Take Me To The Trails

22/04/2026

Yesterday whilst out walking through Cliff Ridge Woods under Roseberry Topping admiring the bluebells Hetty my little sheep picked up her first tick, and I picked up another 2!
Thankfully I spotted them before any of them attached.

So teeny tiny but I knew what they were the moment I saw them! This is the size of nymph tick that made me ill 8 years ago. So miniscule but can potentially cause absolute chaos to your nervous system ans causing permanent damage to your body.

Did you know they could be this small?
Can you spot the tick in the first 2 photos?

Other than the ticks it was a lovely walk in the sunshine listening to the birds singing. We even saw 2 deer as we crossed the railway line heading up out of Great Ayton.

The bluebells are out alittle earlier than previous years. If you visit over the woods the next few days you won't be disappointed, but the full impact I would say would be in another week or 2 (weather depending).

Just please check for ticks and spray with smidge beforehand if you have some.
(I had sprayed myself before setting off on my walk, but only my legs and the 2 I found in me were on the wrist cuff of my jacket and ofcourse I hadn't thought about spraying my little herdy sheep).

13/04/2026

For a few months now I have been struggling. My silence on here speaks volumes. My fitness is barely neglible, the menopuase is kicking my arse, my general health isn't great with on going investigations into some worrying blood test results and a couple new diagnosies, and my anxiety is high, which are all playing havoc with my physical and mental health, but with my husband out for the day with my son I put my big girl's pants on, pulled them up high and got out on my own early this morning and made the most of the glorious Spring weather.

My starting point was Codbeck Reservoir car park, otherwise known as The Sheep Wash. What meant to be a 6 miles walk ended up being 11.5 miles. 😆🙈
I wanted to see where a new-to-me trail went. Obvs! 😆
I could have walked round Codbeck reservoir to make it up to half marathon distance, but it was way too peopley for my liking (I had only only seen 1 runner and 1 cyclist on my walk, perfect) and I thought it best to stop as it was the first walk in double digits I have done since I completed the 40 mile Lyke Wake Walk last June! Maybe next time. 🤔😆

Gorgeous views, underfoot conditions perfect, with the sun shining and the curlews calling I was in my element and legs just didn't want to stop, but when my watch buzzed 8 miles I thought I had better turn back. There are levels of silliness but keeping going would have tipped me into the really silly bracket. But I did manage to break into a pootley trot on the downhill and along the short road section back to the car. 🏃‍♀️

It started off chilly at 4° but it soon warmed up, so cap off, buffs off, coat off. It was almost t-shirt weather up there til it clouded over abit and got chilly again, so my windproof jacket went back on for the last mile or so.

3.5 hours of bliss and empowering freedom. And I was even back home in time for my breakfast! ❤️

11.5 miles walked. 912ft elevation. 3.5hrs.

22/03/2026

It's been a while!

My health is still not great, but I am slowly improving and managing to get out on some short walks and scratch my moors itch.

Whilst I have been 'resting' I have been needlefelting some sheep, particularly Herdies. Ungortunately the Lakeland Fells are out of my reach at the moment, so instead I took one of the sheep who I have decided to keep and call Hetty with me to Roseberry Topping last week to show her the views.

She was a very happy little Herdy . 😆
She will be joining me on some new adventures in the future too.

16/02/2026

Accountability and keeping it real.

I initially thought about not posting this, but it's a reminder that recovery and living with ME/CFS is not always a linear line. The bottom line is I am not doing great. The infections I had over Christmas and New Year triggered a flare up which has since turned into a relapse. The worst since I first fell ill back in 2018. I am struggling with fatigue, sensory sensitivities, disrupted sleep cycles, elevated pain and neuralgia. I feel like all my hard work and effort the past 7 years has gone to waste. But deep down I know that's not true, plus at least I am able to tolerate sound (to a point) and daylight, so I am able to listen to music and podcasts and watch the TV or Netflix on my fone this time round. I am not stuck in complete darkness or silence like before.

On Saturday the sun was shining and the sky was big and blue for the first time in what seemed like forever. It was a chilly day with a frosty start, but oh that glorious sunshine!

It was calling me name. All I wanted to do today was get out on the trails with husband, be in my happy place and feed my soul, and there I was deciding where to go, considering things like location, distance, and route.

Given my current ME/CFS condition I wanted mud free on hard packed terrain to make walking as easy as possible, I wanted to be up on higher ground so that I could see the views, I wanted a route that would be 2 miles MAXIMUM and I also didn't want the car journey to be too long (15 minutes maximum).

It was hard to meet that criteria but decision made. Gribdale. My chosen route would take me up the steep steps to start off with, but then relatively easy and short walk along the Cleveland Way to 'Mouse Gate' - the gate overlooking Roseberry, and back. I would take my walking poles to help me with my balance up the steps.

