Happy New Year from Christine, David, Artie and Riley! Here’s hoping 2019 is a year full of love, laughter and friendship!
It’s taken a while but below find the annual video sharing the most memorable moments of 2018. Here’s hoping 2019 will just be as wonderful!
I want to thank you all for coming on the journey with us!
Thanks for all your support,
Christine x
Welcome to my second #walk1000miles post!
2018 has been the second year I’ve participated in the initiative by Country Walking Magazine. My story was even a feature for their 2018 campaign. You can read all about the positive affects of walking on mental health by reading my post here.
For the past 12 months, I’ve been busy counting my miles daily and tallying my weekly totals. I’ve counted workouts on the cross-trainer, walks to work, exercising the family dog, Riley and of course holidays and days out with David! My overall mileage for 2018 has been a wonderful 1,871 miles. Beating my 2017 total, by over 500 miles!
As in 2017‘s post, I’ve split the year into seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter, and give the miles for each of the three months. It will be good to see how different my mileage accumulates over the year and how it differs per season and against 2017’s totals.
So without further ado, let’s begin with my favourite season of all, spring!
Spring: (March, April and May)
I don’t know about you, but 2018 has simply flown! Spring seems such a long time ago! However I can still remember the excitement I felt when the first buds in the yarden began to sprout and the days lengthened. During this quarter there were many days out to the Lake District. As well as walking Riley at local parks and nature reserves. I even completed my 500 miles by April!
Total miles for spring= 481. That’s 150 miles more than the spring of 2017! Riley accompanied me on 133 miles this quarter.
Summer: (June, July and August)
Summer 2018 was simply fantastic! I had so much fun! I saw and shared with David (and you) so many diverse experiences. June for me is always about The Wildlife Trusts‘ 30 Days Wild, and what a wild month it was! David and I visited many new nature reserves and even managed to fit in a few days holiday to the Lake District. I swam in cold tarns and walked alpacas. In July, David and I saw art trails of robins and bees in Nottingham and Manchester. I completed the #walk1000miles challenge and my friend Jennifer visited from California.
Total miles for summer= 442.
I was surprised that 2018’s summer miles were lower than spring’s! However my overall total for summer was higher than 2017’s. I probably would have achieved more miles if it wasn’t for the heat. 2018 saw the NW of England roast under a heatwave for about two months (May-July). It was glorious to feel the heat and sunshine whilst sunbathing, but not good for walking! I really need better footwear for the summer months. Many blisters are not conducive to walking miles!
Autumn: (September, October and November)
Though I’d completed this years #walk1000miles by the 13th July, I decided to continue to count my miles and see what mileage I’d achieve by December 31st. Autumn is a beautiful season and I managed to enjoy the changing colours by getting out more. I got off the bus earlier, then walked 40+ minutes to work. I took Riley on more walks to the local park and spent four days touring the Highlands of Scotland.
Total miles for autumn= 479 miles.
I manged to walk 100+ miles more than Autumn 2017! Perhaps walking the two miles to work everyday helped? I also discovered that the totals for spring/autumn were once again similar both in 2017 and 2018!
Winter: (December, January and February)
I was determined to make the most of the daylight hours come winter. A 10 mile walk around Derwentwater in February helped kick start my #walk1000miles! David and I also went on many dog walks with Riley. Over the course of the year Riley clocked up a total of 285 miles, not bad for a 9 nine year old! Perhaps he can make 500 miles in 2019?
Total miles for winter = 469 miles. Surprisingly better than summer’s total!
Annual Total = 1,871 miles!
Achieving #walk1000miles in a year is greatly satisfying. My certificate and medal have pride of place on my gym’s wall.
#walk1000miles has a wonderful, supportive Facebook group. Through participation in this group my name was among the many others on the We Did 1000 Miles page of the January 2019 edition of Country walking Magazine. I also discovered that my story which featured as part of their website to advertise 2018’s challenge is still on their website for 2019 under the happiness tab. Which makes me happy indeed. 🙂
I was unsure whether to sign up for 2019’s challenge, however I decided to once again see how far I can walk in a year. Walking is such an easy, free activity, much underrated if you ask me. I will continue walking the miles I do and see how I go. How about you? Do you feel inspired to give the challenge a go?
If you fancy signing up, click the link below and join me and thousands more, walking that little bit more than we did last year!
https://www.walk1000miles.co.uk/
Thanks for reading, Christine x
I can’t quite believe it’s that time of year again. As December comes to a close and 2019 draws ever closer, it’s time to look back at 2018. And what a year 2018 has been! David and I have been on a wonderful adventure together. Below find 12 random pictures that highlight what a fantastic year 2018 has been!
January:
The year began with a seven mile walk at Gisburn Forest, in the Forest of Bowland, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It certainly blew the cobwebs away and set the tone for the rest of the year ahead.
Forest Walk
February:
Desperate to get out and catch as much winter sun as we could, David and I embarked on a 10 mile circular walk of my much loved Derwentwater in the Lake District.
Derwentwater
March:
The highly anticipated exhibition of China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors opened at Liverpool’s World Museum. I visited in March with David and then again in September with mum.
