Thank you Kath

I will be forever grateful to my friend Kath for introducing me to the joys of fellwalking, even if I didn’t appreciate it at once! She was an experienced walker and a member of a walking group; I never usually walked further than my nearby shops. Come with us she said, it will be fun, we won’t be going too far. So, the week before, off I go and buy all the gear, boots, waterproof, rucksack etc in preparation for my new hobby. Sunday arrives and off we set heading for the Lake District. There were about 15 in the group and I was happy they were all super friendly and eager to include me, the new recruit. After a couple of hours and about five miles I was beginning to wonder if this was going to be one of those ‘seemed like a promising idea at the time’ experiences. Fast forward another few miles and (what was to me then) some fairly tough climbing and an even tougher descent I began to wonder which was going to happen first – a heart attack or my knees giving out. But one gentlemen who was using two poles kindly offered me one which proved to be a great help. When we finally arrived at a pub it was a case of give that man whatever he wants, he’s saved my life! Next morning my knees did indeed give way and I promptly fell on the floor. Did it put me off? No! Twenty years later walking is one of the greatest pleasures of my life. Christine Smith, Email

Kes the conkercolour Cocker is an inveterate explorer, often finding his way into the unlikeliest of places when we’re busy putting the magazine together. In fact he’s hiding out in this issue for you to find! Spot him (not on this page) and you could win over £45 worth of Lifeventure goodies – just email the page number where you found Kes to: ifoundkes@LFTO.com by July 16, 2020 putting ‘Kes July’ in the subject line.

And congratulations to Martin Clarke, from County Durham who spotted Kes exploring the Gellifelen Tunnel on page 65 of the May issue, and wins this month’s prize!