My kids are all at secondary school now. My daughter was the last to leave primary school and while I like the fact my work capacity has increased by not having to drive her to school every morning, I do kind of miss it. Her school was in the most fabulous rural location and the school run was really a pleasure. Unless it was icy, when it was a total nightmare! I would often leave the car there and go for a run from her school before heading home to work. I’ve found myself missing those routes so on occasion I’ve been driving up there just to go for a run. When you see the photos from my run the other day you’ll see why I miss it so much!
I headed up one Sunday morning when the skies were clear and the wind not too strong as it’s pretty exposed. The route starts on a quiet country road with woodland on one side and views into a steep valley and across to the Lake District on the other. The sun was coming up through the trees. In Spring these woods are full of bluebells but they look completely different, though just as stunning, in autumn.
The road goes up and up. The steepest part is on Silly Lane which always makes me chuckle as I go past the sign, swiftly followed by gasping of breath as the hill kicks in. When you get near to the top however it begins to open up onto wide expanses of farmland with the moors rising behind them.
The roads here are just calling out to be run on. There’s very little if any traffic. I mean, who could look at a road like this and not just want to run forever?
More climbing and more breath taking scenery takes me to my favourite spot on the run and one of my ultimate views. I have so many photos of this exact view. A friend of mine actually decided to paint it from one of my photos and I can see why. It always looks different. I could stand here for ages and just look. It’s usually a welcome pause on a tough route.
On this occasion, as I was admiring the view and being mindful. I heard some cyclists coming and heard one of them talking about biology and maths homework. It was a lovely surprise to see my son and his mate out for a bike ride. I was so proud of them. I don’t think many 16 year olds voluntarily get out of bed early on a Sunday to cycle into the hills! I loved that they were able to appreciate this stunning day and were having a good old chat about life as they were doing it. I captured them cycling away into the distance.
It was soon onwards for me to the second half of the run, which I love just as much as you can see the three Yorkshire peaks rising on the horizon. Sometimes they look so close that you feel as if you could reach out and touch them and other days they are lost in the clouds and you don’t even realise they are there.
It was a lovely run back to my car and then a short drive home to get the roast in. Perfect. This route is just under 7 miles so it’s an ideal distance for an easy Sunday run for me. I can actually run to the school and avoid driving altogether but this adds on another 6.5 miles and an extra 500m of ascent which wasn’t what I was up for today. Next time!
I hope you’ve enjoyed sharing my run with me. I am so grateful that I can run in locations like this and believe me when I say that I never take it for granted.