 Frequently rocky, sometimes tussocky, occasionally blissfully smooth, twisting, turning, uphill struggles, exhilarating, exhausting, heart-warming and mind-blowing. Could it be my life I’m describing, or my hiking adventures you ask? It is either and both, walking is the perfect reflection of both my emotional and the physical journeys! The first time I was invited by Bryn Walking to write about my hiking 'why’ some four years ago it was based around the reason I had taken up hiking – a door to a different future after the loss of my soulmate. My confidence in the hills has grown massively since then and my reasons have evolved too. Today I can't imagine life without the outdoors, where I can let my soul breathe. Just recently I climbed Mt Toubkal in Morocco and I am a regular on Cadair Idris (Snowdonia). On a less poetic, more practical note, hiking allows me to eat cake and drink cider without the calories languishing on my hips and I can celebrate being alive and kicking after brain surgery two and a half years ago - and turning 60!! Oh, and I'm now an empty nester, so the fantastic social side of walking has saved me on several occasions from turning in on myself and 'stewing in my own juices' 😁 In fact my love affair with the hills is now the way I live my life. This summer I started solo camping, one night at a time, on the peaceful Pwllyn Farm , near Libanus. Pen Y Fan is the last thing I see outside my tent when I turn in for the night and the first thing I see when I wake. The farm has cooking facilities, equipment and showers in a large barn and that’s perfect for this camping novice. The farmer tootles around the wildflower filled fields on his tricycle to keep an eye on everything and that all is well, which is very reassuring for this solo female camper! My final thoughts: Give yourself permission to switch off the news and social media once a week (it’ll still be there when you turn it back on!). Heaven is not in the Med or a supermarket frozen dessert and the anti-dote to being down in the dumps is not several glasses of wine. It’s in the steadfastness of the hills and mountains, the subtle changing of the seasons and vegetation. Winter WILL come, but so will the Spring. Guaranteed. The clouds and rain eventually blow away. Always. And thank you to my late partner, for leaving me the most beautiful gift I have ever received - hiking.  
7 Comments
Wendy
29/9/2023 19:22:50
What a lovely write up Andrea. So lovely to hear some of your journey to where you are today. It’s great that you’re still trying out new ventures like the solo camping - I’m slightly jealous I admit.
Helen
29/9/2023 20:04:49
Andrea
30/9/2023 06:32:41
I found my passion at this stage in my life - it answers my need for a tribe (my mother's family was extensive and she grew up in a strong chapel going South Wales community), adventure, challenge and solo wandering. Perfect! Wild camping next - looking for to next April! 😁
Andrea
30/9/2023 06:24:18
Thank you Wendy. I've always been an adventurous soul (if my late partner had ever had a daughter - he had two sons- he would have named her Freya (as in Freya Stark) and Andrea for the middle name. Freya Stark is my kindred spirit, it all started when we moved to Kenya when I was 9 😃
Andrea
30/9/2023 06:44:43
Thank you Alan. I feel privileged and lucky to be part of the walking network and community. I can't even recall now how I initially came across Bryn Walking nearly five years ago, but you and Helen have been the 'key' that unlocked the 'door' to a world beyond the reality I had previously inhabited. As the saying goes - "One door closes, another door opens." Greatly looking forward to new mountains and adventures under your and Helen's excellent leadership in Snowdonia next week.
Debbie Johnston
1/10/2023 10:38:26
Hi Andrea. Was lovely to read your write up, glad that you've found happiness out of sadness. I can resonate with finding your purpose/passion later in life, I too get a lot of solace from being in the hills and mountains and have definitely found ny tribe amongst the hiking/outdoor community. Leave a Reply. |
This page tells of people who have found Bryn Walking and want to share their story, in their own words, of how walking and the outdoors has made a difference to their lives.
AuthorEach story has its own author. Archives
November 2023
Categories |
RSS Feed