Terracotta Warriors
April:
I was over the moon when I completed my first 500 miles in the #walk1000miles challenge. I only had another 500 to complete, which I accomplished in July!
Reaching 500 miles
May:
With the weather hotting up David and I took yet another trip to The Lake District. This time we walked towards Bleaberry Tarn for a blissfully warm wild swim.
Bleaberry Tarn
June:
June for me is undoubtedly all about The Wildlife Trust’s 30 Days Wild! This year was extra special as I managed to blog every day. We spent a wonderful month visiting many new nature reserves and even managed to squeeze in a short break to The Lake District, where we waked alpacas along Derwentwater.
At Derwentwater
July:
The highlight of July was having my friend from California, USA come to stay with us for a few days. As requested, we visited the Lake District for what turned out to be a rather soggy hike around Rannerdale Knotts.
Selfie Time!
August:
We took a trip down to see Dippy the Diplodocus at Birmingham Museums. This free exhibition was a little bit different from our other days out this year.
Dippy at Birmingham
September:
A wild swim dream came true this month when David and I took a short break to the Highlands of Scotland. I managed to bag three swims! It has whetted my appetite to visit again in future.
Getting changed, Loch Etive
October:
As a birthday treat I, along with David and my mum took a visit to Liverpool’s newly opened Cat Cafe. We seemed to be a magnet for naughty, hungry kitties.
Christine and Rose
November:
The Lake District has played a heavy part in 2018. Imagine my happiness when we discovered that Riley could manage the two hours travel up to Cumbria. (He suffers badly with car sickness). Our first visit with Riley tagging along was to the serene Rydal Water and Grasmere.
David and Riley at Rydal Water
December:
December is all about the excitement of Christmas. My favourite picture from December is undoubtedly Riley with Santa Paws.
Let’s hope 2019 will be another kind year!
I wish you all good health and happiness for the new year ahead!
Thanks for your continued support,
Christine xx
Just a quick post today. A big thank you to David who slogged for over a month on a video compilation of my three loch swims. I think he’s done a fab job!
Thanks David!
Christine x
Ever since I started wild swimming, my desire to swim in a Scottish Loch has been like an itch I couldn’t scratch. This September, as an early birthday treat we decided to head to Fort William for a few days in the Highlands.
The journey north from Liverpool passes Loch Lomond and the Trosachs National Park via the A82. The plan for the day was to travel the six hours to Fort William with a stop off at Loch Lomond for my first Scottish wild swim!
Loch Lomond
Four hours into the journey we stopped at a parking point (near Inverbeg), with views of Loch Lomond. With the amount of preparations I do now, I can’t just have a quick swim. Stripped to my swimsuit, I firstly have to inflate Doughnut and fix it to my waist. Then don my neoprene boots and gloves to protect my extremities. Also, I now have a beanie hat to help keep the heat in. Then I strap Wilson, my waterproof camera to my chest. All this I do before I even head towards the water!
Wrapped in my Dryrobe® I waddled like a penguin towards the shore. The shore I chose to embark on my first Scottish wild swim was of soft shingle, with Ben Lomond on the opposite side. The weather on the day was cloudy, but not too cold. I was prepared for frigid temperatures, but in reality the water temperature was around 14°. I can safely say I’ve swam in colder waters!
With David taking pictures and video on shore. I waded out into the water. I always seem rather nervous before I head into the water. Perhaps it’s because I don’t know what to expect from the water’s bed? Is it going to be blissful soft shingle like Llyn Cwellyn, or rocky as hell and a scramble to get in like Derwentwater? Thankfully my first Scottish wild swim was the former. The shingle beach slopped down in increments and I walked out until the water lapped around my neck.
I thoroughly enjoyed my swim in Loch Lomond. I swam back and forth along the shoreline and even managed to dunk my head for an underwater shot. Much fun was had and I really didn’t want to get out. However we had to travel a further two hours to our accommodation for the three nights stay.
We booked our accommodation via Airbnb. I had never used the website before until my friend Jennifer informed us that her European trip was booked through the website. After doing a search of the Fort William area, one accommodation seemed promising. A self catering apartment overlooking Loch Linnhe called Glenloch View. With much deliberation we decided to book, at £248 for three nights, it was cheaper than the hotels in the region. Check in was via Lock-box, so we never met the proprietor. However on arrival there was a vase with fresh cut flowers and a bag of tasty fudge for us. The ground floor apartment was clean and bright and very new. It had a lobby where boots and wet clothes could be left to dry. The living room/kitchen was open plan and had nice views of Loch Linnhe. The kitchen had an oven, microwave and fridge/freezer, and everything you needed to cook evening meals or even a cake! The double bedroom and bathroom was at the back of the apartment. There was TV with Freeview, a stereo and Internet. The apartment was very comfortable and we did not want to anything. I’ll end this post with a few pictures of the apartment.
Have you stayed in Fort William? Booked via Airbnb? Even swam in a Scottish Loch/Lochan?
Thanks for reading,
Christine x
Christine Lucas 