heating up and it’s a physical impossibility to procreate wearing these. 🤭 I am not in the least bit surprised the birth rate is low! So it you come here in winter bring lots of layers, and if you are looking for romance………….come in summer!😂

Onto Day 2. First things first………..breakfast……..and bakery number 2. I had a little wander around the Vesterbro ‘Meatpacking District’ on the way.

These listed white buildings have been recently revitalised and the industrial area now has a trendy dining scene and a buzzing nightlife, alongside a few slaughterhouses which still operate from here.

Bakery number two was Hart bakery. Now in my opinion the Cardamom Bun here is slightly nicer than Juno’s, more well done, crispier and not as sweet. There are a number of Hart bakeries around the city but this one was in Carlsberg Byen. This is Copenhagen’s newest revitalised neighbourhood and very nice it is too.

Carlsberg Byen is all based around the original Copenhagen founded brewery of Carlsberg, founded by Carl Jacobsen in 1847. It’s a bit of old meets new……………..new apartment blocks built around the old brick buildings which showcase the wealth of the Jacobsen family, with numerous statues, follies and towers.

I left Hart full of Cardamom Bun and coffee to walk to the area of Norrebro, past the old Wulff Cigar Factory founded in 1868, another imposing building.

On the way I passed through Frederiksberg Park. It’s huge and it’s such a beautiful place! Acres and acres of woodland and park, water features, and also (if you have little ones) because it’s next to Copenhagen Zoo you get an excellent view over the elephant enclosure. Naturally, at minus 2 and with a blanket of snow there were no elephants outside today. But there were some lovely bright yellow winter aconites on display.

Through the other side of the park you eventually get to Norrebro, and this is another really lovely area of Copenhagen. It’s very cool and hip, with lots of street art and an excellent outdoor free climbing arch which my two would have loved when they were younger.

Norrebro is also home to Assistens Cemetery, which is what I’d come for. It’s a huge space but really lovely to wander around. It’s not just a cemetery. There were joggers in there, people pram pushing, it’s a cemetery that doubles up as a public park and it is here that is the final resting place of Hans Christian Andersen.

It had reached lunchtime and I’d been in Copenhagen for nearly 48 hours and not had 2 Danish staple food items……………Smorrebrod and pickled herring. I’d heard one of the best places to sample real proper Smorrebrod was a restaurant called Aamanns. Their main restaurant you have to book weeks in advance, but they have a couple of other locations in the city so I headed back to the one in Carlsberg Byen which has the same fabulous menu as the main one, focussing on Smorrebrod with fresh local ingredients. Smorrebrod, literally translates as butter bread. It’s an open faced sandwich of rye bread with various toppings. It can be hot or cold. They recommend 2 to 3 per person so I ordered one cold to start, and then followed with a hot one. My thinking was if I just had two I might have room for dessert!😆

The first one, the cold one, was delicious. It was marinated pickled herring, curry salad, egg, cornichons, spring onions and roasted buckwheat. I had a suspicion I might not like picked herring, but I wanted to try it. I was wrong………..I actually loved it…….it wasn’t too overpoweringly ‘fishy’, and all the flavours combined perfectly.

The hot one was fried mushrooms, apples, creme fraiche, marsarla wine, lemon zest and parsley. It was just as delicious as the first one and if you are vegetarian there are plenty of other Smorrebrod toppings that would be suitable. The Danish traditionally drink a local Schnapps style drink called Aquavit with their Smorrebrod but it was a little too early for that for me so I had a lovely elderflower, verbena and jasmine tea with soda which was really refreshing.

As suspected I just had room for dessert!😍 I managed to squeeze in a creamy chocolate mousse with some sort of syrupy dried fruit on top (a fig, prune or date…..I could not really tell) with a coconut macaroon wafer. It was divine.

By the time I’d finished lunch it was 3 in the afternoon so I thought I’d walk into the centre, past the markets, and whilst I was doing so, I suddenly remembered my ‘Discovery’ card included a free one hour canal boat tour. I checked the times of the sailings and there was one at 4 o’clock, giving my rather large lunch, time to settle. I walked slowly over to Nyhavn to board.

It’s definitely worth doing. It was beautiful touring the canals while the sun went down. It was however probably the coldest trip I’ve ever been on. 🥶It’s one thing walking around, but sitting still on a boat, with a slight breeze blowing off the sea and it becomes another level of cold entirely. The tour sails on the inner canals and the large outer port area of water. You can see some great architecture from the boat. There was a lovely view of the opera house and the guide was really informative telling us lots of information…………………..like the fact that in summer the Opera House roof, at 25 metres high, is used as a diving board for a diving competition into the water. It’s seriously high and being not too keen on hights and only having breast stroke and backstroke (with my head out of the water) in my repertoire it was a terrifying thought.😦

Then you sail through the ‘Glaecier’ swimming area with it’s glass fronted saunas with all the bathers in them. I have to say there weren’t a great number of them in the water, but plenty in the sauna, and given that it was crusted in ice, which you had to chip off before getting, in I’m hardly surprised!

There were lots of pretty houseboats on the canal and some impressive new building projects………like the redevelopment of the papermills into some gorgeous apartments, designed to try and address the shortage of housing in the city. The canal tour was the ending to another really lovely day.

Day 3 was the final full day of sightseeing. Bad news……………….it was raining, damp and foggy. Good news was however that that meant it was a positive figure on the temperature front…………..a lovely +2 degrees. 😆 Your face no longer stung when you went outside. First things first…………….Cardamom Bun and coffee of course, and a revisit to Harts bakery as I had discovered there was one a few doors down the street from the apartment. It was alongside a lovely little knitting shop, which had balls and balls of gorgeous wool and patterns……………..but seeing as I’m still on with the ‘pandemic fair isle jumper’ which I started in 2019 I thought I better not! I loved this shop though, because whenever you walked past it, it was full of people, male and female, young and old, all sat in a circle knitting, chatting and drinking coffee.

Then it was onwards to the site of possibly Denmark’s greatest design innovation………the one that the world could not do without……………the Lego Shop! Yes, having two boys I have let out many a cry and painful howl after stepping on a piece of Lego discarded on the floor. So present number 2 was bought (yes, they still like Lego even now)! My eldest son is now the proud owner of a brand new Formula 1 MacLaren. Probably not in the format he would have liked but I can’t afford the real version as I’ve spent all my money on cakes!

Stopping point number two was to the Copenhagen City Hall to see a very important innovation for all mathematicians and physicists. It’s free to wander in and have a look at it and it’s not all that popular……………I was alone in here but it’s quite fascinating so take a peak as it only takes 5 minutes and it’s right in the entrance. It is Jens Olsen’s world clock. It has so many gears and cogs and tells you the date and time in every part of the world. It’s in a fully glass cabinet and looks impressive from the front, but the back of the clock is on another level.

The clock shows the changing positions of the planets, true solar time, Sidereal time and the date and time in every time zone of the world. Olsen completed all his mathematical calculations for the clock in 1924 but unfortunately died in 1945 before its build commenced. His grand daughter and the King at the time secured the funding for its build and made his plan a reality.

Next site to visit was the ‘Round Tower’. This is Europe’s oldest functioning observatory. From the top of it you get a 360 degree view of the city. The spiral staircase winds up 7.5 times around its hollow core. As you can imagine this was rather a challenge for me! But I wanted to go to the top and have a look. I was helped by the fact that half way up there is an exhibition space which currently has the most fantastic display of photographs of the galaxies and solar system up there. This took my mind off the challenge ahead.

It’s quite a wide spiral you walk up but then at the top there is a small spiral, enclosed staircase that operates on a traffic light system. This was the worst bit for me but I shot up like a rat up a drainpipe when it turned to green as I was determined to have a little peep. There are a few photos of the murky view just to prove I made it………….and then I shot back down again on the green light…………mission accomplished.

The remainder of the day was going to be a palace and history day…………I’d saved them for today as I knew it was going to rain. The day’s first castle was ‘Rosenborg Slot’ and gardens. It’s on the north side of the city, is walkable, and looks a bit like a Disney castle with a moat around it. It is set in the most lovely green space. It was built in 1607 as a summerhouse for Christian IV and it’s still one of the Royal Family’s Copenhagen properties now. So whilst most of us might have a summer house that resembles a shed in the garden, Christian IV had a spare palace with lots of statues.

It’s got lots of bling and collectables inside including the ‘Treasury’ which houses the Danish Crown Jewels which you can have a look at.

It was lunchtime after my castle visit so I entertained myself in nearby Torvehallerne food market for an hour. I love a food and produce market. They are so colourful and the smells are gorgeous. There were fruits, plants, vegetables and flowers outside. Inside there was so much food………….meat, fish, cheeses…………….and it’s one of those fantastic markets where you can eat there at various market stalls for a really reasonable price.

