Category: Musings

10 Reasons to Love Autumn

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Trees in autumn colours

1) Cool, crisp mornings

Many people associate autumn with the start of wet winter weather. But you also get some beautiful days when the air is clear and crisp and the dew hangs on every blade of grass. It’s still light enough in the mornings to enjoy a run before work so get out and make the most these magical autumn days before winter descends.

2) Vibrant autumn colours

Spring flowers have their place but for me, the vibrant fiery hues of autumn can’t be beaten. Whether it’s the golden yellow and russet browns of deciduous woodland or the rich orange shades of bracken-covered fells, the English countryside is at its most beautiful at this time of year.

3) An extra hour in bed

By the end of October, it can be pretty hard to get up in the dark mornings. Fortunately, just when you’re losing despair, the clocks go back and the mornings get lighter. This also means you can trick your body into thinking you’re getting an extra hour in bed in the morning – a feeling which lasts for all of a week before things revert to normal. Make the most of waking up early and fit your training in before work. That way, when you get home in the dark, you won’t have to feel guilty about curling up on the sofa in front of the TV.

4) The return of comfort food

Even if summer is a washout, you still feel as if you should be eating healthy salads and cold dishes. But now, the cold weather is officially here! Which means it’s perfectly acceptable to start eating tasty warm comfort food again. Bring on the soups, stews and sponge puddings.

As there’s still a good variety of vegetables in season, there’s no excuse to equate “comfort” with “unhealthy”. Pumpkins and squashes are bright and colourful and can be used in lots of different dishes. This week, we were the recipients of a large pumpkin fresh from my mother-in-law’s garden. So far, we’ve had pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie and pumpkin chilli, and we’re planning on roasting the rest of it for dinner this week. And don’t throw away those pumpkin seeds – they’re great toasted with a bit of salt as a snack or soup garnish.

5) Roaring fires

Since the dawn of time, humans have gathered around fires. There’s nothing quite so comforting as sitting around a crackling fire gazing into the hypnotic flames. Sipping a mug of hot chocolate around a wood burning stove is the perfect way to end a day spent hiking in the cold.

If you don’t have a stove of your own, it’s not long to wait until bonfire night when you can wrap up in a warm coat and winter gloves and suck a toffee apple while basking in the warmth of the bonfire.

6) Mud!

Okay, I admit this may not be everyone’s reason to love autumn. But if you’re one of those crazy people who loves nothing more than getting covered head to toe in mud while struggling around a 10 km course, autumn is the perfect season for mud races.

And if you’re tired of slipping around on your local footpaths, I was quite excited to discover that you can buy studded wellies!

7) It’s apple season

The apples seemed to ripen rather earlier than usual this year, but I still associate autumn with apple season. From mulled cider to Dorset apple cake and apple and blackberry crumble, there are so many apple recipes, you’ll never run out. If you’re swamped with fruit, wrap the best apples in newspaper and they should keep until Christmas. Freeze the rest, either in slices or as a purée, or if you have a dehydrator create some apple rings for hiking snacks.

8) Autumn leaves

And I the only one who loves walking through rustling piles of autumn leaves, kicking them up in front of me as I go? Thought not. And dry autumn leaves are perfect for adding to the compost bin or creating leaf art.

9) Hot drinks rule

As if I needed an excuse to drink hot chocolate … But here it is! I’m always at a bit of a loss as to what to drink in hot weather. (Water gets a bit boring after a while.) But when it’s cold there are so many choices! If you’re looking for a gift for a tea-drinker or want to treat yourself, I love Kusmi teas almost as much as the tins they come up. A warm glass of mulled cider or mulled wine is one of my favourite drinks for a cold autumn evening. And if you’re starting to sniffle, head off a winter cold with a hot mug of lemon ginger and honey (whiskey or brandy optional!).

10) The smells of autumn

Smells can evoke strong memories. The smell of smoke on an autumn day instantly transports me back to childhood holidays in the Lake District. It sums up what I love most about autumn weekends. A long walk or run in the hills followed by a hot cup of tea and a hearty meal in front of a roaring log fire. Is there any better way to spend a day?

