Hiking In The Peak District

No phone signal, fresh air and exercise

So...

I had a bit of an adventure this weekend :)

At the beginning of the week I had nothing planned, I had wanted to go on a hike to the Peak District I had found through the meetup app but I missed out as it sold out quickly when I first found it a few weeks back, but that never stopped me going on the waiting list to see if there were any last minute withdrawals...

As Wednesday approached I put any sort of thoughts about going away on the friday to the back of my mind but then my phoned pinged!! A message on the meetup discussion board. Someone had unfortunatly injured themselves and asked if anyone wanted their place???

YES !!

was my reply, so I grabbed the opportunity and transferred the money with a huge smile on my face (sorry for the guy who missed out).....

To walk into a room with 35 strangers

Friday night and I arrived at the hostel late (around 10ish) and I walk into a room with 35 people I have never met or had any sort of interaction with before. The group organiser came and introduced himself, went through all the safety stuff and introduced me to a couple of folks. So I grabbed some supper and got ready to grab a bunk...

zZzZzZzZzZ.....

Saturday morning, and after I had peeled myself off the plastic covered mattress (everyone was asleep last night when I went up so I did not want to disturb them by making the bed) it was time to head down for breakfast. Bright and early, after some vegan porridge and peanut butter on toast I set out making my packed lunch mmmm.

We all had a briefing and got seperated into 2 hike groups and then head off into the hills.

The group organiser led the way and was so knowledgeable about the local area and landscape, you could tell he really knew his stuff. As we made it up through the hills we saw hives of activity, this was a local hotspot for rock climbers, hand gliding and bouldering.

A distant shot of people bouldering

A peaceful 10 minutes

When we topped the first hill the group had a 10 minute break for a quick snack and a drink so I took this opportunity to put my headphones in and meditate with this view.

What a truly beautiful place to sit and relax and take in this amazing part of the country... I have to say it was probably one of the best meditations I have done so far

I have to say by this point I had already chatted with half a dozen people and was building relationships up, what a lovely bunch of diverse people from all over the world I had found... This was exactly what I was hoping :)

So as we went on our travels we came across some abandoned millstones, some local wild life and so much more beutiful views.

Lunchtime and we found a cave, forgive me I can't remember if it was the cave that legend had Robin Hood hide in from the Sherrif of Nottingham, but besides that it was still a great spot to stop and have a bite to eat and shelter from the slight chill in the air.

Time to get warm again and add to the newly formed blisters (I should have got used to wearing my hiking boots again before attempting this).

So heading back to base we again took in the wonderful views and continued to form close bonds with likeminded folk... and where better to do so before heading back for dinner?? Of course!! The pub..

Stopped for a few drinks and then showered, ate and carried on the drinking, making more and more friends from both groups on the evening...

Here are a few more photos from this amazing experience:

I hope you've enjoyed reading this little adventure as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Peace

Kelvin

 

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