I had my lunch a Boutique Fisk, a fish stall, which simply serves their famous Copenhagen fishcake with shrimp salad, pickled red onions and taramasalata. With a Danish orange soda it was a lovely tasty budget lunch.

Copenhagen is extremely expensive compared to many other parts of the world but it is possible to see it on a budget. It is as expensive as you want it to be. If you want to eat at the top end restaurants, like world renowned ‘Noma’, you’ll need to book months ahead and you will no doubt pay a lot of money. But you can get some excellent, fresh, good value, local food at these markets.

The final palace of the day was ‘Christiansborg Slot’. I donned my extremely fetching mandatory footwear so as not to dirty King Frederik’s carpet!😂 This one is another Royal palace but it also houses the Danish Parliament, Prime Minister’s office, Supreme Court, the official State Rooms and the royal balcony!

This one had some serious bling………………..chandeliers, thrones, colourful tapestries only 25 years old which line the State Rooms and tell the history of Denmark and Europe over the past 1,000 years. I could have stood and picked out the detail on the tapestries for hours they were so interesting. They even included the Beatles!

There was just time for a little retail therapy before heading back to the apartment to pack. Illums Bolighus is a department store and a homage to Danish design, Fashion, furniture and more! I enjoyed it here as much as the palace!🤣 I might have bought a few little tasteful reminders of my fantastic escape to Copenhagen, but flying Ryanair they had to be reasonably small. I did however manage to squeeze a full set of single bedding into my rucksack much to the amazement of everyone at home (where there’s a will there’s a way!)

After a relaxing evening I was up early the following morning to make my way back to the airport. However, I have one last discovery to tell you about. I was sort of disappointed I hadn’t found it earlier. I needed breakfast and was walking to Central Station when I saw a sign that said, ‘Sort Kaffe & Vinyl’. Having an hour to spare before my train I thought, “Oh that looks like they sell coffee and vinyl records, I’ll go take a look.” I’m a bit old fashioned…………….yes I have Spotify…………but I love music and I still have my old turntable and a huge Vinyl record collection.

When I was younger my Grandma and Grandad used to give me a little bit of pocket money each week and I used to save it up and spend it all every couple of months in one of two shops in town at the time, ‘EGS Records’ and ‘Casa Disco’. Both of them were retailers of Vinyl records and I still have my collection now. So off I disappeared, following the sign. If you like a morning coffee and you like music then go here……………………..and the bonus is there are breakfast pastries too!

So I spent my whole hour there with a lovely coffee, a cinnamon swirl, rifling through the records whilst listening to the various artists they were playing. They played some older stuff and some newer stuff: The Doors; The Killers; Prince……………….one classic tune after another. I could have stayed in there for ages and so wish I’d discovered it earlier in the week.

So would I recommend Copenhagen……………………………..YES!!!!! We all know I’m not really a city girl – I love to visit and then leave to hide back in the countryside. This is one of a small number of capital cities that I can’t wait to return to……………….you can actually be an introvert and fit in here………..it’s so calm. It’s quiet, has minimal traffic, great food, loads of history and culture, an emphasis on nature and sustainability, lots of green space, a slow pace, smiley happy people and a focus on community, kindness and friendship……………………………… you can feel the love………it’s like a great big hug of a City!

Oh……………….and the Cardamom Buns………………………….don’t forget the Cardamom Buns………..reason alone to spend some time here!❤️❤️

Another lovely weekend ! A couple of weekends ago, but all on my own due to family having other commitments I thought, “What have I to do this weekend?” I had the opportunity to have a completely selfish weekend and some very important ‘me’ time.

It might be my inner introvert, or my age, but I’m easily pleased in terms of ‘me’ time. Friday night (the night before my little Whitby adventure) was gorgeous. End of the working week, I arrived home, put my PJs on, and sat in my own house, in peace and quiet, background music on, latest book in hand, munching on chocolate covered peanuts and raisins with a cup of Yorkshire tea in hand……….enjoying the solitude. No “Mum can you this”, “Mum can you that”.” Just reading, snacking and planning my little weekend of adventure. Bliss!

And sometimes you don’t have to go too far for an adventure! You can spend that much time travelling here, there and everywhere that you fail to see the beauty on your doorstep. Well, not exactly on my doorstep but in beautiful Yorkshire! I decided to go on a seaside adventure to the Yorkshire coast for two days……….to the town of Whitby to be precise. I hadn’t visited Whitby since the boys were small and I’d forgotten how beautiful it was. It has it all…………….history, gorgeous views, pretty cobblestone streets, culture, good food, bustling harbour…………………it’s a beautiful little seaside town and a must visit on any trip to Yorkshire. I’ll tell you all about it, and then decide for yourself.

I set off very early in Calvin the Corsa, just as the sun was rising, because I wanted to get to Whitby before 10am to enjoy the day, as I knew there was lots I wanted to see.

Whitby is positioned on the east coast of England, in Yorkshire, towards the north of the country. It is a town of two halves, split right down the middle by the river Esk and its estuary. On a sunny winter’s day it is picture postcard gorgeous.

Until this day I had not realised what an important town it had been, and still is, in terms of seafaring, or just how much history there was to the town. As I said, the last time I came was with the boys when they were little, and when you come with children to the seaside it’s a completely different trip. All the history and culture of the place I’d completely overlooked before. On the last trip my youngest was around 4 years old and the oldest was 6. The youngest always was (and still is) a bit of a loose cannon as we say…………….”a bull in a china shop” as my Grandma would have said. 😆

He was more mischievous in a nice way than a naughty, horrible way. He was like a missile, travelling at the speed of light and leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. He has absolutely no fear, and memories of the last trip to Whitby include clutching his coat hood to stop him launching himself into the harbour, running after him down the beach as he charged headlong into the icy cold North Sea, and keeping him away from the seagulls as he tried to terrorise them without realising they’d probably counter attack! 🤣 He was always very well behaved in restaurants, I could take him anywhere, but get him in the great outdoors and he turned feral……………you needed eyes in the back of your head. You did not get chance to look at anything for yourself, or take in any of the history. Your entire time was spent protecting him from catastrophe ……………… and give him candy floss, seaside rock or anything with sugar and additives in and you were in for a thoroughly anxiety inducing day trip!😆 So this time around I thought I’d have a look at the ‘real’ Whitby that I didn’t get chance to see before, and I was quite amazed.

I parked up on the West Cliff and decided to walk into town along the promenade. The first thing I saw took me back to memories of childhood seaside holidays when I was little. Most English seaside towns that were popular in Victorian times (I’m not that old) such as Brighton, Blackpool, Margate, Eastbourne, Bournemouth, Scarborough and Whitby, had Victorian beach shelters on the promenade where the Victorians, with all their respiratory ailments from life in the industrial cities, used to come and convalesce and ‘take the air’. This simply involved walking up and down the promenade with the occasional rest in one of these shelters. They are adorned with the most beautiful wrought ironwork and under their sheltered roof they have wooden benches and windbreaks………..so you sit on whichever one is protected from the wind and admire the view. They are a really pretty relic from the Victorian age and it was so lovely to see one so well looked after.

All along the West Cliff promenade there are a number of wire sculptures installed, with an information plaque for each one. My little spongelike brain learnt so much that I did not know before by looking at these. The first one is of a man with a telescope looking out to sea. It transpires he is William Scoresby Senior. He was from Whitby and was an arctic explorer, whaler and inventor of the ‘Crows Nest’ which is the thing that he’s stood in that was mounted on the mast of ships as a lookout point. He was the inspiration for the character Lee Scoresby in Phillip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy, only Whitby’s Scoresby was a real life arctic explorer and hero. How cool!

The next sculpture I liked lots……………………….this one is Skipper Dora! Could she have been the inspiration for Dora the Explorer? Who knows! I have a little bit of ‘Dora the Explorer’ in me so I could resonate with this one. Born in 1890, Dora Walker of Whitby was the first female fishing boat skipper! She was a remarkable, trailblazer of a woman. She had bronchial problems and was told to ‘take the air’. Not happy to sit in a beach shelter on the promenade Dora had built her own small fishing boat the ‘Good Faith’ and spent her days exploring in her fishing boat. What a lady!

Carry on walking on the West Cliff and the most glorious view opens up in front of you. From high up above you get a lovely view over the red roofs of the quaint fishing town of Whitby, over the harbour, and all the way up the Esk estuary. Over on the East Cliff stands the ruin of medieval Whitby Abbey, which I’ll come to in a minute. Before you cross the estuary there are a few more things to see on the West Cliff. First of all a statue and a sign post to some far flung places all over the world. The statue is of Captain James Cook, who is from a small village close to Whitby. He was an extremely courageous and well known British explorer and cartographer. He was famous for 3 of his voyages which took place between 1768 and 1779. He made the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia, the Hawaiian islands and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.