Why a Digital Detox Can Make You Happier and More Productive

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Sitting-on-beach-journalling

Enjoying some creative time during my digital detox

Last week I had a digital detox. Ok, so just saying those words makes me feel rather poncy and hipster-ish. Like I’m some new-age hippy who lives off green juice and rises at 5 am for an hour of meditation. Which, I’m not. (5 am starts are reserved for very special occasions, like watching the sunrise in the mountains, or flying somewhere exciting.) But, somewhat accidentally, I spent a full seven days with no internet access (bar one hour to check our hiking routes), no social media and talking to almost nobody apart from my new husband.

New husband? Oh yeah, I should probably mention that … Two weeks ago I got married! Which is why there’s been a yawning gap in blog posts this month, for which I apologise. (Oh, you didn’t notice? Okay then …) I had planned to schedule a pile of articles in advance, but I was so busy finishing off client work, setting up my new author website and frantically trying to get everything ready for our DIY wedding that, well, it just never happened. But the hard work paid off; we had a fabulous wedding day and our friends and family appreciated all the personal touches that had gone into making it extra-special. More on that in a future post!

After a crazy six months of going full-time with Windswept Writing, writing my first novel and prequel novelette and planning the wedding, I was pretty exhausted come W-day. We’ve got a super-exciting (and energetic!) honeymoon planned next year (more on that in a future post), but we had no time to plan anything for after the actual wedding. So we decided to pack up our biking and hiking gear in our campervan, Sadie, and head to wherever the sun was shining.

I should probably make it clear that I did not in any way plan to have a digital detox. I did think I should probably separate myself from my phone and Twitter for a day or so to look lovingly into my husband’s eyes and all that jazz. But taking a full week away from the digital world and my computer? Well, that was completely accidental. A whim of fate perhaps, that the place with the best forecast in the UK happened to be the north-west coast of Scotland. Where, if you happen to be on EE’s network, you get absolutely zero mobile phone signal.

A Whole Week Without the Internet?

Why, yes! And not just without the internet, but without contact with friends and family. No text messages. Or WhatsApp. And it was bliss.

We walked in the hills, went on gentle cycle rides to deserted beaches, swam in rivers and the sea and slept a lot. I read a book and got half way through a second and scribbled down ideas for a new book, the words tumbling from my head through my pen and out onto the pages of my notebook. We wild camped on the beach and drank wine by our campfire.

It took me back to my childhood. In the days before the internet, or when you could only access the internet through your desktop PC at home. (Showing my age here!) Smartphones hadn’t been invented. Social media wasn’t a ‘thing’. There was no pressure to showcase your perfect life to the world, or to be in constant touch with online media. There’s a reason I read many more books as a child than I do as an adult. The internet has changed our world – in many ways for the better – but there are two sides to every coin.

The Benefits of a Digital Detox

The internet is the world’s largest city. The city that never sleeps. Where everyone and everything is on show. Where things move at a hundred miles an hour and even if you learn to work faster and smarter, you can never keep on top of it all. I will admit to being a bit of a perfectionist at heart. I want to know everything, be good at everything and achieve more. The internet feeds these desires. But it can also distract from what is really important to me. The love of my family and friends. Spending time in beautiful, remote places. And a lot of the time, rather than promoting my creativity, the internet detracts from it.

Do you ever feel as if you’re permanently attached to your smartphone? Like you need an extra pair of hands and eyes to manage that as well as day-to-day life? Like me, you may feel guilty for spending so much time online, away from your loved ones. But social networking is necessary for your business right? Right. But your business is YOUR business. And that means you can make it what you want.

When we finally got phone and 4G signal back, on our drive south, I was strangely reluctant to check my phone and connect with the real world. But we could stay in our bubble of escapism forever. But I could feel the benefits of my time away from the internet and social media. I went away exhausted and overwhelmed. I came back relaxed, revitalised and determined to get a better balance in my life going forward. Part of this was down to having a long-overdue holiday. But part of it was also due to my digital detox.

How to Make the Most of Your Digital Detox

If your earn your living online (or are simply addicted to Facebook), the thought of unplugging yourself from the internet may fill you with horror. But it’s easy enough to plan for. Schedule your social media posts and any publications in advance. Tell clients you’ll be away for a bit. Put an out of office on your email, or, if you can afford to, employ a VA to check and respond to anything urgent on your behalf. And accept that life will not end if it takes you a few days to get back to people, or respond to tweets.

Then leave your computer behind. Lock your smartphone in a drawer (or go somewhere where there’s no phone signal!) and enjoy having time to yourself. Whether that’s walking in the hills, going on a mammoth bike ride, meditating by a river or reading a good book, do something that makes you happy.

