Simply Seasonal ....21st of January

Hello Lovelies,

how was your week? My work days were busy and quiet stressful, but my days off had many happy moments and simple but special treats.

Here is my round up of simply seasonal joy for the third week of January.

1 ♥ A feast with friends. My walking group have their annual lunch in January. I think it's great that they don't try and have it in December when everywhere and everyone is so busy. The company was great...lots of book talk which gave me some titles to look out for. I'm not much of a novel reader but occasionally I do like to loose myself in a book. Last year I read THIS book on holiday and loved it.

The roses on the table made me smile

and there were any courses to enjoy. I liked the carvery main course the best as I do love this sort of meal and it tastes much nicer when you have not had to cook it yourself :0)

2 ♥ Baking It's still chilly outside and it was very windy on occasion this week. When it's wild weather I love to turn on the oven and bake in a cosy kitchen.

I made an army of gingerbread men

3 ♥ Walking by water. On Thursday I was relived the wind had gone and the sun was even shining. Myself and a friend were  the leaders on this weeks walking group outing. It was an  unusually flat walk for us to choose but the watery views were beautiful and it avoided too much mud :0)

We went HERE.

It was great to be able to distribute some home baking too.

4 ♥ Getting outdoors with Eldest. More walking....this time locally. No water but lots of chat and fresh air.

I introduced him to my Robin friend too. Can you spot him?

Her's getting braver and we both loved watching him enjoy the seed I left.

My favourite church was looking pretty in the sunshine.

and I smiled when I noticed the snowdrops are getting bigger.

The very "Free Range" chickens were wandering around enjoying the sunshine a little further down the road.

and we said hello to these two, who seemed to smile back.

5 ♥ Wintry Shadows. As you can see our shed project is finally looking better. It's not complete but we are getting there. I had to smile when eldest did a bit styling with a pot and the little pig I've had in the garden for ages, but I took this photo mainly for the tree shadows.  I love their shapes and the way I could see the shadows of the birds hopping in the branches too.

6 ♥ Making Soup. I do love home made soup. It's so cheap and easy to make. Not to mention good for you.

On this occasion I used THIS recipe.

7 ♥ Adventuring with mum. This week we went in search of a new tea room. It's becoming a habit :0)
 It was a bit tricky to find and I nearly baulked when we came to this steep, single track bridge. Time to sound your horn to warn others who might be coming in the opposite direction.

We made it over safely and I had to admit it was a pretty sight from the canal bank.

As you can see this is a quiet lane. We like a tea room with pretty surroundings.

The sun even shone for us and things looked promising.

we went HERE.

Inside was delightful. More table flowers. Such a lovely touch

and when you have had healthy soup for lunch you have an excuse for a sweet treat, right?

There were other customers despite the relative remoteness of this spot. I love the quick sketch mum did of this couple.

Mum also had old photos in her handbag that made me smile. This is my younger brother and I at Hardcastle Crags in the 80's. I think we would have been 18 and 14. I see we loved stepping stones back then too...oh and we were both wearing our Nanna's knitting  :0)

It was a lovely atmosphere in the Tea shop and even better...there is also a charity shop there. I picked up a brand new high quality walking top for a bargain price.

And mum got a new handbag...her weakness :0)   It was a lovely afternoon discovering somewhere new and supporting a deserving charity too. In mum's words it "turned out better than like"

I hope your week turns out well too.
Jacquie x

The Final Walk of 2017

Hello Lovelies,

Thank you for all your kind comments on my previous post...and for all your visits and comments throughout 2017. They are such a huge encouragement to me and I'm touched that some of you find the time to write a thoughtful message.

As promised here are some views from my final walk of 2017.  As I had been busy last year it had looked like I may not make 1000 miles of outdoor "boots on" walking this time. But a concerted effort to catch up left my total at 998 miles by the 30th of December. Happily the weather forecast was good for the next day and hubby was amenable  to drive us somewhere interesting to finish off my third year of walking 1000 miles.

I chose somewhere I had not walked before, because I like a little adventure. The sun shone brightly and the sky was stunningly blue when we arrived at The Longshaw Estate

As soon as we set out there was a tantalising peek at the moorland I wanted to explore.

At first the route was through a pretty wooded glade.

With tumbling streams

Our group was myself, hubby, eldest and my friend M. We chatted happily as we walked along.

The landscape was just as I had hoped, rugged and covered in the burnt orange and gold shades of winter moorland.

There were rocks to clamber on

and if you are daft like my other half, you can try and kid everyone you are about to fall down a deep well... however we were not fooled, we know him too well :0)

I was so happy we were treated to some sunshine on this walk. It really brings those wonderful colours alive.

Though the cloud did begin to gather as we walked further.

Looking back to where we had started the light was hazy and quite magical.

There were lots of climbers on the rocky outcrops here.

And here's a wider angle shot of the view back down the valley we walked up.

At the head of the valley you could walk across the streams, or over the bridge. Maybe you can guess which one of the group dared getting wet in the fast flowing water.

yup, Hubby.

Now we were around half way through our 4.5 mile walk so I guess this was possibly the spot where I clocked 1000 miles. Sigh. It was wild and beautiful and perfect.

Just look at that skyline. We were heading towards those hills.

It was a real moorland clamber here, picking your way across  the boulders to avoid the peaty puddles and mud.

Then it was a short steep climb to the top of Higger Tor

At the top we were rewarded with far reaching views.

Gosh it was windy up here.

But I loved the fresh air and the "top of the world" feeling.

This was zoomed in on our next destination...the rocky outcrop and ancient fortifications of Carl Wark

As you can see here we were not the only people enjoying the views :0)

And after sheltering behind a rock for a drink and a snack we began the scramble down from the tor. This was the bit eldest liked best.

I loved seeing the birds of prey hovering, practically motionless on the strong wind

and the evidence of human activity from past millennia on the fort.

Here the end of our walk was in sight and we just made a bee line for the road. That was a mistake.

I got distracted by the sight of Sphagnum moss

Heather.

and Grouse hiding in the dead bracken

We ended up in a bog. Ooops.

Having escaped that with only one wet foot between us we had to find a narrow spot to cross the stream. M was not happy about this, but she survived :0)

Back at the lodge I loved the sound of the guided walks...which are free

And as this was a special walk we splurged on hot drink and cake from the cafe. Not on my thrifty timetable but as it said in the cafe...31 scones purchased pays for one meter of dry-stone wall to be repaired.
And it was scrummy...with ALL the butter :0)

Not the best photo but I was hungry.

I do hope we can visit this area again in the not too distant future. It's only a little over an hour's travel time from home.  I'd love to explore further and see it in different seasons.

 THIS is the route we walked ♥

Happy New Year Everybody

Jacquie x

P.S. Anybody attempting to walk 1000 miles in 2018? I know I am fortunate to be able to do this so I am starting all over again :0)

Remember it's less that 3 miles a day and you can count all your steps if you prefer. There's some great inspiration HERE