Just a little further along you come to the ‘Whalebone Arch’………which is just that! Two 20 foot high, real whale jawbones, in an arch formation. It was here that I met a lovely couple all the way from Brisbane, Australia, who were kind enough to take my photo for me and vice versa. They were on a tour of the UK and had been told not to miss Yorkshire and Whitby. The first whalebones were positioned here in 1853 and frame the view of the town and abbey. In the 18th and 19th century Whitby was the main centre for the British whaling and fishing industry. Dozens of whaling boats set sail from here on a regular basis to hunt in the arctic waters off Greenland, with many crew members being lost . Whaling brought great wealth but also great danger. When crews returned from a successful hunt they would tie a whalebone atop the mast to signal that it was a successful trip with no loss of crew. The whalebone arch was put here to recognise that tradition. The original set of whale bones was replaced in 1963 with a new set gifted to the UK by Norway. By the 1990’s these too had started to crumble, and in 2003 the current pair of whalebones were erected. These are the jawbones from a Bowhead whale which was legally killed and gifted to the whaling town of Whitby by the Alaskan Inuit community, who the town have close links with.

I was still on the West Cliff, I hadn’t even got to the lighthouse, and I’d learnt so much already. I was really enjoying my blue sky winter day at the Yorkshire seaside. Down on the harbourside there are some more wire sculptures depicting the contribution of women to the fishing industry. Their roles mainly involved sorting and preparing the fish once it had been landed, and the repairing of nets.

At the end of the harbour wall is Whitby’s still very operational lighthouse…………….it’s huge when you stand at the bottom. From the lighthouse you can walk right out to the far side of the harbour on a raised pier of wooden boards to two smaller automated lighthouses, one red, one green, on each side of the harbour entrance. They help to guide the ships in safely in poor visibility. I walked along for a little while and it made me a little disorientated. The pier is quite high above the sea and there are big gaps in the boards and the whole thing moves a little in the wind. When you look down you can see the white foam of the tops of the crashing waves swirling below you, and by the time I got back on solid ground I had ‘sea legs’ somewhat, when you are perfectly still but feel like you are still swaying with the waves.

It was time to have a look around the harbour, and there is so much to see here too. It’s both the best and worst part of Whitby. It’s very busy, lined by tacky souvenir shops, candy stalls, rock shops, slot machines and amusement arcades, like a lot of UK seaside towns are. If that’s what you like, then this is the area of Whitby to be. However, if you turn your back to the rows of amusements, you are in front of one of the most beautiful harbours in the UK. It is very much a working fishing harbour. Whitby is the home to one of the UK’s three fish processing companies. Millions of tonnes of cod, haddock, whiting, scallops, crabs, and lobster are landed at Whitby each year, in addition to smaller numbers of mackerel, pollock and seabass.

It’s such a colourful harbour……….. little red, yellow, and blue fishing boats bobbing about on the water. Lobster pots and fishing nets piled high on the harbour side. And it just has that lovely ‘sound’ of a working harbour……..chugging boats, gulls, church bells in the distance, and the smell of boat diesel drifting in the air.

At the side of the harbour is a memorial to all the fishermen and whalers lost at sea, which seems to also be a perch for some of Whitby’s most famous residents………….the seagulls. The Whitby seagulls have to be the most ferocious sub species of gull known to man. 😂 They are huge! They attack without warning and there are signs to warn you about this. It comes from people feeding them, so they now have no fear and believe anything you are eating is theirs by entitlement too. I challenge you to eat fish and chips outside and not be dive bombed, clawed, and have your lunch ripped from your hands before you’ve got it into your mouth. This is why I kept a tight hold of the youngest on the last visit……………..his game of chase the seagull was not going to end well……………..a four year old would be no match for a ferocious Whitby seagull. I know who would have come off worse! 😂

Time to cross over the river to the other side of town………..but not without a little delay. The bridge was open for shipping traffic, so I took the opportunity to nip inside a café for a buttered scone and coffee refuel while I waited for the bridge to open again.

Whitby is home to a quaint little swing bridge that crosses the Esk Estuary. There has been a swing bridge here since 1835. It is manned for shipping traffic and opened on the hour and every half hour for two hours on either side of high tide. If you miss this, you are stuck in the harbour, and if you want to cross the bridge in a vehicle or as a pedestrian, you have to bear this timetable in mind!

The old town on the far side of the bridge is a beautiful maze of little cobbled streets and alleyways. There are a lot of shops specialising in and selling Whitby Jet made into all sorts of jewellery and trinkets. Whitby Jet is a semi-precious organic gemstone that is highly polished to a glossy deep black. It comes from the fossilised remains of the Monkey Puzzle tree of the Araucaria conifer genus. It comes in a fossilised seam, and you can find the remains of the old jet mines all along the coast between Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby. Jet can also be found in Asturias, Utah, Turkey, China, Germany, and Russia, but Whitby Jet is superior in quality, being less susceptible to fade or crack………………………..and just because it’s from Yorkshire of course, that alone makes it superior!🤭. You don’t have to look far for your own little piece of jet. Visit the beach after a storm, and there will often be pieces of jet washed up on the shore.

Also in the old town are old fashioned sweet shops (I got some lovely soft liquorice), little bookshops, and an abundance of fishmongers selling the day’s catch of fresh fish, dressed crabs and lobsters.

There’s also the aptly named ‘Arguments Yard’ which I guess is the place to go if you want to have an argument!🤭

Next place to visit is the 199 steps………………………so called because the steps are 199 in number. They are Grade I listed and have been here since at least 1370. They lead up to St Mary’s church and Whitby Abbey and were put there to measure the determination of pilgrims to the abbey. I can see why……………….by the time they deposited me in the churchyard of St Mary’s I was well and truly out of breath. However, it was worth it for the fantastic view over Whitby. The church bells were ringing, it was blowing a gale, but it was beautiful.

I had decided for the first time ever I was going to visit the Abbey ruins, now that I had time to appreciate them. The Abbey is very imposing, atmospheric, and quite eerie in a way. It was the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and I can see why. It was a 7th century monastery and Benedictine Abbey until its possessions were confiscated by Henry VIII in 1538, during the ‘Dissolution of the Monasteries’. It was further ruined in World War I when it was heavily shelled by two German battlecruisers, and what remains is basically what you see today.

It’s really nice for a walk around, and you can get a lovely view of the Abbey from different angles. Walk around the Abbey pond to get a view of the whole of the Esk estuary. The Abbey is really quite a sharp, imposing contrast against the bright colours of the blue sky and green grass.

By this time I was hungry, and you absolutely cannot visit Whitby without having traditional British ‘Fish and Chips’! Whitby has so many fish and chip shops, but there are two that stand out head and shoulders above the rest, and both have been named the UK’s top fish and chip shop in the recent past. When you return from Whitby, the question is always, “Did you go to The Magpie or Trenchers?” Now, I’m in the Trenchers camp, but they are both extremely good. The Magpie probably has more variety if you are straying from ‘traditional’ on the fish front, but if you want Haddock or Cod, for me, Trenchers have the slight edge. You can sit inside at both of them, or you can get them to take away, which is less expensive. I sit inside for no other reason than seagulls. 😂 I didn’t need the menu, I’m a bit of a traditional girl…………..it has to be battered Cod, chips, mushy peas, wedge of lemon, and a pot of Yorkshire Tea. With salt and vinegar they are delicious.

We have a really good fish and chip shop 5 minutes from home, and the fish usually has been landed at Whitby, but I have never had Cod like that in Trenchers at Whitby. Just really thick, pure white, meaty flakes in the lightest crispy batter. It’s 100% worth the premium that you pay to have fish and chips here, and the staff are lovely too. I was well and truly full to the brim when I had finished!

By now, it was cold, dark and damp, so I made my way to the B&B, which was a short drive away, the Falcon Inn at Cloughton. It’s an old coaching inn in the middle of nowhere, but not too far from Whitby, on the North Yorkshire Moors.

It has really comfy, good value rooms, with breakfast. The hospitality tray got top marks…………………..Yorkshire Tea! Which you will be pleased to know I have now discovered can be bought in a sack of 1040 tea bags. Why have 1 when you can have 1040 of the little sachets of joy!😂

I had a little nap and then went down to the bar for a quick little drink, to catch up on a few things on my laptop, then returned to my room for my own little hospitality tray tea party…………..I know how to rock and roll on a Saturday night! 😆 The food in the pub looked divine……………….there was some seriously good-looking belly pork coming from the kitchen, so I perhaps need to return for dinner one weekend!

