by hattenburrow | Nov 15, 2017 | Adventure, How to
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Hi folks! Here is the second in my guest blog series from Helen Read.
Helen was always really active as a youngster, getting involved in anything and everything she could, but lost the outdoors in her 20s. When going through a period of anxiety and depression, her friends persuaded her to train for and attempt to hike the Welsh 3000 that reinvigorated her love for the mountains and fresh air.
Ever since she has been on a quest to live the adventurous life that she is truly passionate about and helps her regulate the stresses of daily life. Whenever she has the opportunity she will be up a hill (or possibly under one) or on the water generally avoiding cities. One downside of liking so many different adventure sports is that it takes a very long time to improve ability, so she is currently planning a year away from work living the van life round Europe in order to focus more time on each one.
Go Helen!
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I woke up in my camper-van to a misty morning at the foot of Ben Nevis. It was the second week of my adventures in Scotland and I was feeling the difference between my normal office days and daily mountainous excursions that I’d had for the last 10 days.
By the time I persuaded myself to get up it was 10 and after stocking up on food for the coming trip I eventually found myself at the top of Neptune’s Staircase by lunchtime and the start of my adventure.
It was a strange feeling paddling away from my van and into the unknown, About 20 minutes in and Scotland did what Scotland does best as it started raining, luckily I was already togged up in my wetsuit (overkill) and waterproofs (entirely necessary) and it was a canal stretch so the water was calm, making negotiating the scout group not too troublesome.
Happy despite the rain
My first lock didn’t go entirely to plan. The first pair was inexplicably open so I paddled through, hoping there would be a landing stage in the middle that could hop out at so I’d only have to portage the last bit, but unfortunately not, so I had to paddle back out and walk around.
This was my first attempt at portaging and was not my most graceful. As it was such a long way I wanted to do it in one, so I put all my baggage in the paddle board bag (which luckily has wheels) with the paddle sticking out of the top, and the paddleboard in the other hand waddling up the tow-path, having to stop every 15m or so because my hand hurt. 20kg of board is quite a lot on one tiny handle! For future locks it wasn’t quite so far so I tended to do 2 trips, except for when the lovely lock-keeper at Loch Lochy insisted on giving me a hand.
It wasn’t long into my paddle that I realised I had forgotten to bring the little map that I had been given when I picked up a key for the lock facilities. So at that lock, I thought I’d carry on, still feeling pretty fresh at 4.30 because I started so late. That was a mistake.
Leaving Gairlochy
As I rounded the bend, heading east from Gairlochy lock, I discovered I had just set out on a loch. It wasn’t long before the exposure had let the wind pick up the water into little waves that made balancing extremely tricky and led me to resort to kneeling. I intended to follow the navigation buoys effectively through the middle of the loch, but not far into my voyage the topography to the west meant the wind began funnelling and it wasn’t long before I had been blown across to the east shore.
The waves seemed to be bigger the further down the lock I got and to keep direction I was paddling 3:1 on the right. Not wanting to fall in on day one I did my best not to end up side on into the waves.
Kneeling meant that all my balance and suspension was being done by my lower back, by the evening I was beginning to get back spasms and was in a lot of pain. I did find a couple of beaches that seemed to belong to hotels and in one instance wandered up to ask if there were any rooms because all I could dream about was a cosy bed, but I was out of luck.
Pretty sky, pain face
Meanwhile, there was a stunning sunset going on and I was torn between wanting the pain to stop and being so happy and grateful for being there at that moment to see it. I know it’s a view I could have gotten from a layby on the adjacent road, but feeling so isolated as the only person on an unpowered vessel in that whole loch just made it feel magic.
That solitude also let me give myself permission to cry, yelp and moo (don’t know why) every time my back seized up and there were points where I tried to stretch it out but got a wave to the face, so had to reserve that mostly for beaches.
The moment I first caught sight of the next lock was joyous though as it signalled the return to canals and I got an amazing night’s sleep even in my horrible little coffin tent.
Laggan Locks
The next day was completely different. The canal passed through woodland and had a Scandinavian feel about it. By lunchtime the cloud had burnt off and it was a lovely sunny day. At this point I wished I hadn’t got a wetsuit on as I was getting pretty toasty, but I hadn’t really bought any alternative clothes that I was willing to get wet- preferring to save my PJ’s for night time. On the plus side I didn’t get sunburn either!