Many people escape the internet to have a period of time for reflection. Sophie Radcliffe, of Challenge Sophie, took time out to think and plan where she wanted to take her business. Tim Ferris freely admitted that one of his priorities for 2017 was to take long periods of time away from the internet. Everyone needs some space to breathe. To be themselves.

Coming Back Down to Earth

Or, should I say, back to digital life! Of course, it’s inevitable. But there are things you can do to build moments of digital detox into your everyday life. Some people meditate, others journal. Morning and evenings are good times of day to focus on this. Here are some ideas for morning rituals that can help set you up for the day. You probably don’t have time to do all of them (unless you’re one of those 5 am risers), but choose something that works for you.

I took some time to reflect whilst on my digital detox and made a few of my own resolutions for how I wanted my life to be. In the interests of accountability, here they are:

  • Have a minimum half a day digital detox each week (I.e. no internet or phone!)
  • Have one weekend a month where I go completely offline, and ideally off-grid
  • Let my body sleep. When I’m exhausted, my creativity drops
  • Prioritise outdoor time with my man!

Have you ever taken a digital detox? Do you feel the need to? And what resolutions did you set yourself? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Do You Know What’s in Your Backyard?

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Photo of park with text - what's in your backyard

Is it just me or are the weeks flying by? And every day, we’re creeping closer to the longest day of the year. This is one of my favourite times of year. The weather’s getting warmer, flowers are popping their heads up and it really feels like the start of summer. Because we’ve been busy wedding planning recently, we haven’t been able to get away for as many weekend trips as usual. While I’m missing these, I’ve really been enjoying exploring our local area. This got me thinking about how often we overlook things that are right under our noses. That we travel in search of something different when there are often new and interesting places to explore that are literally just outside our backyards.

Last week I found a secret park. Of course, it wasn’t actually secret – it’s quite easy to find if you know it’s there. But when I came across it, after taking a small dirt path through the trees that looked ‘interesting’, it felt like I was discovering something new. Ok, so it’s not the Lost City of Teyuna, but it also didn’t cost me anything – other than half an hour of my time – to experience that feeling.

Human beings are creatures of habit. We like our nice, safe, boring routines. But this can lead us to think that the only way to break out of these routines is to go on a big adventure. To get away from home. It makes us stop exploring what we have on our doorsteps.

So, if you’re feeling like you’re stuck in a rut; that you go on the same walks, runs or bike rides, then here are some thoughts on how you can shake things up a bit. Even if you think you know your local area like the back of your hand, you may be surprised at what you find.

Take a different path

Do you walk the same route to the station/shop/office every day? Always take your dog on the same loop through the woods, or take your kids to the same park on a Sunday afternoon?

Rather than treading the same old tracks, next time, choose a different route. Take a more roundabout route to the station, or a detour off the road to the local shop. Instead of eating at your desk, take a lunch break and explore the area around your office. When I worked in London, I found hidden parks, peaceful churchyards and a host of blue-plaqued houses through doing just this.

Follow your curiosity

Do you ever see a road, or path and think, ‘I wonder what’s down there?’. Or spot a lake through the trees when driving that looks, well, interesting? Next time you see something that arouses your curiosity, rather than just thinking about it, go and take a look. Follow the road and see where it leads. Find a path that leads down to the lake (not if it’s on private land, obviously) and sit by it for a while.

As children, we are naturally curious and spontaneous. When we grow up, this may be trained out of us; we sometimes feel like we need to limit our curiousity. There are other more important things to be done, after all. But every once in a while, give yourself permission to be a child again and follow your nose down that path or road. You may be surprised at what you find.

Look at your local map

Even if you live in a town or city, there are often lots of small footpaths, linking different housing estates, leading through parks and woodlands or crossing fields. Often you may not even realise they’re there. We moved house about five months ago, to a different part of the same village. Even though I thought I knew the area quite well, when I had a look at the OS map I realised there were loads of paths and back roads that I’d never been down. I’ve been happily exploring them ever since.

You can often borrow Ordnance Survey maps from your local library. There’s also an option to view the OS map for an area on Bing maps. OS maps have a handy phone app where you can plan routes and view maps of different scales on your phone and if you subscribe to the fantastic Trail Running magazine, you get a whole year’s worth of premium access to OS maps for free (which is a bit of a bargain).

