Today we drove to the Peak District and hiked in the hills. It didn't rain but it was a typical grey, damp British day. I've finally after years of living back here, gotten used to just doing things no matter the weather. If you wait for a nice day in England to go somewhere, you might not ever do anything outside. We were going to go on Wednesday but it was forecast to rain in Derbyshire then, so we changed it to Friday and the rain held off but it so looked like it wanted to rain. It was beautiful in a typical English countryside way and if I was a sheep, I think I would want to live where we were. The sheep had such an amazing view. E
We managed to hike up a hill successfully but it was the coming down that was rather dramatic. It was quite steep and very muddy and I had on stupid trainers that had NO grip whatsoever on the bottom. I call them my donkey trainers as when Phil and I were in Santorini we went on this crazy donkey ride up some stupid steep hill and my donkey kept scraping my leg against a wall and I had to keep pushing off the wall with my shoe. The donkey ended up ruining my shoe as he just kept dragging it along a wall. Now I keep them for muddy walks as they are already ruined. I think I need to retire them though and buy myself a proper pair of hiking shoes. Donkey trainers didn't cut it today. I had advised the girls to bring a change of clothes with them as they are magnets for mud and water. Amity was very sensible and brought an entire change of clothing, top to bottom. Isla brought another pair of shoes at least. I also brought another pair of shoes, but I should have brought a change of clothes as well as I slipped four times and ended up sitting in mud and sheep poo.
We slipped and slid our way down the edge of the hill, following an official signposted sheep path. There were some people in front of us who managed to make it down so we kept going. There were some people behind us who were struggling more than we were and were quite amusing to watch. Then there was us. I only made it to the bottom without sliding all the way on my bum, because of some lovely little trees that I literally swung around like poles. I slid between them and finally got down to a place that wasn't so crazy. It was a very memorable descent.
On the way back to the car, Amity went in the river. It was really shallow, no deeper than her knees, but she slipped and ended up completely soaking wet. I was walking in my coat and hat and she was in a tank top wandering through freezing cold water. She loved it though and as she had brought a complete set of new clothes, was able to dry off and get changed when we got back to the car.
It wasn't a great business building day, but it was a great day spent with my family, in a beautiful place with lots of sheep. I love driving anywhere where you have to slow down because there are sheep wandering around in the road. That to me is a good day out. Maybe I like sheep so much because the first nativity play I remember being in, required me to be a sheep. I had a fabulous outfit and had to stay very still in my spot on the stage. I remember feeling very proud in that moment. Not sure why looking back but perhaps that explains a lot.
My quote for today is "Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt." John Muir
My photo for today is of the sheep with a view.