But there was one massive problem that I was overlooking.
I was making all these plans when I was propped up in bed supported by pillows!

What on earth was I thinking?! I couldn't even sit up unaided!

If I was unable to sit up I certainly couldn't get out for a walk! I wasn't even dressed so I woukd have had to find the energy to get myself dressed before I could even get out of the door. Nope, it wasn't happening.

I had to ask myself "If it was a dull and miserable day outside would I be even contemplating going out?" The answer was simply "No".
It was the sunshine that sparked my urge to get out. Instead if it was a rainy day I would not be pushing my body, I would instead be listening to it and giving it what it needed and resting up in bed.

After a good cry and I had to give myself a talking to. The sun will shine again, and the trails will always be there waiting for me for when I am able to enjoy them again. But no matter how much I crave it and how much it hurts like hell not being able to get out I have to put my energy into the hope that one day I will get out again, and not waste it on frustration or being upset.

So instead I laid in bed with the window open with the sun on my face, the crisp cool breeze filling my lungs, I could hear the birds singing their springtime love songs, and I just thought of brighter and better days ahead.

ME/CFS strips your world bare. During a relapse you are purely in survival mode. You don't live a life, everything is taken away from you including your plans and dreams, everything that is except the people who love you, who support and who are there for you. They don't get frustrated when you cancel plans, they give you space to recover.

What hurts though is that there are people out there who think I am faking it! They think that I make this up, and that I shouldn't be trusted nor believed. They may see me out walking, they may see me laughing and smiling and looking happy. What they don't see is the times I am in bed unable to sit up, get dressed or shower. It's not called an invisible illness for nothing!
Thankfully those who are ignorant about the illness are far outnumbered by the right people that I have around me and my friends who get it and get me. I am so thankful to those around me who encourage me, motivate me and make me laugh.

I have to give my body time.
Today I had a better day. I managed a 15 minute very slow walk up the cycle track that runs at the back of my house, before needing a nap when I got home to recharge my batteries.

I gently moved me body, I listened to the birds singing and 2 squirrels having a chunter with each other - not sure if it was a male trying his best chat up lines to a lady squirrel, or telling another male to get off his patch 🤷‍♀️ and I stopped and looked up at the bare tree canopy above me and a buzzard soaring way up high above me. It made me appreciate the world around me.

Nature was grounding me.
Better days are coming.

Slow movement.
Long deep breaths.

I try again tomorrow.
On we go.

14/02/2026

Now isn't that one of the most incredible sights you have seen in 2026?!

🙄😆

Glorious.
Hope you can get outside and enjoy it today, as it's only here for ONE DAY ONLY!

11/02/2026

On this day 2018.
The day I popped my Hardmoors cherry at Saltburn. I was supposed to be running the half marathon but I dropped down to the 10k as I hadn't been well in the weeks leading up to the race, but with all the bonus free miles of a Hardmoors race and the slipping and sliding in the mud up on Huntcliff it felt more like a 50k ultra. 😆😆

This day 8 years ago marked my 'official' transfer from road to trail running, and what adventures on the trails I have had since!

Now my running days are behind me, but trails will always have a hold of my heart.

08/02/2026

So it seems my recent ME/CFS flareup has now developed into a full on relapse. 😭

It's been over 6 weeks since I felt 'well'. I went to bed on the afternoon of Christmas Day, and I have barely spent any time out of the house since then.

Winter months are dark and depressing in more ways than one, and these past 6 weeks have been extra tough on me, not only physically but mentally and emotionally too. The journey of recovery of ME/CFS is a complex one. If you are lucky you can recover (to a point) but it is always there, lurking in the shadows. Over do things and it will shut you down.

These past 6 weeks I have missed out of events I look forward to being part of, I have missed out on spending time with my family and friends, and ofcourse I have missed out on time on the trails.

The sun was trying it's hardest to shine this morning so I managed to get out for a teeny tiny walk on the hunt for snowdrops. Standing with the sun on my face I closed my eyes and simply allowed the faint breeze through my fingers, and brush over my cheeks where silent tears began to fall.
I listened to the birds singing in the trees behind me, and the geese honking as the flew overhead.
I took long deep breaths filling my lungs with fresh air, flushing out negavitity as I exhaled.
I was inviting nature to ground me, soothe me and heal me.

I don't know how long this relapse will have a hold on me, or how long it will take to recover, but to me nature and my recovery are entwined. A bond that supports me mentally and physically.

Spring is in the air. You can feel it. You can smell it. You can see it. Spring is coming, and hopefully better days are coming with it.

25/01/2026

Managed a teeny walk. 🎉All half a mile of it. 🙄
Looking up at this tree and I felt like it represented my nervous system and every single nerve ending is screaming pain at me. Neuralgia really f&£!ing hurts!

