So my latest post is not so much a budget break but a great idea for anyone wanting healthy challenges or inspiration for the new year, however to make it even more special it could be combined with a budget weekend away to make the most of the experience. Every year myself and my tribe set ourselves a wonderful list of challenges that we would like to complete over the year. Sometimes we do quite well working down the list, sometimes we are absolutely terrible and don’t complete very many at all. The challenges we decide upon range from simply trying something new to climbing mountains (my favourite thing). I digress….. more on our challenges in a later blog. This particular blog post relates to our challenge to raise money for a charity. Although I quite enjoy the usual 5k run or cakebake, I like to try something a bit different on occasion, after all I think we should all try something new every single day. Whilst scrolling through Facebook one particular day, I came across this fantastic picture of a beautiful row of lights cascading down the side of a mountain. It was an absolutely awesome site and I thought right there, I want to be part of that. The Facebook post in question was about an event that happens every year, in the Lake District, called ‘The Lakeland Festival of Light’. This particular year they were raising money for the Lake District Mountain Rescue and Search Dogs……..perfect, dogs and mountains: my favourite things. After doing a bit of reading about what it entailed we decided to sign up. The company organising the event had asked for a donation from people taking part, however we decided to set up a ‘Just Giving’ page and asked people to sponsor our little ones who were 6 and 11 years old at the time, with the aim to raise even more to help the Lake District Mountain Rescue and Search Dogs.
The event took place in May on a cooler evening and involved walking a route up a well known Wainwright trail called Catbells. The walk started in Keswick and meandered over fields and through woodlands until we were at the foot of the fell. There were refreshments stops on the way and toilet stops (with the biggest line of women wanting a wee I have ever seen!) and we even came across a scottish bagpiper entertaining the crowds which were huge as there were lots of people on this route all eager to take part in this fantastic event. The atmosphere was amazing with a real sense of excitment in the air: people were celebrating birthdays, there was a group of ladies on a ‘hen do’ and a couple even got engaged! As we took our place on the fell side overlooking Keswick, you could see the people of Keswick watching us poised with their cameras ready for the ultimate shot. The sight of thousands of people with torches lining the ridge of Catbells stretching down the hillside was breathtakingly beautiful and an experience with which words can not do justice. The shots taken by the people on the edge of Derwent Water in Keswick were amazing and it was a great sense of achievement to think that we had raised money for these great working dogs and been a special part of something quite unique at the same time.
The kids raised £120.00 in total through the sponsors they gained from our generous family and friends and this was donated to the Lakeland Mountain Rescue and Search Dogs. Lakeland Mountain Guides are repeating the event this year on Saturday 2nd May 2020 and again are raising money for the Lake District Mountain and Rescue Search Dogs. If you want to try something a little bit unique click on the link to take a look at the amazing photos www.lakelandmountainguides.co.uk and for further information about the event. To keep within our budget for the weekend we stayed at High Bridge End Farm (mentioned in a previous post). We filled our bellies at the local fish and chip shop in Keswick just before the start of the event and took nibbles and hot drinks with us to keep costs down and to keep us warm on the fell. We managed to park in the meeting car park for free. I would get there early to ensure a parking space and then walk to get food from the car park as Keswick town centre is only a stone’s throw away. Even in May it can be quite chilly so if you plan on taking part make sure you layer up. But above all, enjoy the wonderful and rewarding experience of realising of what people can achieve when we work together in the most amazing ways.
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