The bed was so comfy!! There is nothing like having a whole bed to yourself. 😂 It’s one of life’s simple pleasures…………………….spreading out like a starfish and taking the whole bed up. Yes, I sort of miss having something to place my cold feet upon, but I do like to spread out, snore to my hearts content (I only have a little snore 🤭), and not have to share the duvet!

I awoke bright and early to a dusting of snow in the car park. The breakfast down in the pub was delicious. The log fire was roaring, and the early morning view from the breakfast table, over the garden wall, and across the moors was lovely.

Sunday is usually long run morning so I’d decided this is what it would still be. I love a long run early on a morning and I usually still do it when I’m on holiday. You see the ‘real’ town and get a completely different picture of a place when you run around the outskirts and centre before the rest of the town has woken up and ventured out. There’s the smell of freshly baked bread and pastries, golden sunlight, sparkling clean streets as the refuse collectors and street cleaners finish their night shift and the chirping of the birds as they wake up. They are the highlights of my early morning holiday runs, when the town slowly wakes up from slumber and there is no-one else around.

I’d decided on a 14 mile route so thought I’d better have a big breakfast to fuel. By the time I’d packed, checked out and driven to the start of the run route I would have digested most of it. It was delicious: yoghurt, fruit, a pastry………. followed by the full English, fresh ground coffee and toast and marmalade. Well, not the ‘full’ English. I omitted the black pudding and baked beans. I’m not too bothered about black pudding and although I love baked beans I don’t like them on my English Breakfast. For me, baked beans are a comfort food all on their own. They are the winter feast of a dinner on fresh buttered toast when you are home alone and can’t be bothered to cook!

It was freezing cold and windy outside, so it was on with the bobble hat, gloves, buff, winter longs, windproof jacket and running pack for the short drive to the start point of the run at Robin Hood’s Bay. I had initially thought I’d catch the bus to Whitby and then just run the 8 miles back to Robin Hood’s Bay. But as usual I didn’t want to sit on a bus, I got carried away in the beauty and adventure of it all, and decided to run out and back on a circular route, just over 14 miles. I did have a map but I thought surely I can’t get lost or get up to too much mischief on this one…………I just need to keep the sea on my right to Whitby, and then the sea on my left on the way back! Simple!

The way out was quite straightforward, and I was in Whitby, six and a half miles and one hour later, having taken the Cinder Track. This is an old disused steam railway track which ran from Scarborough to Whitby. It had a few gentle ups and downs, a couple of road crossings, but generally was quite a steady run.

There were a couple of glimpses of the coast, like at the lovely Bay Ness, but in general on the way out you are a little further from the coast. It’s really well signed. I saw the first signs of Spring in some lovely snowdrops…………………….

…………………………a lovely little cake tuckshop with honesty box run by a lady called Jo. It was lovely, albeit not as picturesque as the coastal path.

I had a quick warm up in ‘Hope and Beans’ coffee shop at Whitby with a coffee, feeling quite pleased to have arrived without mishap, before starting the return journey……………………..which is where the fun began.

I’d decided to run back along the Cleveland Way Coastal Path. This clings to the cliff edge between Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay and in its entirety it is a 109 mile path which runs from Helmsley to Filey, both in Yorkshire. The first challenge was Whitby’s 199 steps!! Yes, I didn’t realise I’d have to run up them to get on the coastal path. 😆

At home I am renowned for not being ‘mountain ready’ i.e. prepared for survival. When I get ready to go on an adventure the boys always say…….”Are you mountain ready Mum?” and then they roll about laughing. You see they know the answer is “No” and this is why I come unstuck. I always have lip balm, and I always have money for cake and coffee, but as long as I’ve not got sore lips and I can buy cake I’m all good. I’m always under-prepared and I hadn’t really thought about the return route or conditions.

The sea might be flat but believe me when I say the coastal path IS NOT FLAT!!! and I can’t reiterate that enough. It was a full-on gale force headwind, ankle deep mud and so many steps up and down……………………….and I had eight miles of it! Don’t get me wrong…….it was gorgeous. The coastal views were fantastic, beautiful views back to the abbey, cliffs full of sea birds …………….. but absolutely nothing in the way of civilisation between Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay. So go prepared.

At one point the wind got so strong and I was so tired I had a little lie down in the grass because I thought it might blow me off my feet. One mile from Robin Hood’s Bay I had a full on melt down. I was so frustrated because it was unrunnable……..it was a battle through mud………….and I was so glad when Robin Hood’s Bay appeared in view. I took a bit of windswept video but you can’t hear me speak……….it was wild, but the sentiment was “I’ve had enough now”, “I need this to end” and “I need cake”. All quite well used phrases by me when I’m out on a run!🤣

By the time I got into the bay it was a full on storm. I shot inside Brambles tea room, shivering and shaking, to be revived with ………………yes you guessed it………………a pot of Yorkshire tea and raspberry and orange Victoria Sponge.

Just time for a very quick wander around beautiful Robin Hood’s Bay on the way back to the car. It’s a shame the weather had turned because Robin Hood’s Bay is a gorgeous little fishing bay clung to the cliffs. It was the haunt of many a pirate in days gone by and really is a special little place. But not on a day like today, it was wild. That adventure and tale will have to wait for another day. So the lesson from this weekend of adventure is I need to be more ‘mountain ready’ …………….. a lip balm and cake money is not enough in all situations. I need to research my route before setting off. 😂 But it confirmed that Whitby is an amazing little town and definitely one of Yorkshire’s top places to visit.

That’s it now for a few weeks. I’m off on a little five day solo trip abroad this next week, which I will of course update you on in a few weeks when I get chance! This weekend I’ve been at home, but I’ve been very, very busy being creative in the absence of everyone else, and transforming some spaces. I think I may have got myself into a little teeny weeny bit of trouble by being a little too over creative without first consulting other inhabitants of the house, but more on that later! You see I can even get up to mischief when I stay at home!🤭🤣

I have though, found what I think might be my new favourite cake shop. I had to make a little trip a few miles from home, for half an hour, to try on a new pair of mountain running shoes in my favourite, friendly, family run, independent, local running store. I came out and spotted a sign which said ‘Coffee and Doughnuts’…….my eyes lit up (obviously 😂). Eve Kitchen looked a lovely unpretentious little coffee shop, and I thought “I could just drink a flat white, I’ll just grab a quick coffee because I’m being good today, I’m not having cake!”. The coffee was divine!

However, I confess………………I was not good. The doughnuts looked delicious but I can actually leave a doughnut, they are not my favourite. However, I like pretty things, and there was another little sign that said ‘Mini Berry Cream Filled Brioche with Chocolate Ganache’……………and they were topped with chocolate flakes and real flowers……….rose petals and violas that you could eat………………they were like a bun in a fairytale! They were too pretty to leave on the counter and one just found its way onto a plate in front of me!!! Honestly, I have no idea how it happened!🤣 Oh goodness…………….I can’t tell you how good this was. I thought the brioche was going to be ‘mini’ but I think the title was referring to the mini berries, the brioche was quite large………..served on a pretty blue and white china plate. It was a cake fit for a Princess. 🤭

However, it could become quite a problem as it’s only 15 minutes from home! And I have to go and collect the shoes next weekend…………and there are lots of cakes to try! 🤭

Oh what an exciting weekend! I’ve learnt to do something new and I can’t wait to tell you about it!

I’ve been abandoned for four whole weekends! But worry not, as we all know that it just means four whole weekends to get up to lots of exciting things and mischief! I am quite happy to entertain myself.

This weekend I’m up to all sorts, but due to a bit of boredom (because I’m stuck in a hotel room all alone this evening in the middle of nowhere) , I’m going to tell you about last weekend, and my exciting discovery. But first of all, the start of the weekend.

It began with a lovely run with friends to catch the last of the snow around the lovely Wentworth Castle Gardens at Stainborough. It was so pretty. The run took us through the grounds of the stately home which I am so lucky to live less than a mile from. At this time of year the parkland is full of deer. Huge stags with the most gigantic antlers. I’m always a bit wary of running too close to them but as long as you give them a wide berth they don’t bother, and they are the most gracious and majestic creatures to watch.

We followed this up with coffee and banana bread, baked by yours truly! I love this Annie Bell recipe. It’s so easy and as long as you like bananas it’s great after a run. Quite low in fat too as there is no butter, it’s made with sunflower oil instead.

In the evening I was out with my lovely friend Jeanette for dinner. I had the most delicious braised Ox Cheek, parsnip crisps and root vegetables………………..all served on a bed of horseradish mashed potatoes with rich, thick gravy.

Now you might read this blog and think………………goodness, all she does is eat. I don’t!! I do however run quite a lot and runners don’t diet and exercise………they train and eat! I can eat well and maintain a weight of less than 60kg no problem. You cannot diet and run……….I’ve tried it…………..it does not work………….and the balance is an extremely fine one but you have to make sure you eat enough to run…….but I could write an entire post on that! And I guess you only get to see my treats that I eat on a weekend when I allow myself to eat what I want.

