Grasmere Sports 2018

I once again volunteered to help at Grasmere Sports and was put on the fell running registration. It wasn't the best of weather for an outdoor sporting contest:

We set ourselves up with all the numbers for each of the categories:

We then spent most of the day registering anyone brave enough to come out in the cold and rain! My dad brought my son up and he took part in various sports. Unfortunately for him in the wrestling he came up against one of the regular wrestlers in round 1 so didn't last long... He also needed dry socks as they wrestle with no shoes on....

Next he participated in the fell race as it was part of his club championships. It wasn't wonderful conditions to run or spectate in:

Camping at Sykeside, Brothers' Water

When a friend from Buckinghamshire said they were coming up to the Lakes this summer I knew it was a good opportunity to show off my adopted county. I suggested camping for the night and then sent a few potential sites to her from pitchup.com. From these she chose Sykeside near Brothers Water. It was a wet and misty drive up into the mountains from Kendal and I was beginning to think camping had been a bad option! Then as we descended Kirkstone Pass the vista opened up and it just looked stunning:

Before pitching our tent we fortified ourselves with chips at the Brotherswater Inn. It was a good job we did as pitching the big tent in strong winds and drizzles was a testing experience... probably didn't help that I hadn't remembered to bring all the pegs so I had to buy more. The ones from the shop were more up to scratch for the hard ground any way! It was worth it for a view like this:

Once we were set up we headed across the fields for the short walk to Brothers Water:

Pembrokeshire Beaches

One of the reasons that Single With Kids run a holiday to Stackpole is its proximity to wonderful beaches. Over a fortnight we had plenty of adventures and fun on them with our guests. We always start with Broad Haven South:

Its a beautiful spot with big enough waves for body boarding and plenty of sand for getting creative:

With plenty of other holiday makers the children (and adults) had fun damming the stream:

Back in the saddle

Now my son is back cycling we have borrowed my mum's bicycle to give him more confidence and get in some practice. It has meant that I have dragged my bike out of the shed so that we can get out and make the most of the cycle friendly routes around Kendal:

We headed out along the old canal and then up along the River Kent as far as Dockwray Bridge:

We turned around on the industrial estate before heading back down the river:

Langdale Gala 2018

On the first Sunday of July its the Langdale Gala at Chapel Stile which is a traditional Cumbrian event. The weather wasn't typical when we arrived:

After signing in for the fell race the first event my son took part in was the school's Cumberland & Westmorland wrestling. There was a little mix up when he wasn't in the draw for the juniors but after I'd pointed this out he ended up winning and getting £5! This was a friend's son in his first ever bout as an under 15:

The flat races then started with traditional events such as sack, sprint and egg & spoon races. My son was in the sack race:

 and then I had to head up onto the fell side for the fell races:

Due to the heat all the juniors took the lower level route. There were some disappointed teenagers that they had to only do the under 13 route:

Chateau and Velo Rail at Commequiers

One of days out was to the Velo Rail at Commequiers. We first discovered the joys of the Cycle Trains when staying in Seine et Marne in 2013 and so were keen to have another go now that my son was tall enough to pedal! 

We allowed time to picnic on the way having pre-booked for 2 pm (be warned its very popular so you have to reserve...). So we hunted down the Chateau Commequiers:

Unfortunately due its state of disrepair the castle has been closed for access since 2014 and they are raising funds to rescue it. They still use the grounds for a medieval spectacular in August:

Hidden in the woods we discovered a children's play area:

#CountryKids Ile de Noirmoutier

On the second day of our stay the adults voted for an exploration day by driving up the coast to the Ile de Noirmoutier. The island can be accessed by 2 methods in a car. Traditionally the only way was to cross on the tidal road at low tide (unfortunately we had the wrong year's tide table so missed our chance!). Instead we had to cross over on the modern bridge which is one of those wonderful bits of French construction:

The island is a thriving salt producing area and we drove past many of the salt fields:

As its low season for tourism we found it easy to park up in the market place and it was only 50C for 3 hours parking! Then we wandered down along the harbour to look around:

#CountryKids on the beach at Les Mouettes, Vendee

It's been all quiet on the blog as we have been in France enjoying the camping break I had partly won from Canvas Holidays. On our first full day at the site it was extremely hot and sunny so we headed down to the beach (it turned out to be a longer walk than advertised!). It was almost deserted as was not French holiday season:

My son lost no time in heading down to the waves whilst the adults set up base:

It was so peaceful and quiet as well as being very clean. I suspect that in August it is packed out with holiday makers:

My son soon started work on building a marble run to see if we could make videos like some of the ones he has been enjoying watching on YouTube:

#CountryKids A walk on the Lancaster Canal and River Kent

On a cool and wet day over the holidays I persuaded my son to take a walk along the Lancaster Canal Trail which follows the old Lancaster Canal:

For much of the route to Sedgwick from Kendal there are only relics of the old canal alongside the path:

However most of the bridges are still in place which looks a bit odd in an otherwise ordinary field:

At some of the bridges the remnants of the canal are a lot more obvious:

#CountryKids Go Ape Junior Sherwood Pines

One of the group activities on our Single With Kids break was a trip to Go Ape at Sherwood Pines. On previous Go Ape trips my son had refused to have a go but this time he was encouraged to do it as lots of the other children were taking part. He has inherited my fear of heights but he gained in confidence as he kept on going around. You can see the difference in him in my video:

I will have to save up to do it all again if we lead the break next year! I wonder if he will ever be brave enough to do the adult course like his big sister has done...

