Quite often, Mark will ask me to do the blog because he's not too well, but this time …. I volunteered, because I've had an exciting week (well more exciting than Mark’s anyway).
Cottage Industry
It's not often I make the decision to do something for myself, but a couple of weeks ago an opportunity presented itself for me and my daughter to go away for a few days. It tied in perfectly with her birthday, and also gave us both the chance to relax and reconnect after a couple of months of difficulties for us both. So when Sarah suggested the break, it wasn't a tough decision to make. My daughter and I found a lovely Airbnb, and before we knew it, we had booked a lovely cottage near Settle in the Yorkshire Dales for 2 nights.
The cottage itself used to be a church, and when we arrived (after a few hours in the car counting the many many sheep as we journeyed) we were excited to be in a building with such character, including high ceilings and very ‘ churchlike’ windows. We found the kettle very quickly, and a lovely pile of leaflets letting us know where the nice places were to visit in the area.
My daughter has a very responsible and sensible job, and quite likes to make people think that she is pretty organised, so she tasked herself to find some nice things for us to do whilst we were away. She loves nature, and loves to walk (she has proper walking gear and everything!), so she suggested the Ingleton Waterfall Trail—about a 15 minutes drive from where we were staying, and a mere 4 and a half mile walk.
All Fall Down
In principle, it really did seem idyllic—beautiful waterfalls and a nice steady walk—something that my unfit 51 year old legs and body could easily manage. The leaflet itself promised stunning views, and really I should have been more prepared when thinking about waterfalls. The water has to come down from somewhere doesnt it ….. That's what makes it a waterfall.
So I shouldn't have been surprised when we actually got to the start of the waterfall trail and all I could see were nice pathways going in an upward direction. Some of the paths were very well marked out, and even some had guide rails. Something I was very grateful for.
I should mention that I am not the fittest of people, and am often quite accident prone—so I borrowed sarahs walking boots to try and minimise any risk of damage to myself.
Very early on in the trail, I learned a pretty valuable lesson. My gut instinct when facing something difficult ( in this case, a rocky path, or a huge hill ) is to say ‘ I can't, but the more confident I got, as we climbed and climbed and climbed, the less I hesitated when something difficult was coming up. I put a confident foot forward, and I actually made myself feel really proud.
Meant For Walking
The waterfalls were simply spectacular, and we took lots of pictures. But the most amazing thing about standing beside those waterfalls was the sheer power they created, the noise sometimes was almost deafening as the water tumbled down the rocks with unbelievable force.
Walking that waterfall trail - all 4 and a half miles of it reminded me once again that I really am stronger and braver that I ever thought I could be. It also gave me the opportunity to laugh, chat and jump in huge watery puddles with my daughter - and we both feel stronger for the experience.
She’s now threatening to challenge me even more—and I might just have to invest in my own walking boots!
Until next time!
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Hey, there! If you enjoyed reading any of the above, why not take a look at some of my published work? Below you’ll find links to a number of short stories I’m lucky enough to have included in anthologies. I’d love to know what you think.
New Tales Of Old
Death Ship
Pestilence: Drabbles 1
Reaperman: Drabbles 3
The Musketeers Vs Cthulhu
Eldritch Investigations
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