Read about the rest of Helen’s trip on Trek and Trade Winds.
Top tips for getting started paddleboading:
1. Give it a go, most kayak places near still water now also hire out paddleboards so you can get a taster or whether it is for you.
2. Build up your confidence, there are sessions and lessons you can go to to improve your technique and make other paddling friends
3. Board selection: my board is inflatable so I can get it in my flat and big enough to hold 2 people so I wasn’t worried about bag weight; but there are some boards designed for surfing and other ways of riding. Decide how you want to ride (maybe do a taster of each type) and ask advice from the other people on the set up which will work for you.
4. Get out there! Stay safe and consider how the weather will effect you. Wind is hard to paddle against because your body acts like a sail and it picks up waves.
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by hattenburrow | Nov 11, 2017 | Adventure, Inspiration, Uncategorized
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What are your dreams made of?
Next week I reach the ripe old age of 30! This is a super scary thought for me, I don’t know if anyone else feels the same but in my head I had this elaborate portrait of what being 30 would look like. I would have a lovely house, husband, dog and maybe kids with a great high flying job in marketing probably in London. Well I guess I am almost there I have an incredibly supportive boyfriend, a slightly mischievous dog and a lovely house a.k.a building site because buying a house in southern England is like selling your soul to the mortgage company.
Just writing this has actually made me feel better about myself, It’s often the case that we take for granted what we have. Especially in todays ‘social’ world where every image on Instagram shows just a tiny slice of other people’s worlds, and usually it’s the good stuff you see!
I have taken the time recently to take stock of all the amazing memories, people and achievements in my life that make me grateful each day to be who I am. I am however, a great believer in always pushing forward and have goals and aspirations, dreams that I want to reach.
I have not had a ‘normal’ career path but I have certainly learnt who I am along the way. Starting with a degree in fashion, I still remember my interview and convincing my Dad that the black suit dress was not the best option and instead opting for a far zingier outfit. They must have liked it because the next thing I knew I was starting Uni in Southampton and couldn’t of been happier. Southampton was brilliant I have awesome memories learnt a hell of a lot about life, love, friendship and fashion of course! I also learnt that the fashion industry was not for me. After three years working hard on my degree I found myself back at home feeling rather delated and not sure what to do next. Not to be knocked down by the first hurdle I decided these feelings were normal and that’s feeling down was not constructive. After some soul searching I found my way back to my comfort zone of the class room and started my Masters in Marketing Management at the same time as being an intern for the university. This was a fantastic opportunity to keep learning (pushed way outside my comfort zone) and earn money. Win win.
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This time I left Uni with a direction and a drive to earn money! This drive landed me in a job in telecoms…. Que feeling totally confused and disinterested in trying to sell Voipe (I still don’t know what this is 7 years later). This first taste of employment taught me to search deeper and that money was not the bee all and end all.
Some would say ‘fate’ created an avenue to pursue my own path for a few months whilst I recovered from a back injury. This was my first taste of working for myself and I lapped it up. The thing I loved about working for myself was problem solving for clients. Whilst I had been an intern the Director of Marketing, who I reported too, was far too busy to give me things to do so I went off round the university and found ways I could improve the business services by listening to my colleagues and trying to solve their problems. I loved the creative freedom of thinking on my feet.
After my back injury Pilates was my way back to health, as well as biking this is where my hunger for living a healthy balanced lifestyle grew. I had always loved being outdoors but now being outside was an escape it allowed me to release tension and feel alive again. I spent so much time walking the country lanes with my Mum whilst I recovered, I loved the silence and peace I found in walking. My passion for biking was re-ignited when I could go further and needed a non-load bearing exercise.
After a while of working for myself again came the drive to earn money, also the drive to be closer to Martyn, living at home in Suffolk with a boyfriend on the Isle of Wight was not ideal!