Go running without a map

This may sound a bit contrary to common advice, particularly coming from me. I mean, I’m an orienteer – I love maps! I also love knowing where I’m going. But sometimes it’s actually quite fun to lose yourself in a local patch of woodland or a large park and figure out where different paths may lead you.

There’s a wood near our house where we often go running. We’ve even done an orienteering event there and I thought we knew it pretty well. But the other week, when we headed out for an evening run, I chose a different path up the hill. That led to another path, and another and suddenly we found ourselves in a flat, open section of ancient woodland. A signpost informed us that this was the site of a neolithic settlement. If we hadn’t have chosen to lose ourselves in the wood, we may never have known of its existence.

So if you’re not able to get out into the wilds this weekend, don’t feel glum. Take an hour out of your day and discover something new about your local area.

Why We Must Fight to Keep National Land Free

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Grand-canyon-national-park

Areas of land around the Grand Canyon are among the national land that may be given away

I spent a lot of my childhood outdoors; walking, scrambling, climbing trees. Some of these outdoor experiences were admittedly more enjoyable than others. (A rain-soaked ascent of the Merrick has gone down in family history as the wettest – and worst – walk ever.)

As an adult, I have mostly lived in cities with forays into the real outdoors reserved for weekends and holidays. It took ten years and a move to the UK’s largest city to make me finally realise that the outdoors wasn’t just a place to go hiking, rock climbing or mountain biking. The outdoors is part of me. It makes me happy. When I haven’t spent enough time outside I get grumpy and miserable (as many of my close friends know only too well). That connection, rooted in childhood has grown into a deeper love and respect for the outdoor environment.

Which is why the news that Republican lawmakers had laid the foundations to give away 640m acres of U.S. national land hit me like a sledgehammer. I have done my best to stay optimistic throughout the last year of political turmoil. Strived to understand the reasons behind other peoples’ views and respect them, even if I don’t agree with them. And most definitely not talked about them on this blog. (Until now obviously, but I promise normal service will resume next week.)

There have been so many negative news stories about the lack of importance that our leaders and politicians are placing on environmental issues. Climate change denial, banning of scientific facts and the removal of key environmental legislation. So why has this single line of change to a legal framework hit me so hard?

First, and perhaps most obvious is the risk of vast tracts of wild land being privatised and damaged or destroyed for economic gain. And we’re talking a lot of land. 640m acres is more than ten times the size of the UK. Wow. (And doesn’t that make all us Brits feel small?!)

I have been lucky enough to visit a number of the U.S. National Parks and they astounded me, not only with their beauty but with the breadth and variety of environments they contain. From deserts to mountains, vast forests to open plains; these parks encompass a myriad of different ecosystems. Generations of trees, plants and wildlife. Ecosystems are finally balanced things: destroy one element in the chain, and the whole system can collapse.

But it’s also about what is being taken away from the American people. (And yes, from us visitors too!) Those memories I have of my childhood – that connection I made with the outdoors – that wouldn’t have been possible without our National Parks and public land in the UK. The thought of future generations of children growing up without being able to play in trees, paddle in rivers and wander through beautiful landscapes makes me immeasurably sad.

If you take away vast areas of land, you concentrate people into what remains. And that can cause problems of its own. We are creatures of the environment. We need the outdoors to live happy lives. Do we really want out children to grow up in urban jungles? To only see bears, owls and moose in picture books?

And there’s another thing that worries me in this act. Something that goes much deeper. It’s the implication that federal land – these beautiful, life-filled landscapes – are worthless. That they have no value. Because that is what this little one-line change in the Rules for the House of Representatives means: that “state, local government or tribal entity shall not be considered as providing new budget authority, decreasing revenues, increasing mandatory spending or increasing outlays.”

And that couldn’t be further from the truth. Putting a value on natural capital has always been a hard and contentious issues. But denying it has a value? That’s another matter altogether. It means it doesn’t appear on the balance sheet. Doesn’t get accounted for when weighing up costs and benefits of different options. It implies that we would be just as well off if that piece of wild land didn’t even exist in the first place.

And that is a slippery slope. Because if we don’t recognise the value of our natural environment and therefore recognise it as something that needs our protection, we will end up doing irreversible damage. Damage that will not only threaten much of the wildlife we hold dear, but ultimately ourselves. And our children, and their children.

“Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught, and the last stream poisoned, will we realize we cannot eat money.”