During the week I have to be careful to eat a diet full of protein with plenty of iron. If I don’t I’m constantly iron deficient. So meals through the week look like this! Really quite boring…………..usually meat or fish, vegetables and pulses. This is pork loin, spinach wilted in a bit of butter and nutmeg, with braised Mediterranean lentils. My other half is strict vegetarian, but it does not work for me, I need the iron in the lean red meat and the protein in fish and white meat.

So then, what was the exciting discovery I want to tell you about? I’ve been back to class! Art class to be precise. I loved Art when I was at school. I got top marks………..a grade ‘A’…………….in my final art exams. However, strangely enough it wasn’t my strongest subject. I’m a scientist………I excelled at Mathematics and Physics, which is quite unusual for someone so creative I’m told. Despite the fact that I read so many books and write a lot…………….English was my worst subject…………..yes, my own language. 🤭But coming from Yorkshire it’s not much of a surprise because, we have our own dialect! 😆

I’d visited the David Hockney art gallery in Saltaire and saw some linocuts he had done, and thought, “I’d like to have a go at that!” They were so effective but did not look too difficult. Getting back into my art is something I would really like to do in my retirement soon, so I thought I’d look for a workshop.

I found one in York with a lovely lady called Michelle……………….a local lady who moved to Yorkshire after a career in graphic design in London. The pandemic saw the demise of her day job so she now makes a living as a very well respected, and well known, linocut artist. She has produced linocuts for book illustrations, cards, marketing literature and is very shortly to have her own book published. I found her on the internet and saw she offered linocut workshops for small groups of four people. Perfect I thought, I’ll sign up!

However, I felt a little bit out of my comfort zone. Here I was, signed up for a workshop with this very talented lady, having not picked up my drawing pencil for over 30 years!🤣However, I’m a great believer that life begins on the edge of your comfort zone. I’m one of life’s philosophers………..I think too much ………..and when I’m on my own I philosophise about all sorts of random stuff. I think it comes from being on my own quite a lot as my other half is often away competing. As I write this, I’ve been dot watching on and off all day today, and just two minutes ago he has crossed the line in 5th place in his age category in the 82km UTMB World Series Arc of Attrition Race running around the coast of Cornwall in stormy weather. 476 started, 127 have already dropped out, less than 100 have finished so far and he has just finished 5th in his category! No crew support allowed at this one to make it extra hard! Yes, he pisses me off so much, most of the time 😂 and a lot of friends I know would not tolerate him, they’ve told me………………..but they are friends who would be lost without their other half, they have no life or interest of their own. I do! And I was thinking the other day about the difference between existence and life! Now that’s a deep one for you!

In my opinion life is what you live when you step out of your comfort zone and is all about quality of life, experiences and purpose. Existence is just the state of being alive…….what you live biologically if you just repeat the same thing, never having the courage to step out of your comfort zone and routine, it lacks richness and excitement. So we all exist……………..but we don’t all live. Oh my goodness you are probably thinking……………how does she even have time to think about these things?

Well with an Olympic Gold medal in getting lost, finding myself on the top of mountains without a clue where I am, taking on challenges that are way out of my comfort zone and capability, being christened ‘GMOAT’ (greatest mother of all time) by my offspring……………I do like to ‘live’. I have a very fulfilling life, with or without one of the worlds fastest 50 something year old male mountain runners!

So off I went, completely out of my comfort zone on my linocut workshop. I had confessed to Michelle that my experience was limited to Art ‘O” level 30 years ago but “I like to make things” I said enthusiastically.😂 So the day commenced with me staring at a blank piece of lino thinking “Shit, what do I do with this now?”😂

I’d got in my head that I wanted to come away with something to put in a picture frame, which is me all over! Thinking I’m Picasso before I’ve even started! 🤣

“Just do a sketch of what you’d like to do a linocut of”, Michelle said. So I did a sketch of a group of botanical flowers, trying to fill the space and get the right balance and proportion. But I could not help think that there was too much there for a 5 hour workshop. But Michelle thought it was achievable.

Next step was to reproduce my image on tracing paper, which was quite straightforward.

You then turn it over and make an imprint of the carbon on the lino to give you the shapes and outlines to follow as a guide.

Then it was time to practice with the tools! Exciting……………………and very therapeutic! The little chisel type thingys (they’ve probably got a proper name) just slice through the lino like butter. I was very proud that I managed some lines, circles, stars and dots without losing one of my fingers!🤭

Then I got permission to go ahead and start carving the real thing! I spent two lovely hours lost in my own little world cutting out my flowers. My mind was so still!

The next step was to prepare the paint and the rollers. After cleaning off the lino it was time to roll the first lot of paint on, and do the first test prints on normal computer paper.

It was really exciting to see the finished test print emerge.

Then I moved onto the proper printing cartridge paper and the prints gradually got better and better as I got used to judging how much paint to load on the roller and how much pressure to apply. And here are my finished prints!! They are not perfect but I am quite proud of them and I am definitely going to frame one as my very first print. Not bad for a first attempt I think…………move over Picasso!😂I’ve actually looked at his linocuts and think mine might be slightly better!!!!🤣🤣🤣 I can’t wait to practice more, and get a little bit more adventurous with the designs and perhaps do some jigsaw linocuts with more than one colour. What I have failed to add though, is out of all four students, I did get the award for being covered in the most paint and pencil by the end of the day…………….I was so messy!!! It was oil based paint too so I had oddly tinged green hands for a few days. 🤭

It’s definitely something I’ll do more of in my retirement………………….I can picture myself now in my little space abroad, sketching, lino cutting, baking, reading, sewing and eating cake!! ❤️ So there you go……….my latest skill……..lino cutting. Have a go………….you’ll love it! So relaxing.

This weekend’s adventures are even better………………..I’m away from home, all alone, with a map, and we all know what that means……………………………….😂😂 I’m going to have some fun things to tell you about!

A little winter escape to Andalucía………….but not until after Christmas Day and dinner! And I love Christmas dinner. I like cooking it, I like eating it and I like to feed everybody else. First course is always prawn and avocado cocktail salad. Then it’s the main course, the Yorkshire Christmas dinner. So what’s on the Yorkshire Christmas dinner? Turkey, roast potatoes, dauphinois potatoes, carrots, honey roasted parsnips, pigs in blankets (sausages wrapped in bacon), sage and onion stuffing balls, brussels sprouts (my favourite!), turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, and of course…………..a Yorkshire pudding! Lots of people will tell you that Yorkshire pudding goes with roast beef, but I beg to differ, in Yorkshire it goes with everything! Sometimes we even have them as a dessert with golden syrup on. 😆 Dinner was delicious!

And then there is dessert…………….traditionally a Christmas fruit spiced pudding with brandy sauce. I love it, and we always have it, but it’s a bit of a love hate thing, and 3 of the 6 diners do not like Christmas pudding at all, they positively hate it. So every year I have to do an alternative dessert. They all love cheesecake…………….so this year I thought I’d do cheesecake with a difference and made my very first Basque cheesecake. I’m not 100% sure what it’s meant to look like, I’ve not made one before, and it’s probably one of those things that tastes better than it looks. I thought it looked a bit burnt, but I think it’s meant to, and it got a very big thumbs up from the eaters. Apparently, it was delicious. It looked a bit bland on its own so I served it with some kirsch soaked berries and fruit coulis.

Now it would have been rude to not try some so I of course had two desserts and I can confirm it was indeed delicious. I’m awarding myself at least 8 out of 10 for my first British attempt at a Basque cheesecake.

Everyone liked their presents, which I always put lots of thought into. They will always be very meaningful…………..and I love giving presents and wrapping them up all nicely with tags.

Mr Fitness, however, continued his trend in buying the most unromantic, inappropriate present ever! 🤣 Let’s just say it’s a good job I’m one of life’s ‘givers’ rather than a ‘taker’. My boys listen to me when I say, “Next year, I’m slowing down a bit. Don’t waste your money on me at Christmas, just a small token.” Some thought had gone into what they bought, the youngest bought me a book that I’ve been meaning to read for a long time, Maya Angelou’s ‘I know why the caged bird sings’, and the big one bought me some yoga socks for winter (I always have cold feet).