So I returned to Southampton and my first taste of the real marketing world working in an agency. I enjoyed this new challenge in a fast paced industry where every 15 minutes counted towards a client’s bill. An opportunity came my way to combine my passion for health and fitness with my career in marketing and I was soon re-locating to Surrey. Surrey Sports Park the most beautiful gym I had ever set foot in! I had great fun at SSP working with the sports performance and fitness teams in the marketing department I also love being able to train at lunch and have free membership to this fabulous facility!
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This was also where my coaching journey began and I did my cycle coaching award and then coached at the Sports Park. I enjoyed my job but the 45 min commute was meaning I couldn’t coach or train as hard as I wanted to and my passion for cycling had grown to racing and after working my way into elite level at cross-country I wanted to dedicate more time to my sport.
Moving to Dreams Come True was great I had a brilliant boss who was very flexible and working for a small charity felt homely and fitted well with my values.
Working at Dreams, where we help young people with serious illness achieve their dreams has made me think about my dreams and goals. As a coach, it is so rewarding watching kids and adults work on a bike skill and then by the end of the session leave with confidence and more ability than when they started. Some of the kids I coach have been coming for four years and it’s the best ever feeling looking at where they were and were they could potentially go as gifted young riders. One of my life goals is to never stop learning and with this in mind I decided to take the plunge and learn how to be a Pilates instructor. I have seen first-hand the benefits Pilates has given me. My goal for 2018 is to combine my cycle coaching with Pilates and offer wellbeing programs for women and girls where I can show the benefits of leading healthy lifestyle through cycling, getting outdoors and maintaining a good strong core and working on posture and alignment.
It seems scary writing this down because it makes it so real. This is my goal and I am on a journey to change my view point in life. As my Dad would say ‘happy are those who dream dreams and are prepared to pay the price to see them come true.
I’d love to hear some of your life goals and how you are going to make them happen so please get in touch.
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by hattenburrow | Oct 29, 2017 | Biking Adventures, Breeze
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Hello! I hope you are having a fine weekend outside enjoying the warm Autumn weather we are having at the moment. I just wanted to share with you something exciting! Over the next few weeks I have some fantastic guest bloggers writing about their adventures outside by bike, fell running, on two feet, the best wild camp spots and other adventure activities to try out in the UK.
I hope you enjoy.
Firstly, I was delighted to be asked to write this guest blog as it acknowledges my new status as a ‘cyclist’… For a fat fifty-year-old with serious asthma and a questionable approach to fitness, this is a significant badge of honour that I shall wear with pride.
A couple of things happened this year that prompted me to get on my bike. The first was a serious chest infection that put me on steroids and the sofa for almost two months. This led to a complete review of my asthma with the respiratory team at QA, a change of medication and a new lease of life.
The second was my fiftieth birthday… cue mid-life crisis. However, instead of botox and a boob job I opted for a snazzy new bike. I’ve dabbled with cycling over the last couple of years but I felt ready to move up a gear (pardon the pun).
I hate busy roads and I’m a nervous rider, so I wasn’t comfortable with a fully loaded, curly handlebarred, skinny-tyred road bike. Instead, I went for a nice compromise – the Whyte Victoria. Described as a ‘fast commuting bike’, it’s at the sexy end of the sports hybrids, with carbon forks and a seat that makes your eyes water (but I’ve actually got used to). The tyres are still skinnyish but with enough grip to keep me feeling secure on my local patchwork of country lanes that often feature a layer of tractor mud and downland gravel.
To celebrate my exciting new toy, I signed up for a Cancer Research UK challenge to cycle 300 miles over the month of September. Cycling an average of 10 miles a day means I have got to know every nook and cranny of the Meon Valley – and fallen completely in love with it. With a miles and miles of quiet country lanes to choose from, on a sunny day the Meon Valley is a cyclist’s dream. It’s hilly, but for every climb there is a glorious downward stretch with fabulous views to make the effort totally worthwhile.