#CountryKids at White Post Farm, Nottinghamshire

As part of our weekend away with Single With Kids we had a day trip to White Post Farm. Now I wasn't sure that my 11 year old son would be too old for a farm trip but it turned out there was plenty to keep him entertained. I booked our tickets the day before online to save money and then our group all headed over to the farm. It was a pretty damp and cold day but that didn't dampen the children's enthusiasm as we looked at the birds of prey near the entrance:

My son spotted the crazy golf and we easily found one other family who wanted to play. As it was all included in the entrance its so much easier! Some of the holes were tricky to say the least but I was glad to be the overall victor... 

The children then piled into the vehicles to try them out. All the way around the farm there were plenty of friendly animals wanting to say hello (and be fed!):

#CountryKids Fell Running Association Junior Championships Todd Cragg

This Sunday saw the opening race for this year's Fell Running Association Junior Championships at Ambleside. My son hadn't taken part in previous years so he decided to give it a go this year. All the races had to cross the historic Miller Bridge from Rothay Park:

There were 6 different age categories and each route was well marked and marshalled. My son and I walked his route so he knew where he was going and I could choose from filming locations.  The under 9 race (for 6 years and over) was just for 1 km and they went up the tarmac hill and back down again:

I captured their race from a few 100 metres below their turn. There were some scary speeds as they raced back down past me:

#CountryKids Sledging in Kendal

Kendal was right on the edge of the Beast from the East part 2 and we just about got some snow on Saturday night:

On Sunday morning the fell race he should have been running in was cancelled as there was too much snow and very strong winds in the hills. So he decided he wanted to go sledging instead. As his had died during the last snow:

Oops this is now an ex sledge!

A post shared by Becky Willoughby (@lakessinglemum) on Mar 1, 2018 at 10:37am PST

I had to rummage in the shed for the unused inflatable sledge we had been sent as a back up to a review 6 years ago:

#CountryKids More Parkour in Kendal

My son has been desperate to film more parkour videos but fell racing had taken over! So this week on two occasions that we out and about in Kendal he got some more practice in whilst I filmed in. I have to say he has improved a lot since his first sessions and is getting a lot braver (he has asked for elbow and knee pads for protection!). 

His first session was outside Kendal's County Hall after a dentist appointment. Here he is mid leap:

Then after a Mother's Day lunch out he found loads of places to leap off his 3 course dinner:

I am glad that he chooses to do the parkour in safe enough spots and always checks out whether the height and distance are feasible! I am sure that as he becomes a more confident free runner there will be some bumps and scrapes though... Here is the final video:

KWL 2018 Barbondale Fell Race #CountryKIds

Another freezing cold Sunday meant another few hours on a fell side videoing fell running! It was the toughest event in Kendal Winter League as its mostly vertical from the bottom of this slope:

My son wasn't running it as he doesn't like the vertical races so he was happy to help the sponsors set up before the event:

Then he clambered up the hillside with me so that we could find the best spots for filming. I stayed below the infamous scree patch and he initially went to the under 13 turning point which was just above the scree. This was my view whilst I was waiting for the runners:

Parkour #1 - Kendal

One of the other things my son was inspired to do by Kendal Mountain Festival was some parkour or free running. He has done the odd little bit but today decided to try some of it out on our walk into and back from town.

He has watched some seasoned parkour athletes on YouTube and so had seen what the basic moves are. To get more advanced he will obviously need to:

a) practice

b) build up his body strength

c) learn more techniques 

For now though I don't think he is doing too badly for being self-taught and not having a gymnastics background:

Fell Running Challenge #4 Kendal Winter League 2017 Scout Scar

It was a beautiful if freezing day for the first event in this year's Kendal Winter League at Scout Scar:

I walked the course with my son and then positioned myself on a good spot for capturing the juniors as they tackled the ascent:

I managed to film all three junior races and also captured the start of the senior's race.

A good start to the league and now we just have to wait to see what position my son finished in! The next event is Giggleswick on the 21st which includes a stream to cross...

#CountryKids A weekend of fun at Kendal Mountain Festival #Kendal17

Having popped up  quick post with just a YouTube video yesterday I thought I had better elaborate a bit more about the fun we had at Kendal Mountain Festival this weekend! First of all I got us tickets to see a talk about a new Channel 4 show Britain's Abandoned Playgrounds. This is a show where a free runner, slack liner, BMX rider and skateboarder have fun in some unusual locations:

There was a chat with the makers of the show plus the stars. A couple of them demonstrated their skills in front of us (check out the video from yesterday...) We watched some footage and then got to see the world premiere of the first episode. At the end the stars were happy to stop and chat to the children:

Outside lots of the children had a go at free running around on the walls etc much to the angst of us parents! Guttingly I had missed out on tickets to see Steve Backshall who was on next so we went home for the night.

On the Sunday we walked into Kendal to the Base Camp at the Brewery Arts Centre: