Life on the fells

Lambs

Spotted yesterday as I drove down the dale after a lovely walk from Grassington with Rich, Jan and Tussock and snapped today by Stef

Tussock and I

Tussock and I had a bit of down-time at home yesterday afternoon after a few busy weeks post Christmas, but we're going for a walk up the dale later today with Rich and Jan. Tuss is nearly 17 months old now and has grown into a lovely companion for us. He's affectionate and very sensitive to what's going on around him. We love him!

Beginning to see the light

Happy land

David Bowie R.I.P.

Spinal Sunday

The Spine series of races started yesterday. I've never really taken any notice but the events have really grown in stature, and are now well established on the ultra-running calendar. Today I took Tussock over to Lothersdale and we had a walk up Pin Haw beacon. We met several competitors including Tim, a smashing guy from Ambleside, who was looking really good on the full 268 mile (!) course. Tim has a Dragon's Back completion behind him plus a Spine Challenger and obviously was very well prepared for this gruelling event

Hardmoors 30

Stef and I ran the Hardmoors 30 on New Year's Day. It was our third time, but our first with the new start (and finish) at Robin Hood's Bay. We set off steady near the back of the field and stayed there for over seven hours. To be honest I'm not a massive fan of the course (it's way too runnable for me) and if it hadn't been for Stef I would have probably dropped out at 15 miles. However we got round, which considering how little running we've done recently is good. Ironically my feet were probably the best they've ever been after an ultra and my streak hasn't been affected although Saturday's recovery shuffle was at a very sedentary pace

John Holt

New Year's Eve dog-walk

Me and Tussock walked up the Beacon with Rich and Jan, plus a group of their Cambridge friends on New Year's Eve morning. We did well to stay dry because it looked like rain was on it's way from the West at one point. Above photo is courtesy of Bernie, who likes photographing Tuss. Below is the trig column with fairly recently added plaque commemorating a RAF plans crash on the hill