WALKING IN DERBYSHIRE
Yesterday I re-experienced the joys of walking in good ol' Derbyshire, my beloved home county that I do love rather a lot, even though I am prone to dissing it from time to time (but we'll put that to one side for now). My family and I used to do it quite a bit when my sister and I were younger. We would go on long walks with family friends, all the adults and kids together, until we were all exhausted or completely covered in mud and someone would suggest in an angel-like manner, that we go get some food somewhere. Going for walks in the depths of the countryside was like removing yourself from the stresses and less enjoyable parts of reality for a few hours and just getting lost (normally not literally) in the beauty and peace and tranquillity of the countryside. Allowing yourself to be enveloped in the sanctity of nature, irrespective of the weather, and spending hours walking here there and everywhere, seeing all these majestic sights, animals, and just enjoying being with people you love for a while, forgetting all your worries for a little while. And yesterday was a nice reminder of all those things, as well as how awesome Derbyshire actually is, and it made me question why we ever stopped going on walks like that. Why did we start choosing to spend our free days trawling around the same cities and streets when we could've hopped in the car, ventured into the mighty Peak District, which we're lucky enough to have relatively on our door step or at least in our home county, and spend the day walking around in the great, wonderful outdoors instead? I'm not sure why we stopped going, probably because all us kids grew up and the walking didn't seem to hold the same magic it used to, but having re-discovered it all again for myself yesterday, I think I just might have found that magic all over again.
The reason I broke my walking abstinence yesterday was because back before we broke up from uni, sometime in early June, me and my friends Dan and Jack were talking about meeting up in the summer and deliberating what we should do. Seeing as the three of us are spread out between Derby, Sheffield and Doncaster, with the Peak District lying roughly between the three of us (although obvs its Derbyshire's pride and joy), and the guys didn't fancy going shopping, we decided the Peak District is where we would head. And a month and a bit later, we did. So yesterday morning I got up early, caught the train up to Sheffield, met Dan at the station and then Jack picked us up in his car, where I preceded to put some Queen on to accompany us on our journey. We stopped to pick up Jack's lovely girlfriend Fern and the four of us crossed over into Derbyshire and the neighbouring part of the Peak District, with me staring in awe at the gorgeousness of the Derbyshire countryside. Our destination was a beautifully named village called Hope, and from there, clad in our rucksacks and walking boots, we began the first leg of our trek, which began with me saying hi to all the animals I saw and subsequently scaring them away. Due to the hills and wind, we had to put in a bit of hard work to reach the very top of the hills, but the sprawling views, as far as the eye can see, were so worth it (and the break for a Squares bar helped too). Two and a half hours later we stopped for lunch at a cute pub in neighbouring Castleton, where I had the nicest sandwich I have ever had in my whole life ever. With nice grub in our bellies, we felt ready to conquer the next hour and a half part of our trek, and despite the initial uphill battle we made it to the top of the hills once more and were again greeted to these wonderful views as well as a spot of blue skies until we found our way back to Hope again. More than once I felt like we were the von Trapp family in 'The Sound of Music' making our escape from Austria, and it was simply brilliant (and not just because 'The Sound of Music' is my fave film ever).
After our walk we chilled for a bit in the car park and then set off on the drive back to Sheffield, listening to Motorhead, Marvin Gaye, QOTSA, Pixies and Tenacious D until we wound up at the train station and Dan and I caught our trains back home. It was such a wonderful, wonderful day from start to finish, seeing my friends again, re-discovering the joys and aches of walking, immersing ourselves in the beauty of my home county, laughing lots, clearing my mind and feeling like I was doing something good with my day. Regardless as to where you live, here in the UK we're blessed with such a vast expanse of countryside, national parks, natural beauty, and there'll be somewhere stunning to get lost in for a few hours, somewhere to escape reality, near your home if you take the time to seek it out. For me living in Derby, or even Manchester now, the Peak District is always on my doorstep, a half an hour drive and I'm beginning to be enveloped by it, and yet I always seem to forget. These days it's so easy to waste your life away, what with technology, social media, the yearn to always be in the know and a part of things, but yesterday reminded me how nice it is to just escape it all. To break away, dip out of it for a while and venture back out into the often overlooked beauty and nature of this glorious planet and be a part of what really matters, get back to where we really belong. Even if it's just for a couple of hours, I would strongly urge you to escape for a while, find your nearest spot of countryside or nature, whack on your boots, take a bottle of water, a snack and a map, and venture out there and see what you find. Forget everything on your mind, or think things through, gain clarity and perspective, say hi to the people you pass on your way, stop to take in the majestic views around you, photograph the beautiful things you find, do some exercise, feel at one. It truly is magical.
And on another note, I completely forgot but on Friday 17th of July my blog became one year old! So thank you so, so, so much for your continued support and taking the time to read what I write and for being a part of this wonderful journey with me. This blog is one of the best things I've ever done and it's a true joy to write for you lovely people, so thank you so much again and here's to the next year!
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