My nerve endings are in absolute chaos and the pain is overwhelming me. 😫 I feel like every single bone in my body has been smashed up with a hammer. There is nothing I can do. Painkillers do not work. It is absolute torture.

Whilst it felt good to slowly move my body I still have to contend with my severe fatigue. I kept having to stop so I made the most of it stopping to peer into the newly cutback hedges at old bird's nests fascinated at how intricate they were, and listen to the birds singing whilst using the merlin app to help me ID them. There was a bonkers amount of goldfinches about! It felt amazing to feel a teeny bit of joy in amongst all my pain.

I have been bedridden for the majority of the past month. I went to bed to rest on Christmas Day afternoon and I have spent the majority of my time there in alot of pain, only venturing over the front doorstep 3 times over that time. Remember that little teeny weeny run of 100 yards 2 weeks ago in the snow? Safe to say it ended up not being the best idea I have had lately. 😔 I thought I was improving and popped to see my fellow volunteers at Kirkleatham Walled Garden on Wednesday. I shouldn't have done. My body does not feel like my own anymore. 😭

ME/CFS is so much more than just fatigue. 😭 I am not living a life at the moment. I am simply surviving. This is the reality of the illness. This is not being lazy! This is not being fake! This is the reality of my life. Thankfully I do have good days and I can go few weeks or months at a time feeling relatively 'OK' when all my adaptations are in place and my nervous system plays ball. For the past month it has been working against me and I need to allow this time to pass. In the meantime feel free to send me photos of cute little puppies, bunny rabbits, or something to help distract me and make me smile. Xx

17/01/2026

This week has been Spine Week. The week now consists of a number of races but the jewel in the crown is Full Spine. The most toughest race not only in the UK, but the world. 268 miles from Edale in Derbyshire following the Pennine Way all the way up to Kirk Yetholm in Scotland.
It is beyond brutal. Not only is it 268 miles, it includes over 35,000ft of elevation over arctic conditions, knee high snowdrifts, freezing temperatures, waist deep bogs, fast flowing rivers, sheets of ice inches thick, gale force winds that knock you off your feet and 16 hours of darkness every single day. The course can chew you up and spit you out in an instant. It is non stop and you have just 7 days to complete it.

Many attempt it giving their all. Pushing way beyond their limits. Around half do not make it to the finish line and get to kiss the wall. But for every single one of them on that start line it isn't just about the race, it's about the commitment, the consistency, the determination, the sacrifices, the pure grit, the stubborness, the willingness to lay it all out on the course knowing that a finish is never guaranteed and doing it regardless. I am in awe of every single one of those who stepped up to the start line.

Ultra running can teach you so much about yourself and with the correct mindset what is possible. You are capable of so much more than you think!

I am struggling with my fatigue from my latest ME/CFS flare up. Spending most of my days since Christmas Day in bed. I feel pathetic, I feel lazy but my body is doing what it needs to do to keep me alive. It is in survival mode. My body doesn't work like it used to. Most days I believe I have come to terms with it, but every now and then it knocks me for 6. I would never have contemplated the Spine race even when I was healthy, but boy do I miss running and the freedom and feeling running gave me.

So whilst I lay here is bed barely having the strength to sit up, I am being inspired by those out there on the Pennine Way moving relentlessly through the sleep deprivation, through the pain. I am dotwatching them all willing them to the finish line. Following Allie Bailey's dot and her insta stories, and watching her on the live feed cross the finish line last night was so emotional. Now my attention is on the the back runners who are constantly being chased down by the cut off. I can't take my eyes Anna Jebson's dot. She is one of the most smiley people I know! I have never seen her not laughing or smiling. You can hear her laugh from miles away! She is currently at Byrness, the final checkpoint, before her final push to the end. 'Just' a marathon to go. But it's not like any ordinary marathon. It had 5,000ft of climbing over the wild and exposed expanse of the Cheviots, after you have already completed 240 miles and been moving non stop since Sunday morning. She has until 8am tomorrow to finish.

Follow her dot and the other runners and give them your support. https://live.opentracking.co.uk/spinerace26/

Check out the Montance spine race page to see some incredible photos and updates. Montane Spine Race

Montane Spine Race 2026 - Live Event Tracking

10/01/2026

Can't beat a spot of running in the snow.

Even if it is all of 100 yards 😆 Maybe its time to come out of running retirement... 🤔

Not quite standard... understatement of the year 😆 now back to dotwatching the incredible and inspiring runners running up the Pennines!

04/01/2026

With Christmas packed away for another year I got out for another short walk for some medicinal and rejuvenating fresh air.

I was joined for most of the walk by the local buzzard. Lovely to see and hear it, and good to know it hasn't moved on to somewhere new with all the building of the new road going on.

Low sun = long legged shadows 😁