Mr Fitness, however, did not get the message, and I now know for certain he does not listen to a word I say. His gifts are legendary and are much talked about amongst my friends. The first question on their lips after Christmas is always “What did you get for Christmas?” as they await the revelation of that year’s inappropriate present. He’s not a romantic. He likes practicality! Nicely tissue wrapped lingerie, chocolates, flowers, and jewellery are the things of movies and dreams to me. In the past, I’ve had mats for my car, thermal tent / camping slippers, an emergency survival blanket…………………the list is endless!🤣However, this year, he has clearly not listened to my slowing down objective for next year. With a message that said “you are too good to slow down,” I am now the proud owner of a coveted entry to the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc Snowdonia (ERYRI) 25K! With a little introduction inside the envelope that says, “This is one tough race. 2700 runners of 65 nationalities will take on the rugged wilderness of Wales’ highest mountain. ” It is exactly what I did not want……in absolutely every way! 😢He’s even tried to convince me it’s a half marathon, but as far as I’m aware, at the last measurement, 25k is over 15 miles! It would be slightly funny, were it not for the fact that while you are opening your gift, completely oblivious to what’s inside, he is sat there with a look on his face that would have you believe it’s a diamond necklace! 😂And I’ve been brought up to be thankful and polite so I smiled, tried to look so very happy with my gift, said thank you, and popped it back in its envelope where it will remain. So there you are, will I be on the start line in May, I have no idea, and for now, I’m not even thinking about it, I’m slowing down like I said! But at least it’s given everyone else something to laugh about at my expense!

The day after Christmas was the day of the four day escape via Malaga Airport, which I’m going to tell you all about! I was really ready for this little break. I wasn’t too bothered about the temperature. I just wanted to see the sun, read, relax, and recharge. It’s been very damp, foggy, cold, snowy and miserable at home recently, and work has been really busy.

Where did I go this time? I’ve been before to see the cities of Malaga, Seville, Cordoba, and Granada, and I like to go somewhere different. I wanted somewhere a bit quieter, smaller, in the countryside, so I went inland to the town of Ronda……………and it was beautiful. It is an inland town in the province of Malaga, in the autonomous community of Andalucía. The town is set in the most spectacular landscape, straddled each side of the El Tajo gorge, a 120m deep chasm that carries the Guadalevín River. Perhaps its most famous site is the Puente Nuevo bridge straddling the gorge, although completed in 1793, it’s not that ‘new’. To get there from the UK, Malaga is the most convenient airport, and it’s then around a 75-minute drive to Ronda.

There are a large number of places to stay in Ronda. There are apartments, fincas, hotels, villas, a Parador……….something for all tastes. I decided to stay just on the outskirts of town in a nice 4-star hotel called the Hotel Catalonia Reina Victoria. It is tucked away in a quiet area on the edge of town, but it is so easy to walk into the bustling centre. I chose this one as it has a lovely garden, indoor pool and spa (most of the outdoor pools are closed at this time of year), and it promised the most spectacular views over the surrounding landscape. I just wanted to relax, and it looked perfect for relaxing. I had booked bed and breakfast as the reviews said the breakfast was excellent……………but I do like to go out for dinner and sample the local cuisine when I’m abroad. I was there for 3 nights / 4 days. I arrived just before 11am on Thursday 26th December, after a very early flight out of Leeds Bradford Airport, and flew back at 21:00 hours on Sunday 29th, and it was the perfect amount of time to not feel rushed.

The hotel was perfect in every way, and I cannot praise it highly enough, this one has definitely made it onto my list of favourite hotels. The location, facilities, food and staff are just exceptional…………they cannot do enough for you. It was really good value. On arrival, I thought, “Oh goodness, this looks posh!” Now posh is fine, but I don’t like pretentious, when you are stuck somewhere that you can’t relax, with a bunch of what I refer to as ’10 bob millionaires’. I like ‘down to earth’. I need not have feared………………..when I pulled up my little grey ‘Malaga Rent’ Fiat Panda alongside the row of Porsches, the scramble to greet me was the same as if I’d arrived in a Lamborghini, and the porter even looked a little envious of my ride!🤣

Checked into the room, I was very happy………….they may have taken pity on me with my Fiat Panda, or it may have been my smile of excitement……….but they had upgraded me from a standard room, to a room with a huge balcony / terrace (perfect for book reading), with a glorious view of the Tajo valley and hotel gardens.

Mr Fitness was already getting very excited…………….he’d brought his running gear (I’d left mine firmly at home!), the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and there were hills everywhere. One month away from another of his crazy races he said, “Would you mind if I go for a run?” Now, that was like music to my ears, as his run means a marathon, taking hours. That meant I could unwind, relax, read my book, have a little glass of sunshine or two, admire the view………………and just generally chill out without being set a physical challenge!🤭 Ronda sight seeing could wait until tomorrow………………..so that’s what I did. He was under strict instructions not to plan for me to be climbing a mountain, dangling from a rope, running training drills, or exercise of any sort for that matter……….unless it was the training of my bicep, by lifting a wine glass or cake to my mouth in a repetitive motion. He was allowed to come with me to Ronda on that one condition!

I’d booked dinner at a lovely restaurant in town called Tropicana. If you are ever in Ronda I would recommend it. I waited for Mr Fitness in the hotel reading lounge, which was very comfy and all trimmed up for Christmas. It had a lovely fireplace and was too good an opportunity not to send home a photo to the boys of me in their favourite shoe choice of mine. They like to make fun of me and my shoes (I like shoes!), especially clean, shiny shoes………………I’m like a magpie for shiny things, but apparently my sliver leather cowboy boots are “boots like no other!” I’ve been called ‘Neil Armstrong’, been asked if I’ve left my spaceship outside…………their ridiculing of me is endless! But my skin is thick and I’m pretty in love with my silver cowboy boots.

I had a lovely little wander through the Christmas lights of Ronda on the way to the restaurant. It was so pretty and they really had spent an awful lot of time and money on illuminating the town for Christmas. The main square and all of town, right to the outskirts, was just a mass of colourful, sparkling lights!

The meal was delicious. I had lovely salmon croquettes to start, which I shared, and then I had a lovely little grilled octopus with some very nicely done greens and aioli for my main course. It was perfectly cooked and washed down with a lovely local white wine. I was too full for dessert (most unusual for me!🤭).

The hotel bed was soooooooo comfy. I slept like a baby and did not wake until 8:30am which is late for me, I’m normally two hours earlier. I felt refreshed already, as result of the previous day’s relax and a good sleep, so I’d decided the plan for the day. After breakfast was going to be a little wander around Ronda, followed by an afternoon of reading and relaxing, followed by an hour in the Spa, and then out for dinner again. Mr Fitness was coming along for the wander and then would re-join me for the spa and dinner. He was doing Mr Fitness type things in the afternoon!

So first of all, breakfast!! AMAAAAZING! 😁 Oh my goodness, there was everything to choose from. Cheeses, meats, cakes, fruits, breads, yoghurts, freshly squeezed juices, prosecco, wine, bacon and eggs for the Brits, gorgeous coffee and a whole mega selection of sprinkly bits, waffles, churros and chocolate sauce……..and probably a load more things I’ve forgotten. I made it my mission to try a bit of everything over the three days! 😆

So breakfast was a three course breakfast for me. I wasn’t bothered about the alcohol, I’m not your typical Brit, I can’t really tolerate alcohol first thing. There will be no airport selfie of me having an airport pint of beer for the road at 6am…………..YUK……..no! I start off with my healthy course…………………….fruit, yoghurt and as many sprinkles, nuts, dried fruit and granola that I can reasonably fit on the top. I bury the fruit at the bottom. The token piece of grapefruit, melon and pineapple.

That’s like my ‘starter’. Main course is my savoury course…………………….and I particularly liked the ‘Ronda Station’. A special table explaining what a typical Ronda breakfast would be with some local sheep’s cheese in olive oil, tomatoes and different local sausages for you to slice yourself. There was lovely freshly baked bread that you rub garlic on, and drizzle with olive oil and tomato pulp. It explained the origins of everything and how to put it all together and it was really tasty. I can have bacon and eggs at home, I come away to sample something different and local.

Then comes my breakfast ‘dessert’…………..yes I did it…………I have no will power whatsoever. I might be a bit bleary eyed, just out of bed…………..but it’s never too early for churros and chocolate sauce (and I may have had half a waffle too, which I poured my hot chocolate sauce into the little square fluffy pillows of dough to eat!!) I know, I’m greedy……………..I have eyes bigger than my belly………………….I’m the first to admit it. But what I’m really trying to explain is that breakfast here really was on another level!

Oh, and there is a lovely view from the breakfast tables!

By the time I had eaten all that, I needed my wander around Ronda to walk it off. So what are the highlights in Ronda!? First stop, the bridge……Puente Nuevo. You have to go and have a look as it’s so well known, and is quite a feat of engineering. The gorge is so very deep, with the old town on one side and the new town on the other.

The main square is also worth a look. Very pretty and full of gorgeous flowers. They use lots of cyclamen in their planting schemes which works well and proves how cool, bright and dry it is over winter, they thrive here. At home, winter is a constant battle to keep my cyclamen tubers from rotting in the cold, damp, frosty gloom.

