I have been a lifelong fell walker, having been introduced to the outdoors by my parents - we went to the Peak District every weekend and even completed the Pennine Way when I was 6! It has long been a dream of mine to work in the mountains and I began to realise this could actually work whilst doing my Mountain Leader training course in 2019. The weather was superb and I knew I was definitely doing the right thing! Lockdown got in the way of my plans to start up my own business, but here I am (finally!) and I'm really enjoying taking people out into the fells!
My navigation days have been especially good and everyone is enjoying learning the basics of map reading - how to navigate using map and compass and the benefits of timing, amongst other skills! I love to see the delight on people's faces when they have that 'lightbulb moment' and start to navigate for themselves within a short time of starting the day!
All my walks are scramble-free to enable those who are not confident scramblers to enjoy the best mountain summits without the fear factor!
During lockdown 2020, I wrote some books detailing big-dog friendly walks without dog-unfriendly stiles or scrambles, which I wanted to incorporate into my new business. I have done this and the books are selling well! They have detailed routes, a hand-drawn map of each walk, written description and free downloadable GPX files for GPS apps or devices, so those who cannot yet read a paper map are less likely to wander off course. The books are available on Amazon and selected local stockists.
I hope all of my customers will enjoy the sights, sounds and wildness of the Lakes as much as I do and feel inspired to explore some more!