Cree Indian Prophecy

The job of our elected politicans is to do what is in the best interest for our country in the long term. The Paris Agreement, agreed at COP 21 and ratified last year, gave hope that global leaders recognise the need to modify our behaviours today to protect the world for the people of tomorrow. But protecting our world is not just about counting carbon emissions.

This is a plea to all Americans – it is time to tell your leaders what it is you hold dear. To make it fundamentally clear how much you value your National Parks and open spaces. Because if you don’t take a stand now, there may not be any wild places left to protect in the future.

Setting New Year’s Resolutions You’ll Actually Keep

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real-new-year-resolutions

Happiness is a beautiful, frosty, sunny morning

New Year’s resolutions can be great. If you’re a goal-orientated person (like me!) then you’ve probably already set out your aims and ambitions for 2017. If you’re a follower of the Tough Girl podcast, you may already have committed to your 7 or 17 challenges for 2017. My Twitter and Facebook feeds are full of people setting out their resolutions for the coming year.

And I applaud you all! But perhaps take a moment to stop and think why you’re making these resolutions. Many people set themselves resolutions to get fitter, lose weight or get a promotion because they feel this will make them happier or help them be a better person. If they don’t achieve their goals by the end of the year, they feel like they’ve failed.

Or perhaps you do achieve your goals, but wonder why you’re still not feeling as happy about it as you ‘should’ be. That despite all the effort and work you’ve put in, life is still not perfect.

But is happiness something that can be pursued? Sometimes I think we try and define ‘happiness’ too much, and set too much store in trying to achieve it. Earlier this year, I came across this comic strip from The Oatmeal which I think sums the pursuit of happiness up perfectly. If you sometimes feel that you should be feeling happier or more contented, I suggest you have a read of it.

Setting real resolutions

Last year I was guilty of setting a ton of goals without actually thinking through whether I’d realistically be able to achieve them. I’m all for setting ambitious targets, but when you don’t even achieve half of them, you know you’ve done something wrong. In my case, the challenges I’d set were way too ambitious given what else I had during the year. Several of them also conflicted with each other: climbing 7c requires very different training to that needed to tackle the Cuillin Ridge!

So what did I learn from this about New Year’s resolutions? Number one: be realistic. Break down what you’ll need to do to achieve your resolution and work out what you can fit into your life. Number two: commit to it. Set aside time to do whatever it is you want to do, whether that’s reading more books or getting out running.

And perhaps most importantly, number three: do things because you find them meaningful and because you get satisfaction out of doing them. Do things you enjoy whilst doing them and not just for the outcome. And definitely not because you think achieving it will automatically make you a happier, more awesome person.

For example, if you hate dieting but want to lose weight, look at setting a resolution for the process rather than the end point. So rather than your resolution being to lose eight pounds by June, set a resolution to test out a new healthy recipe every week. Yes, it sometimes works to have a goal and endpoint in mind, but making the journey easier is a sure-fire way of actually achieving your target.

What happiness means to me

A few days ago I was running down through the forest I grew up near, on a cold, frosty but sunny morning. I had family (and a hot shower) waiting at home, I wasn’t gasping for air (unusually) and everything was just beautiful. And suddenly a thought popped into my head: this is what happiness means to me.

I do have goals written down for 2017, both for work and personal life. But for once, I have no goals relating to sport, adventure or being outdoors. I’d like to spend more time climbing, but I’m not aiming to climb 7c (as I tried – and failed – to do last year). I’ll go walking and running and orienteering, but I have entered no races or competitions. We’re planning more microadventures, but without any specific agenda.

What I’ve realised this year is that I’m happy just being outdoors and taking part in these activities. There is a satisfaction from achieving goals and ambitions, but the enjoyment is in taking part. And sometimes those moments of contentment are more significant than getting to the top of the climb, or completing the run.

Happiness is the chirruping of a robin, bouncing across a frosty forest floor. The shaft of sunlight lighting up the heather-coated hill. The breathing in of fresh, unpolluted air. The sound of silence.

So for me, being outdoors will be the place I can escape from the pressure of goals and targets, and just be. A place I can recharge my batteries to help me achieve everything I want to in 2017.

Whether you make resolutions for 2017 or prefer to just take life as it comes, I hope you can all find some kind of happiness outdoors this year. Or if not happiness, then moments of contentment and satisfaction.