If you like to buy local traditional food, or you are self catering there are so many lovely food shops selling cheeses, top quality jamon iberico and other local delicacies. This one across the road from the hotel in the new town, out of the tourist area, was my favourite.

At this time of year there are orange and citrus fruits everywhere. The trees are so heavenly laden with them and the freshly squeezed orange juice is delicious, they are so sweet.

You will be pleased to know too that there is ice cream, yes in December, proving what I tell everyone. And they even have a sign to tell you ‘Turron todo el ano’. You see, for those of you who doubted me………………it is perfectly acceptable to indulge in Turron ice cream all though the year, 365 days!😁

I can also confirm that no matter where you look in Ronda there will be spectacular views over Andalucía, it is extremely green and pretty with lots of mountains, rolling hills, gorges, olive groves and what looked to be some fantastic walking. There are also two lovely gardens, both free to enter, which offer the most spectacular views. The nicest one I though was the Alameda del Tajo park. This would be a nice shady retreat from the heat of the summer sunshine. There are lots of tall trees, little squares and tinkling fountains. It’s really green and peaceful in there with its shiny stone tiled floor. At the far end of the garden is the most beautiful mirador over the whole of the valley.

The other gardens are the Jardines de Cuenca. These are also free to wander around and are on the edge of the gorge. These give you a really good view of the Puente Nuevo bridge from below.

Both the gardens are definitely worth a look, and like the whole of Ronda, they are spotlessly clean. It was while I was looking for one of the gardens that I spotted my first Camino sign of the holiday………this time the Via Serrana from Gibraltar to Seville where it then joins the Via de la Plata and Camino Sanabres to reach Santiago. This one would be quite a nice one for Autumn or Spring I think.

Next stop, after a little rest and change of clothes because I was cold, was the Plaza de Toros (Bull Ring). It’s one of Spain’s oldest bull rings and is a really well maintained arena. Despite my discomfort with bullfighting, you cannot deny the fact that it is a large part of the Spanish heritage and culture and I was fascinated to hear all about the history, see the costumes, and learn about the Real Maestranza de Caballería, the oldest and most noble order of horsemanship in Spain since 1485, who are still based there.

It also brought to life some of the characters in recent Ernest Hemingway books I’ve read. He fell in love with Ronda and thought it was one of the most romantic places in Spain. Two Ernest Hemingway novels, ‘Death in the Afternoon’ and ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ were both written after his time here, and one of the key characters in ‘The Sun Also Rises’ is a bullfighter named Pedro Romero, who was actually a famous Spanish bullfighter from the Romero family of Ronda.

I really enjoyed the visit to the bull ring and learning all about that part of Spanish culture. I would recommend it, even if you are not sure about the sport in itself. Architecturally it’s a really pretty place and it has some really unique features, like the tiled stairways all around the arena which depict bullfighting scenes in blue and white painted tiles.

Final site of the day was the church, Iglesia de Santa Maria la Mayor. It is located in a beautiful square in the old town, on the site of the former mosque. I wanted to go in for a few reasons. Firstly, you can climb up the tower and get a fantastic photograph looking down the spectacular stairwell and a view over the rooftops. Secondly and least importantly, it is full of the usual ostentatious bling.

This is where we had our first ‘words’, Mr Fitness and I, and I had to just walk off in embarrassment. He’s the sort of person that if he thinks something, he will say it, and he is really not bothered who he offends. I meanwhile am probably one of the least offensive people you can meet. I do not practice a religion. I was christened and confirmed a protestant but it’s not a big part of my life and I just wish we could all get along and live happily ever after. Mr Fitness however, is completely anti-religion of any sort and strongly believes it is the root of all worldwide problems and always will be. He especially has a huge aversion to paying to go into a church……….it is probably the thing he has the biggest issue with. So whilst I am clutching my 5 Euros to go up the tower (I knew I would be alone on this one) he’s shouting across the square at me (I only hope his Yorkshire dialect was not understood) that I might want to ask what they are doing with the 75 billion they’ve got stashed away in stocks and shares when I give them my 5 Euros. I was so embarrassed! 😦

I pretended I did not know him and quickly made my entrance, to leave him in the square proudly declaring his 5 euros had been better spent on a glass of Estrella Verde beer.

The church was very beautiful with lots of shiny ostentatious bling as expected so I felt my 5 euros had been well spent. I was also really pleased that our flag had not been stripped off the altar post-Brexit, when we declared to the rest of Europe that we no longer wanted to come to the party, something which I’m still so embarrassed about to this day, I don’t think I’ll ever get over it!😂 However, this is where the fun began, and without the encouragement of Mr Fitness I did struggle somewhat. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I am a little claustrophobic, and scared of heights…………………but I’m also extremely determined. I wanted to go up the tower, because I wanted to see the view. I also wanted to look down the spiral staircase from the top. Now I just hope that no-one was watching me because it took three attempts!!🤣🤣

I particularly don’t like really tight spiral staircases, which this one was, I can get quite distressed. Now, I’m a grown adult, and when I’m in a situation like this I use a technique called exposure therapy, sometimes called desensitization, and this is a really big tip to try if you have a phobia of anything. The idea is that you gradually increase your exposure to the feared thing, the goal being to learn to tolerate the distress until it fades away. So what does this look like in this situation I sense you thinking? Well…………………….it means I walk up and down the steps exactly 4 times until I reach the top, and anybody who notices me doing it no doubt thinks I’m an absolute lunatic! 🤣 First I go up 15 steps then I come back down again. I convince myself that all is well and there is nothing to fear and up I go again, but this time 30 steps………………….and so on and so on………………..until on attempt number 4 I am pleased to say all 62 steps were conquered and I got my view from the top and a shot of the staircase looking down, which made me feel really sick and dizzy so I had to sit down in the square for a drink when I got out until I came round and regained my balance.

By then in was early afternoon, my breakfast had been walked off and I wanted to head back to the hotel for my reading time. However, not before a cake! Dinner was not until 8:30pm so I thought, “I’m on holiday, I can have cake for lunch”, and that will just keep me going until dinner time. So I can also confirm that Ronda has some very nice cake shops.

The afternoon was spent reading while Mr Fitness did fitness things. The deal was to meet at the Spa for an hour at 5pm. The Spa was lovely! It was small but perfect. There was a sauna, a pool with all sorts of jets and massage beds, an ice bucket, and a nice body jet massage shower which had a cycle of around 5 minutes going from cold to hot and working its way up the body from feet to head.

Then there was a quiet heated solarium room with herbal teas, 6 sun loungers, floor to ceiling windows and gorgeous views over the valley. And the nice thing was they only let six people in at a time so there’s a bed for everyone. The staff were lovely too. It was one of those spas where you have to wear a swimming cap, and it’s a good idea, as one of my most hated things is other people’s hair floating in a swimming pool, and I know that I lose loads of hair so I’m all for wearing a cap.

After my little spa session I had a little snooze, while Mr Fitness went to the gym to work off his cake. I got ready for dinner and went read a book outside on the terrace down by the bar while I waited for him. I might just have had a little Campari Spritz too! This is another one of my “Oh my goodness, what have you got on Mum!?” outfits. My very much loved green sateen dress emblazoned with black and white tigers, it looks lovely with my silver boots! 😆I do like to create my own, unique, bright style. My dress has had lots of compliments, just not from my boys, and if my style makes someone smile and say “What a lovely dress!” then that’s a good thing.

Now this is where I’m going to give you an example of how lovely the hotel staff are, going above and beyond. I was sat outside on what was a very cool evening, reading my book, happily minding my own business, waiting with my drink. I must have looked a little cold, because out of nowhere came one of the barmen. He instructed me to stand and pulled my chair over to one of those huge flame heaters. I sat next to the heater, thanked him and thought that was that, until he came running back out with a blanket! I thought he was just going to pass me the blanket, but no, he wrapped me in it, tucked me in and told me if I needed anything else just to shout!🤣🤣 Mr Fitness found me looking like one of the wise men at the nativity scene covered from head to toe in a wool throw! I was wrapped up so tightly like a caterpillar in a cocoon I could hardly turn my book pages, so tightly he had to unwrap me to take me out for dinner!

Dinner that night was superb, It was at a lovely restaurant called La Nina Adela. This was another great little place. Quite a walk, and out of the tourist area, full of local people who seemed to be regulars. We shared a lovely local warm and melted cheese salad to start, then I had ‘The Goat’ ………..this was a burger made with Retinta beef, bacon, fried goat cheese, tomato jam and mayo-honey. It was divine. I’d never heard of Retinta beef but the difference was definitely in the quality and taste of the beef. Apparently the Retinta cow is native to Spain, particularly the dry areas of Andalucía and Exremedura. They roam freely in pastures and scrub land eating acorns, shrubs, branches and grass which is why their meat has extraordinary flavour. I love learning things like this, I’m like a sponge for knowledge!