One of my favourite routes is what I call ‘my easy 10-miler’, which starts in Denmead and loops around World’s End, Southwick and back via Furzley Road. It’s a pretty ride featuring a vast majority of undisturbed country lanes. I’ve done this ride many times solo, with my husband and recently with the lovely Terri Bryant and the Breeze Network ladies. It’s also a great route to take visiting friends because the climbs aren’t too painful and there are two pubs and one of the loveliest tea rooms in Hampshire en route. See Southwick Village Tea Rooms
The only daunting bit for ‘main road haters’ like me is the short stretch up from Southwick towards Portsdown Hill. I freaked out the first time I saw it, with traffic flying past at breakneck speeds and a VERY LONG hill ahead of me… but that was before I realised there was a cycle lane and I was turning left half way up, before the steep bit!! Back on to an idyllic country lane where I can hear the birds tweeting and can happily natter to my companions – hurrah!
Here’s the route.
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by hattenburrow | Oct 21, 2017 | Adventure
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Autumn is one of my favourite times of year. The leaves are slowly changing, flushing with reds and oranges before making the leap to the forest floor. Each time I go out walking with Luna the landscape has changed. The forest becomes lighter as the leaves fall and reveal the cloudy sky above. The conifers stand smug keeping their needles and lush colour whilst the trees stand exposed to the elements.
Last weekend I had the privilege of spending a day outdoors with some fantastic people. Whole Earth Foods and Sophie Radcliffe invited me on an adventure along the South Downs. Starting at Harting Down we walked along a section of the South Downs way, before heading to the magical Adhurst Yurts where we went exploring the vast forest full of different types of trees some with and some without their leaves. It was like stepping into a fairy tale as we collected firewood from the dense forest ready to build our camp fire.
As Jayne and I built the fire Sophie, Katie and Chep cooked in a Safari kitchen outdoors. Dinner was served as the sun disappeared from view a heart and soul warming bowl of butternut squash and chick pea curry with a special dash of peanut butter, you must try it!
A camp fire would not be complete without marshmallows and we were in for a treat as Sophie shared her favourite camping snack of sliced apple and peanut butter s’mores it was like a sticky warming hug with a zing of fresh apple and lashings of peanut butter, what a great way to end the day, it had been an awesome adventure in the woods.
Here are a few photos from the trip.
Thank you Whole Earth and Sophie for inviting me.
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by hattenburrow | Oct 13, 2017 | Adventure, Inspiration
After a bike fuelled few days Shaun (our White Pine guide), Franki (Women 4 Adventure) and I went hiking in the Uinta Mountains.
Winding our way up from Park City the drive to lofty lakes was spectacular, passing through vast aspen forests slowly changing from green to oranges and yellows. Quaint North American towns dotted our route a few houses and then nothing but open countryside for miles, this was rural living at its extreme.
We were heading for Bald Mountain, the highest peak in the Uintas and would start our hike from just below. Bald Mountain, named so as the glacier movement almost cut off the top leaving the mountains in this range with no craggy peaks like you see in the Alps all the peaks are rounded.
Reaching the car park the air had a distinct chill even though the sun beat down strongly.
We started our hike steadily making our way through the trees past gorgeous meadows, marshes and over passes with stunning views.
The loop takes in three beautiful mountain lakes, Lofty Lake, Kamas Lake, and Scout Lake. Kamas and Scout Lake are known to have good trout fishing, where they drop fish from planes to stock the lakes.
As we climbed the temperature dropped I was glad to have my down jacket at hand when we stopped at a high point overlooking the lake to have lunch. We found a stone bench and seats made by a previous walker and enjoyed the views whilst talking about adventure and our mission of getting more people outdoors.
Shaun runs Inspired Summit Adventures. Shaun is a certified wellness coach, professional skier and seasoned mountain guide. Through a holistic approach to mountains and life Shaun holds a space for her clients to engage fully in their surroundings while utilizing the activity and a consciences dialogue to facilitate personal growth. All of her adventures, combined with her desire to inspire others, and her passion for the outdoors has lead Shaun to create this next chapter.
In the course of four miles the trail climbed a total of 1,000 feet. The trails were well maintained and signs will help keep you on course.
It was such a great experience being outdoors doing something physical in a beautiful place surrounded by interesting and inspiring people who I now call friends. This is just another time when the outdoors has given me more than just a work out. It was refreshing to hear other peoples journeys and how they fell in love with the outdoors and how they were helping to encourage and inspire others. From this hike Franki and I have decided that our mission on returning home is to enable and engage others in a more active and healthy lifestyle. Watch this space for more!