Oh, and this time I managed to share a dessert, the brownie was not escaping me! Although Mr Fitness claims that I use the word ‘share’ loosely to make myself feel better as apparently my ‘share’ in practice is not the same as his! 😂 I can’t think what he might mean!

The following morning, after my three course breakfast 😆, I thought it would be a shame to not see a little bit of the area, but I did not want to expend too much energy. Plus, I have plans to come back to Andalucía for a week next Autumn so I didn’t feel any real need to see everything this time. But next Autumn I’d like to go a bit further afield to look at Cadiz, Tarifa, Jerez de la Frontera etc. So I asked Mr Fitness if he would drive me around a couple of the white villages local to Ronda, that the area is famous for, so I could have a little look at them, a plan which he thought was a good idea, so off we went.

It was on the way out of Ronda that I spotted some cool street art.

But it did make me laugh…………lots! Each scene depicts something to do with Ronda’s heritage. There were a few relating to bull fighting, one to flamenco, one to farming, a lovely landscape painting of the bridge……………………and then this one…………………………

I can’t help but thing it’s their homage to the British coming on holiday to the Costa del Sol!🤣🤣 I can say that because I’m British of course! But it does bear a strange realistic resemblance.

Anyway, I’d recommend this little drive for a change of scenery, the villages were nice. I’ll tell you briefly which four I visited and what I liked about them.

First stop was Setenil de las Bodegas. A really quirky little town where the cliffs overhang the street and the whole town is built into the cliff side. It’s really pretty.

It has some lovely flower laden streets…………….

Plants in terracotta pots hung on the walls………………….

A lovely colourful little town fountain which is now a homage to a local lady called Francesca who passed away in Summer 2024 and used to keep the fountain decorated with her little home made crocheted creations, a tradition which clearly lives on……………

If you come, I’d recommend visiting this village early, as it gets really busy with tourists, and it does feel a bit touristy with lots of souvenir shops…………….but I did still manage to find a nice quiet spot for a coffee.

Next town was Olvera. Worth a visit. The view of it from a distance is really spectacular as it sits atop a hill and can be seen for miles around, with its castle and church on the top. If you’ve ever been to Puglia in Southern Italy I would say that from a distance it looks identical to the white walled city of Ostuni. It is worth going to the top of town to look at the castle and church, although they do look a bit neglected close up.

It’s also at the top of town where you’ll find the cemetery, which in 2019 was voted ‘Best Cemetery in Spain’…………………now that’s an award and a half isn’t it?!😂 I did have a sneaky peak to verify, and can indeed confirm that all the residents are in a lovely setting with an awesome view.

Other than that I did not feel there was a great deal to Olvera when you got there, and it was a little spread out and lacked atmosphere for me.

Next stop was Zahara de la Sierra. Another hill top town, and I liked this one. It was a little prettier, more compact, cleaner, and had a really bustling central square full of cafes, restaurants and bars where everyone seemed to be congregated. It was full of local people rather than tourists and had a really nice feel.

I had a lovely little wander through the closely packed cobbled streets until I reached the top of the town.

From the top of the town you get a really lovely view over the rooftops and the Zahara – El Gastor reservoir down below which is fed by the Guadalete river.

Last but not least the final town we went to visit was Grazalema, and I really like this town too. This one is not on a hilltop, it’s nestled in the foothills. But although it was by now late afternoon, this one was really bustling too. There was the usual bull statue in the main street……………most Andalucian towns have one of these.

There was a really nice central plaza lined with cafes, bars and restaurants.

Some huge cacti and an amazing turron shop. I love a turron shop!

This town had my favourite sign………………………and I love Spanish signs…………….whoever designs the graphics in Spain, needs a special award as far as I’m concerned. But I can’t just read the sign…………….I’m really inquisitive and I have to question further……………..a whole thought process goes around in my head because I think all the time……..too much! So here is the sign………………….

I understand the sign……………..no dog peeing here…………I get that…………but that got me thinking. Surely you’d have to avoid the whole area with the dog. I don’t own a dog (unfortunately, as I’d love one) but I know enough about them to know that surely when the dog has decided it’s having a pee you can’t stop it can you? Perhaps they did not want to offend dog owners but putting ‘No dogs!” But it made me chuckle anyway.

Then I discovered some really delicious little sweets and I may have brought quite a few home.🤭I like these lots. It said Mantecados on the wrapper so I’m assuming that’s what the are called. They were almonds (very finely chopped and ground), wheatflour, cinnamon and sugar………………..all bound together. They were very crumbly and lovely with a coffee.

Then I discovered a local traditional story……………and I love a bit of local history and folklore and this really made me smile. The town in split into two halves, the upper town and the lower town. The word “hopo” or “jopo” was, and is still used today, to distinguish residents from each of the sides of town. Figuratively, apparently they translate it here as bull penis! Now if you live in the upper town you are a Jopones or ‘big bull penis’ and if you live in the lower part of town you are a Jopiches or ‘small bull penis’. The two local youth football teams are still to this day given the same names. It might just be me, but I would have thought that you might want to live in the top half of town and play for team Jopones…………………..I mean, honestly, if you have a choice of being a ‘small bull penis’ or a ‘big bull penis’ you are going to go large aren’t you!?🤣 It’s little stories and traditions like this that make me fall in love with little towns like Grazalema, definitely one to visit.

So that was my little road trip from town to town over, with a coffee stop in each. Dinner that night was pizza! Not Spanish I know, but I was quite hungry for carbs, but not quite hungry enough for my pizza which came as a calzone the size of a small baby. 🤣 I didn’t manage it all but what I did eat was lovely.

One more hotel breakfast and it was time to leave for the UK. The flight was not until 21:00 at night though, so I was in no rush to leave the hotel and Ronda. So I had a lovely morning relaxing and reading. I suggested to Mr Fitness that I might like to call at a coastal town for a quick look on my way home, just to see what the Costa del Sol is all about. I’ve never been and you are not a true Brit unless you have graced the Costa del Sol!😂

Don’t be offended when I say this but you have to remember I like quiet, I like culture, I like history, I like traditional food, I like pretty, I like unpretentious, authentic places where there are very few of my fellow countrymen. I had a sneaky suspicion I would not like it but I wanted to look anyway. I’d already ruled out Fuengirola and Torremolinos as I knew they’d be too busy and British for me. So the question was…………..do I go and have a look at Marbella or Estepona for a couple of hours?

The internet said to go to Marbella if you want opulence, exclusivity, timeless glamour and allure. I didn’t! So I opted for Estepona where it said I would find undeniable charm, Spanish authenticity, tranquil ambience, lovely beach, little streets and tapas. Did I find that…………………….no! Did I like it? It was ok but not really. I did not find anything authentically Spanish, perhaps I did not look hard enough. I did find lots of British people and British bars. It was quite expensive and I didn’t really find anything of culture. Was it authentic…………..there was lots of fake………….fake designer goods shops, fake boobs, eyebrows and other body parts, and fake Spanish style streets to make you feel as though you are in an ‘old town’. Not that there’s anything wrong with that if that’s what you want……………….but it’s important that you know that before you go!

Did I like anything about it? Yes! It does have a lovely beach with some little old boats washed up on it.

It is very, very sparkly and clean with some lovely flowers and fountains.

There is a very nice marina and when the sun is shining it would be a lovely place to watch the boats come and go with an Aperol Spritz…………….but I thought I’d have one just to make sure, as I don’t want to misreport!😆

If you like jogging on a promenade it would be perfect………….it’s never ending and there are even some exercise stations which I also thought I’d sample for you before reporting, proving that I have not been to a gym too often, I prefer yoga studios and outdoor exercise.

There were some lovely cake shops………….which I also thought I would try as I like my reviews to be correct so I thought I’d better check.🤭

So don’t let me put you off entirely, it has some very nice parts, it’s just that overall, it’s not for me. I’ve been, seen, am happy I did go but would probably not return there for a holiday. However, if you like resort based holidays, sunshine, mingling with your fellow British, getting your party gear on and dancing and drinking the night away I am sure you would love it, there are lots of things to like about it.

So that’s my whistle stop tour of a little part of Andalucía for you. There’s so much more to see …………………. like the western cities of Cadiz and Jerez, and some excellent walking. I am really looking forward to making a more energetic return for some Autumn sunshine and exploring a bit more. It’s perfect for an out of season break. I think it would be a bit hot for a pale skinned, auburn haired girl like me to stay for too long in summer but I would give Andalucía as a whole a big thumbs up!

I now have to endure 6 weeks of harsh Yorkshire weather, and 6 weeks of work, before my next little solo adventure , so watch this space……….